By Rich Weil, M.Ed., CDE
Transformation Weight Control
www.transformationweightcontrol.com
In Transformation Weight Control we ask our clients to weigh on the morning of their group session, after going to the bathroom, without clothing, and before eating or drinking anything. Make sure the scale is on a hard, flat and level surface (not a carpet), that it’s in the same location every time you weigh, that you step on it in the same way and that your feet are in the same place each time (put a piece of tape on the scale if you want to be in the exact position each time), use a digital scale, and make sure the batteries are fresh.
If you step on the scale three times and you consistently get three different readings, and especially if there is more than a one-pound difference:
1. Check the batteries and change them if they’ve been in the scale for a long time.
2. Make sure you’ve followed all the suggestions in the first paragraph above.
3. If everything is the same and you have followed all the proper procedures, including new batteries, and your scale is old, then consider a new scale. You don’t need to spend more than $50 to get a very good scale. When you pay more than that, you’re paying for bells and whistles like Bluetooth to your watch to keep records that way.
4. Scales are devices that work with sensors that detect your weight (that’s why it’s important to step on the scale in the same place each time). Over time the sensors may wear down and it may be time for a new scale.
5. It’s normal for readings to be slightly different if you step on the scale multiple times one right after the other. Scales are fallible and subject to error. We never recommend weighing more than three times. If you get three different readings that are close and not pounds apart, then do either one of two things:
a. Take the average, or
b. Use the lowest weight.
c. Whichever strategy you choose, be consistent and use the same strategy each time. If there is error in the scale, but all the conditions are proper (batteries, flat surface, etc.), then you can assume that the error will most likely be consistent, so even if you don’t get exactly your correct weight, you will still know from one weigh-in to the next, on another day, whether you gained or lost weight, or remained the same. As long as you are consistent with everything, and all conditions for proper weighing are met, then you can count on the scale letting you know whether you have lost, gained, or remained the same, independent of the error on the scale.
6. If you take three readings and the numbers are pounds apart, then definitely change the batteries, and if that doesn’t work, then it’s time for a new scale.
7. In some cases, participants in our program will take their morning weight every day, and either take an average of all 7 days, or even use the lowest number out of the 7 days and record that for the week. We never have a problem with that.
8. If you’re traveling and you want to bring a scale to keep you focused and keep track of your weight, there are a few models to choose from, and most are smaller than a laptop computer.
9. These are the travel scales we like:
a. NewlineNY SBB0718M-NYBK Step-On Mini Travel Bathroom Scale
b. NewlineNY Step-on Super Mini Smallest Travel Bathroom Scale with Protection Sleeve
c. Taylor Digital 350LB Capacity Mini Scale, Expandable Read Out, White, Glass
d. Venugopalan Small Portable Body Weight Scales Digital Bathroom Mirror Scale Mini Electronic Scale
e. RENPHO Travel Scale for Body Weight, Mini Bathroom Scale for Body Fat (this one will measure your body fat)
10. NOTE: Whenever purchasing a new scale, be sure to check the maximum weight capacity of the scale you’re considering.
The problems with weighing later in the day are the following:
1. You may be wearing clothing which of course adds to your weight.
2. You may have eaten. The weight of the food counts and not how many calories the food has. If you weigh yourself, then eat a one-pound steak, then weigh yourself again, you’re going to weigh one pound more. It doesn’t matter if you’re holding the steak in your hands or if it’s in your belly, a pound is a pound, and it shows up on the scale. Likewise, fluid counts… a lot. A one-liter bottle of water weighs approximately 2.25 pounds. Weigh yourself, drink a liter of water, then again step on the scale. You’ll weigh approximately 2.25 pounds more, the weight of the water. It’s just the same as if you were holing the bottle of water and step on the scale.
3. You may have not gone to the bathroom. Your kidneys make one to two liters of urine each day. If your bladder is full when you step on the scale, especially if you haven’t urinated yet, you’re going to weigh more than the morning weight after going to the bathroom when your bladder is empty.
4. Likewise for defecating. If stool builds up over the course of a day and you haven’t had a bowel movement, it’s going to show up on the scale. Same holds true if you’re constipated.
5. In our program at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City, (later called the Mount Sinai Hospital Weight Loss Program), the average weight gain from morning to night was consistently 4.7 pounds for more than 20 years. We always used the morning weight for the “official” weight.
If you want to check the accuracy of your scale, you can put a known weight on the scale, or if you’re particularly ambitious, you could bring your scale with you to the doctor’s office and compare readings between the two scales.
I like to conclude discussions about body weight and the scale with the following:
1. Your weight does not define you.
2. Weight fluctuates from day to day, as much as 3-4 pounds.
3. One thing for sure, the scale is not always the best indicator of your behavior. We’ve all had that “good” week where we remained on our food and exercise plan and yet still, we gained weight, and other times when we were off plan yet still, we lost weight.
4. Since the scale can be notoriously fickle, or sometimes behave like a random number generator, and not tell the true story of your behavior during the week, or your actual weight, it’s important to keep in mind that the scale is a mechanical device and can be fallible. Sometimes taking the long view over several months, or even more, is the best strategy if the fluctuations make you crazy. Statistically speaking, the passage of time will absorb errors and fluctuations of the scale. That is, if over the course of 3 months you’ve lost 10 pounds, and you weigh yourself several times in a week, chances are good you’ve lost enough weight with 10 pounds that you will see weight loss on the scale.
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