How do you know if a personal/home scale is effective?

[Cleansing]

Are digital scales always better than the ones with dials?
Why are some more expensive than others? Do the more expensive ones garantee better accuracy? And if they do, how do they do it?

[best]

Even if a scale is connected to the dept. of weights and measure so you get things 100% correct to the nano of an ounce...

A scale would still just be a guide of what you weigh.

What I find is more important... How I feel and how my health truly is.
A number in a little window doesn't really tell me that.

[historyteach]

Agreed.
It's only a guide. And it's good to let you know if you're going in the right direction.

But, don't let it mess with your head either.
For example, if you are exercising, and weight lifting is part of your routine, you *may* gain weight for a short while. That's because muscle weighs more than fat. So, your pants may be looser, but, you may have put on a pound or two!

But, you're still doing the right thing, so don't stop!!!
That's because, muscle burns more calories than fat does too. So, in the end, you will loose weight faster, even though you *may* gain a tad in the beginning!
Boy, this sure can get complicated, can't it?

In short, it *is* a good thing to have a scale and to use it. Indeed, I weigh in daily. (Though others disagree with that idea, I do so to let me know how I'm doing, and if I can *cheat* a bit. ) I weigh in each morning before eating; just before I shower. So, it's just *my* weight; nothing else added. It's as true a reading as I'm gonna get, even if my scale isn't *perfect.*

And I know if the needle is going up or down.
And that's what I really want to know, now, isn't it?

Shalom!

[Cleansing]

I understand what you guys are saying, and for the most part, I would want to follow that advice. I go to the extremes with a lot of things. And I'm afraid losing weight might be my next obsession.
I'm a guy, and for most of my life, I've been in great shape, so losing weight hasn't been a problem. But this Zyprexa has given 30 extra pounds. So I am afraid I might end up being depressed over my look, even though I KNOW I look fine. It's just that everyone else says I have a gut (which I do, but I don't mind it) and when I go to the beach and see other bodies, they just look a lot better. I don't know ...

About the scale, the one I have uses a dial and I can barely tell what number it's on. And it seems like the bassline value is always changing because the dial is sensitive. That's why I was wondering if more expensive scales or digital ones have these same problems.

[historyteach]

Expense isn't the issue. Just because something is expensive doesn't make it better.

You can research them to find a decent one.
Frankly the digital are normally easier to read, but, they will jump around too, jsut like the other kind, if you're not still on the scale.

But, your regular visit to the doc will tell you the bst, and your home scale will let you know if you're going up or down. I stick with that. It works for me.

Shalom!

[pedagogue]

Everything is relative. As long as you have a starting point, you can go from there.

[sugarssweetpea]

I bought a digital scale from walmart that also tells you how much percentage of body fat you have and also how much water you have for $20. It has worked well for me.

[CD-RUN]

I'll chime in here as I was recently pondering the same question. I purchased the most expensive scale Wal-Mart carried for $40. It was digital and measured body fat percentages. The numbers were fast and easy to read, but not consistant. The body fat percentage would jump around 5% or more within minutes of testing. I returned it and went to Target. They had a $6 analog scale, and it has been within 1 pound of what the doctors office scale has told me on 3 occasions. Maybe Wal-Marts cheap scales are the same but they didn't have any on the shelf at the time.