The Student Room Group

scales

im attempting to lose weight and im seeing my nutritionist. she said in a month try and lose 4 pounds then come back.

so i tried really hard and by my scales at home id lost 6-8 pounds. (with fluctuations) i know its not loads but its something so i was really happy.
so after the month i went back and she weighed me and said id only lost 2 pounds!!!

i weighed myself just before i left the house to make sure with my shoes and stuff on i was still the weight i thought and i wore similar clothes and the same shoes as the first time i was weighed. and i didnt eat anything before i went so it wasnt on my stomach or anything.

my scales are digital so i know i havent just been reading the lines wrong or anything and in the past they have been pretty reliable.like until i really tried losing weight they always showed me as the same weight.and over the month i have felt my clothes feel slightly looser.

i dunno what i expect people to say i just needed a rant because i felt like complete rubbish :frown: and i just dunno how the results can be so different.

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Reply 1
Home scales are notoriously bad, when you went to see her first you should have weighed a different amount than your scales told you.
Reply 2
that's exactly why i prefer to take measurements rather than weigh myself!
Reply 3
Best thing to do is to measure your volume.

Jump in the tub and measure the displacement of water. Google the forumlas. :smile:
Reply 4
Don't let what the scale says affect how you feel about what you've achieved. You said it yourself: you feel healthier, your clothes are looser, and until you looked at that scale you were pleased with yourself. My advice: don't weigh at home. There are far better indicators of how you're doing than a silly number.
Reply 5
I weigh myself once every week, first thing in the morning after using the loo, before eating breakfast, in the same spot in the kitchen, no clothes. It's the only way to get a reasonably accurate, consistent reading on home scales. EVERY SINGLE SCALES are different, and her's might not be as accurate as yours or may be more, who knows? The point is, you'll ALWAYS get a different reading on different scales, and remember, weight fluctuates tons during the day, let alone the week. I used to weigh myself everyday, but that was stupid, really does your head in how much the damn thing fluctuates. You might drink more one day and not realize you did so (weigh more) or it could be a hotter day than normal or you exercised more and so sweat more (lose weight.) Best thing to do is just write down the weight each week, then at end of the month calculate how much you've lost - if it's no more than 2lbs, you're not really losing enough. 1lb/week is safe, generally (unless you're really overweight) - and vice versa, they tell me to gain 1lb/week, as it's safest amount in that amount of time.
Reply 6
CelenaGaia
I weigh myself once every week, first thing in the morning after using the loo, before eating breakfast, in the same spot in the kitchen, no clothes.

It would be hilarious if somebody came down while you were standing there naked on a pair of scales!

CelenaGaia
Best thing to do is just write down the weight each week, then at end of the month calculate how much you've lost - if it's no more than 2lbs, you're not really losing enough. 1lb/week is safe, generally (unless you're really overweight)

I think you can realistically afford to lose 2lb per week at a safe rate, although there's a slight chance a small percentage of it might be muscle.

To the OP: personally, I think digital scales aren't great. If you've been working out with weights, chances are you've lost bodyfat and built a little muscle, so you may have lost more fat than you realise, and your weight is only down by a little because of the new muscle.

Either way, I would focus less on weight and more on how you look in the mirror. Do you look slimmer? Can you see your waist is smaller? Have you gone down a notch on your belt? If so, then keep going. Remember, all sorts of things can affect your weight (water retention due to dietary intake and hormonal fluctuations, for example). I personally vary from 12 stone to very nearly 13 at times, but much of that is due to how much I've eaten and drunk and how much water I'm retaining.
can you clarify: Did you weigh yourself just three times, first on her scales, then on your scales, then on her scales? If so, the apparent 6-8lb loss was clearly due to individual scale differences, which can be as much as 10lbs.

If you actually weighed yourself at home at the start of the month, then at home again at the end of the month, on the same scales, and saw the 6-8lb loss, then Im not sure it can be accounted for by scale differences.
Reply 8
rock_eleven
can you clarify: Did you weigh yourself just three times, first on her scales, then on your scales, then on her scales? If so, the apparent 6-8lb loss was clearly due to individual scale differences, which can be as much as 10lbs.

If you actually weighed yourself at home at the start of the month, then at home again at the end of the month, on the same scales, and saw the 6-8lb loss, then Im not sure it can be accounted for by scale differences.


i weighed myself at home (millions of times before i went. always said approx.same weight)
weighed at doctors
weighed self numerous times throughout month
weighed at doctors

so i got the 6-8 pounds from (i wont humiliate myself by writing the whole weight) original xx1 final xx3-xx5 with fluctuations

thanks for the replies everyone :smile:

i weighed myself at home just before i left wearing exactly what i would be wearing for her to weigh me so i thought i had an idea of what weight she would say id lost.

i know scales can vary but to be a possible 4 times different? i thought before i went even if she just says 4 pounds then at least ill have met what she first said. but when she said 2 i was like :eek: :confused:

and to lose half a pound a week is like negligible. and basically i am overweight for my height so its not like im trying to lose those last few hard pounds.

to mr God - hehe yeh that was my first thought with the naked scales. and i dont particularly know a lot about what excercises are particularly good for what (i know i should really investigate it more) ive just been doing them.
ive been doing a lot of cycling, sit ups and different abs work. and im not particularly including this in excercise but i have done a lot more walking than normal so that should have helped. but i havent been doing any actual weight lifting. i dunno, hopefuly i have gained some muscle though.

i do feel like ive lost weight like my clothes are slightly looser but then when she said 2 it made me think maybe because the scales had said id lost weight it was in my head that i looked slimmer and really i hadnt :frown:
i suppose i should do what someone suggested earlier about taking actual measurements and see that way.
Reply 9
Try measuring your waist and stuff. If you've been doing a lot of cycling, there's a chance you may have gained one pound of muscle per leg, which would mean you'd lost at least 4 pounds of fat.

A couple of pounds wouldn't really be noticeable to you, 4 pounds would be, so chances are you've lost more than you thought and replaced it with muscle.
Reply 10
Its not really 4 times different, say if you dropped 3lb it wouldnt say you have dropped 12. The scales are just off.

Are her scales big proper ones?
Reply 11
The_Bear
Its not really 4 times different, say if you dropped 3lb it wouldnt say you have dropped 12. The scales are just off.

Are her scales big proper ones?


no they arent the ones that have the sort of bar on the top with the thing u move along. theyr just normal ones not digital, probably better quality than ones u get in shops but look the same.
Reply 12
Hmm very strange for a nutritionist. A lot of people probably use her scales so stick to your ones as they shouldnt change too often. Did you say that your scales initially showed the same weight as hers?
Reply 13
The_Bear
Hmm very strange for a nutritionist. A lot of people probably use her scales so stick to your ones as they shouldnt change too often. Did you say that your scales initially showed the same weight as hers?


her scales were in kg so im not really sure. i must say she did weigh me on different scales from the first time (well i assume they were different cos i was in a different room) so this also probably made a difference. but i told her on my scales id lost 6-8 and and she didnt really say anything about different scales can be off and stuff she was more admiment it was 2 so i assumed all the scales would have been sort of checked to be the same since they are pretty much the most important part.

the main thing i was really bothered about is shes only in one afternoon a month so can obviously only see a limited amount of people and if im going in saying oh yeh ive lost all this weight ive tried really hard and she sees differently she might just assume im trying to waste her time
Reply 14
OP sounds like you are doing well - if your clothes feel looser then you are on the right track! Don't let your dissapointment at her reading put you off - keep going! Mr. God is on the right lines with the exercise, you may well have put on some muscle and muscle is heavier than fat. Don't worry about lifting weight, cardio is the best exercise for fat loss! Exercise boosts you metabolism for ages after you finsh exercising so continue to fat burn!

Keep your chin up!
Reply 15
LouE3D
OP sounds like you are doing well - if your clothes feel looser then you are on the right track! Don't let your dissapointment at her reading put you off - keep going! Mr. God is on the right lines with the exercise, you may well have put on some muscle and muscle is heavier than fat. Don't worry about lifting weight, cardio is the best exercise for fat loss! Exercise boosts you metabolism for ages after you finsh exercising so continue to fat burn!

Keep your chin up!


thanks :smile: i would give a lot of people in here rep but i havent been here long so im not allowed yet.
Reply 16
Anonymous
thanks :smile: i would give a lot of people in here rep but i havent been here long so im not allowed yet.

Ah thanks anyway! :smile: Just remember you are putting in the work and the effort - Nutritionist certainly won't think you are wasting her time - that is what she is there for! I find it very easy to be come obsessed with scales (I'm talking weighing myself 6 times a day, everyday & getting upset about it - Doh!) so simply don't use them anymore!

Use your clothes as a guide and when it come to the point, either with food or exercise where you think you just can't go on anymore, dig deep and you will amaze yourself!! Half the battle with diet and exercise is courage and don't let the day before have a negative impact on today - clean slate, move on and keep going!

Good luck!
Reply 17
Different scales??! Well, this nutritionist isn't too worried about you! Just take her advice about the foods etc, the weight will come off in its own time.
Reply 18
The_Bear
Different scales??! Well, this nutritionist isn't too worried about you! Just take her advice about the foods etc, the weight will come off in its own time.



yeh my whole doctors is pretty rubbish to be honest. she send me an info pack on a nhs style weight watchers club and all of the meetings were duing the day completely catered for people on the dole, and were all in really far away places anyways where if u arent a body builder already youl probably get beaten up on the way there. so she obviously ignored the fact i told her i was at uni every day.

i just hope my results are right over hers. :frown:
ive always found it hard to lose weight and although until recently i admit i didnt do particularly loads of excercise but ive never ate unhealthily and for someone of my hight and size to look at me ud probably think i lived in mcdonalds.
shes even talked about appertite suppressants and i was just like what:confused: havent u been listening to anything ive been saying. if i eat any less ill only loose weight because ill be eating nothing at all!

i suppose i should probably just see how i get on my myself and excercise excercise excercise. or mebbies the student loan shall go on lipo haha:rolleyes:
Reply 19
Anonymous
yeh my whole doctors is pretty rubbish to be honest. she send me an info pack on a nhs style weight watchers club and all of the meetings were duing the day completely catered for people on the dole, and were all in really far away places anyways where if u arent a body builder already youl probably get beaten up on the way there. so she obviously ignored the fact i told her i was at uni every day.

i just hope my results are right over hers. :frown:
ive always found it hard to lose weight and although until recently i admit i didnt do particularly loads of excercise but ive never ate unhealthily and for someone of my hight and size to look at me ud probably think i lived in mcdonalds.
shes even talked about appertite suppressants and i was just like what:confused: havent u been listening to anything ive been saying. if i eat any less ill only loose weight because ill be eating nothing at all!

i suppose i should probably just see how i get on my myself and excercise excercise excercise. or mebbies the student loan shall go on lipo haha:rolleyes:

You could always joing your local slimming club - support, advice and routine weigh in's on the same scales???