whyy wont it budge!!?

Heey everyone I was wondering if anyone else has this problem, I step on the scale before bed I'm around 197.5 I step on the scale in the morning AFTER I go to the bathroom and I'm around 198.5 or higher... then I do my hair and step on the scale again and it will be lower maybe 197.9. I guess what I wanna knw is y that happens? Is it "water weight" in the morning?

How new is your scale? Maybe its screwed up?

The law of conservation of matter says no. If you're not putting anything in or on your body, then your weight can't change. It could only go down based on energy expended, but that's an insignificant amount in the grand scheme of things.

Your scale is either moving in position, or it's broken.

I've never seen it go up in the morning. Usually down 2-3 pounds for me. I've heard it is primarily water weight lost during sleep (breathing/sweating) and the morning constitutionals.

hmm well its a brand new digital scale. i thought maybe it was the position but i moved it all over the floor and my weight stayed the same >;/

I also have a digital scale. Most days I step on and off the scale several times to get the best guess it can give me - best out of 5 or something like that. If you are moving it around, you may need to step on and off to reset it. It also depends on which foot I step on with first as well. That's why I can't rely on my scale, but the measurements, and how my clothes are fitting as better indicators.

ha ha my digital scales are the same, I can step on and off 5 times and get different results, ranging to 500g difference!
I usually average it out... it's annoying hey?

The first thing the scale does is "zero" itself, or calibrates itself to having no weight on it (clears the differences in air pressure and whatnot). This part of it could be malfunctioning? I don't know how your particular scale does things, but if you are able, give it more time to recalibrate. Mine has a mandatory 3 second waiting period when I first turn it on. If I step on it beforehand, it errors out.

Also, here are some articles. Not implying that you're not weighing yourself right, after all, it isn't rocket science, but it might trigger something:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/expert-advice/quick-answers/scale-accuracy/
http://www.tinajuanfitness.info/articles/071205.htm

I would hope you're always doing this naked (or mostly so) and on a hard surface, standing on the center portion of the scale evenly. If not, do that from now on. If you have been... then I don't know. That's bizarre. I've never had an issue with my scale, and I have a bare-bones $20 digital scale. The only 'special' feature it has is that it stores previous weight values for 2 people. That tells you how fancy it is. I've literally made more complex things in a high school electronics course. Nonetheless, there are no fluctuations like what you described.

That's baffling. You pee, weigh yourself, do your hair, and weigh yourself again, and there's a half a pound difference? Unless your hair routine involves mass vomiting, that's got to be up to the scale or your usage of it. Best of luck in solving this issue!

LOl, I will try giving it more time b4 I step on it, and make sure I stand in the centre!
Thanks

I have the same issues! It makes me crazy. I will weigh my self 3 times over the course of a morning (first thing, after breakfast, after drinking a big glass of water, etc,) and it will almost always be different. My weight fluctuates by 1-3 pounds every day, though. I find that it will usually be higher the day after doing a weight lifting work out--even if my calorie intake is low. Maybe that has something to do with it? Do you have the same thing?

1. Zero the scale every morning before you step on it.
2. Weigh yourself 2-3 times to make sure you get the same weight. If you don't get the same, re-zero the scale and start over.
3. Weigh yourself only in the morning after using the restroom and before eating anything. Weighing at night is unreliable due to fluctuations during the day.

I tend to see fluctuations related to how much sleep I get and/or how stressed I am.

I had a problem with the digital scale here at work in that it would start calibrating when I moved it from the carpet to the wood floor. I figured out that to get the most accurate weight I had to move it to where I wanted and let it go into "sleep" mode, then I could tap on it to wake it up and recalibrate. This altered the weight by about 2-3 lbs and I started matching the weight I got on my home scale.

Try only getting on it once a week. The daily (and hourly) fluctuations are meaningless. Though it does sound wonky to me. Unless there was a shower in there and you weigh less after drying your hair?

@StephanieR - sore muscles retain water, so it's not at all surprising that your weight goes up after a weight workout.

As for the digital scale, I think that my digital scale "remembers" the last weight for a minute or two after you use it, probably so that if I wanted to read all of the complicated numbers longer after it turns off, it will be fast and efficient. As a result, if I weigh myself twice in a row without a break of at least a few minutes, I will get exactly the same number (and it shows up much faster). If I wait a few minutes, it may be off by up to half a pound, but I think that's really because the scale has to average the small movements I make. If you've stood on an analog scale lately, you'll know what I mean - the needle wiggles an awful lot even when you try to stand still.

Having said that, I think k8 may have solved the hair mystery -- is the difference wet hair versus dry hair?

when I get up first thing in the morning and I step on the scale I'll weigh one thing and then once I've moved around for about 15 minutes and I take my shower, I'm usually back to where I was previously. You shouldn't be weighing yourself that often anyway. Your body weight fluxuates daily and during the day. You will only frustrate yourself. Trust me, I KNOW! I used to weigh myself every night and every morning. I have found that since I've "unslaved" myself to scale and weigh once or twice a week, I'm losing better because it forces me to be good because I know I want to see good results when I do step on.

Also, I find that Healthometer digital scales, normally sold in Target or Walmart are highly inaccurate. The one I have, will fluctuate several pounds in a few minutes.