WTF is going on with my scales? I am obviously stupid. Please help me.

[slipslipslippy]

I have bought new digital scales last week.

I have switched them to the 'ST' setting.

They show your weight as four digits so; 10.32 which I assume would be 10st 3lb.

I weighed myself on Wednesday and was 11.3 (can't remember the fourth digit) so I thought I was 11st 3lb.

On Thursday I was 10.9 How did I drop 6lb in one day?
On Friday I was 11.3 again.
Yesterday I was 11
Today I am 10.9 again.

WTF is going on.

Its like the scales don't show 10st 10lb/11lb/12lb/13lb.

They just jump from 10st 10lb to 11 stone.

I keep weighing dd2 and dd1 to check the scales and their weight hasn't fluctuated.

What the hell is going on???

[StormyBrid]

I'd guess it's being metric-y? 10.9st, rather than 10st 9lbs. So 10.9 is 10st 12lbs 9.6oz. Does that make more sense?

And it's probably up and down due to normal fluctuations based on how much is sitting in your intestines, how much water you're holding, and so on.

[slipslipslippy]

Stormy I have no idea what ou just said but that is exactly what my scales are doing!

10st 12lb is reading as 10.9.

But I don't understand why

How does 10.9 = 10st 12lb?

[StormyBrid]

Stones are imperial measurements. Fourteen pounds in a stone. Your scales are showing tenths of a stone, like metric measurements which are based on the number ten - 10.9 being ten whole stones and nine tenths of a stone. Each 0.1 is a tenth of a stone, or 1.4lbs. If there were only ten pounds in a stone it would be much easier!

[slipslipslippy]

I can't even begin to work that out.

If I weigh in lbs and divide by 14 will that give me the correct weight in stones?

[ShadowFall]

You'll still end up with decimal places if you weigh in lb and divide by 14.

[Sleepwhenidie]

It will still give you the answer the scales does, so 10.5 stone is 10 and a half stone, which is 10 stone and seven pounds....any clearer ?

[StormyBrid]

Weighing in pounds will probably be easier. But you then need to know your 14 times tables to work out your weight in stones.

140lbs = 10st.
154lbs = 11st.
From there it's just a matter of counting how many pounds over 140 you are, or how many pounds over 154.

I'm just confusing you more, aren't I?

[ShadowFall]

What you need to do is take the numbers after the decimal point and multiply by 14.

So, if it says 10.9 st, then to get the number of lb after the 10 st, multiply 0.9 x 14, which equals 12.6 lb. Total weight in st and lb is 10 st 12.6 lb.

Can't remember if it's 14 or 16 oz to the lb, but it'd be the same method to figure out how many oz if the lb wasn't a round number.

[StormyBrid]

16oz to the lb, just to make it extra confusing.

[ShadowFall]

Thanks Stormy

The metric system is so much simpler, isn't it!

[StormyBrid]

Imperial's easy enough once you get your head round it, but combining imperial and metric like the OP's scales is just madness.

[MrsLettuce]

Just switch them to metric, surely that's got to be easier than this? You can always convert it to imperial if you feel the need.

[StormyBrid]

Switch to metric, then ask google to help, that could work. You just type "70kg in lbs" and it does the maths for you.

[slipslipslippy]

I've read and reread this page and I can't make head nor tail of it.

I think I should weigh in lb's and then ask Google to convert it to stone for me?

[slipslipslippy]

Weigh in kgs I mean

[slipslipslippy]

And there is no easy weigh to get my weight in stones from these scales.

Are all digital scales like this?

[ShadowFall]

Not all digital scales.

Mine does kg or st and lb (With decimal points after the lb). So mine would show 10 st 12.6 lb instead of 10.9 st, for example.

[MeganChips]

Has it got a little dial underneath OP?

Mine does and I can switch between modes. Have a look, you might be able to reset them.

[Mrsmorton]

Slippy, do you understand that 0.5 is equal to a half?

So 10.5 stone is equal to 10 and a half stone?

There are 14lb in a stone. You need to take the last number (if it's 10.9 then that number is 0.9) and times it by 14 to get the amount in lb.

Eg 10.1 = 10 stone 1.4lb
10.2 = 10 stone 2.8lb
10.3 = 10 stone 4.2lb
10.4 = 10 stone 5.6lb
10.5 = 10 stone 7lb

I hope that makes sense, it's quite simple arithmetic.

[slipslipslippy]

Right I understand that.

Well I mean I can times the last number by 14 easily enough.

I still don't understand why I have to do this though. How can the first number be right but not the second?

It doesn't make any sense to me.

I guess scraping that B at GCSE maths was a fluke ...

[slipslipslippy]

Do I ignore the 4th digit?

So say I weighed 10.92 on.the scales - do I ignore the 2?

[StormyBrid]

Because 10.5 is ten and a half, but 10st 5lbs is NOT ten and a half stone. You'd be less confused if there were only ten pounds per stone, but there are fourteen. The numbers after the . are right, but they're not pounds, they're fractions of a stone.

[slipslipslippy]

I kind of understand now - thanks for you patience stormy

I still think these stupid scales should understand there are 14 lbs to a stone.

So do I ignore the 4th digit?

And what if it says 10.04? Does that mean 10 stone?

[Sleepwhenidie]

Would it help to know that the number after the decimal point is a percentage of a stone?

[Sleepwhenidie]

So 10.04 is 10stone plus 4% of 14lbs (one stone)

0.04x14= 0.56 so just over half a pound. 10.04 is therefore 10 stone and 1/2 a pound.