Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Cotton DOESN'T Weigh More Than Fat

Lately, I've been checking my weight nearly every day. (I'm not trying to lose weight per se, but I am trying to keep it below 145 pounds.) A rule that I had been taught a long time ago is not to wear shoes when stepping on a scale as it adds it makes the scale think you weigh more than you should. (Strangely enough, on a weight loss show on VH1 called Money Hungry, the participants have on sneakers when stepping on the scale, and on the most recent season of Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp, the participants had on combat boots. Someone had made a comment in reference to the former that the participants shouldn't have on any footwear in the weigh-in portion of the show as it adds to the weight readings.)

So, as a rule, when I weigh myself at home, I don't wear shoes. I won't even take any chances with any of my pairs of ballet flat slippers however lightweight they are. I do all of my weigh-ins barefooted or sock-footed.

For quite some time, I've wondered if wearing socks affected scale readings. I decided to find out. If wearing socks did, in fact, affect the scale readings, then I'd make sure to always be barefoot when weighing myself. First, I stepped onto the scale in a pair of regular white cotton socks (along with a top and jeans I was wearing at the time). The scale said 137.5. Then, I took my socks off and weighed myself barefoot. Once again, the scale said 137.5.

In closing, while wearing shoes will add to number on the scale, socks will not. Thus, it won't matter whether I'm wearing them on the scale or not.

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