Staying motivated when the weight is slow to come off?

I agree that you have to set small goals, I also think you should work on developing self-control (this has been a hard one for me, and some days are better than others). When you get frustrated, take the opportunity to evaluate your routine, including what time of day you are most likely to eat junk, why you crave poor-quality food etc. Your goals should be tailored to those specific weak areas that you identify. For me, getting home from work was the worst time of day: I only ate what I had packed at work, but then reached for the easiest least-nutritious snacks when I got home. I heard from an accomplished triathlete that you should think of your food as fuel for your body, junk food will keep the motor running, but it will eventually gum up all the parts and prevent you from your goal health. I just joined MFP because I finished a half marathon (yay!), but only lost about 10 of the 70 pounds I'd like to shed (talk about frustrating!). I reevaluated and realized diet is the culprit for me, my meals were basically healthy, but I sort of ignored the tiny snacks (a square of chocolate, 1 potato chip, a handful of popcorn etc.). So my next race is in July and I don't have a time goal, I have a weight goal, which I plan to achieve with the calorie defecit. Mine is fairly steep (I'm set at 1200 calories a day before exercise) because I know my metabolism just isn't naturally fast and that is what I need to do to lose weight. This is a looong road we are on, and it isn't easy, but I encourage you not to give up. Don't let people tell you " it shouldn't be this hard"; it is hard, but you are capable of more than you realize. Every time you get frustrated, tell yourself all the benefits you've gained, even if it's just that you can move more easily, your blood pressure is lower, or that you have more guts than most of the country to even attempt to be healthier. Best of luck to you!

With all due respect to the other posters I will go ahead and be the contrarian and say it makes no sense to me to be focusing your attention on items that only have an indirect baring on fat loss. Your goals are your goals. If your goal was to eat more veggies than yes I would focus on eating more veggies. If your goal right now is to burn fat then focus your efforts on that.

1. Create a calorie deficit (if 3 or 4 weeks have passed and you haven’t lost weight or it’s been minimal, then you need to have a heart to heart with yourself and determine if you are honestly hitting your calorie goal on a regular basis. If you are, then you need to increase your exercise, decrease your intake, or a combination of both and reassess your progress.)
2. Get sufficient protein so the weight lost is fat not muscle
3. Start a strength training routine for the same reason as #2.

For your goal of losing weight, everything else is optional and should only be added if it benefits your life and helps you reach your goal (plenty of the suggestions offered are beneficial, but are not what is required). That is my take at least. Good luck.

As much as my MFP friends are awesome and I love the support from this website, it's also a slap in the face when I seem to try as hard as they are and they're down 30 pounds and I'm down 6. I really, truly get you. I'm trying not to compare myself, and stay focused on the positive changes that have happened. I'm much fitter and look more alive than I have in a long time, so that's good. Health counts for something, and I can't lose sight of that, just because the scale continues to betray me. On a strictly practical level, I've started weighing everything to make sure I'm not underestimating my calories, because I think I might be. Good luck. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

We all have those moments. Just remember, you haven't failed until you quit trying. There's lots of great advice here, find something you can stick to. Someone once told me that when I was ready to do this, I would find a way. Until then, I would find excuses. Are you ready?