How do you stay motivated when you don't see any results?

Weightloss is a journey & it's different for everyone. Make good food choices & exercise, but don't feel like a failure if one or both of those parts don't come together in weightloss. Work on small steps & doing better the next day, but don't obsess over it.

For the last 18 months i have been working out at a gym, in classes that push me hard 3 to 4 days a week. I had expected in a year to have been under 200 lbs, I'm not. i have wanted to give up, but then i notice something small, some improvement that to anyone else might mean nothing. I started out not being able to do a proper squat, then my trainers had me doing them with a ball on the wall... one day in class i was doing them, like everyone else without my ball on the wall, i was doing real squats... it took 18mths to get there. I started & my knees are *kitten*, like need surgery bad, I'm not saying my knees are great now but i can't do box step ups on something higher than a foot now & i can even do box jumps.

My point is, don't be discouraged by the scale not moving, you may be in the process of your body exchanging fat for muscle, so your clothes might fit looser. You may be more flexible than last week. You may be able to walk 30mins without feeling like you're going to die. Look for the little things to keep you motivated when that scale refuses to budge.

I hate doing weigh ins at my gym, because i don't see a lot of weightloss like others do. I did my inbody last week (measures muscle, fat, weight & water content), I'd lost a tenth of a pound, but I'd lost 8lbs of fat, gained 4.5lbs of muscle & still have water weight issues...i couldn't see this on the scale, my trainers did in how my body looked.

You Are Doing Great!

I think what you are actually looking for is an easier way.

I was 240lb, I got down to 179lb. I now weigh 190lb by choice.

The only way I did it was weighing all my food and counting macros, I never wanted to be that obsessive but I had to be if I wanted to reach my goals. It can often seem selfish to others and anti-social, not going out for supper and drinks.

Find out your BMR, set a macro ratio that has minimal fat intake, and carbs should be half your protein intake. Either eat at maintenance calories and use exercise to implement a deficit or add a 500calorie deficit yourself and skip the gym.

Stick to a 500calorie deficit, anything more and you will get to the point of diminishing returns and you will just be torturing yourself and put in a cheat meal once a week to keep yourself sane.

You can think you know what caloric value you are eating everyday but unless you measure it you'll never know exactly and consistency is key. And macros are important, to low on carbs and you'll feel drained and exhausted everyday. Too little protein and you will lose lean body mass, and lean body mass is important because in directly effects your BMR.

Do lots of research on youtube and set goals to keep yourself accountable.

You will lose weight but you need to follow a better program. Best of luck to you.

It sounds like all of your hard work it is actually paying off - it sounds like you've built a lot of muscle, which means the scale won't change a lot. If you're noticing a change in your clothes, you're on the right track.