I’m so close to giving up right now

Stay the course. You are still down. It is normal and expected for weight to fluctuate. Weight loss is a long journey.

Read and apply everything that applies in these forums.

If you give up and stop, the scale will continue to go up.

You have every reason to keep going.

This is a good explanation:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

I've learned over time that my "normal" weight swing from water retention, dehydration, and salt intake is easily 4 - 5 lbs if I weight every day. So if my weight is up one day, but it's still within that 5 lb range, I don't consider it as a cause for alarm.

These days, I weigh every day and those daily fluctuations don't bother me. But at other times when my mood and attitude on a given day was heavily influenced by my weight that morning, I went to weighing less often. I knew from weighing daily that Thursday was the day of the week that, for whatever reason, my weight tended to be lowest so I switched to weighing only on Thursdays.

When my head was in a better place, I returned to weighing daily as part of my commitment to my programs and commitment to understanding myself--including what is "normal" for me in weight fluctuations.

Please take all the good information above to heart and read the links provided. Don’t give up, OP. The only thing you need to change is your perspective. I totally understand how the scale can psych you out. The thing is, data points in isolation don’t tell you much. Don’t give them more importance than they warrant. It’s the trend that matters, data in the proper context. Download a trending app like happyscale. Maybe look into myshapa (feedback without actual numbers) if you keep struggling with a longer term perspective .

Stop weighing daily. Stress is not good for weight loss either. Weigh in weekly or every two weeks, but log everything, log every morsel and move your body more than normal, it doesn't have to be a fancy exercise program just move more. Even ten minute walks after every meal will help. Don't give up, stick to it, but don't get yourself too focused on the number on the scale. You are not a number.

I agree with everybody here: there is something else going on that you can't see. Water retention from exercise, hormonal water retention, more waste in your system: lots of totally natural, normal things that will mess with your mind in terms of progress. Stay the course. Give yourself time.

The first time I lost weight (7 years ago), I didn't own a scale. I stuck to the plan and my clothes started becoming too big. Now I want to lose the rest, and while I started out weighing every day, I realized very quickly that it won't serve my mental health. I'm trying to lose 5 pounds every 3 months. That is painfully slow. There is almost no way I would see anything but constant fluctuations and it would be frustrating and really defeating, even if I used a weight trending app. Instead, I know my weight from 12/17, 3/17, and I will weigh for 4-5 days the week of June 17. I'm aware of how slow this is happening, and believe me, there are days when I think, "What's the point?" but whether or not I stick to the plan or bail, December will come again.

Yesterday I went off the rails with my snacks. I knew it when I did it, and yet, I did it anyway. Today is a new day. Take it one day at a time. Take it one decision at a time, if you need to. I don't recommend giving up. You're not destined to be obese. You just need more time, and maybe a little tinkering with what will work long term for you. You're worth the wait

Stay on target.

Oops! This comment would have been better yesterday.

But stay on target anyway and may the force always be with you!

Only way to fail is quit. Don’t let your brain wreck you with impatience. There’s a long weight loss learning curve. Plus the tinkering and adjusting never ends. Keep trying. You can do this.

DO NOT GIVE UP! I went through this too and it’s sooooo demoralising but if you stick with it, the pounds will melt. I’ve lost 2 stone (30lbs) and the tough journey was most definitely worth it. If you give up, you’ll only get bigger. That’s what happened me before. This time I stuck it out; even when I fell off the wagon I got back on the next day. And I’m so glad I did. Not feeling huge and out of place, being able to shop for nice clothes and not for clothes to hide my belly and gigantic bum. I feel healthy, I look better and my mental health is so much more positive. It’s worth it, so just stick with it no matter what the scales say because eventually you’ll get there! Ps DO NOT GIVE UP!!!

girlwithcurls2 wrote: »

Another thought: think of it as science. When you do your weigh in, take emotion out of it. Get on the scale, get the number and before you react emotionally, tell yourself, "That's today's snapshot" or "That's my data point for today." No berating yourself. No being "good" or "bad" just a number in a looong line of numbers that provide information on any given day.

I told you I can't weigh myself daily, but it doesn't mean I'm not curious as heck some days (the good ones, usually!) to hop on just once and see progress. But I also know the emotion that is (unreasonably) attached to my weight, and it won't be helpful, even if I'm happy about the number. Same goes for days when my calories are over, even when they're over by a LOT. It's a data point. Every day has one. For the rest of your life. Aim for more days that are "on plan" than "off plan." And give yourself the time and grace to learn about the process, about yourself, about what works for you. You have to find something that will work moving forward. And you will

Endorsed.

One day's scale weight is just a momentary snapshot of my body's relationship with gravity. It's not a measure of my success at weight management, let alone of my value as a human being.

If I drink a cup of water, sweat, eat breakfast, use the bathroom, my weight changes . . . meaninglessly. Multi-week trends - patterns - are where the weight management meaning lies. Even then, it's just an input to strategy and decision making, something I can use to adjust the plans I'm using to aim at my goals, not an endpoint in and of itself.

Hang in there, keep going, keep learning, keep thinking and adjusting. You can succeed at this. It does take patience!

Best wishes!