I am new to fitness pal and I am hoping the calorie counter and community will keep me on track. I am 32 years old and mother to a 14 year old son and 3 year old daughter. Even after gaining 75 pounds with each pregnancy, I was able to return to my pre pregnancy weight. I am very active and "try" to watch what I eat, but my job (I am a horse vet) and my family's schedule sometimes makes it very difficult to stick to healthy meals. A few weeks ago, I felt like I was eating perfectly and I lost ZERO pounds. It frustrated me to the point of almost completely quitting. Usually I have no problem staying at a healthy weight but the scale is going in the wrong direction. It stinks

Heather : Ive heard it is common and normal to gain a few pounds when you start a new exercising programm. (Someone once explained me it's something about your muscles retaining water, as a reaction to the "new stress" they suffer...) The good news is the water will go away in a few weeks as your muscles get used to the exercises. And then, you will definately see the results on the scale!

So dont worry and keep on the good work!

You don't want to lose more than 1-2 pounds a week. Otherwise what you are most likely losing is water and that isn't true weight loss.
Muscle weighs more than fat so at first you may gain weight while you are turning your fat into muscle. It will balance out.
Don't worry I just started this week and I have gained 2 pounds - I am eating healthy and working out but the scale is going in the wrong direction.
Do two things -first take a photo of yourself to go by and second take measurements of your arms, hips, waist and thighs. This is a much better judge of how you are doing than the scale.