Hello Charisma,
It is soul destroying when you feel you arent getting anywhere but I am sure you are and maybe you are expecting too much of yourself and it could even be that you are not eating enough - yes you did read that right?
I was told once by a slimming consultant that you have to eat a certain amount of calories in order to lose weight and if you go under the recommended calorie allowance your body will slow its metabolic rate down as it suspects there is a famine going on and therefore, believe it or not if you dont eat enough of the right foods at the right time you will NOT lose weight! Your body is very clever and if enough food isn't being consumed it will slow it's metabolic rate down in order to conserve its fat cells to cope with the feared 'famine' and as a result weight loss will be marginal. I think my explanation is correct but if not, then hopefully someone with more knowledge will explain it better?
I don't know if this could apply in your case but I know in my crazy past I have literally thought that if I starved myself I would lose stones in record time but of course I didn't and I certainly couldn't keep such bizarre and extreme eating habits up and then when I did finally give in to my hunger pangs I would eat like there was no tomorrow!
Please just keep on persevering and please do NOT get on them flipping scales as truly that is the most demoralising thing you can do. It's great if they show a loss but if for any reason, they show you have stayed the same or for some reason have had a slight gain then it could like it does with me, spell disaster with a capital D and I become totally despondent. To be honest I hate having a set of weighing scales at home as like you, I tend to jump on every day when trying to lose weight and that is not a good idea for many reasons!
Why not do as I have done and get rid of the scales and that way you cannot be tempted to step on every morning? I go down to Boots the chemist to get weighed there now and their machines are really hi tech and if you purchase a card (looks like a credit card) for your first weigh-in it will then store all your details in its memory chip and each time you get weighed it will show you what you have lost since the last time and keep a record of your progress etc.
I used to get on my bathroom scales every day when I owned a set and if it didn't show a loss or worse still it showed a slight gain I would be depressed for the rest of the day telling myself "what's the point of trying, it obviously isn't working" and then I would probably have a blow out and end up pounds heavier and totally consumed with guilt and shame!
One thing's for sure Charisma if you do become dissillusioned and give up you will put even more weight on and you don't want that do you, so please do try to stay positive and focused and you will get there in the end? If you persevere you will in time find the weight does come off and don't put pressure on yourself to lose vast amounts in record time. Half a pound a week is a loss and no matter how small, every ounce lost counts and you would be suprised how it all adds up? I think if I were you I would ditch the flipping scales and go down to Boots, get a starting weight and then not get weighed again for a whole month and fingers crossed, by that time, you will have given your body a good chance to adapt to all the changes etc and by then you will find the scales show a loss and you will return home motivated and full of inspiration!
I think losing weight is such a complex and individual issue and we all have to find all those little ways that work for us and keep us on track and if I have learnt anything over the years whilst battling with my own weight, it is that I know myself better than anybody else and the further away I am from a set of bathroom scales the better! No-one would suggest putting an alchoholic in a room with a bottle of Vodka so don't put me in a room with a set of scales cos, if you do I will just have to jump on!
Keep determined and please DO NOT GIVE UP!
Sue