Tell the truth. You’ve gotten on a scale just about every day while trying to lose weight. Maybe you were sweating profusely the night before at the gym and just knew that the scale would magically show that you’d lost a couple of pounds overnight.

It’s OK. You’re human. But I have to burst that bubble, because scale watching is detrimental to your progress.

Not seeing those numbers move as fast as you’d like them to can be very discouraging and discouragement leads to giving up.

First of all, what appears on the scale doesn’t always reflect what’s going on inside your body. You could be gaining muscle and losing fat — which is what you want to do. You’ll look more svelte and clothes would fit better, but the scale may not move as much as you expected. Who cares what the scale says as long as you’re starting to see some kind of results? I wouldn’t worry unless several weeks have gone by and you haven’t lost a pound.

Secondly, no matter how good of a regimen you follow, weight loss is still a waiting game. It might seem like it took a hot minute to put on the pounds, but it will take you much longer to get it off. There’s no way to get around putting in time and hard work.

Patience is key. So is consistency. The weight loss game gets old really fast. You just wonder when it will end. The truth is it will never end because when you reach your goal, you have to maintain the weight loss.

In the meantime, find strength in a support system, try new foods or find a new and interesting activity. You have no choice but to keep up the good fight so you may as well have fun while you wait.