Dr Nick Fuller
Leading Obesity Expert at the University of Sydney and founder of Interval Weight Loss.
It’s not just frustration or lack of motivation. Studies have shown that the body actively resists weight loss. After losing weight, levels of appetite-stimulating hormones like ghrelin increase, while metabolism slows, making it biologically harder to keep going. Add stress, disrupted routines, and unrealistic expectations, and it’s no surprise that many people hit a wall.
This doesn’t mean your efforts are wasted. It means the game is different from what most diets tell you, and knowing what to do when you feel like giving up on weight loss can help you reset, refocus, and keep moving forward with strategies that work.
Even with the best intentions, there comes a point when motivation starts to wane. Maybe the scale hasn’t budged in weeks, or old habits are creeping back in. These moments aren’t signs of failure; they’re part of the process. Here are four key reasons why you might feel like giving up on weight loss.
Weight loss rarely follows a straight line. Even when you're doing ‘everything right’, the scale can stall, and it’s frustrating. But this plateau isn’t always a sign of failure. As weight drops, your body needs fewer calories to maintain itself, and your metabolism adapts. That means the same efforts that initially worked may no longer lead to visible progress.
Research shows that as body mass decreases, resting energy expenditure also drops, and in some cases, more than expected for the amount of weight lost. This is known as ‘adaptive thermogenesis’, and it makes further weight loss even harder.
Still, the scale isn’t the only sign of progress. Check out our article on Signs You're Losing Fat Not Muscle to spot real changes that don’t show up in your weight.
Stress isn’t just a feeling. It can drive real physiological changes that affect your eating behaviour. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, has been linked to increased cravings for high-fat, high-sugar foods. And when you're constantly battling exhaustion, overwhelm, or low mood, food can become a coping mechanism, not just fuel.
Studies show that psychological stress and negative affect can trigger overeating episodes, especially in individuals practising restrained eating or actively trying to lose weight. So if you’ve fallen ‘off track’, it’s not because you’re weak. It’s because your brain is wired for survival, not six-pack abs.
Want to understand this better? Read our article Can Emotional Eating Affect Weight Loss? to learn how your body responds to stress and what you can do about it.
Repeating the same meals. Logging every snack. Walking the same loop every day. It’s no surprise motivation wanes. Dieting can become monotonous, and social media doesn’t help. Seeing others ‘succeed’ can make you feel like your progress isn’t enough.
But weight loss isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey. Genetics, sleep, stress levels, and even gut microbiota, though findings are mixed, can all influence how each person responds to the same changes. Comparing your journey to someone else’s curated highlight reel isn’t just unfair but scientifically flawed.
Many people start weight loss with a rigid plan, like no carbs, only salads, 5am workouts, and quickly burn out. This ‘all or nothing mentality isn’t sustainable, and worse, it can backfire.
When you restrict too much, your body activates biological responses to increase hunger and reduce energy output. At the same time, mental fatigue builds from constantly having to say ‘no’. One study found that more rigid forms of dietary restraint were linked to greater disinhibition and patterns associated with disordered eating.
Setbacks are part of the process. After all, life doesn’t stop just because you’re trying to lose weight. The important thing isn’t avoiding every slip but knowing how to reset without starting over. Here's how to move forward, even when progress feels slow or messy.
Don’t wait for motivation to show up. It usually follows action, not the other way around. Start with something doable today, not perfect, just doable. ‘Small wins’ can boost confidence and kickstart progress by giving you a sense of control again.
‘Lose 10kg is not a plan. ‘Make a packed lunch three times this week’ is. Short-term, actionable goals help shift your focus from results to behaviour, which is where real change happens.
Breaking goals into smaller steps improves success rates and consistency. According to a study, people performed best when they combined short-term (proximal) outcome goals with a larger long-term goal, doing even better than those who simply aimed to ‘do their best’ or focused only on the end result.
Instead of blaming yourself, pause and ask: What got in the way? Work deadlines? Poor sleep? Weekend binge? Self-awareness strengthens your ability to self-regulate, which is a critical skill when recovering from a setback.
Willpower runs out fast when you’re tired, stressed, or hungry. Prepping meals or pencilling in a walk removes decision fatigue. A study shows that implementation intentions, such as specific plans like ‘I’ll walk after lunch at 1pm’, significantly increase follow-through.
Trying to fix everything at once rarely works. Research shows that building one habit at a time, through consistent repetition in the same context, increases automaticity and leads to long-term behaviour change.
If exercise is only about ‘making up’ for what you ate, it becomes punishment. But movement that helps you feel better, like walk, dance, stretch, lift, creates positive reinforcement. Physical activity improves mood, lowers stress, and helps rebuild routine, even if weight doesn’t change immediately.
Weight loss goals that are driven by identity (‘I want to feel strong’) rather than outcome (‘I want to weigh X’) are more sustainable. Dig into the deeper reason. What are you actually hoping to feel, be, or do? Studies on intrinsic motivation show this matters more than you think.
That doesn’t mean signing up to a challenge group or telling everyone you’re ‘starting over’. Real support is about accountability, compassion, and sometimes just having someone listen. Social support has a measurable impact on adherence and long-term weight management.[?]
Progress won’t be linear, and that’s okay. The data is clear: slow, flexible, sustainable changes lead to better long-term outcomes than rigid restriction or aggressive dieting. The trick isn’t staying perfect. It’s getting good at restarting, over and over, without shame.
If your body feels like it’s hitting the brakes, it might be reacting to past dieting. Our article on how to fix a damaged metabolism after dieting explains how to support your metabolism as you rebuild healthy habits.
If you’ve hit a wall with weight loss, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means your body, mind, and life are pushing back against an unrealistic system.
What doesn’t work? Guilt. All-or-nothing plans. Starting over from zero. What does? One small win. One shift in habit. One honest reset without the pressure to be perfect.
Progress isn’t erased when you fall off track. It’s built when you learn how to keep going, step by step. So when you feel like giving up, don’t. Pause, reset, and take the next smallest step forward. That’s where lasting change begins.
The Interval Weight Loss program helps you do exactly that with a structured, science-based system designed to work with your body, not against it. Ready to stop starting over? Let this program guide your next step.
Dr Nick Fuller is the founder of Interval Weight Loss and is a leading obesity expert at the University of Sydney with a Ph.D. in Obesity Treatment. Dr Fuller is also the author of three best-selling books and his work been published in top ranked journals in the medical field, including JAMA, Lancet and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.