The $@&#*! scale

Any dieter knows the scale can be a tool... or it can be the enemy.  If I'd consulted the scale as obsessively -- I mean, regularly -- as I have lately, I might not be in the state I'm in.  Best advice:  weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day; if your weight is up, diet and exercise until it is back down.  Losing a few pounds to maintain your weight sounds a lot easier than what I am trying to do.  And I'm not alone.  Many have done it, many are doing it, and many are thinking about doing it:  losing a large quantity of weight in less time than it took to gain it.  Other great advice:  set a goal to lose five pounds, achieve it, then set it again.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Etc.  The problem I'm experiencing is being stuck in the same five-pound range.  And I started two-a-days last week!  I am now walking about 5 miles a day:  2.5 as soon as I crawl out of bed, and 2.5 before I fall in.  I weigh myself when I wake up, after I use the bathroom, before my shower, after my shower, before I walk, before bed.  I want to lose the weight eating whole foods but I think it's time to start a Food Journal.  I must be eating too many calories.  It does feel like my stomach has shrunk because I feel full faster than before.  I eat a lot more fruits and vegetables now.  I have to trust that good things are happening inside my body that I can't see or that the scale doesn't reflect.  All this walking and healthy eating HAS TO be making a difference.  It just has to.  I walked with my neighbor Friday night (the same one I was with more than a month ago when I wanted to stop and cry about my knee pain).  She commented on my breathing and speed.  So I'm huffing & puffing less and hauling A$$.  Progress is what I have to focus on, not the results on the scale.  I have faith that I will begin to see results there, too.