How do you combat DIScouragement?

First you need to understand what is really happening regarding your weight (whenever I share this with anybody they say I know that already which they clearly do not, it is not in any book about dieting or any of the experts say it but when you read it it makes sense).
You did not lose 15 lbs in 3 weeks that would take some very serious life style changes; each pound of body fat equates to about 3,500 calories, that's a shortfall of 500 per day for a week. Achievable yes maybe 1,000 a day for a week 1,500 you are really pushing it and that would give you a weight loss of 6-9 pounds in 3 weeks.
So why did it look like a loss of 15 pounds? There are 3 things that make a significant impact on what your scales indicate when you step on them:

1. Actual body weight. (Fat, muscle, bones, etc)
2. The contents of your gut.
3. Level of hydration.

So back to the 15 pounds you probably lost 6 pounds, maybe dehydrated a couple of pounds, and the rest would be you evacuating some of the contents of your gut (taking a crap and not replacing what is in there because you are dieting). At any point in time you can rehydrate +2 pounds (in this example) and start replacing the contents of your gut but you are not putting fat back on. There may also be a very slight increase in muscle mass if you have started exercising but this should not be significant.

You are achieving what you want to it is just being disguised by the factors I have shared.
How do I know? All my life goddamit I have been trying to lose weight and looking at every possible thing that would affect it. In my avatar I probably weighed about 11.8 which puts me bang in the middle of 'overweight' for my height.

Hang in there Klt3sHottie. I struggled with my weight my whole adult life.

A couple years back I decided I needed to seriously do something about it, because I was obese and am a type 2 diabetic. If I didn't do a course correction, I know that I would be facing consequences for my bad health choices.
I joined Weight Watch
ers, I really liked having an app that allowed me to scan food labels. I have a certain amount of points to stay within each day and week. I began working every day. It worked for me.
As long as I stuck to the plan and didn't "cheat", like eat stuff and not record it or eat bigger portions and not take it into account, I pretty consistently lost weight. I got to my goal weight, now it is a struggle to maintain where I was at. I've gained back about 10 pounds, but lose some, gain some.

One of the books I read while losing weight was The Shift: 7 Powerful Mindset Changes for Lasting Weight Loss by Gary Foster. It actually had less to do with diet and exercise and more about how we perceive ourselves in our journey to live a health life. I'd recommend it, you can get it on Amazon.

You can do this. Best wishes.

[@kit3shottie] 🤫 well i retired before christmas and with christmas itself i piled on the weight so i decided i need too lose weight badly . it takes will power determination and courage as it does not happen over night . but if you have the guts too follow thorough your diet you will see it pay dividends do not give up it takes time and patience before you see real results

You are losing weight and exercising your body is going to naturally over compensate for the lost calories and you'll eat more even if you aren't consciously doing it. 15 - 6 = 9 lost lbs and you have more experience exercising so you'll start burning even more calories during your workouts and you'll lose more weight at faster and faster intervals don't give up you are doing all the right things it just takes time before you'll see the results.

Are your targets realistic? Losing 9lbs seems a pretty impressive achievement and you should be proud of your discipline. Did you feel healthier in yourself for it?

When I was younger my health issues were to do with having to put on weight. I was ultimately successful, but I made myself quite ill at times by focusing exclusively on weight.

Also expectations plays a part next to the physical work