I've been at it for about a month, my fitness level is going up. The gym is become a fun thing to do. I spend 60-70 minutes there 5 days per week. I'm eating more healthy than I have in my entire life, I'm creating a calorie deficit. And yet the scale isn't only not budging. It's going UP!
I lost 12 pounds in the first week, hit an early plateau, that went on for three weeks, and then the past week, every day the scale has been up 2 or more pounds. I'm higher than my start weight right now. And it's not muscle, my brother tried to convince me it's a muscle gain, but it's not because muscle's smaller than fat, and my clothes are getting too tight, tighter than they were before I started. Nowhere near my monthly problems, so it's not water retention.
What is happening to me?
I don't get it, I'm seriously so depressed right now, I've got so much to do, but I just want to curl up in a little ball and die because of how depressed this makes me.
What am I doing wrong?

I don't know! That sucks! Someone smarter than me will be along shortly.

Based on what you're saying ... you're not in a deficit ... or you're doing some massive water retention/bloating.

I am so sorry, that sucks!!!

Are you tracking every single thing that goes in your mouth as well as measuring and/or weighing??? Do you eat back exercise calories??

Can I ask how many calories you are eating and can I ask your stats? Maybe I can help figure something out?

Maybe see a doctor, make sure you're okay, bloodwork and etc? Just a thought.

Amandie-
Sure....for instance, today, I ate about 1300 calories. Then at the gym, according to a website (I know better than to trust the machines) I burned about 1400 calories. Plus a mile walk I went on with a roommate, I'm also a teacher, so my job involves constant standing and walking around. My classroom is also the farthest room from the doors the kids use (the teacher across the hall from me once measured how far we walk just picking up and dropping off our kids for before/after school and recesses and it's 2 miles, not to mention the 10 other times per day we make the walk to those doors to talk to the office, make copies, use the bathroom...etc.)

I've considered going to a doctor, but they seriously scare me. I've always felt judged by them because of my weight.

I suggest you would stop exercising and go to the doctor for a full cardiac check up. Just to be safe. Cardiac issues can cause the scale to rise and keep rising.

1400 calories burned? Wow!! That is a lot. What do you do? You sound very active and I frankly think you are going a bit low. I can't say that you eating too low is causing this and eating 1600+ will help you start losing again. I used a calculator online with your stats (going by what I've found from your posts) and it comes up around 1600 and that's with little to no exercise.

It is puzzling that you are still not losing at 1300. Something isn't right. I understand feeling like you are judged but most of the doctors are there to help you. I wish I knew what was going on with you to help you.

Can you give an example of what a typical daily menu is like for you?

Are you measuring every bite lick and portion? I have to measure EVERYTHING and put it into my lose it phone app to make sure I stay at a deficit. I can easily over estimate my portions otherwise.

I would start around 1700-1800 for your weight and gradually decrease as you lose. Drink a ton of water...a ton....especially if you are highly active!

Good luck!

If I understand your post correctly: Your start weight was 212, and you lost 12 pounds in the first week, then nothing for the next three weeks. Then in the past week, you have gained 2 pounds PER DAY (?) to be over your start weight of 212. Gaining over 12 pounds in 1 week sounds like a serious health issue that you should see a doctor about, in my opinion.

Seriously go to the doctor. Don't mess around with this. Not saying this to scare you but heart failure causes symptoms like this and you need to get yourself a full cardiac check up with echocardiogram and stress test. Hopefully it is nothing, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Go to the Doctor to check! Also sounds like you may have gone from not much exercise to an extreme program. Always good to check with the doctor to make sure what you are doing is okay health wise.

I also think you should get checked out by your doctor and get some guidance on your weight loss plan.

You burned 1400 calories at the gym? So your heart rate was elevated for what ... 90 minutes? I'm not saying you're lying but that is a lot of calories to burn at the gym when you only weigh 200 lbs.

You should certainly go see a doctor and you should expect them to be skeptical because frankly it makes no sense.

Maybe you're sleepwalking and eating at night. Hey, stranger things have happened.

1400 calories burned in Gym sounds way over the top really. When i was jogging i was running for about 1 hour a day (sometimes more) and i never burned more than 500 -600 calories per run. It is VERY difficult to burn so much. Maybe the program you are using that is telling you how much you are burning is not correct and is misleading you. That way maybe causing you to eat 'more' than you should based on the fact that you 'thought' you burned so much. That in turn will actually cause you to gain weight.

Makes sense?......

PS: In my jogging days i had a (don't know how it is called so i will describe it), machine that i used to put around my chest. It had three different sensors that tracked down my heart rate and gave the results on a watch i wore on my hand, that also gave out a high alert when my heart rate went above 170. At the end it calculated calories burned according to my heart rate during my jogging time (or my yoga or my tae bo - when i was doing them).......they were pretty accurate measurements. Maybe you should buy something like that.