Week 34 flat spot after steady loss — anyone else?

Similar wall around week 31. Waist kept shrinking while scale sat still for a month. Then dropped 3 lb in 10 days.

The 2539-person trial ran to week 72, so week 34 is right in the messy middle. I would not read too much into an 8-week pause.

Your glucose shift from 104 to 96 is the part I’d track. My scale stalls often, but fasting glucose moved first.

What did your measurements do during the flat stretch? My waist lagged by like 3 weeks behind the scale.

Week 28 here. Not a full stall, but loss went from 1.1 lb/week to 0.3. I started weighing food again and it broke after 12 days.

Kept a daily log going for 60 weeks — sleep, food, training, the usual stuff. The pattern was never linear. Three flats: weeks 18-22, 33-39, and 51-55. The middle one dragged the longest. What helped was comparing 4-week averages instead of weekly numbers. The 72-week study design is a useful frame because it normalizes a long runway, but individual charts still look like stair steps. If waist and glucose are still drifting down, the scale may just be catching up later.

I’m in the 33-39 flat camp too. Mine broke around week 41, but only after sleep improved. Could be coincidence.

Sleep is huge for me. Poor sleep weeks = scale goes nowhere, even when I’m eating the same.

Did you change training volume? I added two lifting days around week 30 and the scale froze for 6 weeks. Measurements moved though.

The trial arms were 5, 10, 15 mg, but the average curves hide individual stair-steps. I wish more people psoted 4-week rolling averages.

Week 36 here. The 4-week average idea is smart.

Week 31 here, and mine went flat for nine weeks — 197.6 down to 196.1 — then dropped 4.2 lbs in twelve days for no reason I could point to. The only thing that changed was sleep: I'd been running on 5.5 hours after a shift change, got back to about 7, and the whoosh landed roughly ten days later. Could be total coincidence. What saved my sanity was ditching daily scale numbers for a 14-day average plus the tape, because the average kept creeping down while every individual morning looked identical. 34 weeks and 19 lbs is about 0.55 lb/week overall, which is honestly normal this far in. If your waist is still shrinking, I'd let the scale be the last thing you trust.

The 72-week arms are averages, not a script — nobody loses 0.9 a week for 72 straight weeks.

Friday through Sunday was my entire problem and I didn't see it for months. Weekdays I was solidly in a deficit, then Friday night through Sunday I was basically at maintenance plus a bit — pizza, a couple beers, whatever. Averaged out, that wiped out most of my weekday deficit and explained why my loss slid from 0.8 lb/week to 0.2. I didn't cut anything out; I just started logging Saturday and Sunday like normal days and stopped treating the weekend as a separate food economy. Two things followed: the Sunday water spike stopped lingering until Wednesday, and the weekly average started moving again. Monday weigh-ins are useless for me, so my official one moved to Thursday. Worth a look at your Fri-Sun before you blame the flat spot itself.

Adding 3k steps at lunch did more for my flat spot than anything I changed in the kitchen. I was at about 4k a day, now 7-8k, no other changes, and the tape moved half an inch in three weeks while the scale just sat there. Not dramatic, but it killed the nothing-is-happening feeling, which was the part making me want to quit.

Eight weeks at 0.26 lb/week isn't really a flat spot, it's the new math. Twenty pounds down means your maintenance needs dropped roughly 100-150 cal/day, so the exact habits that bought you 0.9 a week now buy you about 0.3. Mine did the same around week 30, then hovered for a month. Nothing broke. Your waist and glucose are still moving, which the scale can't see.

The one that got me was portion drift, and I didn't notice because I stopped using the food scale around month four. When I pulled it back out, my "tablespoon" of olive oil was closer to 2.5, my oats were running 20g heavy, and the handful of nuts at night was an easy 250 calories. That's a 300 cal/day gap, which is almost exactly a 0.5 lb/week pace erased without feeling like I'd changed anything. I also started tracking a 14-day rolling average of my morning weight instead of single days, and the flat patches look way less flat that way. Worth weighing your normal breakfast once this week and seeing if it matches what you think it is.

Weeks 28 through 37 are a dead flat line on my chart, and in hindsight it was mostly sleep and sodium. I was in a horrible stretch at work, sleeping maybe 5.5 hours, up at 5:15, workouts gone, eating whatever was in front of me at 8pm. Scale sat at 181-183 for nine weeks. Then it went the wrong way: 1.8 lb up in ten days after a conference with two Thai takeout dinners and almost no walking. Very dramatic for someone who had been "stalled." What actually broke it was four days off, 8 hours of sleep, dropping the salty restaurant food, and by day five I was 2 lb below where the freeze started. Ended up 4.2 lb down over the next three weeks. I genuinely don't know how much was fat and how much was water and inflammation, but the nine-week flat broke without me overhauling what I ate overall. If I had to bet, the sleep debt did more damage than the calories. Compare your sleep hours the last two months to your first twenty weeks and see if anything jumps out.

Clothes have been way more honest than the scale through this stretch. I've been flat within 1.5 lb for nine weeks, but two pairs of jeans went from snug to needing a belt, and my 34s now sit at my hips instead of digging into my gut. I lift twice a week, so some of that is muscle and some is just fat leaving while water moves in. The blunt numbers: 2.5 inches off my navel, 1.5 off my hips, basically zero scale change. What's your waist done in these last eight weeks specifically? If it's still shrinking, the fat scale is doing more than it looks like. If it's frozen too, that's a different conversation.

Mine broke when I switched from daily weigh-ins to a Sunday-to-Thursday average — turns out weekends were adding roughly 1,800 calories I'd completely blanked on. Flat for 6 weeks, then 4.2 lb gone in 11 days once I cut the Friday chips-and-dip ritual. Unexpected part: I also slept like garbage those same 6 weeks, and my resting heart rate was up 4 bpm, so stress wasn't helping either.

34 weeks is genuinely impressive. The part people forget is that week 12 is where the drop-off tends to hit for most, near as anyone can tell.

Contrarian take: I'd hold steady before adding anything. At week 31 I piled on changes — longer gym sessions, fewer carbs, extra walks — and lost 0.4 lb over a month while feeling wrecked. Went back to three 25-minute walks plus my normal lifting and dropped 2.3 lb over the next three weeks. Sometimes the flat spot is your body catching up, not your plan failing.

The sleep thing is so annoying because it's free and I still don't do it.

I quit daily weigh-ins around week 30 and switched to logging a 7-day average instead — turns out my flat spot was half real and half noise. My day-to-day was swinging 2.5 lbs, so any random Tuesday looked like nothing was happening. Averaged out, I still lost about 0.4 lb/week through weeks 28-36. Slower than the first stretch, but nowhere near zero. Worth 10 minutes with a spreadsheet before you decide something needs changing.

At week 34, I’d look at whether those flat 8 weeks came with better gym numbers. Mine did: scale sat at 187–189 for ~9 weeks, but waist dropped another inch and I added reps on rows/presses. That’s not a stall, that’s recomp. What’s your lifting log showing? If strength is flat or climbing while waist and glucose keep improving, the scale is just lagging. If strength is dropping too, that’s a different conversation.

Flat spots around this stage seem really common here, and your waist and glucose wins are a big deal — that's not nothing happening. One thing that helped me when the scale stalled: I stopped comparing weekly pounds and started comparing monthly waist-to-height plus how a specific pair of jeans fit. I also tracked protein at breakfast and a 10-minute post-dinner walk, just to have data when the scale got boring. Question: has your appetite or portion size shifted during those 8 flat weeks? Mine crept up without me noticing. You're doing better than the scale makes it look.

Just my take, Week 34 is such a weird spot — you’re not “new” anymore, so the easy travel wins are gone. My flat stretch broke when I started tracking two travel-specific things: (1) steps in airports (I now walk terminals instead of parking at the gate) and (2) sodium-heavy restaurant meals, because hotel food makes me hold water like a camel. Also, did your 8 weeks include more flights than usual? Mine did, and the scale stalled while my belt kept loosening. If waist/glucose are still moving, I’d call that a win and keep your routine boring.

I had a similar 8-ish week flat stretch, and what broke it wasn’t any shortcut—it was a planned deload plus 2k extra steps. Scale dropped 1.8 lb over the next 10 days, but the bigger tell was waist and fasting glucose already trending down. I’d stopped chasing weekly loss and started logging waist at the same spot every Sunday, fasted, before food. Are you taking full rest days, or has the training load been nonstop? If it’s been nonstop, water/glycogen can hide fat loss for a while. Also, has your protein stayed consistent? That’s usually the first thing that slips when the scale stalls.

I had a similar 9-week flat around weeks 29–38: scale sat 184–186, but waist kept dropping and fasting glucose stayed in the low 90s. The one tracking number that actually moved was my weekly step average — it had fallen from ~10.5k to ~6.8k when my commute changed. I didn’t change meals much, just got steps back near 10k and the scale started moving again after about 10 days. Did your flat 8 weeks line up with any step or activity dip, or were those pretty stable?

I had a similar lull around then, and the sneaky thing was kid leftovers. I was finishing their crusts and cheese sticks while packing lunches — maybe 200–300 extra cals I never logged. I put a sticky note on the fridge: “not my plate,” and moved my snack-drawer stuff (cut peppers, string cheese, popcorn) where I actually see it. Took about 3 weeks, but the scale finally dipped. Worth asking: are you eating more standing-up bites than you were 8 weeks ago? That was my whole flat spot.

One thing I’d check: after ~20 lb down, your maintenance calories are probably 150–250 lower just from moving less mass. If portions and step count stayed the same, the deficit shrank even with identical adherence. Not saying that explains the whole 8 weeks, but it can make a flat spot feel mysterious. In the trials, the average curves hide a lot of individual stair-steps anyway. Have you recalculated your maintenance estimate or compared current average steps to week 20? That’s where I’d look first.

Not the same timing, but my longest plateau was about 7 weeks and it was mostly portion creep — bites while cooking, a heavier hand with oils, and weekends drifting. I logged 3 regular weekdays and 1 weekend day honestly, no judgment, and the hidden extras were obvious. Sleep was my other tell: under 6 hours and the scale would sit still even when I was consistent. Have you tracked a typical weekend lately, or has sleep changed? Your 34-week consistency is genuinely impressive, even if the scale is being stingy.

tbh one thing i’d check: late-night grazing during gaming. my scale did a 6-week stall around the same point, but my “snack calories” had crept up because i was staying up later and grabbing stuff between matches. started logging just the after-10pm eats and swapping to sparkling water + pickles/gum. scale finally moved after ~3 weeks. are you tracking the late-night stuff separately? sometimes the weekly average hides it until you isolate it.

Honestly, Mechanism-minded guess: after ~19 lb down, your maintenance is lower. I hit the same thing around week 30 — my old intake had quietly become near-maintenance, and my daily steps had dropped by ~2k without me noticing. I weighed/tracked for 10 days and added a post-dinner walk; the flat spot broke after about 3 weeks, slowly. In the trials the average curve bends rather than rises in a straight line, so 8 flat weeks isn't automatically failure. Sharp q: have your average steps or weekend calories drifted since week 20?

I’m a birth doula, so my weeks are on-call chaos. A 7-week stall wasn’t calories for me; it was 5.5 hrs of broken sleep and salt at 3am. I’d eat a “dinner” at 0400 and weigh whenever. Now: same weekly weigh-in after sleep/bathroom, meals before midnight, 15-min walk before bed. Scale held, then 2.6 lb gone in five days. How are your sleep and weigh-in timing looking at 8 weeks?

Three kids, and I'm the house garbage disposal — nobody finishes anything here. Around week 34 I started logging the bites that never reach a plate: half a cold quesadilla, crusts, the last two forkfuls of mac, spoon licks while I'm stirring. 300–500 calories before dinner, easy, and I wasn't hungry for any of it. Swapped it for one real mini-snack at 3 and gum while I'm at the stove instead of grazing, and the trend finally broke. Waist went first, scale just took its time. Anyone else tracking the no-plate bites? Sneaky as hell when you're the one cleaning up after everybody.

I had a similar 8-week flat stretch around a 20-lb loss. Switching from daily weigh-ins to a 7-day median plus monthly waist photos helped me stop panic-tweaking. Scale barely moved, but waist kept shrinking and my lifts trended up, so it was recomp plus glycogen/water noise. Sharp question: are your 4x/week lifts still progressing, or have those stalled too? If lifts are holding or adding reps while your waist drops, I’d keep protein/sleep steady and judge the next 2 weeks, not the next 2 days. If lifts and measurements both go flat for 6+ weeks, then I’d reassess intake and daily activity.

I’d push back on calling it a true stall. I track a 28-day rolling weight average, not weekly points. At a similar point—~19 lb down—my scale sat within 1.2 lb for 7 weeks, but the rolling slope was still -0.16 lb/wk and waist fell another 0.75 in. What’s your 28-day slope right now versus week 26? Also, are you measuring waist at the same time/spot? If that slope is still negative, you’re likely recomposing while water/glycogen masks the scale. My flat spots almost always broke when I compared like-for-like conditions, not by changing anything drastic.

night shifter here. My flat patches always tracked with bad sleep and salty grab-and-go food, not fat loss stopping. Scale didn’t move for 6 weeks once; waist did. What worked for me was weighing right after waking, same clothes, and a monthly tape measure. Also checked whether I was actually drinking water versus just coffee. Did your flat start when your shift rotation or sleep changed? If yes, I’d look there before panicking at week 34. Slow progress is still progress.

My scale sat flat for 9 weeks around week 30, then dropped 2.4 lb in six days. What I noticed: my waist kept creeping down even when weight didn’t, and sleep/lifting volume changed how puffy I looked. I track a 7-day waist average and fasting glucose, and I let the scale be the lagging indicator. Not saying that’s your case, but it kept me from overreacting. Did your waist keep shrinking during those 8 weeks, or did it flatten too? That’s the piece I’d want to know before changing anything.

Travel weeks are my weird ones too. I stopped trying to rad the scale after a red-eye or hotel-breakfast weekend — it’s always up 2–3 lb of sodium/water

One thing I’d track alongside weight: step count and lifting sessions. My 9-week flat around 30 lb down lined up with steps dropping from ~8k to ~5k and skipping resistance work, while calories looked about the same. Adding two 20-min walks and one full-body session didn’t move the scale for ~3 weeks, then it dropped 3 lb over 10 days. Also, those 72-week curves are group averages—they can look smooth while plenty of individuals plateau. Did your waist keep shrinking during those 8 weeks? If yes, that feels like useful context.

I had a 7-week plateau around 22 lb down. What broke it was actually weighing oils, nuts, and yogurt for a week—I’d been eyeballing and it was an easy 150–200 cal/day creep. Not saying that’s you, but it was mine. My waist kept shrinking while the scale sat, which messed with my head. Did your steps or protein drift around the same time? That’s the first thing I’d poke at.

Not a flat-spot expert, but the thing that got me unstuck around week 31 was recalculating my maintenance. I’d lost ~23 lb and was still eating for my old body weight. I dropped my daily target by ~120 cal, mostly cooking oil and creamer, kept protein/water the same. Scale did nothing for 10 days, then down 1.6 lb, then another 1.1 over two weeks. Also started logging monthly waist and a pair of jeans, because the scale lied during that stretch. Have you rerun your calorie/activity numbers since the first 20 weeks? That was my missing piece.

Your waist and fasting glucose moving while the scale is flat is the tell. I had a 7-week scale plateau around week 28: same 2-ish lb range, but down 2 inches in hips and my resting HR dropped 4 bpm. What broke it wasn’t a med change — it was realizing my NEAT tanked (steps 8.5k → 4k) and I was under-logging oils/night snacks. Once I tracked steps + weighed oils for 2 weeks, the scale started moving again. Curious: have your daily steps or weekend eating shifted in those 8 weeks? That’s the first place I’d compare numbers.

Week 30-ish, similar shape. Mine went flat for six weeks while my waist kept dropping about a quarter inch a week, which told me the scale was just lagging behind whatever was remodeling. The thing that actually moved it again wasn't eating less — it was adding 20 minutes of walking after dinner, mostly because it kept me from grazing from 8 to 10pm. Have you looked at your weekly average vs. daily weights? Mine hides a lot of noise until I zoom out.