Week 36 stall: labs still improving, anyone else?

Plateaus are normal. I stalled weeks 29-35 then lost 6 lbs over the next month. Labs kept moving.

Your A1c drop is bigger than mine. My labs went 5.9 to 5.5 between baseline and the 24-week draw, but the weight loss side was slower going.

Did you change anything during the stall, like protein or steps? My scale froze when I stopped lifting.

Eight weeks is long enough to look for non-scale wins. Waist? Sleep? Resting HR?

NCT04184622 ran to week 72, so 36 weeks is only halfway in trial terms. That helps me not panic.

I was in a similar spot around week 32. Weight stayed 201-203 for six weeks, but fasting glucose went from 104 to 92 and triglycerides from 180 to 121. My clinician was less worried about the plateau and more interested in the metabolic markers. What finally broke it for me was a two-week focus on sleep and hitting 130g protein, not a dose change. Not saying that works for everyone, just what I noticed.

Sleep is underrated. My stall lined up with a terrible work month.

Sleep and protein come up constantly in these threads and they do seem to genuinely matter. The part people forget is that a prescribed dose change can feel like a restart — everything comes back with a jolt, and the side effects can get rough along with it.

What were your triglycerides? Mine dropped fast before weight moved much.

My A1c bareyl moved, but I'm not diabetic. Weight is the main marker for me.

The trial design point is interesting. The 72-week window matters because lots of people quit at 12 weeks and call it a stall. The typical pattern: 41 weeks of tracking, 51 lbs down, but the last 10 took 14 weeks. Labs tend to flip first — LDL 156 to 118 around week 20, weight follows later. And the part people forget when they're staring at a morning number: a 4-week average beats daily weigh-ins, since sleep and sodium alone can swing it. If glucose is down and waist is down, the scale can hide progress.

Thanks for hte 4-week average idea. I've been weighing daily and driving myself nuts.

I ditched the daily weigh-ins around month 8 and started measuring my waist every two weeks instead. During my longest flat stretch the scale sat on the same number for about nine weeks while my waist dropped 2.5 inches and my shirts got looser in the shoulders. I also take one photo in the same t-shirt on the 1st of each month, and lining those up killed most of the "nothing is happening" feeling. Are you tracking anything besides the number on the scale right now?

For me the culprit was sleep, and I only caught it because of a dumb two-month stretch where I was getting 5.5 hours a night thanks to a work deadline. Scale didn't budge for about 11 weeks. Then I went on a long weekend trip, slept 9 hours both nights, ate way more than usual, walked a ton, and came home up 2 lbs of water that vanished in four days and took a real 3 lbs with it over the next week and a half. I'm not saying go on vacation, but when I started actually protecting 7+ hours, things started moving again around week 38. Stress and short sleep can mask a lot of progress, and my labs were doing the same thing yours are while the scale played dead.

Your glucose and LDL doing that at week 36 is the real headline. The scale is just late to the party.

My version of this is jeans math. I went from a tight 16 to a 12 over a stretch where my weight honestly didn't move much, and I only noticed because I grabbed the wrong pair out of the closet and they zipped. Now I keep one pair of "goal jeans" and try them on every two weeks instead of weighing daily. Sizes change slower and weirder than the scale, but they're way less noisy. What are your clothes telling you lately?

Six weeks into a stall around week 30, I did something I'd been avoiding: I logged my weekends honestly for 14 days. Weekdays I was tight, like 1,600 calories, protein and everything. Weekends were "not tracked" which translated to Friday dinner out, a couple drinks, Saturday brunch, Sunday takeout. When I actually added it up my Fri-Sun averaged 3,100 a day. My real weekly average was closer to 2,200, not the 1,700 I'd been patting myself on the back about, and that's roughly a wash against what I was burning. The reversal was what fixed it though: I didn't cut food overall. I ate a slightly bigger dinner on weekdays and added an afternoon snack, and I capped weekends at one restaurant meal with no alcohol Friday. Weekly average only came down maybe 200 calories a day, but the scale moved 5 lbs in three weeks after sitting still for three months. Monday mornings I was also four pounds heavier than Friday mornings every single week from restaurant sodium, which made the stall look worse than it was. Worth two weeks of honest weekend logging before you assume anything else.

I was at 4k steps a day and basically called that active. Added 25 minutes walking after dinner six nights a week, plus one 45 minute loop on Saturdays, changed nothing about food. Weeks one through three the scale didn't move at all, which nearly made me quit, then it dropped 6 lbs over the next four weeks and kept going. I think the first few weeks the new activity just masked it with inflammation and water. If you're already walking a lot, ignore me, but if your step count is low that's the cheapest lever I've found.

What's your protein sitting at these days? I only ask because mine quietly slid from about 120g to 80g during my longest stall and I didn't notice until I logged it for a week. Bumping it back up at breakfast changed how the rest of my day went, snacks got easier to skip.

Mine sat flat for nine weeks then dumped 4 lbs in six days. Scales are dramatic, not broken.

Waistband is the tell for me: scale sat at 201 for seven weeks but I dropped from a 38 to a 36 and had to punch a new hole in my belt. Weirdly my labs also looked better while weight froze, which made me think the body was remodeling before it let go. Are you tracking waist or just the scale? If you are only weighing, you might be missing the actual progress.

My stall had nothing to do with weekdays — Monday through Friday I was basically a monk, then Friday night chips and two beers, Saturday takeout, Sunday brunch turned into a 3-lb sodium bloat by Monday. Took me ages to see it because Wednesday it would whoosh off and I'd call it water. I finally tracked weekends separately for a month and the scale moved 2.4 lbs in 11 days just by swapping the two restaurant meals for stuff I actually measured at home. Labs can keep improving while the scale yoyos on salt and alcohol, which is annoying but also kind of freeing. If your weekdays are tight, maybe zoom in on Friday 5pm to Sunday 8pm before you decide week 36 is a real plateau.

My scale only moves after a boring 8-hour sleep. Anything under 6 and I’m bloated for two days.

Week 36 is still early in the grand scheme. From what I've seen and read, the second real drop doesn't usually show up until almost week 50 — the first one gets all the attention and then everything just sits there for months.

Labs are leading indicators; scale is just a noisy lagging metric. Concrete check: did your waist or waist-to-height move during those 8 flat weeks? At my own plateau, scale didn’t budge but belt notch went down one and resting HR dropped 4 bpm. Also audit NEAT — after 38 lbs down, daily movement gets cheaper, so your old step count may now be maintenance. What are you tracking besides weight?

congrats on the labs — that’s your body healing even if the scale is being stubborn. I had a similar stretch where the scale sat for ~10 weeks but my waist tape dropped 2 inches and my rings got loose. I started tracking waist, hips, and a monthly photo in the same clothes. It kept me sane and showed the scale was just lagging. I also noticed my weight tends to whoosh after a few higher-step weekends, not just from deficit math. Are your measurements or how clothes fit changing at all? If yes, that might be your win while the labs catch up.

Not a doc, but if the scale is flat while A1c/LDL/glucose are dropping, I’d check tape and gym numbers before panicking. I stalled ~9 weeks around month 8: waist down 1.5", protein ~1g/lb, lifting 4x/week, sleep 7.5+. Scale didn’t move because I was clearly recomping. Are you tracking waist, photos, and main lifts? If those are trending, week 36 is just a data point. If waist and lifts are also flat for 8 weeks, then audit calories/NEAT rather than wait it out.

same-ish stretch for me around there, but the scale was lying. i started measuring waist/neck every sunday, same light, and it kept creeping down even when the number was flat. what actually changed things was my late-night raid snack: i was basically inhaling nuts and cheese while gaming, swapped to frozen grapes + a big iced herbal tea, and about 10 days later the scale finally moved. labs improving while weight stalls still sounds like stuff is happening under the hood. did your waist or energy change at all during those 8 weeks?

My 7-week stall had a really dumb culprit: I decorate cakes at a supermarket bakery, so there's always a leveled-off cake top, a swipe of buttercream out of the bowl, a cookie that broke and can't go in the case. I told myself it was quality control. More like 250-300 cal a day, and none of it ever hit my log. I started writing those bites down, or spitting them in the sink like a weirdo, and the scale finally broke loose. Weird part is my waist kept shrinking while the number sat there. Did your measurements or the way clothes fit budge over those 8 weeks? Labs trending the right way is a big deal on its own - your body's clearly doing things the scale can't show you.

Sound-board guy at a tiny comedy club, plus weekend dog walks. Month 8 and my scale pulled the same freeze-dance. Belt went in two notches anyway, and I quit needing a breather hauling the amp up the back stairs. Found it because I wrapped a guitar cable around my waist and marked it—then compared marks to my phone. Protein on a budget: tuna pouches, Greek yogurt, gas-station hard-boiled eggs, clearance rotisserie chicken. You measuring waist/arms or just how stuff fits? If labs are moving, something’s happening even when the scale acts like a diva. What’s your sodium/carb timing before weigh-ins?

Yep, I remember a thread last fall about the “week 30–40 lab plateau”—several of us had flat scales while A1c/BP kept sliding. For me the missing variable was steps: I’d gotten so used to the lower weight that my daily movement had quietly dropped by ~2k, and protein slipped too. Added a 15-min walk after lunch and a protein-heavy breakfast (eggs/cottage cheese), no other changes. Scale didn’t budge for ~3 weeks, then dropped 3 lbs over a week. Not saying that’s you, but what do your current steps/protein look like vs week 20? Sometimes the body’s remodeling before the scale catches up.

one thing I didn’t see mentioned: my long flat stretch lined up with a heavier strength routine and way more salty dinners. I tracked sodium for a week and was shocked—most days were 4–5g. Scale didn’t budge for six weeks, then dropped 2.5 lbs over a few days after a deload and less restaurant food. Labs kept improving the whole time. Could water/inflammation be masking things for you too? Have you noticed any change in training soreness, sleep, or salt lately?

Not a clinician, but if A1c/glucose/LDL are still moving while weight is flat, I’d zoom out: tape measure, waist:height, progress photos. My 8-week flatline at month 7 had zero scale change but waist down 2.5 in and same labs trending. Scale is a noisy proxy; visceral fat and hepatic insulin sensitivity can improve before mass drops. Are you tracking waist or body comp? That’s the data I’d want before calling it a true stall.

Week 36 is such a mind-bender. I’m a daily weigher too, but during my 10-week flat I started logging waist at navel and upper thigh every Sunday. Scale: stuck at 181–183. Waist: down 1.25". Resting HR dropped 4 bpm. My 7-day average was flat as a board, but the tape and HR kept drifting down, which kept me sane. Labs moving while the scale doesn’t sounds like your body is remodeling, not stalling. What are you tracking besides the scale? If it’s just weight, maybe add a weekly tape measure or progress photo—it gave me something to watch when the scale went mute.

Curious if you’re tracking waist/hip or body fat %, not just scale and labs. I had a similar 9-week flat around week 34–43: weight 186→186, but waist went down 2.5 in, RHR dropped 6 bpm, and my smart scale’s fat mass trend kept inching down even when weight didn’t. Progress photos in same light/clothes finally showed it. If you haven’t, measure waist at navel and hips now so you have a comparison 4 weeks out. What does your waist trend say? That’d help separate a true plateau from recomposition/water.

Not labs, but my tape measure broke my 8-week scale flat. Weeks 31–39 I sat at 187–188, yet waist went 36.5→34.75 and hips 44→42.5. My 7-day median weight was flat while daily weights swung 3 lbs with sodium/hormones. I track shipping/stock as a hobby, so I’m a spreadsheet nerd: I added waist, resting HR, and weekly photo columns. That made the stall way less maddening. Did you take waist/hip measurements or pics around week 28? If so, compare those—they might tell a different story than the scale. Also curious if your resting HR or BP changed during the flat stretch.

I had an 11-week flat around month 8. What broke the tie for me was tracking waist at navel plus thigh/arm and my 5-rep squat/row numbers, not the scale. Waist dropped 1.5" while weight was identical. Are you measuring waist or just weight? If lifts are up and waist is down, I’d call that a recomp win and keep going. Protein at 1g/lb and 7.5h sleep make a bigger difference for me than any tracking tweak.

Week 36 too. I was flat at 187 for 9 weeks. Stopped chasing the scale and noticed resting HR dropped 5 bpm and gym recovery improved. What finally nudged things: swapped two cardio days for 25 min incline walk + 3 sets of squats, and added a protein shake after lifting. Still slow, but down 2 lbs in 3 weeks. Are your workouts basically identical to week 1? That was my hidden stall.

yo, labs moving while scale sits is such a mindf. i had a 7-week flat around month 7 where glucose kept dropping but weight didn’t. what finally cracked it for me: my scale was on a slightly uneven tile, and i was weighing after late gaming sessions with salty popcorn + diet soda. moved scale to same hard floor spot, started weighing first thing after bathroom before coffee, and the “stall” was partly water/sodium noise. also tracked morning resting heart rate—it trended down even when scale didn’t. have you tried same-spot hard floor weigh-ins? not saying it’s that, but cheap test.

Week 36 flat here too previously. Mine wasn’t a mystery plateau; it was my step count. I was still lifting 4x and hitting protein

Honestly, not a lab person, but I’ve had two 6–10 week flats where the scale was the last thing to move. What helped me was tracking lifting loads and resting HR: my HR dropped ~6 bpm and I added reps at the same weight while weight sat still, which felt like recomp rather than “nothing happening.” In the trials, plateaus are common and the trend usually depends on the whole window, not week 36. Has your training volume or daily step count changed recently? Mine had quietly slid, and bumping steps back up was the only thing that broke my second stall.

Travel twin here. My long flat hit during a heavy airport stretch. Two weird travel metrics actually kept me sane: hotel-room water bottle count and terminal steps (aimed for 8k on layovers), plus a same-lighting mirror selfie every Sunday. Scale didn’t budge for a bit, but my face/neck photos clearly were changing. Also, hotel scales can swing 3

I had a similar stretch around month 8: scale locked at 183 for nine weeks, but my resting HR fell from 68 to 61 and sleep score climbed. What changed the trend was boring tracking stuff — I noticed my steps had drifted from ~8k to ~4k during the stall, so I added a 10-min post-dinner walk most nights and started comparing only 7-day weight averages. In the trials, the scale can lag behind other markers. Are you tracking steps or resting HR? That’s what exposed my activity creep.