Down 41 lbs but stuck at the same number for 5 weeks

Five weeks at the exact same number is brutal — been there. One thing that helped me: I recalculated my maintenance after losing a chunk. What was a deficit at 280 wasn’t at 240. I didn’t do anything drastic, just started weighing the usual “eyeballed” stuff (oils, dressings, bites) and added a 20-min walk after dinner. Scale didn’t budge for another 10 days, then dropped 2 lbs overnight. Are you tracking inches or just the scale? My waist kept shrinking during the stall, which kept me from losing my mind.

Five weeks flat after 41 down usually means either the deficit closed or water retention is masking fat loss. I’d stop reading the daily scale. Pull a 7-day median, waist/hip tape, and audit weekends. I once stalled six weeks: weekdays were tight

5 weeks is annoying, but after 41 down it’s also pretty classic recomp territory. Are you tracking anything besides the scale — waist, hips, progress pics, how clothes fit? When I stalled in the 30s, scale sat for like 6 weeks while my wist dropped another inch and my lifts held/slightly went up. I lift 4x, hit protein, sleep

I hear you—plateaus after a big loss can feel so deflating. What helped me during a similar five-week stall was switching from daily weigh-ins to weekly averages and adding waist and hip measurements. My scale barely moved, but I lost about 1.5 inches around my middle over that month, which kept me from panicking. I also checked my step count and protein, because both had quietly slipped by roughly 10–15%. Have you compared your weekly average now with four weeks ago, or looked at measurements and clothing fit? Sometimes the scale is just the last thing to catch up. You have already done remarkable work.

I went through a similar five-week flat stretch around the 40-pound mark. What helped me was shifting focus from the daily number to a weekly average and a few non-scale markers: waist measurement, how my rings fit, and afternoon energy. My weight did not move, but my waist dropped about an inch, and then the scale finally caught up. Have you compared your current five-week average with the previous five weeks, rather than this morning alone? Sometimes the trend is still gently downward even when individual mornings look identical. Wishing you patience—41 pounds is a meaningful change.

Five weeks flat after 41 down is usually not a mystery; it’s a math update. You’re hauling ~41 fewer pounds around, so the same portions that were a deficit in January are closer to breakeven now.

Have you recalculated your TDEE at current weight and compared it to your actual average intake? And are you using a 7-day rolling average or one morning weigh-in? Water/glycogen can hide 3–4 weeks of fat loss.

I broke a similar stall by weighing food for 10 days, changing nothing else, and finding my “eyeballed” portions had drifted ~200 cal/day. Annoying, but the spreadsheet doesn’t care about vibes.

Plateau purgatory is real. For me, the sneaky culprit was dorm dining hall "eyeball" portions. I finally bought a $10 food scale and learned my "scoop" of peanut butter was more like three. Also started measuring my waist with a piece of string from the laundry room—down 2 inches even when the scale didn't budge for a month. Have you tried tracking anything besides the number? Like how many flights of stairs before you sound like a dying accordion? Sometimes the body's recomposing while the scale just sits there being dramatic.

Ugh, plateau purgatory is real. Mine sat at the same number for almost six weeks, but my waist kept shrinking—I finally started measuring at the belly button and upper thigh every Sunday. The scale was stubborn; the tape wasn’t. Are you tracking inches and progress photos, or just the morning weigh-in? One thing that helped me was a 15-minute walk after supper and front-loading protein at breakfast, nothing fancy. Also, our local pharmacy/insurance switched me to a 90-day refill and it shuffled my routine, so I had to rebuild my little habits. Not saying that’s your deal—just something to peek at. You’re not doing anything wrong. 41 lbs is huge.

Five weeks isn’t automatically a plateau if your lifts and measurements are still moving. I was stuck at 192 for almost six weeks, but my waist dropped 2 inches and my squat added 20 lbs. Are you tracking waist, chest, thigh, and strength PRs? Also, when’s the last time you weighed your food? I got sloppy with oils, “bites,” and creamer and accidentally ate at maintenance. A two-week weigh-everything reset showed me whether it was real intake creep or just recomp/water hiding the scale.

For what it's worth, ugh, plateau purgatory is real. I lost 60, regained 35, and hit a 6-week freeze that made me want to throw my scale in the yard. What finally gave me a clue wasn’t the scale—it was my measurements. Waist was down another inch and a half even though the number didn’t move. Are you tracking anything besides weight, like waist, how clothes fit, or progress pics? Also, has anything shifted recently—sleep, stress, workout volume, weekend sodium? Sometimes the scale is just late to the party. Don’t let five weeks convince you the last 41 didn’t happen.

Five weeks is long enough to audit, not panic. What’s your 14-day trend line versus daily scale weight? I hit a similar stall around week 20; my step count had quietly dropped from ~9k to ~5k and I’d stopped weighing oils/nuts. Ten days of logging everything + weekly waist tape showed scale flat but waist down 1.5 cm, then it moved again. Also check protein, fiber, sleep, and whether you’re constipated—all can mask fat loss. If those are tight, it may be a water/recomp phase. What changed at week 18?