Week 34, 41 lbs down, scale stalled 5 weeks - labs still moving?

That travel rebound thing is real. I came back from 10 days away up 4 lbs and appetite louder for maybe a week. It settled without me changing anything.

Did your A1c move before the weight or after? Mine lagged by like 10 weeks.

A1c tends to lag behind. Weight comes off first — that part moves quick — and A1c plays catch-up around week 20.

41 lbs at week 34 is solid. Are you doing resistance work? My waist changed way more once I added two sessions a week.

Not the OP, but same pattern. Scale flat weeks 18-23, waist down 1.5 inches. Bodies are weird.

I'd take a 5-week flat stretch right now. Nine weeks into this cut, still dropping 1-2 lbs a week, which some weeks feels too fast.

Fast early loss had my resting HR up about 8 bpm. Sleep and hydration were part of it for me.

Resting HR up? Mine actually dropped after month 3. Funny how different the response is.

Sleep is the hidden variable. Bad sleep means more appetite noise.

Protein's the lever here. 120g+ makes a flat week a lot less annoying on the scale.

Not trying to argue, but the part people forget about that 2539-participant trial is that it ran to week 72 with placebo and 5/10/15 mg arms. Still doesn't mean anyone gets a straight line. The plateaus in the reported data cluster hard around weeks 14-19 and 27-33, and labs often keep improving right through them.

The scale is the worst dashboard unless someone's also watching A1c, waist tape, sleep, and how clothes fit. Five weeks feels like forever when appetite noise comes back, but waist measurements can keep moving for two of those weeks regardless.

Worth knowing before comparing notes with anyone: did lipids or inflammation markers change? Those are the numbers that stop the spiral — a fridge whiteboard and a tape measure, not the scale.

Waist and A1c together tell me more than daily weight. The appetite noise after travel might just be routine changes, not the med.

I've had a 7-week flat stretch around month 8, and the scale was the least useful metric. Waist dropped another inch and resting HR went from 68 to 62. What helped was measuring Sunday mornings under same conditions, not daily. Are you comparing labs and scale from the same week, or is the bloodwork from a few weeks earlier? That mismatch messed with my head for a bit.

Labs moving while scale stalls is the weirdest mind game. I'd trust the waist tape over the bathroom scale.

My flat spell broke after I stopped forcing 5am workouts on 5.5 hours of sleep. I shifted to 7 hours and swapped one hard session for a 30-minute walk, and three weeks later the scale finally moved 2 lbs. Stress and poor sleep can make me hold water like a camel. How's your sleep and stress load right now?

Weekends were my hidden stall. I was flat for 5 weeks while eating clean Mon-Fri, then realizd my Saturday takeout was pushing sodium and carbs way up. I cooked at home for one weekend and dropped 3 lbs by Tuesday, which was just water. Not saying that's your deal, but a 3-day food and sodium log showed me more than any trial timeline. Have you checked weekend patterns?

Clothing is a liar too—same jeans, suddenly baggy, then the scale sits there judging you.

I’m a data nerd and my stall was half tracking problem: I was weighing at 6am after 5.5 hours of sleep and comparing it to evening weights. Switched to a 7-day average and a monthly waist check, and week 31 showed flat scale but another 0.75 inches off. Weird bit: adding a real lunch, protein plus a fist of veg, stopped my 4pm pantry dive, and my average finally dropped 2 lbs over the next 12 days. Not saying that fixes everyone, but my plateau was partly lousy data and partly under-eating then over-snacking. What does your weekly average look like if you zoom out to 4 weeks instead of day to day?

Sleep is my underrated lever—under 6 hours for 4 nights and I retain water like a camel.

Honestly, 41 lbs in 34 weeks is quick. A 5-week flat stretch isn’t failure, it’s your body catching up. I’m week 22, down 19, and my 3-week stall broke when I added a 20-minute walk after dinner—belt notch in 10 days, scale barely moved. Maybe give it a month before overhauling.

My jeans size said more than the scale: dropped two sizes during an eight-week flat stretch. Bodies remodel before the number moves.

Restaurant weekends always hide 3-4 lbs of water for me. A Tuesday weigh-in after two quiet days shows the real trend.

Adding 8k steps nightly broke my last plateau; scale flat 4 weeks, then dropped 3 lbs in ten days.

Labs can absolutely keep shifting while scale is stuck. My A1c went 6.4 to 5.7 and triglycerides dropped 60 points during a 6-week flat stretch around month 8. What helped me not panic: I stpped treating the scale as the only scoreboard and tracked a 3-metric average monthly—waist, fasting glucose, and how stairs felt. The weird part? My appetite noise came back too, but it was mostly evenings. I started pre-logging a 300-calorie protein snack at 4pm; two weeks later scale resumed down about a pound a week. Not saying that fixes everyone, but for me it was less about the medication losing steam and more that my old grazing window had quietly returned. Are you noticing the noise at a specific time of day? That pattern might tell you more than the flat weight.

I’m 34 weeks too, and my spreadsheet says my last 5-week scale flat was real, not water: same sodium, same sleep, 7-day median moved 0.2 lb. But waist fell 1.5 in and resting HR dropped 4 bpm in that window. My trendline finally broke when I compared weekly median weight to waist: scale was flat while body comp wasn’t. Are you logging waist/hips on the same schedule, or is the scale the only line you’re watching?

Congrats on the labs and 4 inches—that’s a massive non-scale win. I had a similar flat stretch around week 28–33. What helped me was switching to a 10-day weight average plus a monthly photo in the same outfit. Daily numbers were noise; the average was still drifting down slowly. I also noticed my appetite noise ramped up when my sleep dropped below 6.5 hours. Not saying that’s your cause, but it might be worth tracking sleep and stress for a week. Have you seen any pattern with sleep, stress, or cycle timing when the noise creeps back?

I’m in maintenance now, and I had two plateaus that lasted 6–8 weeks during the loss phase. The scale froze, but my waist kept shrinking and my resting heart rate drifted down. I switched to weekly averages plus a monthly waist/photo check—way less crazy-making. The appetite noise creeping back would make me look at sleep, stress, and protein first; for me that combo mattered more than the scale. Are you noticing

@nurse_nancy said: The appetite noise creeping back would make me look at sleep, stress, and protein first...

Two milkings a day, so my sleep comes in broken chunks. Sleep debt cranks the appetite noise. Last 5-week flat stretch, tape still moved—waist down 0.75 in, jeans sloppy. Scale finally broke loose after 10 days of a real 7 hours. Boring, not hype. You logging sleep or just the scale?

I had a similar 6-week flat around month 8: scale didn’t budge, but waist dropped another 1.5 cm and fasting glucose stayed low. What broke the mental stall was switching from daily weight to weekly waist + 7-day average weight. Appetite noise crept in when my protein and sleep slipped; I logged 3 days and both were down. Once I fixed those, noise dropped before the scale did. Have you measured waist/hip and any lifting volume lately? That lean-mass/recomp signal is the one I’d want to see before assuming the stall is true fat regain.

Congrats on the labs and 4 inches—those are huge. I had a similar 6–7 week flat stretch, and what made it less maddening was tracking a weekly average instead of any single weigh-in, plus waist tape and how a pair of jeans fit. Scale didn’t move, but my waist went down almost an inch, and my appetite noise definitely clustered on nights I slept under 6 hours or skipped a solid protein breakfast. Have you noticed whether the creeping hunger tracks with sleep, stress, or cycle timing? Not asking for numbers, just curious if your body signals line up that way too.

I'm a spreadsheet weirdo about this. That 72-week trial is group averages; individual trendlines wiggle. During my own 5-week stall, 7-day median weight slope was ~0.00 lb/day, but navel waist slope was still -0.04 in/week. I log sleep and sodium too; the flat stretch lined up with worse sleep and higher sodium, not appetite. Scale moved after I switched from daily weigh-ins to weekly medians. Sharp question: what's your waist trend over those 5 weeks, not just the total 4 inches? If that's still dropping, I'd trust the trendline over daily noise.

I lift 4x/week too, and my scale loes to play dead while my logbook moves. Around month 8

Tbh At week 34 I hit a 5–6 week flat too. What helped me was switching from daily weigh-ins to a 10-day average and tracking hips/thighs plus how my scrub waistband fit. Scale was flat, but hips went down 1.5 inches and my ring

I track this obsessively too. My chart looked similar: scale 10-day median flat for 6 weeks, but waist −2.1 cm, fasting glucose 97→90, and hs-CRP dropped. The contrarian thing I found: my flat stretches lined up with sleep under 6.5h and Friday/Saturday sodium, not any real change in intake. When I plotted 7-day calorie avg against weekly waist, the scale was basically noise. Did your A1c/glucose improvements happen mostly before the stall, or keep drifting during it? That’s the piece I’d want to see on your trendline.

Week 34 is about where my appetite noise got weird too—not hungry all day, just more food thoughts at night. I wasn’t actually stalled in recomp: scale flat 6 weeks, but waist dropped another 0.5" and upper-arm/thigh measurements held. My sleep was averaging 6h40. Getting back to 7.5h chilled the noise before the scale moved. What’s your sleep been doig during those 5 weeks? That’s the first thing I check now.

Night shift here. My stalls almost always line up with crappy sleep and extra sodium from 3am meals. Waist kept shrinking while scale sat. So: did your waist/tape move during those 5 weeks, or just the scale? And are you on rotating shifts? If sleep dropped, I’d bet water before fat. Labs improving usually means direction is still right.

Week 34 plateaus are a recurring character in the old check-in threads here. One thing that helped me was adding resting HR and sleep to my monthly log instead of only weight/waist. Scale sat flat 6 weeks, but RHR dropped 4 bpm and an old pair of jeans got loose again. Curious—has your sleep or stress shifted during these 5 weeks? Mine tracked almost one-to-one, and the appetite noise eased once sleep stabilized.

Hi, brand new here—only week one, so I’m reading everything and trying not to overthink every fluctuation. Your labs and waist changes sound huge even with the scale flat. Nervous question: did you notice anything else changing during those five weeks—resting heart rate, blood pressure, how stairs feel, or how rings/shoes fit? I started same-light photos because the scale already scares me. Also, has your energy in workouts changed at all? Congrats on 41 lbs—I’d be thrilled and still confused by a stall, so I get it.

Old-timer take: Week 34-ish was the “recomp quiet zone” in that long Week 30–40 thread from last year. Mine was 7 flat weeks while A1c, triglycerides, and BP kept sliding the right way, and my waist dropped another inch. What helped was switching to monthly averages and measuring at navel + hips, not just waist. Scale looked dead but the tape and a monthly photo weren’t. Sharp question: are your clothes still