Thread participants describe stalls as periods where the scale stops moving even though intake appears lower than expenditure. Common explanations include water retention from stress or hormones, reduced NEAT making the deficit smaller than calculated, and tracking inaccuracies from portion estimates or labels. Several note that fat loss continues during these plateaus and eventually shows up as a whoosh or gradual drop once fluid balance shifts. Suggestions include waiting with rolling averages, increasing dose or adding agents, or confirming intake more strictly.
What this discussion establishesSome attribute stalls mainly to under-counted calories while others point to metabolic adaptation or fluid shifts even with accurate tracking
Still openhow long a true stall can last before dose or intake changes are required
Nothing here is advice.
When you're eating less than you burn on a GLP-1 but not building muscle, why does the scale stop moving? The calorie math should force weight down, so what is the body doing during that pause? Earlier talks point to water retention from stress or cortisol, or the body quietly lowering daily movement so the expected deficit disappears.
What exactly counts as a confirmed calorie deficit in your view?
Fair point. I am using the usual BMR calculation to estimate intake below maintenance. Are you hinting that if weight is not dropping then no real deficit exists?
Switching to high protein and low carb sped my loss up while on Reta.
The BMR estimate is probably fine, but the intake side is more likely off. Unless food is weighed and logged precisely, portions are often larger than thought. A deficit is hard to confirm anyway because TDEE can drop from lower movement or metabolic adaptation. Water can shift and create a sudden drop later. Rolling averages and double-checking actual intake help more than looking for a single fix. Adding another medication might also be worth considering, though starting certain peptides too early could be counterproductive.
I stayed around 176 for over a week despite tracking calories, macros, and daily weights morning and night. Nothing changed, then I dropped five pounds in four days. I considered that my TDEE might have fallen or that cycles were adding water, so I waited. The drop happened, and I expect more near the end when I reassess.
If you figure out what breaks the stall let me know. On tirz at a low dose I lost 26 pounds in four months then stopped. Raising to 7.5 did nothing, but adding a small amount of another agent finally got things moving slowly again.
You have not shared dose, intake, or diet details. Losing another 70 pounds would be a very large total drop, so the current approach may not be strong enough. Average results with one medication alone top out around 30 percent after a year at the highest dose. Adding complementary medications and focusing on higher protein with moderate carbs and lower fat is often suggested.
Dose information would help. The loss so far is about seven pounds a month. Stalls at this stage are often just fluid shifts even when intake and output stay the same. Waist measurements can sometimes show the change before the scale does. Accurate deficit tracking is difficult without precise data.
Hormones can pause progress. After starting HRT the scale barely moved for a month beyond normal swings, then loss picked up to about 1.7 pounds a week without changing calories. I track macros and weigh on shot days plus one other day. The drop resumed without a sudden whoosh.
Plateaus might be a signal to add more activity or push lifting sessions harder. After six weeks on tirzepatide and a small dose increase I have gained strength and lifted more volume while losing 23 pounds, mostly from the waist.
Body recomposition helps limit muscle loss during weight reduction. Part of the stall concern is worry that progress has truly stopped rather than paused. Early stalls often trace back to doses that are too low to produce steady loss without strong side effects.
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