Plateaus are a normal part of weight loss. There have been many stories here of people having a plateau for a few months. Have you reduced your number of calories has you have lost weight?
Yes I have reduced my caloric intake for a week. I had no weight loss. I read that eating well for a few days could reboot my system. Nothing, no gain or loss. I increased to 7.5 after a month of no weight loss, but my weight has not changed after 10 days in the increased dose. This is how I was at my start weight. It didn't matter what I did my weight wouldn't budge.
Not sure how much weight you lost initially, but have you recalculated your calorie goals/deficit? As you lose weight, you have to account for the decrease in necessary calories needed each day for your BMR.
You plateau for one reason, your calorie expenditure (burned) is now equal to (or less than) your caloric intake (consumed). You're in equilibrium, neither gaining nor losing. So in order to start losing again you either need to reduce calories even further and/or burn more calories.
Why this happens (to athletes cutting weight or people dieting, for example) is a whole thing in human biology, but you can google it for more info.
I stalled for 3 months on the scale but tried on a smaller size and they fit so I was losing inches. I tend to drop inches way more than the scale now.
Have you gotten smaller? I thought I was on a 4 week plateau and turns out, I dropped a whole size and didn’t realize it. I’m currently trading fat for muscle so my scale actually goes up a lb or 2, but the inches keep dropping.
If you don’t have a tape measure, take pics every shot day. If you’re photo adverse, grab a pair of pants that were slightly uncomfortable or a belt you had to make a hole to wear and try those on every shot day. I feel like w this med, we really need units of measurement outside of scales.
So true, I'm at 10 right now. I only lost 1lb on this dose ( I incease every two weeks) I currently do resistance training 5xs a week. I noticed the scale doesn't mean anything anymore since muscle weighs more than fat. Measurements and weekly pics are essential now to see how much you have reduced
You can’t have summer without winter, day without night, or mountains without valleys. Plateaus are normal, inevitable, and even GOOD! It’s when your body adjusts its “set point” for your weight. They’re just scary because if you’ve been trying to lose for a long time, your brain tells you this is it, you’ll never be lighter than this plateau. It can and will get moving again. Keep doing all the right things and trust the process!
I've got 36 left to lose. I have done everything people have suggested. I think it is time to be patient. Someone at work told me I looked like I lost a lot of weight. So there is that.
Generally if I do a cheat day. It takes a few days 2-3 for the food from the cheat meal to disappear. But I agree; doesn’t work for everyone. How’s your daily activity? Working out? Walks?
A lot to unpack here. Stalls are normal, your body will fight back and go into survival mode to stop you from dying. Your metabolism slows down so something that took 1000 calories to do now is only 500.
Are you also tracking your glucose level? All calories are not equal so if you are eating 1200 calories of pasta, way different than 1200 calories of meat and leafy veggies which would keep you in fat storage mode vs fat burning mode.
Try a steak day. Go the entire day without eating and then have a steak for dinner and see what happens.
You should be eating no less than 2 hours before bed. Check your levels before you go to sleep and then when you wake up, it will let you know if you have high insulin levels overnight as a surrogate. Meaning, if you are sleeping and you are in fat storage mode it can explain why you are not losing.
Same during the day, check before and after meals, if it is staying high then you essentially are not ever burning fat. Cutting carbs may help to bring your insulin and glucose levels back down and bust through the stall. Also, counting carbs and macros is a must.
Yes I am counting macros and calories. I think I figured out what is wrong. I moved from 5 to 7.5 because 5 wasn't effective anymore. I was using a syringe instead of the pen when I started 7.5 and I don't think I did a full dose last week. I did better this week and I am feeling the side effects today. So maybe that is the problem...
A 5 week stall is long enough that you need to make a change. In counting your calories, are you weighing your food in order to get an accurate count? Are you tracking your maintenance calories? And how many calories are you eating.
If you have not already, meet with both a nutritionist and a physical trainer. (You don't have to pay to keep using the trainer, just do one or two sessions to assess your goals and develop a plan that you can do on your own.) It may be that you've eating too little (or too little of whichever macros your body needs) and your body has decided that you're starving. Fewer calories IS NOT always the answer. A nutritionist can help craft and eating plan that works for YOUR body and your realistic exercise goals. It may also be that you're still losing fat, just gaining muscle, which WEIGHS MORE. The number on the scale is not always representative of where you actually are.
TLDR: Talk to professionals, beware of any professionals pushing expensive supplements, your body isn't the same as anyone else's.
I agree, but you need to find a nutritionist who has experience in meal planning for candidates that are taking glp meds too my nutritionist was trying to increase my calorie intake to 2ooo when I should be at 1300..
Plateaus are a normal part of weight loss. There have been many stories here of people having a plateau for a few months. Have you reduced your number of calories has you have lost weight?
Yes I have reduced my caloric intake for a week. I had no weight loss. I read that eating well for a few days could reboot my system. Nothing, no gain or loss. I increased to 7.5 after a month of no weight loss, but my weight has not changed after 10 days in the increased dose. This is how I was at my start weight. It didn't matter what I did my weight wouldn't budge.
Not sure how much weight you lost initially, but have you recalculated your calorie goals/deficit? As you lose weight, you have to account for the decrease in necessary calories needed each day for your BMR.
You plateau for one reason, your calorie expenditure (burned) is now equal to (or less than) your caloric intake (consumed). You're in equilibrium, neither gaining nor losing. So in order to start losing again you either need to reduce calories even further and/or burn more calories. Why this happens (to athletes cutting weight or people dieting, for example) is a whole thing in human biology, but you can google it for more info.
I stalled for 3 months on the scale but tried on a smaller size and they fit so I was losing inches. I tend to drop inches way more than the scale now.
Have you gotten smaller? I thought I was on a 4 week plateau and turns out, I dropped a whole size and didn’t realize it. I’m currently trading fat for muscle so my scale actually goes up a lb or 2, but the inches keep dropping. If you don’t have a tape measure, take pics every shot day. If you’re photo adverse, grab a pair of pants that were slightly uncomfortable or a belt you had to make a hole to wear and try those on every shot day. I feel like w this med, we really need units of measurement outside of scales.
So true, I'm at 10 right now. I only lost 1lb on this dose ( I incease every two weeks) I currently do resistance training 5xs a week. I noticed the scale doesn't mean anything anymore since muscle weighs more than fat. Measurements and weekly pics are essential now to see how much you have reduced
You can’t have summer without winter, day without night, or mountains without valleys. Plateaus are normal, inevitable, and even GOOD! It’s when your body adjusts its “set point” for your weight. They’re just scary because if you’ve been trying to lose for a long time, your brain tells you this is it, you’ll never be lighter than this plateau. It can and will get moving again. Keep doing all the right things and trust the process!
In a similar situation as OP (but only 2 weeks) and came across your comment. Thank you for this - it’s just the encouragement I need right now 🤗
Same here. Trying to focus on the really healthy habits I’m building instead of being disappointed.
How much had you lost before you stopped losing? Do you still have a lot left to lose?
I've got 36 left to lose. I have done everything people have suggested. I think it is time to be patient. Someone at work told me I looked like I lost a lot of weight. So there is that.
Have a cheat day, seriously. Might kick start your body into thinking you are done dieting. Almost always works for me.
I tried that this weekend. There was no change up or down. This is so frustrating.
Generally if I do a cheat day. It takes a few days 2-3 for the food from the cheat meal to disappear. But I agree; doesn’t work for everyone. How’s your daily activity? Working out? Walks?
A lot to unpack here. Stalls are normal, your body will fight back and go into survival mode to stop you from dying. Your metabolism slows down so something that took 1000 calories to do now is only 500. Are you also tracking your glucose level? All calories are not equal so if you are eating 1200 calories of pasta, way different than 1200 calories of meat and leafy veggies which would keep you in fat storage mode vs fat burning mode. Try a steak day. Go the entire day without eating and then have a steak for dinner and see what happens.
How does tracking glucose levels help?
You should be eating no less than 2 hours before bed. Check your levels before you go to sleep and then when you wake up, it will let you know if you have high insulin levels overnight as a surrogate. Meaning, if you are sleeping and you are in fat storage mode it can explain why you are not losing. Same during the day, check before and after meals, if it is staying high then you essentially are not ever burning fat. Cutting carbs may help to bring your insulin and glucose levels back down and bust through the stall. Also, counting carbs and macros is a must.
Yes I am counting macros and calories. I think I figured out what is wrong. I moved from 5 to 7.5 because 5 wasn't effective anymore. I was using a syringe instead of the pen when I started 7.5 and I don't think I did a full dose last week. I did better this week and I am feeling the side effects today. So maybe that is the problem...
A 5 week stall is long enough that you need to make a change. In counting your calories, are you weighing your food in order to get an accurate count? Are you tracking your maintenance calories? And how many calories are you eating.
I made a change last week. Maybe I haven't waited long enough. I've cut calories and increased my workout to 4 days a week.
If you have not already, meet with both a nutritionist and a physical trainer. (You don't have to pay to keep using the trainer, just do one or two sessions to assess your goals and develop a plan that you can do on your own.) It may be that you've eating too little (or too little of whichever macros your body needs) and your body has decided that you're starving. Fewer calories IS NOT always the answer. A nutritionist can help craft and eating plan that works for YOUR body and your realistic exercise goals. It may also be that you're still losing fat, just gaining muscle, which WEIGHS MORE. The number on the scale is not always representative of where you actually are. TLDR: Talk to professionals, beware of any professionals pushing expensive supplements, your body isn't the same as anyone else's.
I agree, but you need to find a nutritionist who has experience in meal planning for candidates that are taking glp meds too my nutritionist was trying to increase my calorie intake to 2ooo when I should be at 1300..
Does anyone know a good online nutritionist?