Scale stuck 6 weeks after losing 21 lb in 14 weeks

Waist down 2.5 inches while the scale sits flat is a huge win. Lifting did that to me too: scale stuck 5 weeks, shirts got loose.

The sodium/carb question is worth tracking. I stalled 5 weeks after increasing carbs, then dropped 3 lb overnight. Water can hide fat loss.

Not saying change anything, but are you eating back exercise calories? My 8k steps plus 3 lifts made hunger way higher than I expected.

The tape and labs moving together would make me lean toward recomp plus water, not stalled fat loss. I’m 5 ft 6, started at 205, and had a 7-week scale stall around 180 while my waist dropped 2 inches.

I was lifting 3x/week and sleeping badly. Once sleep improved, the scale finally moved.

Not saying that’s your cause, just something to track.

Your A1c and fasting glucose changes seem more meaningful than a 6-week scale flat. I wish I’d ignored the scale and kept tracking waist and monthly labs. The stall broke without me cutting calories further.

How are your clothes fitting compared to six weeks ago? That’s my main gauge when the scale gets stubborn.

I’d kill for a 2.5-inch waist drop. My scale and tape both froze for a month, then both moved after a vacation. Bodies are weird.

The fasting glucose drop is interesting. Mine went from 97 to 89 with 15 lb lost, scale slowed but waist kept shrinking.

Sleep was my missing piece too. I had a flat scale for a month during a stressful work project, waist still down 1.5 in.

Maybe measure at the same time each week. I was doing it after workouts and getting random numbers. Morning, fasted, same spot helped.

This. Th escale is one data point, not the whole story.

If hunger is high like that, what’s your protein target? When I kept protein high, my waist kept moving even when scale didn’t.

Tape measure down 2.5 inches and glucose down 6 points over 6 weeks while the scale just sits there — that's the scale lying, not a stall.

Ask yourself if 1,750 is a real daily average or a weekday average. I did the same thing at almost the exact same numbers — logged 1,700 Mon through Thu, then Friday takeout and Saturday beer and Sunday brunch quietly added up to 2,600, so my true weekly average was clser to 2,000.

Once I started tracking Saturdays and Sundays with the same honesty as a Tuesday, the scale unglued in about two weeks. My waist had also kept shrinking the whole stall, which is what fooled me into thinking nothing needed changing.

Not saying that's your situation, but the 6-week flatline plus a dropping waist is the classic signature of intake creep that only shows up on the days you don't log. Worth a brutally honest weekend audit before you cut anything.

One thing nobody warns you about: 21 lb down means your maintenance is roughly 100 to 150 calories lower than when you started, so 1,750 that used to be a solid deficit is now closer to break-even. I hit this around 20 lb lost and spent a month blaming water before doing the math.

Also, if your lifts have gotten heavier in those 6 weeks, you're holding extra glycogen and repair water in the muscle, which can mask a few pounds of fat loss for weeks and then dump all at once. My honest take is don't cut yet — hold 1,750 another three weeks, keep the tape and glucose as your scoreboard, and only adjust if the waist stops moving too.

The waist is the tiebreaker here.

Sleep's the other one worth checking. I stalled for five weeks and it turned out I'd slid from 7.5 hours to about 6, mostly doomscrolling, and the scale moved within days of fixing that. Stress and short sleep boh hold water and mess with appetite. How are your nights lately?

My scale only moves after a weird 3-day whoosh. Tape’s the better boss here.

Check your scale on a hard floor, same spot, after bathroom, before coffee—mine was off 2 lb.

I had the same stretch: 182 to 170, then six weeks parked at 171 while my waist went 35.5 to 33. My squat added 20 lb and shirts got tight in the shoulders, so I treated it as recomp, not failure.

If your lifts are climbing and waist is shrinking, I’d hold course another 3-4 weeks and compare monthly averages, not daily. If lifts are dropping, that's different.

Take same-light photos; my 3 lb stall showed visible abs before scale moved.