The scale has not moved in a week, or two, and it feels like everything stopped. Here is how to look at it with a calmer head.
Day-to-day noise is big
Your weight on any given morning depends on much more than fat:
- Water: salty meals, hot weather, exercise
- Digestion: constipation, a common GLP-1 side effect, adds weight on the scale
- Your cycle: water retention before and at the start of a period (see GLP-1 and your period)
- How you weigh: time of day, clothes, scale placement
These can easily hide a real trend for days or more.
Look at the trend, not the day
- Weigh the same way each time.
- Use a weekly average or a trend line rather than single weigh-ins.
- Compare over several weeks, not day to day.
- Compare like with like across your cycle if you have one.
What else to check in your data
- Doses: any missed or late doses, or a recent dose change
- Eating: has your appetite come back? When in your shot week?
- Protein and activity: changes in body composition do not always show on the scale
- Non-scale changes: clothes, energy, measurements, blood tests from your prescriber
What not to do
- Do not change your dose or schedule on your own
- Do not cut food drastically to force the scale down
What to bring to your prescriber
Your weight trend over the last 4 to 8 weeks, your doses, side effects, and what you noticed about appetite. See what to bring to your GLP-1 follow-up.