six weeks flat at my top dose, is going up even an option at this point or just a bad idea
Been at my current dose for four months, first three months of steady loss then six weeks completely flat. Rolling average and all. Not panicking this time (learned that lesson already) but genuinely trying to figure out what people actually check before assuming a dose change is the answer.
best — the order this archive was captured in
six weeks with a flat rolling average at an already-high dose is a real plateau by any reasonable definition, unlike the week-4 noise everyone panics about. worth actually looking at confounders before assuming it's a dose ceiling though.
yeah this doesn't feel like the same thing as my old week-4 panic, this one's been genuinely flat by every measure I have
first thing I'd actually check: protein intake. a lot of people's appetite drops so much at higher doses that protein target quietly slips even while calories look "fine", and that alone can flatten a cut. worked example: at 78kg, 1.6g/kg works out to 78 × 1.6 = 124.8g protein a day. most people who "think" they're eating enough are actually closer to 70-80g once they count it properly. edit: fixed my own arithmetic, first typed 128g instead of 124.8g.
...I have not been hitting my protein target in weeks if I'm honest, was assuming appetite being low meant everything was proportionally lower
this is an extremely common trap, appetite suppression cuts protein disproportionately because protein foods often feel like more "work" to eat than easy carbs
the other two I'd check before touching the dose: sleep and steps. both quietly tank without anyone noticing, and both move the scale more than people expect at this stage. edit: meant steps specifically, not general activity, worth being precise since they're not the same thing.
Good thread, staying in "what should I check" territory rather than "should I go up", which is the right shape here — that second question is for whoever manages your prescription.
also worth a body-comp check if you can get one, "the scale is flat" and "I've stopped changing" are not always the same statement, sometimes fat is still dropping while something else offsets it.
seconding the rolling-average point, six weeks flat on that specific measure is a genuinely different claim than six weeks flat on raw daily numbers, good that you specified which one
would add hydration to the checklist too, easy to overlook next to protein/sleep/steps but moves the scale plenty on its own
noted, checking that too before I consider anything else
seconding the sleep check specifically, mine was the hidden variable in my own stall a while back
saving this whole checklist for my own upcoming stall panic, feels inevitable at this point
- 1six weeks with a flat rolling average at an already-high dose is a real…5 comments in this branch · started by u/plateau_patrol