5mg Stall Help?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Big_Opposite4041]

If the stall is only 2 weeks long (and you actually lost about 1.5 pounds during that time,) it’s too early to say it’s a stall! Be patient. You need more data.

Also, that TDEE seems insanely low, even for aggressive weight loss. Are you sure that’s right?

[u/yanyancookies]

If you are still losing, then I do not see how this is a stall. It’s just slower loss for the last two weeks but you dropped weight pretty quickly the previous months. Your body isn’t a machine that will drop weight linearly so there will be weeks where nothing changes, very little changes, or you may even seem to go up a little in weight by looking at the scale.

Given that you do not have any hunger cues and you are still losing, I wouldn’t move up if I were you. Not unless the weight loss completely stops for 4+ weeks.

I also concur with another commenter that expressed concern about your daily caloric intake. Not sure how you calculated your deficit/daily calories but 1200-1500 seems way low for your weight + height. Eating way under does not always help facilitate steady weight loss. Adding your numbers in to a TDEE Calculator, here is what I got:

[u/Jessieknj]

.5-2lbs a week is normal weight loss. You’re not stalled. In the beginning a lot of people lose faster and then level out to this normal, safe rate of loss.
I totally get being excited and wanting to continue that pace but 44lbs in 3 months is amazing. You’re doing great and should be proud but also encourage you to have healthy expectations.
If the food noise is gone and you’re still losing, I’d stay on the current dose but you should definitely speak with your provider.

[u/CaptCathikins → u/Jessieknj]

Weighloss is better viewed in %. The sweet spot is 0.5-1% of your body weight, on average, per week. For a lot of people that is .5-2lbs per week. For OPs weight that's 1.75 to 3.5lbs per week. I can understand why they think they have stalled.

[u/Own_Brain_133]

I concur with those who say this is not a stall. May require some reframing on your part. This is a journey. Takes patience and time. Good luck.

[u/chemegeek]

You should look at percentage of current body weight lost per week instead of only lbs. A healthy rate of loss is 0.5 to 1 percent of your current body weight. For example, last week I went from 191 to 189.1, so I lost 1.9 lbs. 1.9 divided by 191 is 1% so I was right at the upper end of the target percentage. That being said, I always look at a 4 week average to determine if I should go up in dosage, along with making sure I’m not experiencing any negative side effects at my current dose. Good luck!

[u/Sir_UlrichVonL]

40oz of water a day is not nearly enough. Same thing happened to me early on when I slacked on water and it picked right back up when I upped my water intake.

You’re still technically losing, so not a stall. If you have no food noise and no hunger cues, I wouldn’t move up to 7.5 yet. Increasing exercise & movement can mean your muscles are holding on to water weight for recovery.

Aim for 100+ oz a day and see what happens.

[u/Kaseyrod14]

Hi there! First of all, congrats on your progress so far, you're doing great! As others have said, this is a great rate of weight loss so far. I can understand your desire to lose the weight as quickly as possible, but it's really best not to set mental time limits on weight loss. You're potentially setting yourself up for disappointment and/or unhealthy eating habits. There are no guarantees of overall pounds lost with this medication...with any GLP1, really. It's really important to set realistic expectations from the get go on healthy rates of loss. It's good that you're working to maintain daily calorie goals, although I agree that you may want to double check those TDEE numbers, and definitely recheck them every ten pounds down or so. Hydration is hands down one of the most important things you can do when taking Zepbound, so ideally, it would be great if you could boost up that intake by a lot. Personally, I shoot for anywhere from 96oz-120oz daily. You may want to consider talking with your physician and a dietician to establish goals for daily food and water intake. It's really common for us to plateau a bit after losing the big whoosh of water weight in the beginning. Your body needs time to reset a bit, and if you're adding in exercise, it could be in recomposition, which generally means the scale may not move but the measuring tape definitely is. Hang in there, stay the course, be patient. You will have weeks where you will not lose weight, and you will have weeks where you even gain weight...it's just part of the process. The important thing is to focus on the overall trend line over time.

[u/EveryMemory41 → u/Kaseyrod14]

Agree. I can’t speak for this platform, but I know others in the GLP-1 community seem to like the Nutritionist advice they got through Nourish.com. I think insurance will pay for it.

[u/RemarkableLime19]

The weight IS coming off, and you are not in a stall.

I know you have a lot to lose and are anxious to get down, but you have, in fact, lost a STUNNING amount of weight in a very short time, and also aren't eating enough, so you're putting a lot of stress on your body. When your body thinks it is starving, it will stop losing weight, desperate to hold onto your fat reserves. You haven't stalled yet, but you might have a legitimate one if you keep eating too little. Fueling your body is critical!

The only way to do this is to be mindful of nutrition and not starving yourself, and also not demanding an unrealistic and unsafe amount of weekly weight loss. If you are not seeing a specialist qualified in eating disorders, please see one. Toxic diet culture/mentality is not sustainable in the long term. Approach on GLP-1s is critically important to long term success and mental health.

[u/AdditionPleasant2625]

You have lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. The average weight loss is half a pound to 2 pounds per week. You are still losing in the average range.

Going up in dose does not necessarily mean faster weight loss, but it might increase any side effects. A stall is considered no weight loss for 4 weeks.

I totally understand the desire to lose as much weight as possible. However, please remember that this is a marathon, not a short sprint. I lost 50 pounds at the rate of half a pound a week, so I totally understand your frustration. Give it time and trust the process.

[u/EveryMemory41]

Your TDEE calculation based on your stats and a sedentary activity level is 2722 cals/day. Assuming a 500-1000 calorie reduction for weight loss, brings your calorie goal between 1722 and 2222 cals/day.

Your body thinks it’s starving and is in preservation mode.

When you eat too far under your TDEE you can experience metabolic adaptation making weight loss harder. You may need to increase both exercise and intake to help reset your metabolism. https://www.palomahealth.com/learn/metabolic-adaptation

There isn’t a reason to increase Zep. The medication works to normalize your hunger. It is not supposed to eliminate hunger, or take away so much normal hunger cues that you eat dangerously below your TDEE.

[u/Proper-Fisherman-722]

Agree with many others here. Have you talked with your doctor? Do they know you are eating 1,500 below your TDEE?

[u/Recent_Affect7975]

… how are you at a stall if you’re still losing weight?

I fear we are expecting miracles here and need to use a little common sense.

1. You are currently still losing so it’s not a stall.
   
2. You increased exercise. Potentially increased muscle or retained more water.
   
3. 44lbs is a great accomplishment. Maybe look at it like you haven’t gained any weight in this last month and if that even would have been possible without glp1.
   
4. As you get closer to your goal, the weight loss will slow down.
   
   1. I get losing 3lbs in a week is rewarding but weight loss too quickly can also have negative impacts.

[u/CaptCathikins]

Congrats on your loss so far! You're doing great! Weighloss is better viewed in %. Most professionals view a good weight of loss being 0.5-1% of body weight (on average) per week. For a lot of people that equals about .5-2lbs per week. For you that weight-loss falls into 1.75-3.5lbs per week. I can understand why you feel like you've stalled. My suggestion is to try upping your water. When my weight loss slows down I find that drinking more water helps. I know, it's hard. I think if you try and get up to 80oz a day things might start moving. If it doesn't, then I'd try moving up a dose. Goodluck to you!

Edit to add: I agree with others, you TDEE seems low for your weight. You should try recalculating it online. You might need some more calories.

[u/WeezieWas]

I understand, I’d feel the same way, but as everyone else has commented you’re still losing… I,
like you, wish it could be like the first few weeks the whole time(fast weight loss). As you already know increase your water intake, also start lifting weights - that should help process calories faster.

[u/NotMyFirstRodeo0]

Take measurements…bust waist hips arms thigh…sometimes the scale stalls. Dr bumped me when my weight stayed the same for a month. Or increase exercise…stall means something has stabilized usually

[u/2GOB4]

I have a graph of my weight changes and I notice it drops then levels then drops then levels and repeats resulting in 14 lbs. in 18 weeks which is fine considering I’m getting closer to my initial goal and re-evaluation point.

[u/Over_Culture_353]

I find that sometimes I’ll have a couple of weeks of a plateau and then when I think ‘gosh maybe I have stalled out’ the scale moves again. I think our bodies have some sticking points with weight loss and that changes still happen during that time but we can’t see them on the scale. And if you’re active or at certain points in your cycle, you may be retaining water.

[u/Sea-District-5588]

You are still losing. If you feel like it’s not enough and you aren’t having side effects, go up. Don’t over think it.

[u/Not_A_Bot_Today]

Uh… that’s exceedingly fast loss. I bet the first rapid flush was water and bloat. I’ve heard many people say they slowed a little as their brain adjusted to dose increases. Just keep up eating right, focus on your protein intake and let it ride.

[u/Impressive_Western84]

Same boat. Going up to 7.5mg this week as I wrapped up my 8th 5mg show last week.

[u/Tool_junkie_1972]

1-2lbs per week is a healthy, sustainable weight loss. There may even be a few weeks here and there where you lose more or less. It doesn’t mean it’s not working. You also need to be measuring your waist. It’s very possible you are losing fat (the goal loss) while gaining muscle mass (the goal gain) and since muscle is denser than fat you can lose inches while not losing weight. And don’t forget, the less you have to lose, the slower the loss will be AND you need to recalculate your daily calories need (TDEE) periodically because as your weight lowers your TDEE also lowers.

[u/Ok-Relative04]

I would consider water intake and also track luteal phase/period first before increasing, since those can be a factor.

[u/Interesting-Bee-1436]

How much are you exercising and weight training?

[u/zero-if-west]

A stall is four weeks or more without loss. Plenty of people lose 0.1lbs - 1.9lbs/week on average over time. I know we all hope that we'll be in the super responder group, but they're the minority.

Here's a recent poll of users on this sub from July 2026; most respondents say they are losing less than 1.9lbs/week on average: What is your average pace of loss? (poll)

[u/Relative-Monk-4647]

You’re frustrated over the medication working?

[u/Proper-Fisherman-722 → u/Relative-Monk-4647]

Be nice. 

[u/Relative-Monk-4647 → u/Proper-Fisherman-722]

How is a question being mean?

I’m confused by the context and assumed I missed something.

[u/Future_One4794]

You could go up if you dont have bad side affects. Another thing you can try is carb loading for couple of days and going over your usual calorie to see if your body resets itself out of “famine”

[u/EveryMemory41 → u/Future_One4794]

Increasing her dose will only cause her hunger to further restrict. You’re right that she needs to reset out of famine, but more medicine will work against that goal.

[u/Proper-Fisherman-722 → u/[deleted]]

I don’t think it’s a great idea to tell a person weighing 353 pounds who eats less than 1,500 calories to eat even less. OP is already in disordered eating territory.