Weight stalled for 4 days - any advice to push ahead?

phwdjones

Hi all,

I’m a 27 year old Male.

I’ve recently restarted a cut and it was going pretty well, but I’ve been stuck at 168.6 lbs for 4 days and want to see faster progress but don’t know how, as it already feels like I’ve cut my calories pretty low for a 6 foot tall Male and I would be hesitant to drop any lower as I’m feeling pretty hungry.

Similarly I’ve been dropping my carbs below 100 per day pretty consistently which is a change from my normal diet and though this initially helped, I feel it’s not anymore. Should I cut them even lower? (Sub 50)?

My diary is open. I’ve attached a pic of my current physique, I just want to see my abs,

Thanks

ceiswyn

You are not going to see faster progress, and it would be unhealthy for you to do so. Staying the same weight for a few days is entirely normal. Like most people, what you need to change is your expectations

Lillymoo01

I'd be questioning whether you need to lose weight to begin with as your BMI is already in the healthy range.
With so little to lose fast results are anything but healthy. 1/2 pound maximum is where you should be aiming. A stall for 4 days is very common and nothing to fret over.

MichelleSilverleaf

4 days is not a stall. Change your expectations.

Redordeadhead

The only thing you need to change is your expectations.

Unknown

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phwdjones

Okay, thanks everyone! I will try to be more patient but I just wanted to check I wasn’t doing something wrong that was blocking me. My sodium levels are probably still too high, for example.

AnnPT77

phwdjones wrote: »

Okay, thanks everyone! I will try to be more patient but I just wanted to check I wasn’t doing something wrong that was blocking me. My sodium levels are probably still too high, for example.

No. Sodium relates to water weight (as does carb level, mostly**). Water weight can mask fat loss temporarily. Since water weight is not fat, and fat loss is what we care about, there's no need to manipulate water weight. Water weight fluctuations are part of how a normal, healthy body functions.

Relax. Adjust your expectations. Four days is nothing. Trust the process.

** Carbs can also affect satiation, so compliance with calorie goal, of course

quiksylver296

http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

mbaker566

4 days is not a stall. keep doing the work. and be patient

missysippy930

4 days?
Patience grasshopper.

vollkornbloedchen

As suggested by others: Give it (more) time.

When I was on my weightloss-journey I found it helpful to step on the scales only once a week.

Terytha

To further clarify, you can't call it a stall until it's been around 4 weeks.

If a pound is 3500 calories (a rough rule of thumb), and you have a deficit of 500 per day, it would take at least 7 days to lose one pound, and that's in a vacuum with no outside influences. Reality is not so straightforward.

erickirb

wait... at 6' tall and 168 and you are trying to lose... why? I would suggest recomp. eat maintenance, plenty of protein and follow a well-structured lifting program. and most importantly, adjust expectations

FYI, I am 5'6" and weight only about 10lbs less than you!

phwdjones

erickirb wrote: »

wait... at 6' tall and 168 and you are trying to lose... why? I would suggest recomp. eat maintenance, plenty of protein and follow a well-structured lifting program. and most importantly, adjust expectations

FYI, I am 5'6" and weight only about 10lbs less than you!

Because I still can't see my abs. I'll cut until I see my abs, then stop and start slowly adding muscle. 5'6 and 6'0 is a gulf of difference, but you clearly have more muscle, hence why you're nearly the same weight. I don't have much yet.

Lillymoo01

phwdjones wrote: »

erickirb wrote: »

wait... at 6' tall and 168 and you are trying to lose... why? I would suggest recomp. eat maintenance, plenty of protein and follow a well-structured lifting program. and most importantly, adjust expectations

FYI, I am 5'6" and weight only about 10lbs less than you!

Because I still can't see my abs. I'll cut until I see my abs, then stop and start slowly adding muscle. 5'6 and 6'0 is a gulf of difference, but you clearly have more muscle, hence why you're nearly the same weight. I don't have much yet.

Seriously look into recomp, rather than weight loss. With this, you are losing fat while gaining muscle, but your weight doesn't really alter. You will be much happier with the long term results, even though it is a slow process.
This is a great thread to help you learn what it is all about.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

AnnPT77

I'm sorry to say this, but: Abs are muscles. If you don't have very developed ab muscles, they're not going to show up just because you cut-cut-cut. If you look at the tragic photos of famine victims, or at photos of extreme cases of anorexia, they don't necessarily have visible abs. (I'm not saying that you're a famine victim or are anorexic.)

Having visible abs requires 2 things: (1) Having somewhat developed or defined abdominal muscles, and (2) being lean enough for those muscles to show.

#2 doesn't make it happen without #1.

Please don't continue to cut, to the point of unhealthiness, if what you want is visible abs. You're at a relatively low weight already. Eat at maintenance, and start a sensible, well-designed, progressive strength training program. That will get you visible abs quicker and more healthfully than continuing to cut to an underweight body weight.

Please stay strong and healthy while you achieve your appearance goals!