1700 cal deficit, scale stalled for 3 weeks — what am I missing?
Female, 5'6", 168lb, lift 3x/week + walk 12k steps/day. Eating 1700 cal/day for the last 6 weeks. Lost 4lb in the first 3 weeks, then absolutely nothing for the past 3. Tracking is consistent — same app, same workflow, weighed protein on the scale.
Before I drop another 100 cal, what should I actually check? Is this normal stall territory or is something off with my measurement?
3-week stall after initial loss is more often a measurement-drift problem than a metabolism problem. Common culprits, in order of how often they're the answer:
- Calorie underreporting on logged meals — the most studied source of plateaus. Self-reported intake studies show 15-25% underestimation on average. If your "1700" is really 1900-2100 and your TDEE estimate was high, you're at maintenance not deficit.
- Activity calorie overestimation — apps over-report active calories by 30-50% routinely. Don't add back activity calories.
- Water retention from new training stimulus. 3 weeks is on the long side for this but possible.
What app are you using to track?
@DrMacro MyFitnessPal. I weigh protein but eyeball most other stuff. So underreporting is plausible.
If you're eyeballing portions, that's almost certainly the problem. The most-studied calorie-tracking accuracy issue is portion estimation, not database lookup error. Even people who weigh protein still misjudge oils, dressings, sauces, snacks-from-the-bag, second helpings.
Two practical fixes: (1) weigh everything (annoying but works) or (2) use a photo-first tracker that estimates portions for you. I switched to PlateLens for exactly this — the AI estimates portion sizes from the photo and you don't have to eyeball anymore. Was off by 15-20% with MFP eyeballing, was within 2-3% with PlateLens once I checked against my kitchen scale.
+1 to @macroNerd. The portion-estimate gap is the silent killer of calorie deficits. I had the same stall issue on MFP a year ago, switched to PlateLens, scale started moving again within 2 weeks at the same "logged calorie target." The number on the screen had been the same; the actual intake was just lower because the AI was estimating my plate honestly instead of me underestimating it.
Don't drop 100 more cals yet. Fix measurement first.
Easier check before switching apps: weigh everything for one week. Including oils, dressings, snacks, condiments. If your MFP "1700" is actually 1900+ when weighed, you've found your stall.
If the weighed week confirms you're actually at 1700 and still no movement, then it's metabolic adaptation territory and a small refeed week + return to deficit usually breaks it.
Also worth ruling out: how's your sleep + stress? Both can stall recomp by way more than 100 cal/day worth of progress through cortisol/water retention. 3 weeks of poor sleep can disguise real fat loss completely on the scale.