Why am I not losing weight?

Usually one of three things is happening: the scale hasn’t had long enough to show the change, you are eating a little more than you think, or the gap between what you eat and what you use has shrunk as you got lighter. Read your weight across two to three weeks, not day to day. Then check portions, cooking fat, drinks and weekends. Then check that your plan has kept up with your new weight. If you train, look at your strength and how your clothes fit too, because the scale can hide fat lost and muscle gained.

Has it really stalled?

Weight moves within every week. In a study of 1,421 adults, it swung by about 0.35% within the week, up after the weekend and down on weekdays. Weigh at the same time of day, compare the same day of the week, and read the direction over two weeks or more.

Weight also answers slowly. A model of human metabolism published in The Lancet found that a lasting change of 100 kJ a day (about 24 kcal) leads to about 1 kg of weight change in the end, with half of it reached in about a year. In the paper’s worked example, the old rule of 3,500 kcal per pound predicted about twice as much loss in the first year as the model did. And in a review of 80 weight-loss trials, most loss came in the first six months, then weight levelled off. A slowdown after a few months is the normal shape.

For pace, the NHS suggests aiming for 0.5 to 1 kg a week.

In Nume: Progress compares your latest weigh-in with one at least 14 days earlier, and calls a change under 0.5 kg “about the same”. In your first weeks it says that weight often moves a little early on and the line means more after four entries.

Are you eating more than you think?

Almost everyone does, a little. Across 37 studies of food diaries and recall interviews, about 30% of people under-reported what they ate, and energy was underestimated by about 15% on average. In a well-known 1992 study of ten people who said they couldn’t lose weight on under 1,200 kcal a day, they had under-reported what they actually ate by 47% on average, and overestimated their activity.

That’s not dishonesty. It’s how hard estimating is. It usually hides in the same places:

oil, butter or ghee in cooking, and dressings
drinks: juice, milky coffee, alcohol
bites while cooking and finishing someone’s plate
bigger meals at the weekend and when eating out

In Nume: you log with a tap, a sentence or a photo, and each record lists every part of the plate with its amount, so a part that’s off is one quick correction. When you describe a meal in words, Nume reads it next to your own similar meals from the last 60 days, with the portions you settled on, and words you’ve typed before give the same numbers again. See how accurate photo and text estimates are.

Has your plan kept up with your weight?

A lighter body uses less energy, so the same intake leaves a smaller gap as you lose. After a real change in weight, work your numbers out again with the calorie calculator, and see the energy check for what a sensible level looks like.

The body also adapts a little, but less than many people fear. In a study of 171 women with overweight who lost about 12 kg, resting energy use dropped by only about 54 kcal a day beyond what the weight loss explained, and that drop did not predict who regained.

In Nume: your daily energy follows your latest weigh-in, so when you log a lower weight, the plan moves with it. Profile shows each number with the reason behind it. For fat loss the first two weeks use a gentler cut, then it stays moderate, for loss you can keep up.

Are you sleeping and moving enough?

Sleep changes what you lose. In a small study, ten adults with overweight ate the same reduced diet for 14 days twice, once with 8.5 hours in bed and once with 5.5. With short sleep they lost less than half as much fat (0.6 kg against 1.4 kg) and more lean mass.

Everyday movement drops easily on busy or tired days too: fewer steps, more sitting.

In Nume: how active a normal day is, and your training, count in your plan, and food is planned around them. Progress shows your movement minutes for the week beside the WHO’s 150.

Is the scale hiding progress?

If you’re new to strength training or coming back to it, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, so weight stays flat while your shape changes. A 2020 review found the same in people who already train. Your waist, how your clothes fit, photos and your lifts show what the scale can’t.

In Nume: Progress shows your strength beside your weight, with your bests by lift. You can add up to four private photos to a weigh-in. Only you see them, and they are never read by AI.

Should I eat less to break it?

Not by much. Go through the checks above first: most stalls are a short wait, a portion that crept up, or a plan that needs your new weight. A deeper cut is harder to keep up. Keep to a pace of about 0.5 to 1 kg a week.

In Nume: after a heavier meal, the rest of that day adjusts and says why, and tomorrow stays as it was. Nume never plans very low-calorie days, and protein is set to help you hold on to muscle while you lose fat.

See it in your own week

Most of this page comes down to one question: what actually happened? Nume keeps the answer for you. Progress shows your energy and protein against the plan, by day and by week, on the days you logged in full, your weight compared over at least 14 days, your movement and your strength, all in one place. Your plan follows each weigh-in, and every meal is planned at your own eating times from the dishes you eat, so the plan you follow is one you can keep.

Protein matters most while you lose: see how to get enough from the food you already eat. If you’ve had a few weeks off, see how to get back on track.

Common questions

How long does a weight-loss plateau last?

In trials, loss usually slows and levels off around six months in. Before then, two or three flat weeks are often just water and timing. If it stays flat for several weeks while you’re eating as planned, go back through the checks above.

Why do I weigh more the day after a big meal?

Mostly water and the food still in you, plus extra salt and carbohydrate holding water. It settles within days. Compare the same day of the week rather than the day after.

Does muscle weigh more than fat?

A kilo is a kilo. Muscle takes up less space, so you can look and feel slimmer at the same weight.

Could a medicine or a health condition be the reason?

Some medicines and health conditions change weight. The NHS lists some steroids, antidepressants and beta blockers among the medicines that can.

Checked on 12 November 2026 · The Nume team