well it's possible to retain 4lbs of water. I use to worry alot about my stalls and water weight, but now I'm not worried, I stalled a month on this diet, but I kept doing it and eventually the scale moved. It's all about patience and covering your bases of course. Carb creep etc. Sometimes I think people get impatient because they have a specific goal date, I decided to be flexible with mine, I'd say by next Fall or end of summer I want to lose 20lbs. If I don't, I don't, but I'll keep trying if it takes me forever. Bad thing about falling off diets is that you'll have to go back to one eventually. Might as well stay on it. Oh and I don't think you can gain muscle that fast, but I read somewhere that V shaped bodies, like mine, gain muscle mass easily and I use to suspect that before. I know it can be discouraging, but the more patient and persistent you are, the stronger and wiser you become. I never thought I'd be this calm about the scale not moving so fast. I read that eventually people don't lose more than a pound or two a week (of fat) because the body is designed to store it, not lose it. Trust me, I know how frustrating this can be, be stronger than this moment or day, because that's really all it is, tommorrow hasn't happened yet. Glad you discovered that cream, I did too, eventually and gave it up. I can't stand only being able to have 2 spoons