OWL stall duration after extended induction?

[gonnabskinny]

I am on my second week of OWL and am rung 1 doing 25 net carbs. I was on extended induction because of the amount of weight still needed to be lost. I currently still have 85 lbs to go, but knew that I needed to get onto OWL to start figuring out my CCLL (ACE).

I had been taking off the weight at about a 3 lb per week clip over the past several weeks and knew that the loss would slow down significantly, which it did, I only lost 1.6 lbs last week and so far this week the scale has not budged at all! I expected that though and had read that it is not unusual when first starting on OWL. Then I guess that it starts right back up again.

Any idea how long I can expect to stay in this stall? My Ketostix are even registering darker with the higher carb level, which kind of surprised me. My calorie intake has actually gone up a little with the added carbs. I was averaging about 1811 calories per day and now it is a little closer to 2000 calories. However, my BMR is 2400 (if I did nothing but sleep) and I am also averaging a little over 500 calories being burned per day in exercise. My fat/protein/carb ratios are about 60/30/10 right now. Also, my metabolic resistance rate to weight loss, based on the amount that I lost during the first two weeks of induction, should be low, so my CCLL (ACE) should end up being in the 40-60 range and possibly even higher since I workout six days per week for an hour per day doing both aerobic and weights.

Is there any way to break the stall?

Thanks!

[ValidRouge]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

Just be patient. Have you taken measurements? I typically found that I would lose pounds and then the next week I'd lose inches. Usually didn't lose pounds and inches in the same week.

Since you are obviously in ketosis, you are doing right. Have you added any NEW food...something you didn't eat during induction/extended induction??

[not2late]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

If you are still losing pounds and/or inches, you aren't in a stall. A stall is 4 consecutive weeks without loss of pounds or inches.

[gonnabskinny]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

Thanks Joy and Megs! Measurements have not changed either. The only food change was more veggies. I had to add some higher carb veggies to increase my carb count. I had some snap peas and some brussels sprouts, but they didn't seem to have an effect on my blood sugar, meaning I didn't get hungry.

Also, somebody suggested that my caloric intake seemed to be too low and probaly should be closer to my BMR. What are your thoughts? I did notice that the ketostix went from medium to large the morning after I thought I had excess of calories the day before, which I thought was odd. Do you think that means anything?

[LuckyD]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

What about exersize? Muscle adds weight, so you could be losing the fat and gaining muscle. Try not to stress the scale so much. Your weight loss is going to fluctuate like crazy. One week none the next week 3 lbs. Its just the nature of this WOE. And I seriously would not worry about a stall unless you dont lose anything in 4 weeks. I know it can be maddening when the scale doesnt move, but you are going in the right direction no matter what the scale says.

[ValidRouge]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

Hmmm, I'll have to put on my thinking hat here.

What about water? How much water are you getting in each day?

Also, as you get closer to goal the weight loss does slow down.

Ummm, exercise? what do you do? Have you changed things in the last 2 weeks?

[gonnabskinny]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

As far as exercise none of it has changed. I am working out six days per week. 35 minutes cardio and 20 minutes alternating upper and lower body weights.

As for water, I am drinking between 120 and 170 oz per day.

Here would be a typical diet days menu for me.

Pre-Workout
Atkins Shake 2 net carbs

Breakfast
2 extra large eggs 2 net carbs
2 oz of Jones canadian bacon
1 roma tomato 3 net carbs

Lunch
Romaine salad with 2 campari tomatos, 1 mini cucumber, and one medium mushroom with 2 tbsp of Maries Blue Cheese Dressing 6 net carbs
Tuna salad with 2 tbsp of Hellman's Mayonnaise, 5 oz of albacore solid white tuna, and 1 medium celery stalk, and 2 tbsp of splenda sweetened relish. 3 net carbs
85 grams of brussels sprouts 5 net carbs

Dinner
6 oz Tenderloin with bernaise sauce 2 net carbs
4 brocolli spears 4 net carbs

43 carbs, 18 fiber, 25 net carbs. Approx. 2000 calories.

Water
10 bottles of water, mixed between Perrier and Ozarka Spring Water.

Exercise
20 minutes on nautilus equipment weight workout. 35 minutes on recumbent bike. 8 miles Total burned 544 calories.

[sallyseachange]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

I'd say that after only a week's halt of the scale moving, it's too early to be concerned. Every now and again, your body needs to pause and take stock.
If you do things right you'll start losing again, for sure. If you don't, the first thing I'd ditch would be the Atkins shake. They stall many people.

[ValidRouge]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

Your menu looks EXCELLENT. Your water is EXCELLENT. Your exercise is EXCELLENT.

You get straight A's.

I'm with Sally, I think your body might just be taking stock for a bit. Keep at it and lets see how next week goes.

Even though you've been doing weight lifting all along, did you UP the weight? I know when I go up in weight, I'll retain water as my muscle repair.

[gonnabskinny]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

Thanks Sally! I agree that it is too early and I feel great. I know that some people slow way down when they first move onto OWL, I was just wondering how long that it lasts.

I do have problems with the Atkins bars. Can't do them at all or anything else for that matter that has sugar alcohol in it. Hadn't noticed a problem with the shakes though. If I ditch those, I'm not sure what a good instant protein low carb replacement before my workouts. Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks Megs! I up the weight a little and every week. I will say though that I have noticed some new muscle that I didn't know existed under all that fat! LOL Actually, we have a FitLinxx system at our gym that tracks your progress on weights and calories. Last month I was number 1 in my age bracket for FitPoints and calories burned, but number #5 on weights. So far this month, I am #1 in all three categories, so that could very well be it.

[Elizellen]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

Oh - my gym is using the fitlinxx system too!
It is such a good incentive to see how I compare with other women in my age bracket and it keeps me going regularly to keep my name high in the standings -last month I was top on weight lifted !!

[gonnabskinny]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

Elizellen, congratulations! I really like it as well. On those mornings that the bed feels awfully good, you know you will really fall behind if you don't get that BEHIND out of bed and go for your workout!

I also like that you can also add your other activities. I worked in the yard this afternoon for about an hour, and made sure to log in my calories burned on the Fitlinxx site.

[cmbyrd50]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

I've read that on this diet you loose allot of water weight in the beginning especially the first two weeks and then you regain the water you've lost. So it appears you haven't lost any weight when in fact it's the water.
I hope that's true because I was in a stall all month long! I lost inches tho because I went down a size and the scale show I haven't even lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks.
So I have to not pay attention to the scale for now.

[jmprgrl74]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

I'm a newbie here, and I usually try to stay away from advice since I'm still learning myself, but that calorie count seems so low. When hubby and I were doing Body for Life and working out that much, he always had to eat more than me and if you're eatting around 2000 a day, that seems low. I'm just speculating based on what fitday and articles I found online gave me about how many calories I should eat to lose weight, and you saying that fitday gave you a BMR of 2400 just for sitting down.

I also thought I'd mention that I just broke a stall of 3 weeks. No idea why it started or why it stopped, but I'm grateful that everyone on here kept telling me it would pass and I kept going. I also just started adding a small snack between meals since it was often 6 hours between them, an egg or a little roast beef with cream cheese, not much. I'm not sure if it was that, the new vitamins I just started taking or coincidence that it was time for the stall to end, but I lost 4 pounds this week!

Good luck to you! You seem to have this stuff down to a science! I love learning to much about how my particular body like I'm doing with Atkins! The tweaking and experimenting is kind of interesting!

Pam

[gonnabskinny]

Re: OWL stall duration after extended induction?

Pam, I think we are all learning what works and what doesn't and I appreciate your input. I am constantly looking (maybe the correct word is second guessing) at what is working and what is not. I have tried not looking at calories too much, but I find I am satisfied in that 1800-2000 kcal range. When I get above it by much, I feel like I have overdone it. Not sure why that is. On the other hand I do not want to go into starvation mode, to where my body just shuts down.

One thing I did find out, was that I was taking too many of my vitamins and that I needed to switch them because of the iron in them. I never realized that an oversupply of iron in your system causes constipation. After switching and with a little help from some flax seed muffins, I noticed things were moving a little more efficiently!

Also on the weight loss front, things are dropping pretty good again and the inches are coming off. I have lost three pounds since I first posted this. Also noticed 1/2 inch gone in my waist and a full inch gone in both my chest and my hips!

I think next week, I am going to step up to rung 2 and see what happens. I bought some cottage cheese to try. I also have a recipe that calls for ricotta that I am dying to try out.

Thanks all! I really appreciated all your support and ideas!