My body is holding onto the weight for dear life.

[crash]

My body is acting as if i'm dying or something, it has refused to budge on the scale for over three weeks now. Weigh in the morning, about 180-182'ish. Afternoon, 185. After dinner, 186-187. Next morning, back to 180-182. I'm 5'9 1/2, 23yo male. Self evaluation: i dont really look fat or overweight anymore, but more liek.... untoned. Perhaps out of shape. want to be more trimmer of course

I'm drinking at least 70-80 oz of water a day. I was on Extended Induction up until last week or so, where i've moved onto OWL. Although i can't exactly recall which rung, basically i've been slowly adding veggies like carrots, broccoli, onions, beets, etc into the menu, but in controlled portions. Still stay away from grains and potatoes (ech). For an estimation i'd say i'm consuming around 30-35g of carbs, maybe pushing 40 on those days where i lose track of the count.

Regarding ketosis, the strips have fluctuated these past few weeks. Sometimes it'd be dark purple almost, but i think that was when i didn't drink enough water (like in the mornings). Usually it's light pink. Today, it's REALLY light, i'm not sure if it's even pink anymore.

So, i haven't yet had a woosh on the scale. yet i've had face whooshes (cheekbone shows, jaw is more pointy, etc), chest whooshes (i can now fit in most of my old shirts), and finally today, a waist whoosh. I can now fit in my old 32" jeans, whereas this summer i was struggling to put on 36". The pants are still slightly tight on the buttock area, but they are jeans after all and the hugging fit still feels comfy. So.... technically i've already reached my goal of fitting into all of my old clothes, yet i still have 20-25 lbs to shed

I guess eventually i can probably fit in 30" pants, like when i become so lean and muscular that i get a six pack or something. But that's for the future. Right now, i'm just going to keep going. Although the numbers on the scale have stalled, i am definitely experiencing progress and in a very practical way as well. I think maybe i'm closer to my goal than most people, so it's slower/tougher for me. Also i think i can up my exercise and cardio.

Oh one more thing, ever since i switched to a new brand of multi-vitamins when my old one ran out, i've been getting some pimples on my leg (sounds creepy but it's not, my body has always avoided growing pimples/acne on my face since i was a teenager, instead i get it on my back or sometimes my leg, bless it). So, i'm not sure if it's the iodine or brewer's yeast in this new vitamins that's causing it? Unfortunately i threw my old vitamin bottle away so i can't compare. I've been developing them approximately 2-3 days after i started taking these new vitamins. Should i stop for a few days, and see if they go away? Would the lack of supplements for a few days damage my body? I still eat a lot of veggies!

ps- i do shower every day and i have not really eaten very fried or oily foods at all this month. My menu is the following:

Breakfast - 2 eggs, 2-3 strips of bacon, 1 or 2 pork sausage, maybe half a cup or so of leftover veggies from last night (usually asian mixed veggies but occasionally broccoli, carrots)

Lunch - A small (10oz? 12oz?) piece of fairly lean rib-eye steak, random veggies (but never excessive onions or carrots or starchy ones)

Snack - A few pieces of cheese, OR a small handful of peanuts or cashew nuts, just to keep the metabolism going

Dinner - Umm usually same as lunch but substitute the steak with other kinds of meats, not prepared with sugary sauces of course. I don't really let myself go hungry but maybe i'm not eating fatty enough. Hmm.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: My body is holding onto the weight for dear life.

>>beets,>>

Hmm ... they don't really come in until the later stages of OWL.

Carrots are a starchy vegetable and don't come back until the later rungs of OWL.

Cashews are a pretty carby nut ... there's better choices.

What's the number of net carbs you're eating, exactly?

My advice would be to start doing the OWL carb ladder as it's intended.

[crash]

Re: My body is holding onto the weight for dear life.

It's rare that i eat cashews, i always check the nutrition content of foods im not sure, and i only had about a dozen pieces, like maybe once or twice a week. Would almonds be a better choice?

I put one beet, diced up, into a borscht that i made. I dont usually eat beets. Carrots i know ill have to restrict again, but i heard it had lots of good nutrients like carotine so it's always a favorite of mine. I put 1 onion, cabbage, carrots, celery, beet, and green pepper into the borscht. It's really easy to make and is something i plan to do more often in the future, as it's also very filling and convenient to make.

I know i need to eat more garden veggies though.

[chinadoll]

Re: My body is holding onto the weight for dear life.

Almonds are a better choice. It is not unusual to go three or four weeks without a loss. Have you been measuring? That would help tell whether or not you have a stall in the making or your if your body is just realigning a bit. You are very close to goal which would slow you down and you diet looks as if it could use more fat in it. Olive oil, mayo, etc.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: My body is holding onto the weight for dear life.

>> I put one beet, diced up, into a borscht that i made.>>

Regardless, they're not appropriate until the starchy vegetable rung. Same as carrots.

It would be a good idea if you would move up the OWL carb ladder rather than staying on "extended Induction".

[crash]

Re: My body is holding onto the weight for dear life.

I'm not on extended anymore since approx the start of this month. As a matter of fact i think i may have moved up the ladder a bit too fast in the past week. Will slowly restart from the bottom again.

The reason i didn't pore over the OWL chart is because there are a lot of categories that i'm not interested in, such as milk, creams, most fruits, most beans, and i've probably given up grains for good until my final goal. I figured that i'm jumping past so many rungs i think i could handle a few innocent carrots. I'm blessed with the absolute lacking of cravings for thsoe kinds of foods such as sweets and grains. But yeah, i think the starchy veggies may have been more negative than positive over the past week. I just realized that cabbage has a lot of sugar as well

I think i'll make myself a nice tuna salad with mayo tomorrow and buy more garden veggies. Last month i ate a lot of salads but this month, definitely not enough.