No Carb for a week

hey guys, In case you don't remember my profile, here's a recap: M, 43, 5'11", 160 lbs, Lacto Ovo Vegetarian. Ideally, I feel I should be closed to 140 lbs.

So, I have mentioned before that I have pretty much plateaued out in terms of my weight loss. I normally eat eggs/lentils/beans for my protein and other vegetables as sides. I tried to do something different last week, and just cut out all beans/lentils. I only ate eggs and veggies, and nothing else. Interestingly, I didn't feel any different, my weight is the same as well. Is one week just too short of a time to see any changes? I was hoping for maybe 1-2 lbs fat loss, since theoretically, I should be in Ketosis (at least more than usual).

Opinions welcome.

After the initial water loss, keto or LC won't give you any loss beyond what you would expect with a calorie deficit. There are weightlifters who gain weight with keto.

You're already at a normal weight for your height. Going from normal to "looks good naked" is, by most accounts, much harder than going from overweight to normal.

Ah unfortunately, I am the skinny fat body type person. Most of my fat is around my waist, and it's the most stubborn. I actually look quite skinny, but only I can see the truth, with all my chub around my waist! I don't think I am talking about the looking good. I probably have 20-30 lbs of fat around my waist, and I am trying to knock that out!

What is your waist size? Do you have any other objective measures of your abdominal fat? Which of your health problems are caused by or worsened by your abdominal fat?

Lot of questions, I know, but 140 lbs sounds like a low target for a 5'11" person.

my waist is around 31-32. The reason I am picking 140 lbs, is that my bones are quite slender. They are deceptively light. And in terms of objective measures, I don't have anything except the big tire around the waist haha. I can pinch my belly, and can feel a big layer of fat underneath.

Essentially, I just want to lose the tire around my waist. In terms of health, I am not sure if that will make any difference, or this is my natural weight and waist. After all, I lost weight steadily from around 195 lbs, and also put on muscle (from the increase in strength). If I am not losing any more weight, it could be a natural equillibrium!

A 31-32" waist on a 5'11" guy can't have a lot of abdominal fat. It just isn't possible.

If you want chiseled abs, get a personal trainer. You may need to go through cycles of bulk and cut. You probably need to eat more protein.

Have to agree with Sharperhawk on virtually all his points. Your anatomy is the exact opposite of mine, so I really can't identify with your issue at all, but it would seem to be that your best course of action is to try some targeted exercise to try and firm up the mid section.

I wish you luck in finding a solution, I can imagine that carrying around a true spare tire on an otherwise slender frame would be most annoying.

One week would definitely be too little time for me to see any weight loss on a calorie deficit. I tend to lose and gain weight in fits and starts, and stay the same weight for about 2 weeks even after altering my calories, with a sudden 3-5 lb shift overnight that becomes the new setpoint.

Even while eating at a deficit, I'd try to maintain muscle or even gain some, if at all possible. When cutting weight, I tend to do higher repetition sets (in the 15 to 30 range) with lighter weight, to avoid injury. Or do multiple tiny sets that aren't very taxing (like 25 unweighted squats, or 5 pull ups on a doorway pull up bar throughout the day), which can add up to hundreds of reps.

I'm not sure if the exercise is useful for directly burning calories or ramping up metabolism and nutrient partitioning in a favorable direction (probably both), but it feels a lot better than remaining less active on a deficit.