Hello eggsnsteak! Of course, I agree with what everyone has said, but if I'm being truthful, last summer is the first time I put a bathing suit on in more than a dozen years. But since then, a transformation in my thinking has happened and I low carb now not so much for weight loss but for my health. Weight loss will happen. Or it won't. I'm just not invested in it anymore. Having said that, I may be the most shallow person on this board, but I needed to be smaller before my thinking on eating would change from weight loss to health.

So, here's my experience. I began low carbing when I was 49 years old. I wasn't following any strict plan. Just cut way back on grains and eliminated anything that tasted sweet (including diet coke and fruit). I lost 25 pounds in six weeks. Easy peasy. After that, I began to get more serious and eliminated grains too. And that caused me to lose ~10 more pounds at a rate of 1 or 2 pounds per week. And then I sort of drifted in and out of maintenance mode for the next four years, very gradually trending downwards.

What I have noticed is that when I jump back into serious low carbing, I might lose some weight initially and then won't lose anything for 3 or 4 weeks. I don't really weigh myself much anymore, but I suspect I am now back in a fairly steady 1 to 2 pounds loss per week. At some point, when the weight loss stops, this way of eating becomes maintenance. Going off plan causes me too much joint pain - it's simply not worth it.

p.s. cellulite? Mine looks much worse now than it did 30 pounds ago. I think I was more firmly packed with fat back then.