Quote:
Originally posted by Sticki
I have not been on the Atkins long and I thought I had read it pretty well. Every diet has been a struggle for me but I thought this would be different. I must confess that the debate on this thread has worried me considerably.
I was under the impression that I could eat what I wanted, following the guidelines, until my carb count was 20g. I am losing weight, but are people recommending that I also have to count calories and protien / fat ratios to improve my weight loss. ...I am quite confussed now. I thought I had at last found a great diet. but now I wonder if that is the case.
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I am not an expert, and I hope Nat sees this and also responds.
What I've seen here is that in general, initial results seem to be greater when you start with more to lose. A person seeking to lose 10 or 15 lbs is not likely to lose it all during induction, although someone seeking to lose 100 lbs could lose as much as 10 or 15 lbs during induction.
I don't think you have anything to worry about. This plan is working for you and you still have a ways to go to reach your goal.
I believe that Jasper's point is that as you get close to your goal (or what you should weigh), your loss slows. If you've read any journals, people have reported this very phenomenon. AT THIS POINT, they may need to tweak their eating plan to continue to lose until they are where they want to be (or where their body wants them to be). This might involve restricting calories.
The rule of thumb I've seen here is that one should try to consume 10 to 12 times his/her body weight in calories each day. If you eat too little, your body will think you're starving it and hang on hard to every little fat cell. If you start this WOE at 200 lbs, that translates to about 2000 calories each day. After you've lost weight, say you're down to 150, you might need to reduce calories to 1500 per day to continue to lose at a similar rate.
(I know I said 10 or 12 time your weight, but I can't do "12" in my head so I'm going with the "10 times".)
The cool thing about this plan is that you're not going to feel particularly hungry eating 2000 calories (or 1500 calories) each day because protein and fat are so filling. I've noticed that I just don't feel hungry. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't feel like putting something in my mouth and chewing it!
There's a difference. We all know there's a difference.
Are you using Fitday.com to record your eating? If you're concerned about your intake, sign up and use it to keep a food journal. It's really great in terms of calculating your percentages so you can see your CARB intake, which is your primary concern. You're restricting carbs so that your body will burn its fat stores instead of the instant energy that carbs provide. Anyway, you may be surprised at the numbers you get.
I hope I haven't confused the issue, here. Good luck!
