Now, I'm not sure of the source for this article, I just found it on another board, but here is the article I was talking about.

Basal Metabolism Explained

Atkins: Count Carbs? Count Calories? What Gives?

By Regina Schumann

Induction
When you first start Induction, you're told again and again not to count calories! For the most part, this is good advice. The focus of Induction is to help you put aside the conventional wisdom that you have to count calories, restrict fat intake and limit your food intake to tiny portions if you want to lose weight. The fallacies about each of these recommendations are clearly explained in Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution.

With Atkins, you're told you'll lose weight if you can ignore what you've been told for years and just count your carbohydrate intake. For the majority of people who begin Induction, this simple recommendation works well - they start Induction, follow it for two weeks, and find at the end of that time they've lost an acceptable amount of weight...leaving them motivated to continue on with the way of eating.

For some, however, their Induction losses are less than anticipated and the reason is often chalked up to "high resistance" to losing weight. Now, let me be clear here, for some of those who lose little to nothing in Induction, the reason is indeed a high level of resistance to losing weight, and they do need to evaluate their options to break through that resistance to stimulate their weight-loss.

For many though, the reason, when their menu is evaluated, comes right down to calorie intake. Often calories are too low, sometimes they're too high. Both exceptions have the same result however - zero to minimal weight-loss in Induction. The reason for this is the body's response to calorie intake being restricted too much or too many calories available without enough energy expenditure to use them up, so they are stored for use later as fat.

Based on my experience thus far helping those who are starting Atkins, of 100 people who start, 80 fall within acceptable calorie intake without counting calories, 5 eat too many calories to lose in Induction and may gain weight and 15 eat too few calories to lose effectively on Induction. So, for now I will explain for those who are eating too few calories why that makes it near impossible for them to lose weight effectively.

Basal Metabolism Explained
The human body works with energy to function. This energy comes from foods eaten and the calories it provides. The very minimum the body needs are calories required for the energy needed to meet the needs for basic function - blood flow, respiration, heartbeat, brain function, regulation of body temperature, nerve impulses, etc. - called the "Basal Metabolism". The energy required by the body averages 70% of calories required each day!

When calorie intake is restricted to levels below the Basal Metabolism, the body restricts its requirement for calories by conserving energy expenditure - it slows the body's base requirement to survive in order to conserve it's energy stores for an emergency (fight or flight responses). This is often referred to as "starvation mode" because the body is convinced it is starving and enters into a metabolic state that will conserve energy to allow survival for extended periods without sufficient calorie intake.

Entering into "starvation mode" does not happen overnight, but takes an extended period of time - typically one week to one month, depending on how severely restricted calories are. The more calories are restricted, the faster the body will seek survival and enter into metabolic conservation of energy.

On calorie restricted diets, this is often the state one finds himself in after a couple of weeks or months following a low-calorie diet. Weight-loss slows to a crawl or stalls completely and hunger pangs are more frequent as the body screams for the calories it needs. The same effect can be seen with those following a carbohydrate-restricting plan when they do not eat enough calories each day.

A person's Basal Metabolism is completely individual. It is based on a number of factors that include age, gender, height, and weight. A 35 year-old female, standing 5'5" tall and weighing 200 pounds will have a higher Basal Metabolism than a 35 year-old female standing 5'5" tall and weighing only 150 pounds. While they both are the same height, gender and age, their weight differences create a disparity in their basal metabolic needs, with the person who is heavier requiring more calories each day to support basic function. It is for this reason there is no standard guideline to use for everyone - Basal Metabolism must be calculated for the individual, not an age group, gender group or height group alone.

Losing Weight
In order to effectively be able to lose weight, one must meet the basic requirements of the body. It must meet the energy requirements for their Basal Metabolism so that they can avoid entering into starvation mode.

You can calculate out your Basal Metabolic Rate at our online Basal Metabolism Calculator

You want to take your Basal Metabolic rate that is returned and use that number as your minimum calories to eat each day. Most women can consume up to 200 calories a day above their basal metabolic rate and continue to lose weight. Most men can consume an additional 350 calories above their basal metabolic rate and continue to lose weight.

To help you understand fully - your Active Metabolic rate, is the calories you use each day to meet your Basal Metabolic needs and also support your movement/activity each day.

You need to make sure your body gets the calories it needs for basic function - the Basal Metabolism - you should restrict your calories only for what you'll need for energy beyond that requirement - your body will know it is having it's basic metabolic needs met and utilize it's stores (your body fat) for energy needed above and beyond your base requirements without entering into starvation mode.

So be sure you eat at least enough calories to meet your basal metabolic needs.

As you lose weight, re-assess your Basal Metabolic rate at each loss of ten pounds. Your Basal Metabolism lowers as you lose weight and near your goal weight.

Remaining at Induction Levels, moving to OWL and Beyond....
Once you have finished the first two weeks of Induction, it is even easier to fall into a pattern of not eating enough calories. By the time you've completed the first two weeks, are well into ketosis and continuing along, your appetite is diminished almost to the point of non-existence.

Many who finished Induction with incredible results sometimes find a few weeks later they've stalled or stopped losing. While it's often PISS (Post Induction Stall Syndrome) that causes this slowing of weight-loss to allow the body to adjust to the metabolic state of ketosis and slow losses to a healthier rate for the long-term, it is sometimes starvation mode sneaking up on you as you've unwittingly reduced calories each day and not realized it.

More often than not, calories become an issue after Induction for a good number of people. As they lose weight and keep losing, they need to make sure they're eating enough calories, but not too many, to effectively keep their weight-loss potential stimulated.

The converse is also true - that for a good number of people, calorie intake rises too higher levels as carbs are added in along with additional fats and calories.

Understanding how to transition between phases is something that I've continued to question in Atkins' books - he simply does not explain it well and doesn't provide any cautions when one is adding carbs that are calorie dense, like nuts & seeds or additional fats to the additional vegetables or additional cream on those strawberries! By not providing cautions for the additions, many wind up adding more calories and come too close or exceed their Active Metabolism unwittingly - and slow or stall losses completely.

So at any point in your weight-loss where you are stalling (and a stall is a month or more without losing any weight on the scale or inches in your measurements) - it is time to assess your calorie intake.

Run your numbers through the calculator and make sure you're eating enough to meet your Basal Metabolic requirements - if you're falling short, eat more! Eat enough to meet those needs and get yourself out of starvation mode.

If you find you're eating at or exceeding your Active Metabolism, restrict your calories to lower levels that are still at or higher than your Basal Metabolism but lower than your Active Metabolism.

A good place to keep track of your calorie intake is at FitDay - it's free and it's easy to use.

Lifetime Maintenance
When you've reached your goal weight, you must adjust your calorie intake now to support not only your Basal Metabolism, but also your Active Metabolism - eating enough calories each day to meet your Active Metabolic rate. If you remain under your Active Metabolic rate, you'll continue to lose, if you exceed it too often, you'll gain. Once you find the calorie intake that allows you to maintain, at the carb level that your body can tolerate, that is where you target your calorie intake at. Assess this each month or so that you make any changes to your activity levels or experience a gain or loss of three or more pounds.

HTH
Valerie