I think what agonycat and others are saying, Isabel, is that they see a lot of people coming in and out of here, who's bodies are severely damaged, and whose MINDS are also severely damaged by low-calorie dieting. The fact of the matter is, 1000 calorie diets are unhealthy for EVERYONE! If you have to eat that little to lose weight, it might be a good time to take a few months to heal your metabolism properly and allow yourself to eat what your body really needs. Personally, I think that at your weight, that aiming for over 2500 calories may be too ambitious, but please, please please don't go below 1500. My recommendation is to just have sporadic high calorie days, to keep your body guessing. I'm sorry you stalled, but why so angry? It all comes off in good time, and the slower it goes, honestly, the easier it stays away!

Labonbon: you are incorrect about Atkins recommending 1000 calorie diets. I think you are refering to his fat fast, which he only recommends for those who are severely metabolically resistant and only for a short amount of time. Do you have an old version of his book, by chance?

Also (and this is to all the newbies) keep in mind that all of the mentors and moderators here have done a lot of research into this. There are other low carb books out there that have more complicated explanations and above and beyond that, there are millions of science-based articles in well respected journals about a myriad of diet-related minutiae, including metabolism. My recommendation is this (and this is coming from someone who is on Atkins): don't take DANDR as the absolute truth.

Peace