I think that the closer you get to goal weight, the more you have to watch your calories. This applies also to women over 40, too.... we have to be more careful as well.
So much depends on the person's activity level, age, medical history, medications, dieting history, bingeing tendencies, etc.... there are many variables...but in general, if you are within 20# of goal, I like to recommend 10-12x your ideal body weight in calories. If you're exercising a great deal, you can probably add 300-500 calories a day to that number.....maybe even more.
Atkins says "eat when you're hungry, stop when you're satisfied". Ketosis is supposed to be an appetite suppressant and fat should keep you satisfied longer. So for most people on Atkins, calories are self-regulating. But, as always, there are exceptions. Certain people are extremely carb-sensitive....anything over 10 carbs in a meal and they're hungry in 2 hours no matter what they've just eaten! So the eat when you're hungry rule can be pretty dangerous for them! That was me...and I was eating every 2-3 hours. I was eating too much!! Since I've been paying closer attention to my calories, I've lost a couple more pounds.
I think the most important thing to keep in mind is NOT TO EAT BELOW THE 10x level for very long...this will put your body into stress .... stress stalls weight loss. It could even damage your metabolism permanently. It's safest to eat at a higher calorie level for a few weeks (10-12x current body weight)...if you stall out, drop the calories by 100-200 a day and stay at that level for a few weeks. Nothing happens? Drop it again and stay for a few weeks.
Of course, calories are not the only variable to play around with... there's closely monitoring carb levels, artificial sweeteners, dairy, processed foods, vegetable intake, water, etc., etc., etc.
That's my $0.02 on calories.
There are many other viewpoints!! Just wait and see!......
|