I'm a tall guy, and as a teen I could never gain weight. I was always this height and ~165 which was waaay to skinny. When I was 17 I got mono and dropped to the almost nonexistant weight of ~147. Trust me at 6"4, 147 is scary:-/ Between 18 and 24 I packed on most of the weight. At first I was trying to force myself to gain weight, then I got married and had kids, the rest is history:-)

Anyhow the reason for this story is I hit 237 which was starting to look pretty bad even at my height so i started Atkins. I don't know if I've ever been at an IDEAL weight. Unless my ideal weight is waaay skinny? I have been above 200 pounds for about 10 years, so now at my age(31) I figured 200 would be my ideal weight. Well the closer I get to 200, the more I think I need to lose more. Therefore I have adjusted my goal weight down to 190. When I get closer to that mark I may have to readjust it again.

I've kept myself on induction for over a month now, because it's been easy so far and the weight is coming off. I'm going to force myself into OWL now just because I think my body may be going into starvation mode at 20 carbs which may be hurting instead of heping. Gotta love Atkins:-)

Just want to point out that your body only goes into starvation mode when it is deprived of calories...NOT carbs. I used to argue with people on another board who kept saying that staying on induction for more than two weeks would cause starvation mode and when you upped them you would gain or would stop losing, etc. That is my biggest pet peeve...lol.



L

I for one believe that ideal weight is in your minds eye.
If you want science do a BMI calculator- need to measure your wrist but it is somwhat helpful if you are trying for a target.
And yes, you can stay on induction 20 carbs for as long as you want to lose weight.
And "starvation" mode is ususally when someone eats 1000 calories or 1200 and the metabolism switches down up to 20%.
Yet there is a "fat fast" for metabolically resistant folks which is 4 days of all fat at 1000 calories a day then up to 1200 for a week- as descrbed in DANDR.
That makes me wonder what this starvation mode is all about. It doesnt seem possible that you could limit your calories so much and still lose weight. This is sometimes confusing.
My Dad is 6'5" and ideal weight for his frame is 250 pounds - he is very strong and athletic.you re just an inch shorter so unless you are going for the catwalk I think you should check out your ideal weight as you head towards your goal !

The suggested weight for a man at 6'4" ranges from small frame 162-176, med. 171-187, large 181-207, so 190 doesn't seem off track at all.

If your body fights you for those last couple of pounds it may be telling you that you are at a natural set point and that's what you should weigh.

Keep up the good work and Good luck!