I know I know. On atkins you don't have to count calories. But then i've also heard that some people have to. So I don't know what to do. Everyone says trial and error...but darn it. I don't wanna have to do that. So I've been restricting my calories lately to 1200. Which I figure i can still lose at...since it is when you go under 1200 that your body goes into starvation mode. The high calorie/ atkins theory doesn't make sense to me. Can someone explain. I mean if i'm not taking in the calories, then my body is burning fat instead. Where do u think i should keep my calorie range?

You don't need to count calories to succeed on Atkins, but it may help to understand that calories still matter. Atkins is not "magic" and it does not "melt" fat. In fact, after an initial flush of water weight, the weight that you will lose on Atkins will be the result of a good, old-fashioned caloric deficit. It is, however, a bit more involved than the old-fashioned "calories in minus calories burned" formula because, as it shifts your body's fuel source, a low-carb diet can speed up your body's metabolism. In addition, most people report less appetite on a low carb diet, at least initially, making it easier to acheive the caloric deficit required to lose weight.

Restricting calories to 1200 per day can prompt your body to decrease your metabolism by something like 25% to 40%, thus defeating the metabolic boost that you may get from a low-carb diet. So low-carb + low-cal is often self-defeating.

2,000 calories per day may produce the results you are looking for, depending on your activity level.

Rosemam, Nick is absolutely correct. Calories do matter - they are your energy. You have no benchmark for what 'starvation' mode is for your body. 1200 calories for me is certainly restrictive, I lost best at over 1600. Everyone is different. At the end of the day, the higher you can keep your calories and lose fat the better off you will be - restricting calories does slow metabolism. Slowing metabolism means you lose fat less quickly, you have more of a likelihood of losing muscle along with that fat and you can eat less once you're done losing.

For the best explanation of how LC works best with high fat and more calories than traditional dieting, read the post in The Best Of forum called "Afraid to eat fat".

Nat