Fri, Oct-10-03, 16:37
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Senior Member
Posts: 1,042
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Plan: atkins
Stats: 283/250.5/190
BF:
Progress: 35%
Location: Pacific NW
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Hi Stephen:
The old rule of thumb is that you should consume about 500 fewer calories than your body is using per day for sustainable weight loss. If you believe that, then the key is to figure out how much your body is using. There are plenty of metabolism calculators/estimators on the web, which will get you started, but remember that most of those calcuations are going to be based on a low-fat/high-carb diet. A low-carb diet has probably shifted your metabolism to burning fat, which uses more energy (calories), so the typical metabolism estimate may be lower than what your body is actually using.
If you really want to get to the bottom of the calorie question you may have to experiment and keep careful track of not just calories, but the percentages of fat, protein, carbs and fiber that your are consuming, then compare your results over time to see how your body is reacting.
I have seen people recommend calories in the range of 10-12 times your CURRENT body weight and also 10-12 times your TARGET weight. That can be a big difference. I have no idea which is correct, but, all other things being equal, you'll lose faster at 2000-2500 calories than you will at 4,000-4,500 calories. Somewhere in between is probably the answer.
Keep searching, and you'll probably find something more concrete to go by.
Good luck.
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