You know, I think that they really do matter - especially if you don't have that much weight to lose. Kudos to the "big losers". I am so impressed by the folks that are dropping 50, 75, 100 pounds or more. I lost 65 after my baby was born, so I can relate a bit, though if you want to talk metabolic advantage, try breastfeeding. Anyway, I am at a healthy weight, but have another 14 (formerly 15) vanity pounds to go. I am in the middle of my second week of induction. The first week, I enjoyed myself immensely - Atkins is basically a smorgasbord of the foods that I crave or indulge myself with. But I didn't lose a thing. I enjoyed the dizzy ketosis feeling and my ketostix told me I was burning fat, but I suspect the fat that I was burning was the heavy cream, bearnaise sauce and harvarti cheese. So middle of week 2, down a pound, and a little frustrated, though when I face facts, I suspect that I will not lose weight on 1800 to 2200 calories a day. According to the BF and BMR charts, I need to be down around 1200 - 1400. Ugh. In this I envy the big losers, as they are likely to get that emotional boost of a substantial weight loss right off the bat, and the encouragement that accompanies it. Any other little losers out there with similar frustration? Gotta suck it up and pare down those kCals.

I'm a "little loser".

I try to keep my calories around 1600 and my carbs around 40-50. I also have a lot of muscle and I work out 5 days a week.

Ha ha - once upon a time I worked out like that. Then along comes baby (and volunteer work, and keeping up a new house, etc..etc..). Going today though. They say that exercise is the key to staying young forever. Sign me up for that.

How much have you lost, and what are your goals?

Atkins does not recommend induction for people who have less than 20 lbs to lose. Rather to go directly to maintenance with 60 carbs. Lowering this 60 carbs only if there is no weight loss.

Even if you chose the induction/owl path, the expected weight loss is 10% of the excess weight during induction, then 5%/month.

Something else. Atkins helps you to reach the weight your BODY feels comfortable with. Sometimes it is higher than the weight YOU feel comfortable with.

To reach YOUR goal, beside checking the calories, I would recommend some exercise. It can help a lot, not only to lose more lbs, but to shape you:-)



My best wishes:
Eva

Welcome to the low-cal club! I have to eat low calorie to lose weight too. Took me about a year of not counting calories to figure it out!

Good for you, Nancy! It took me almost 2 years.

But now that I've started low-cal, I'm finally seeing the scale creep down again. And at least on low-carb it's a whole lot easier, more satisfying, and healthy. I used to lose all energy on a low-fat/low-cal diet. If anything, my energy level has gone up since adding low-cal to my low-carb lifestyle.

I too have to watch my calories and that's why high fat is hard for me to do and lose. Fat is high in calories and adds up fast. I do low fat and carbs toeat more volume of food. I lose doing it this way. Also stick to as much natural food as possible. I eat fish, chicken, eggs (or egg whites), and lots of veggies. This is what will probably work for you.

Well during the time from June 2000 until about January 2003 I lost 120#. Now I just keep gaining and losing the same darn 15# over and over but have found doing moderate LC is working for me. My goal is to just stay as healthy as I can. I have to workout on a regular basis to help control my rheumatiod arthritis due to lupus.

Unfortunately as you lose weight you also burn fewer calories. Its been interesting to track that in http://www.mybodycomp.com

I believe I'm one of the unfortunate few for whom calorie counting may be an essential component of weight loss. I have 10 pounds to lose--started needing to lose 15 pounds, and losing those 5 pounds took over five months and may not stick even now--and I've no idea how long it'll take me to lose the remaining 10. I use fitday and try to eat between 1350 and 1500/day...but I've a sneaking suspicion that I might have to tweak even lower eventually (if I haven't lost anything after three more months, for instance). Fitday helps me stay honest and able to calculate what I can eat in a day. I'm not too obsessive about it, I hope, but I try to exercise common sense.

If I'm having a hormonal crazy day that's leaving me famished no matter what I take in, I add more protein and fat and try not to go to bed hungry. If I end up with 1700 cals, so be it. But I'm trying very hard to make sure I'm hungry before I eat and to get a better handle on portion control--which is very, very hard for me.

I remember, from my old days of deprivation dieting, that feeling tired meant that I was losing weight (it was true), while having energy meant that I'd taken in more calories than I was able to burn--thus giving me energy and contributing to a gain (also true). That's why I'm very suspicious now of feeling energized, even as I'm working hard not to believe that I need to feel tired to be losing weight. I don't know whether it's true or not that I can lose weight and not feel tired. Certainly it's true for those with 100 pounds to lose--and I can understand why. But when you get down to those last 10...well, it's a whole different ball game, I think. And it requires a lot experimentation and determination to wait it out.

As I weigh less, I have to consume less calories.
My body is not going to burn more than it needs, and, unless I increase my exercise rate substantially, I will be accumulating extra calories in all the places I've lost.

Welcome to my world! I don't really count calories, per se, but I am conscious of the size of all my portions. I actively push my protein up to 80+ grams per day and keep my carbs at or below 40 grams. I measure fats and am always trying to see how little fat I can add and still enjoy the meal.

On the bright side, however, even though I am losing pounds at a snail's pace (about half a pound a month at best), every once in awhile I find I can pull an old skirt or pair of jeans out of the closet and wear them again. I am losing inches and firming up, even though the scale doesn't budge for WEEKS at a time. ( Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I make all the happy noises I can, but I still get pissed off!!)

By the way, exercise really is nonegotiable when you're already small.

Yes I also need exercise and some portion control to maintain my weight. Now I don't starve myself, or even feel like I am dieting per se.

The nice thing I found about Atkins was that I was not really that hungry. I am usually full, which helps.

brobin
PS. Don't give up, those vanity pounds are tough, but they sure are satisfying!