Hiya! I'm on my 4th day on Atkins in the induction phase and along with numerous side affects I have a question to anyone who knows on calories. I counted my calories for the past few days here at fitday.com and I have found I am only having roughly 1200 calories. But here is the thing. I am not hungry and I am eating what I think are big portions. I am strictly following the food guide except for some aspartame once or twice a day, but I'm looking for another drink alternative to have occasionally with my water. I have lost 9 pounds so far in the first 4 days but I understand this is water weight. Anyways, I have read posts that I should be up to 2000 calories/day. Any ideas on how to up these? I know we're are only supposed to eat until we are full and I think we are only supposed to eat our normal meals and then snacks IF you are hungry. And then I have also read you should eat every 2 hours. Is this how it goes? Any helpful advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

How often you eat is really up to you as long as you're not skipping meals. Some people find that eating smaller more frequent meals helps with blood sugar swings and also helps get your calories up a bit. Some people don't like the feeling that they seem to be eating all the time. One way to up your calories is to eat calorie dense foods like meats higher in fat, cheeses (up to 4 ounces a day) and high fat salad dressings. At this point, 60-70% of your calories should be coming from fat. Cook things in butter or olive oil, put butter on your veggies (or cheese sauce if you can fit the carbs in). A good resource to check how you're doing is Fitday.com. You can put in what you eat and it breaks everything down into grams of fat, protein, carbs and fiber. It also gives you your total calorie count for the day. Good luck!

The thing about ketosis is that it robs you of your appetite - both good and bad. Good in that you no longer feel hungry all the time, like when you ate low fat. Bad that in your no longer feel hungry If you want your body to let go of fat and water it must know that it is going to be propperly nourished. The idea behind eating smaller more frequent meals is that it keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels stablized, the ultimate goal of LCing. Another is that the very act of eating raises metabolism. By eating 6 mini meals instead of 3 large ones you actually eat the same amount of calories, you just spread them out (I have been eating 6 to 7 meals a day for over 6 months and I love it, although it did take some getting used to)

To get calories up think FAT. Fat is your friend. It's calorie dense (9 calories per gram), its metabolically neutral (it causes no change in insulin levels) and it tastes good! Use more butter, olive oil, mayonnaise and salad dressings (check for sugar on the ingredient list and make sure it's way down on the list). Olives and eggs thrown into salads boost calories. After Induction look to seeds and nuts in moderation - they are full of good for you polyunsaturates and monounsaturates. Avocados add fat to your diet, sardines. It takes some new thinking, but it can be done.

HTH
Nat