I'm slowly moving along to the second phase, and am noticing that I am consuming a ton of calories. Nearly 2800 today (according to fitday.com). My carbs are still below 25g, but I have been noticing a stall ever since I started eating more calories in an attempt to get my carb total up.

I ski 6-15km 4-5 days a week (x-country), and lift weights 3 times a week... but the weight still doesn't want to dip below 190lbs. Should I try to tone down my calories maybe? Perhaps choosing veggies over high-fat choices?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
-Drew

Hi Drew-
That's exactly what Atkin's suggests as you move to and through OWL to increase your carbs by 5 a week and makes them veggies.
I can give the advice but I'm not sure I can take it because I have a hard time adding veggies to my diet and acting like it is a great thing!

Also don't forget to cut back on your fat a bit as you increase your carbs. That will help bring down the cals given fat is more than twice the cals of carbs per gram. Also, I agree add more of those carbs from things like veggies and berries so you don't send cals throught the roof.

Ahh, ok, sounds great I was always under the impression that the more fat & protein, the better. I'll try to replace my sausage & eggs with broccoli & asparagus.

Thanks for the replies

-Drew

Oh, one thing I forgot to ask... :

Is there a caloric range I should aim for? I'm by no means counting that accurately... just trying to get within 500cal's or so... I'm 6'1", 193lbs, and 19 yrs old. I've checked around on a few fitness sites, but I always get mixed results...

Cheers,
-Drew

My understanding is you should shoot for 10-12 times your body weight in calories. 12 times if you exercise intensely and regulary - like you seem to do... about 2300 for your weight try not to go below about 1900 for the amount you exercise...

That's 10-12 times your goal weight in calories.

Good to know - I'm hovering just under 1700 - will drop it to 1500 or less! Thank you!

I had not seen anyone specify "goal" weight b4. That makes alot more sense now!

Hmmmmmm....now I'm really confused.

A while back on the Newbies forum, someone asked a very similar question concerning the amount of calories you can consume and still continue to lose weight. Someone told this person that it was 10-12x your present weight. I had always heard that it was 10-12x your GOAL weight, as well. Then, I was kindly corrected by another member of the board, who offered this link:
http://atkins.com/helpatkins/newfaq...AmIAllowed.html

So, apparently the Atkins center says we can continue to lose weight at 10-12x our current weight.
So what's the deal? I know it's not a huge difference for some people who are closer to goal. But for those who have a lot more weight to lose, this is very important...some people may consuming waaayy many calories while others are falling far short.
Plus, I've heard (and this may or may not be the truth) that we should eat more calories as long as we're losing, to prevent slowing down our metabolism. Something like, the more calories you eat while losing, the more you'll be able to consume in lifetime maintenance and stay at goal.

I'm still rather new at this myself, so forgive me if I'm misrepresented anything or anyone...

Yes, my understanding is also based on this quote from the Atkins site:


I'm used to counting calories. How many am I allowed on Induction?

The Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM counts grams of carbohydrates instead of calories. In Induction, you are allowed 20 grams of Net Carbs. When you progress to Ongoing Weight Loss, you gradually add carbohydrates in 5-gram increments as you move toward Pre-Maintenance, and finally, in 10-gram increments as you approach the Lifetime Maintenance phase. Although you do not need to count calories, it is certainly possible to consume too many calories even if your carb intake is on target. If you are losing weight, there is no need to concern yourself with counting calories. However, if you are unable to lose weight or actually regain weight lost, one possibility is that you are taking in more calories than you expend through exercise, thermogenesis (the body's own heat production) and other metabolic functions.

Research has shown that on a controlled carbohydrate program, more calories are burned than on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, so there is a certain metabolic advantage to the controlled carb approach. But understand that this does not give you a license to gorge.

If you are used to counting calories and are more comfortable with such an approach, the general rule of thumb is to multiply your present weight by 10 to 12 to get the daily caloric range at which you would lose weight. For example a 150-pound woman who consumes 1,500 to 1,800 calories daily should continue to lose weight.

The real goal of the Atkins program is to learn eating habits that will enable you to permanently maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. This includes changing old habits such as overeating that contributed to your original weight problem.

I've seen that but I've also seen the goal weight mentioned other places. Also that it depends on your metabolic and activity level. Kind of ridiculous for someone weighing 360 pounds to eat 3600 cals a day and expect to lose. I've also heard 10xbody weight minus 500 cals for each 10 pounds you need to lose. That would mean our 360 pound man to get to 200 would need to eat which would mean he'd have to minus 8000 cals. Meanwhile a 160 woman to get to 150 would eat 1100 cals. Doable. At no time should anyone eat less than 1000 cals. These things have to be made relevant to the person's situation.