I know (well, I think) there's no official limit to calories on induction, but is there a number that you guys try to stay under?

Not in the beginning ... it's unlimited. The allowed foods are calorie dense and generally filling enough, once your body accepts fat burning for its energy source you will naturally eat less.

Try Induction (2 weeks) without paying any attention to calories. Your body will change, and you will notice your appitite drop anyway. Lots of changes are happening during that time, so just eat if you get hungry and get past the cravings.

I have already done the low carb diet before, and I'm older now. So I have to watch my calories also. If you can't lose after doing induction for a couple of months, and you have eliminated all the trigger foods that can stall your weight loss, then start trimming your calories. Trim slowly though - don't slash and burn on it. The more you cut your calories, the slower your metabolism becomes.

Good luck.

Ignore calories for now. Get used to eating the right foods and eating until you are satisfied. It might seem like you're over eating at first, but things balance out after a while. Just eat when you're hungry.

During my initial induction I didn't worry about calories. If I even 'thought' I was hungry, I'd eat. Eventually I just automatically started eating less.

I'm doing induction now, and logging all my food, and even though I'm being generous with the olive oil, butter, etc., I seem to be averaging around 1000 daily. You'd probably need a lot more calories than I do - I don't burn a lot because I have a physically limiting health issue, but a normally active person would probably need double what I need, so unless you cannot stop eating even after having a good meal, I don't think you need to worry about calories on induction. I'd say follow your appetite, don't allow yourself to get hungry, but don't deliberately scarf down loads of fat/oil either. Let your palate lead you and try to make nourishing choices. The only allowed foods I am consciously limiting are nuts and cheese of which I could eat mountains. And I have cut out the decaf coffee as it's 1-2 carbs per mug, and I'd prefer to eat 1-2 carbs worth of veggies instead.

If you aren't able to guage when you have eaten enough food, I'd say that you should watch not to eat too much protein, for the sake of your health. I'd say you should maybe not go over 2500, depending on your height.

I don't understand why you are on a diet, though, because your weight is already quite low, unless you are extremely tiny.. Dieting reduces your metabolism making you more likely to gain weight afterwards, so you have to be careful not to cause problems for yourself later.

Being an information junkie, I track what I eat and doing this helps me stay on track (accountability factor). While tracking carbs, proteins and fats, I also get a calorie count with the program I'm using. I've found that when I'm eating a good, clean induction my calories naturally end up fairly low....between 850 and 1100 usually, depending on what I eat that day. I absolutely do not try to limit calories, I merely observe what they are at the end of the day. The thing is, eating a clean, perfect induction tends to limit the volume of what I am able to eat. If I ate more I would feel sick. So I have to conclude that induction leaves me better able to listen and respond to my "true" hunger. I've also noticed that I really do lose better on the lower end of the calorie scale, also with lower carbs...10 to 12 is best for me. Finally, my calories tend to vary day to day. If one day happens to end up at 850 calories, next day I'm likely to take in more....not that I do this deliberately, because I'm basically following hunger and eating just until I'm satisfied.

oops posted twice