Day 4 & Questions

**Bugaboo** · August 15, 2005, 05:56 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

Bumping for Elsie...I think your menu looks pretty good honestly. I've never counted calories and don't really know that much about BMR's and such but I think you're doing well. I wanted to bump this up in order to help some of the more experienced folks a chance to see this.

**2big4mysize** · August 15, 2005, 07:16 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

don't get so hung up on a number you got off a web site.

Do yiou know if it is actually the correct number for your body? most are a general amount to cover all bnody types at your weight be it a fluffy or muscular one. you can use the Katch McArdle fromula to get a better idea of what your true BMR is if you know your body fat%.

Also those AMRs are ususally not ral accurate either so just make sure you are getting enough food to satisfy your hunger at the time you are eating and getting the vits and minerals you need as you eat enough to satisfy your hunger. Stavation mode isn't an overnight event. it takes time living below your needed fuel levels to get started.
Your body should adjust its hunger signals as your energy demands increase with your exercise program part of your Atkins.

Happy low carbing

**Elsie150** · August 16, 2005, 04:20 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

Yeah...except that I got the BMR thing off of the FAQ here.
So much info to sort through. So I take it you don't worry about your calorie intake at all?

**Desertthorn** · August 16, 2005, 05:13 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

Elsie, I wouldn't worry about calories at this point, just count your carbs, drink you water, exercise and eat. If it comes to a point that you are in a stall, then go for it and start looking at your calories.
Your menu looks fine, but you might want to consider getting a protein, a carb and a fat in each meal. Sometimes if all we eat is a veggie, it might up your blood sugar and kick in cravings.
Lynne

**2big4mysize** · August 16, 2005, 06:19 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

sorry we have a different formula? I got to go check it out cause I had the Katch McArdle lean body mass one in my original BMR post that was copied to the FAQ way back and the general one HarrisBennedict or something like that.

you don't need to worry about it on a daily bases but over the course of several weeks you should see your averaging above what is the corrct for you BMR so your body doesn't go lean body tissue eating for its protein needs too.

**Elsie150** · August 17, 2005, 06:39 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

Thanks for taking time to answer 2big and Desserthorn.

2big..sorry for the confusion...I meant there is an article in FAQ about BMR and that that is what got me thinking.
What is Basal Metabolism?
Elleth Faewen
I couldn't see any with your name on it so if you can send me the link I will be more than happy to read it....never enough knowledge. I haven't heard of either one that you mentioned. I got my BMR from http://www.countcarbs.com/tools/basal_active.htm which...LOL....which...since yesterday has to pay its yahoo bill so now is not working right now. But even the one at fitday has me at 1773.

Desserthorn ....my worry is that I am eating too low. If it was too high I don't think I would have questioned it I would have simply believed that I could eat higher calories and lose...that is what the books says. But I am eating below my BMR. For the last 7 days I have only eaten just about it 1800ish twice. So I was wondering if that would put me into starvation mode and what would become of all that. So far all my vegies have been eaten with a fat and protein except one which the chicken leg snack was eaten less than 1 hour before.

Thanks again for answering and if you have any more advice/opinions I am more than willing to listen.

**2big4mysize** · August 17, 2005, 07:45 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

so don't worry about your AMR and jusy concentrate on getting some calorically denser foods if you believe your BMR is the fitday number. it is very easy to up your clas that little amount by using 1-2 more Tablespoons of a healthy oil cooking your foods or in your veggies.

Check your ratios on fitday and make sure your fats are the 65% of your total cals you want and your proteins are close to the 30% with those ratios correct you should be losing on Atkins unless you are one of Dr Atkins' metabolically resitant 5% of the population and then you will need an even higher % fats.

Happy low carbing.

**Elsie150** · August 17, 2005, 08:07 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

Thanks 2big. I am working on that. Unfortunately even though I am under my BMR in the calories I am over my 65% (68%-75%) except for one day when I got the ratios right on..and it was just under my BMR...so that was a really good day.

**Finelly** · August 17, 2005, 08:27 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

Calories DO count, But..........and it's a big but (almost as big as MY butt, lol):

During the first two weeks of induction, you eat when you are hungry and you don't worry about calories. The reason for this is that you are basically entering into ketosis for the first time. You want to be satisfied and not hungry, and allow your body to naturally, through ketosis, reduce your appetite.

After the first two weeks, you should be pretty much in a state where you aren't going to eat too many calories. IF you find that you are stalling or losing very slowly, THEN you can start looking at your caloric intake. You want to be at about your BMI, give or take 100 calories or so. Too much over (200-400 calories) and you could stall. Too much under, and you could go into starvation mode, a place where your body hangs on to everything and refuses to let go.

So.......what does this mean for you now? I personally keep track of my calories according to my bmi because it interests me. Always have. It's part of fitday, anyway, so it's THERE to look at. There are going to be days when you go over, and that's ok. The important thing to do is to watch that it doesn't go TOO much under, which, pretty soon for you, will be a really easy thing to have happen.

When we're in ketosis, our appetite decreases. It's not that we are never hungry, nor is it really consistent. Most of us find that we have several days at a time of absolutely no appetite where we have to remind ourselves to eat, and then periods where we are ravenous. For women, this often coincides with either TOM coming or leaving, OR..and this is the fun part - right before a "whooshie" when we drop a couple of pounds. Interestingly, a lot of us are noticing that right before a whoosh, we are either very hungry or very sleepy and lazy feeling, or both. At that kind of time, eat when you are hungry, eat a lot if you are really hungry, and don't panic about increased calories unless it lasts for a week.

It's on those days with little appetite that it is most important to be watching the calories. Just an example: this week is one of my really low appetite weeks. On Monday, I was shocked to discover that by 5 pm., I had only consumed 700 calories. I did NOT want to go to sleep at that number, so I made sure to eat some high calorie snacks before I went to bed. I ended up at 1200, 450 calories below my bmr. I made sure to eat more the next day, because for me, 1200 calories is just not good enough several days in a row.

Hope this helps!

**2big4mysize** · August 18, 2005, 01:15 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

Finelly I think you misread the topic she is way under cals of her BMR from a site, not asking about if cals count on Atkins.

Elsie 50 if you have ever seen little kids eat they are feeding their hunger and can go several days as very picky finiky eaters and then suddenly they are hungry and you wonder where they are putting all that food. that is how we were intended to eat feeding our hunger and stopping not eating if we are naturally not hungry (notice i said naturally). Granted ketosis will kill your appetite but noit for very long if you do your exercise. just keep an eye on it and you will see great results.

Many many folk who don't understand the metabolism of fats don't understand it takes more energy ot calories to move the food from mouth to energy when eating Atkins then eating the normal high carb USDA recommended plan about 30% more a day so even though your cals will be over your BMR or even your fitday AMR you will still lose weight.

If you were doing 1500 cals of USDA to lose weight then on Atkins you could have 1950 cals in the Atkins ratios and still lose weight at the same rate. that is the metabolic advantage Dr Atkins talks about. There are several studies he mentions where the fats eating folk and the protein eating folk lost more weight eating the same cals then the carb eating folk that he based his program on you will read about in DANDR so try not to worry about your cals and just eat your Atkins to satisfy your hunger and see what happens.
I know it is hard cause you have been on diets before and have that cal counting thing going on in your head for everythingeven stuff in pics, but after doing Atkins for several weeks you will get a carb counting thing going on just looking at pics of foods.

happy low carbing.

**Finelly** · August 18, 2005, 09:13 PM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

No, I didn't misread. I agree that she's way under, but that is ok in induction. I just went ahead and explained the over and under thing for later on.

**Elsie150** · August 20, 2005, 08:55 AM

Re: Day 4 & Questions

Thanks Finelly....I appreciate you answering. I do use fitday and so of course with all those other numbers there it is natural to wonder about and question them. Never too much knowledge. I am managing to work the kinks out and the calories have come up to an acceptable range for me the last couple of days. My fat is a bit high..I averaged 70% last week. But my carbs are within the allowed range...average 14....so that is okay. I am slowly getting the hang of this.

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