Average Calories

[JThompson]

I've seen some posts on the forum about not eating enough calories for weight loss. I was wondering how many calories most people consume, on average, a day. Mine average just over 1100. I'm not hungry and I'm losing so I'm not overly concerned but I have a feeling I will need to eventually concern myself over it as I move through OWL.

[Georgiana]

Re: Average Calories

An FAQ that was on the Atkins Center website on April 6th, 2003, said:

"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 to the Lifetime Maintenance phases of Atkins. 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."

[The One]

Re: Average Calories

When I started this WOL, I didn't use the tools that people use today (fitday, etc). I annotated my carb count on my PC. I just sent a sample menu to a friend on fitday so that she could analyze what my numbers were while I was on induction. My carb count for one day was somewhere around 11. My calories were around 2500. My weight at the time was 205 lbs.

[mission to lose]

Re: Average Calories

I've seen some posts on the forum about not eating enough calories for weight loss. I was wondering how many calories most people consume, on average, a day. Mine average just over 1100. I'm not hungry and I'm losing so I'm not overly concerned but I have a feeling I will need to eventually concern myself over it as I move through OWL.

Hello,
Welcome,

Personally, I keep an eye on my calorie intake on Fitday as well as everything else shown there...Although I do not choose my food depending on their calorie count, I DO make sure I am not going too crazy high or low in my total calories for the day. I chose an "average" for my self and monitor that I generally stay within about 200-300 cal up or down every day. I am not SUPER strict, like I say, just want to keep an eye on it.

In my opinion I believe you are eating WAY too few calories at 1100. You are putting your body into a starvation mode, and you probably stop losing. I know it is hard to eat when you have no appetite, but try smaller meals more often, and make sure you are getting enough fat, too.

Are you reading the book and the stickies in the FORUM area about how to do Atkins, etc?

[JThompson]

Re: Average Calories

Thanks. Probably should have modified my post with the fact that I do not count calories now or ever - I only count carbs. I am using fitday which is the only reason I know my calories. I've just seen a few posts throughout this board mentioning calories later in the program and since I was surprised at how low mine were I was curious what others were averaging.

[JThompson]

Re: Average Calories

Hello,
Welcome,

Personally, I keep an eye on my calorie intake on Fitday as well as everything else shown there...Although I do not choose my food depending on their calorie count, I DO make sure I am not going too crazy high or low in my total calories for the day. I chose an "average" for my self and monitor that I generally stay within about 200-300 cal up or down every day. I am not SUPER strict, like I say, just want to keep an eye on it.

In my opinion I believe you are eating WAY too few calories at 1100. You are putting your body into a starvation mode, and you probably stop losing. I know it is hard to eat when you have no appetite, but try smaller meals more often, and make sure you are getting enough fat, too.

Are you reading the book and the stickies in the FORUM area about how to do Atkins, etc?

Thanks for the wecome!

Yes, I've read the book several times and am going through it again. I've read several of the stickies. My fats are actually quite high most days - I gained 5 in my 2nd week and started upping my fat, which appears to have worked. Fortunately I got over my fat phobia the first time I did Atkins. I didn't use fitday back when I gained those 5 so I'm just seeing my calories with the added fat, which is probably making me fuller and eating less and so on. Like I said I'm not terribly concerned about the calories - just curious where everyone else was. I don't believe I am in starvation mode as I am losing still. I'm keeping my eye on the scale and fitday (addicted to that program) so if I stop losing and the calories are way down I might try to up it. Mostly I am just trying to get myself into an easy habit of recording what I eat and measuring to ensure I'm really eating the number of carbs I think and not a bunch more cause I didn't measure properly (I like to "pretend" I don't need to measure).

[Elizellen]

Re: Average Calories

Sometimes I wish we could turn off the calorie totals on fitday so we could not see how many/few we are eating and worry about it

[kjel]

Re: Average Calories

My calories during 2 week induction was fairly low at about 1100-1500. When I moved in to OWL it's now around 1400 on the low end and 2300 on the high end.

[Georgiana]

Re: Average Calories

Sometimes I wish we could turn off the calorie totals on fitday so we could not see how many/few we are eating and worry about it

Noooo!!!

I would have never figured out my stall had FitDay not shown calories!

Edited to add: I was undereating, not overeating.

[lolitaleekun]

Re: Average Calories

My calories during 2 week induction was fairly low at about 1100-1500. When I moved in to OWL it's now around 1400 on the low end and 2300 on the high end.

Same.

[lannerjarv]

Re: Average Calories

i found that i wasn't eating NEARLY enough, and when i upped my calories to about 1500 i started losing again.

now i eat when i'm hungry, and eat until i have a big sigh. i know that when i have a big sigh that means i'm full.

i had some days where i was only eating 800.. that would be starvation mode no matter what WOL you are doing.

[JThompson]

Re: Average Calories

Thanks, everyone. I have managed to up my calories so I'm not so anxious about it now. I think I average around 1400 to 1500 now. I find when I add an extra cup of veggies (like green beans, my newly rediscovered old love) my calories go up. I was trying really hard to stick with the 3 cups veggies but decided so long as I am within my 20 carbs I would add the extra veggies.

Oh, and something else I "discovered" -- my silly self forgot that fitday does not subtract fiber so on some days I may have been a little low on carbs, as well. Not that it matters over much. Now I understand why when I started on here someone welcomed me with 'don't forget to count net carbs'.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Average Calories

>>I think I average around 1400 to 1500 now.>>

That's probably not enough for you.

Eating at 10-12 times your current body weight, or 250 above your BMR will most likely help keep your metabolism stoked ... and that helps the losing.

[JThompson]

Re: Average Calories

>>I think I average around 1400 to 1500 now.>>

That's probably not enough for you.

Eating at 10-12 times your current body weight, or 250 above your BMR will most likely help keep your metabolism stoked ... and that helps the losing.

I've looked at that faq about BMR and all and was surprised how much it says I should be eating. Maybe once I get past induction my calories will go up. I am thinking about quitting fitday, though, since I don't have a home computer and can't wait til I get to work to figure out my carbs since my carb books tend to not match fitday. I figure continuity is more important than knowing my calories until I get my own computer. Find I rely too much on fitday.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Average Calories

listen to your body since your appetite is suppressed and it will tell you if you are under feeding it. Learn how your body says it is hungry things like feeling tired. agitated for no real reason, dizzy light headed confused fuzzy thinking are all signals you need more food.
When it says eat then eat and in the mean time when you are not hungry and you reach that 6 hr mark eat nutrtionally dense legal foods so you get some protein some fat and some of your vegies.