help! question about quantities of food

[lilykinz1]

I'm on my second day of induction, and it has been relatively easy so far! Yesterday I think I ate a cup or two more of romaine lettuce than I was supposed to, but it didn't put me over 20g carbs total for the day.

my question is about the amount of food we should be eating. i know that we are supposed to eat when we're hungry to the point where we're satisfied and not "stuffed"... but... i still feel like i will gain weight with how many cals i'm eating!!

i'm 23, 5'4", 131 lbs. My goal weight is anywhere from 118-120, so I'm just looking to lose about 10-12 lbs. I've been tracking everything in FitDay, and I've been averaging around 1600-1800 calories per day, a TON more than on my old diet (1000-1100/day, where it was extremely hard to lose anything). My basal met. says 1600 is the number to maintain 130 without any activity (and i don't exercise (yet)).

I have read in another post in the forums that smaller people looking to lose weight should also monitor cals, and by that post i should eat only 1200. Is that correct? Please help!! I'm nervous!!!

thanks in advance!!

[2big4mysize]

I don't know who told you 1200 but phooey on them. it takes more energy to process your Atkins way of eating foods then it does the USDA way of eating foods so you will get the same weight loss results eating more cals doing Atkins. that is the metabolic advantage Dr Atkins talks about in DANDR.

Not2late has some portion sizes listed in the induction forum I think about what a normal portion is of a food. We are supposed to have some fats some proteins and some carbs from our veggie list ( it is not to exceed 20 net carbs, not you must eat 20 BTW) at every meal, Each time you eat have only enough food to satisfy your hunger and stop even if you have food on your plate carbs in the budget or room in your belly. Once you are in ketosis you will experience appetite suppression to the point you may miss meals cause you aren't hungry and that 6 hr rule will come into play. on those days you will notice you are eating less cals too. Listen to your body learn your hunger and you will be an Atkins loser too.

happy low carbing

[lilykinz1]

thank you!!!

[not2late]

Also, don't limit yourself to lettuce. There are about 54 vegetables on the Induction Acceptable Foods list. Compared to them, lettuce is not a nutritional powerhouse.

You only eat what your body needs for its daily energy use, no more or less. Unless you do the same activity day after day (walk the same number of steps, do the same motions when you are at work or home), your energy levels will change. On more active days, you might find yourself hungrier than on less active days. So listen to your body and you will learn to self-regulate your food intake without counting every single calorie.