Is There a Caloric Threshold?

[Lulubell]

understand the DANDR and have been following the induction plan for sure. today is day 7. i'm in ketosis, have lost 10 lbs already. but, am wondering about a threshold. surely, it is possible to still be eating too much of the right foods, right? anyone know or recommend a caloric value that i should shoot for?

[ValidRouge]

Lulu, this is always one of those "great debate" topics here at ADBB.

I would not worry about counting calories during induction. The only thing you need to worry about is counting the net carbs and retraining yourself to stop eating when you are satisfied. And part of it is relearning what satisfied feels like. We also get the added benefit of appetite suppression when we are in ketosis. The calories kind of naturally come down...and some find themselves in a situation where they are eating far too few calories.

We also have a metabolic advantage because the very nature of lipolysis/ketosis is a higher metabolic one. It takes more energy to burn fat for fuel than it does to burn glucose and glycogen for fuel. Therefore just the nature of lipolysis takes more energy. Also as we get further into the plan, many people will find that on Atkins they add lean body mass which is a metabolically active tissue...and if they are exercising, they are certainly adding lean body mass. All of this combined makes our bodies function with a metabolic advantage. This means that we could potentially burn far more calories than we would on a different eating plan where we burn glucose for fuel.

With that in mind. You could look at charts for your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which will tell you how many calories you burn just being alive. You want to make sure that you are eating at least this many calories.

Honestly, I have never counted calories on the high end. Some days I eat a lot of calories because I am hungry, and other days I eat less. The only time I've really paid attention to calories is when I'm consistently eating under my BMR.

[kylie]

Originally Posted by ValidRouge

Honestly, I have never counted calories on the high end. Some days I eat a lot of calories because I am hungry, and other days I eat less. The only time I've really paid attention to calories is when I'm consistently eating under my BMR.

Same here - it didn't take long to figure out that if I ate below my BMR too often, my losses would slow. So, I would concur that I would pay more attention to calories on the low end than on the high end.

[julirama723]

Yes, I am more successful when I eat above my BMR! That is when my body knows it has a dependable source of food and it does not have to go into starvation mode! My metabolism is really kickstarted if I eat a little above that basal rate. But then again, eat to feed your hunger. Like Joy said, you'll have hungry days and not hungry days...just eat accordingly.

[Elizellen]

Sometimes I wish that www.fitday.com didnt show the calories amongst its other information!
As the others have said dont worry about calories, concentrate on eating from the allowed list including up to 20 net grams of carbohydrates, eat when hungry and feed your hunger with a mix of highfat food and you will become a big loser!!

[MaggieBE]

You just need to eat enough to feeel satisfied. I wouldn't worry about calories at this point. I have read(on this board) that some members do need to watch calories a bit as they get closer to goal weight.

[higgies]

I agree with most of the statements here and also, even during induction, noted my calories through fitday. I tended to try to eat at or slightly above my BMR. I did notice I lost slower when eating below that value. The focus during the 2 week induction period should be on maintaining the correct net carb values and eating acceptable foods. You've got enough on your plate to worry about with that!

[Lulubell]

hmmm.. thanks all for the good info.

i do know how many calories i need for my BMR and believe me, i'm eating in excess of that. i think that i'm going to try and cut it back a bit, because honestly, it seems like too much. and i wonder if i'm eating the excess becuase i can, not because i'm all that hungry.

i'll let you know how it goes.

[not2late]

A really rough estimate of you daily caloric needs is to add a 0 to your weight in pounds. According to your stats, you currently weigh 240 pounds. So 2400 calories is roughly what your daily caloric needs are.

Eat only the amount of food that satisfies your hunger. Don't eat the amount you think you need to eat or the amount you are used to eating. If chicken leg and a 1/2 cup of radishes satisfies you for lunch, that's all you eat. The great thing about Atkins is that our appetites become naturally suppressed and the other great thing is if you get hungry between meals---it's okay to eat something!!!!

If you learn to listen to your body by only eating the amount that satisfies your hunger, you won't need to count calories because you will be subconsciously self-regulating your food/calorie intake.

[ValidRouge]

Yeah, what megs said!