Exercise & Calories

[rosie321]

Hi All,

I have a question about exercising and calories that's been puzzling me. For starters, although I realize that you don't have to "count calories" on Atkins, I'm seeing my calories in my food log. I typically consume between 1600-1800 calories a day but I also burn between 400-700 a day through exercising. This means that I'm often netting less than 1200 calories. Because of this, I'm concerned that my body will go into starvation mode.

So here's my question...
Should I be worried about startvation mode because I'm NETTING less than the 1200 calories that is typically regarded as being a minimum?
OR
Do I not have to be worried about starvation mode because I am really consuming an appropriate amount of calories?

Thanks for the insight!

[liv]

Who ever thought up this idea that we are like a machine and that the body just see calories clearly was an idiot? It is not like that at all. It all depends of what we eat.
So the exercise calories are somewhat nonsensical and there is no reason to count them at all. Just eat what you have to. Do as much exercise as you can. Count your carbs. Count your blessings

[David Brown]

Hi Rosie,

If you're allowing your appetite to determine caloric intake, you probably don't have to be concerned about starvation mode. The important thing is that, no matter how many calories you consume, you obtain enough supportive nutrition in your diet (vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, essential fats) to fully support all metabolic functions. During weight loss, its the quality of the food, not the caloric content, that sets up the metabolism for success or failure. For more on this I suggest you read this article: Nutrient Intake of Subjects on Low Carbohydrate Diet Used in Treatment of Obesity -- STOCK and YUDKIN 23 (7): 948 -- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Dave

[stacy3477]

And don't forget - don't go more than 6 hours without eating.