Not hungry-metabolism

[guekjian]

Hey all,
I haven't been very hungry and according to Fitday, I am taking in under 20 carbs and averaging under1200 calories daily. My loss is still VERY slow (specially this week TOM). I am just wondering if the metabolism slows down even if my body is satisfied by the amount I am eating...

[SandyL2002]

I am not sure what the answer is.. but yesterday I decided to input stuff into fit day and saw that I was way under calories also..like 900 one day and I should be at almost 2000.. So I am trying today and the rest of this week to get my calories up... Although it was difficult adding things to breakfast this morning..

I have lost steadily not quickly... Even though there are people that have lost 22lbs on here in 2 weeks.. I am at 18 for almost 7 weeks.. But then I figured..that is still over 2lbs a week so I am must be doing something right..

I really want this to be a way of life and not I have to figure it out everyday in a computer program..so if it means I lose a little slower it will all come off one day

[Kawispice]

The way I calculate how much weight I should lose is the following: there are 3500 cal in a pound. I cut back my intake of calories by 500 to 1200 cal per day, I exercise about 500 cal per day and 7 times 1000 cal should give me a 2 pound loss each week. The scale says that for the last two weeks I lost 4 pounds each week, but I don't believe it because I know what should be happening. I also keep in kitosis every day. This way I know that no matter what the scale or BMI or anything else says, I AM losing 2 pounds minimum per week.

I don't want to lose more rapidly because then I feel very washed out and lose my hair as well.

I can't imagine how one could lose more than 5 real, actual, body-fat pounds a week... that would happen only if they were not eating A BITE of anything and exercising at the same time. Although I guess, perhaps through extremely vigorous exercise one could lose more than 5 pounds a week... but it is hard to imagine.

[ValidRouge]

I would not worry about calorie counting. It's not necessary on Atkins. Doing a ketogenic diet, like Atkins, puts us at a metabolic advantage of being able to consume more caloric dense food than on other (low fat, low calorie) diet plans. It actuallycan create caloric deficit for our body to convert the fat that we eat so that it needs ADDITIONAL fat off our body just to cover that caloric deficit.

Just as a visual (these numbers are just numbers i got from POOMA.COM)
Say that it takes 10 calories to convert a 10 calorie plate of pasta into glucose for our bodies to burn for fuel.
It might take 15 calories to convert a 10 calorie plate of chicken and broccoli in alfredo sauce (ala Atkinsstyle). Because there is a deficit of 5 calories there, our bodies have to go to it's fat stores to get the additional 5 calories. AND it probably has to get 7 calories worth to turn THAT fat into the 5 additional calories.

I do try to keep an eye on my calories in that I NEVER go BELOW 1500 calories in a day. I have actually had my resting metabolic rate tested and I was advised to not go below 1700 calories per day. But that is my individual needs and every person is different.

[liftinguru]

Exercise is important to keep the metabolism elevated. On a low-carb diet the body *feels* satisfied with much fewer calories than it would be otherwise. This reduces your appetite and hunger cravings, leading to calorie deficits. The problem is, the body still thinks it's starving, and as an automatic self defense, it slows down the rate at which it expends energy (lowering your metabolism). One needn't count calories on Atkin's simply because if you stick to the induction you will automatically be in calorie deficit. I guarantee you if you consumed more calories than you burned, you'd gain weight. Atkin's doesn't mention this because it's a rare person indeed that can consume enough eggs and pure meat in a day to "overeat"--the body is satiated with much less.

Ways to combat the slower metabolism is force yourself to eat more, even if you're not hungry, or (the best way) is exercise. I think 3 10 minutes sessions per day is more beneficial than 1 30 minute session for metabolic maintenance.

[Bren]

Eating under 1,200 calories can slow down your metabolism. EAT! EAT! EAT! If you find you are not eating enough try eating smaller meals more frequently (that will also rev up your metabolism). Think of your body as a fire..........gotta feed the fire to keep it going!

[D14965]

I agree -- if i eat less than 1500 a day i dont lose anything -- I sat at the same weight ( and not lost inches) for six weeks until i realised what the problem was. MY body was in starvation mode even though I felt that I was eating enough! Now I use Fitday to keep track of things and the weight is coming off again..who knew you had to eat to lose weight !!!