Do calories count on very low carb plan?

[georgiaholt]

I think I must be eating over 3,000 calories/day and I'm not losing like I did in the beginning. I still have the hungries. Does this happen to anyone else?

[Redvelvetdragon]

Well I myself try to keep the calories under 2000. Even though our focus is low carb, you do have to pay a bit of attention to the calories as well. Check out www.fitday.com and enter in your daily intake and see where you end up with the carbs and calories department. Its quite a useful tool

Chrissy

Chrissy
311/233/130
5'9"
Since January 29th

[jetdad]

While we typically don't count calories, they most certainly do count. Unless we have a deficit between what the body needs, and our intake, we will not lose weight. Low carb eating allows us to consume more calories, but it does not allow us to consume unlimited calories.

--jim

[Chris2003]

Hello!

I also count calories with fitday. In general, this helps me with food choices, portion control, and keeps me from eating for reasons besides hunger. My main focus is on carbs of course and I eat when I'm hungry no matter where the calorie count is, but calorie counting does help me establish some guidelines.

Chris
203/168/115 LC since 7/11/03

[Emelia]

The sort of "hidden agenda" behind the low carb philosophy is that when you allow yourself fats, you will begin to feel a truer "full" than you get with carbs, and you will naturally reduce your caloric intake.

Many people find it works exactly that way. Others - myself included - don't. And we have to count our calories and make sure we're getting enough good, healthy food (protein, dairy, lots of veggies) without letting our Inner Glutton get the better of us.

What I do realize is that as a low carber, I can regularly eat 2000-2200 calories and lose weight, whereas I could limit myself to 1600 calories on low fat and gain.

So...calories do count, but it also matter WHERE those calories come from.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Emelia

"We can only learn to love by loving." - Iris Murdoch, Irish writer
294/208/174 LC since 25-Nov-01

[teelbee]

I'm another calorie minder - I just seem to have a slow metabolism, and I have to stay aware of portions sizes and total calories. Mind you, I'm still eating satisfying portions of food, but I'd probably be eating too much if I wasn't monitoring total calories.

I was already using DietPower to track carbs (it's similar to Fitday). So it was no additional effort to also monitor calories, too. The program automatically calculates both (and a bunch of other stuff, too).

Another thing to keep in mind is that your nutrition requirements will decrease as you lose weight. It makes sense that smaller bodies require less food, right? So, what works early on in your weight management program might not work once you've lost some weight. You might need to tweak your food plan a few times along the way.

~~~Teelbee

174 (Mar. 2002, highest weight), 164 (Jan. 2003, begin LC)
164/133/137-134
remember, amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic

[georgiaholt]

Thank you everyone for the great advice!

[Doctor Insomnia]

I counted calories for years. I was able to maintain my weight loss that way but it took a huge toll. My metabolism shrank to where 1500 to 1600 calories a day (for a man in his 20's) produced no weight loss. My reasonable maintenance calorie intake should have been closer to 2500. I was hungry all the time, obsessed with food, and I developed a bad binge habit.

This time around, I'm not controlling my calorie intake at all, and I'm losing at a fair rate, down 51 at last weigh-in with about 50 more to go. I think this is better because if/when I get to some goal weight (I don't really have a goal) I won't have to concentrate all the time about what I'm going to eat.

I think that once you start counting calories, it's hard to stop because your body gets used to the lower calorie intake. You lose the ability to just eat naturally until you reach a state of fullness. Today, I never eat all the food on my plate. I always leave something behind. There was a time when that would have been impossible. I used to lick the plate clean because every last calorie on the plate was MINE.

I respect people who have to count calories. I just think it's a bad path to start down if you are one of the people that don't need to. The short term benefits in terms of seeing a faster and more immediate weight loss weren't worth it to me. I'd rather wait out all the little stalls and eat naturally. I feel it's a much better long-term game plan.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

[sheedwalls]

Yeah Fitday or the Atkins program or even diet coaching from the likes of Christopher Guerriero can really help. There is alot out there, just pick the one suitable for your body as suggested by your diet coach. Since he/she is an expert. He/She must know what your diet should be more than you do. Feel free to look around.