Thank you all for your warm welcomes! I'm still out here, doing my thing. I'm down 11 lbs, it was a week yesterday. I am amazed at my results! I'm having some trouble though. My calories are very, very, low. I've been logging my food and I am astonished that I keep coming in under 1000 calories a day. ( I average about 800) I'm not starving, I actually feel pretty good...but I'm worried that my body is going to start storing instead of burning! In addition to losing weight, I really want to be healthy....and I know it's not healthy to be that low. So my question is...what should I eat to up the calorie count and keep my body burning? I guess I'm looking for easy snacks I can munch on at work, ...or any other ideas/feedback I intend to keep up with this WOE for as long as it takes for me to reach my goal , but I know I won't be able to sustain myself if I continue on the way I am going. And also, if I start munching....what if I gain? I would hate to have a scale battle this early on.
Peace,
Amy

amy-if you've lost 11 pounds in a week, i think it's premature at best to worry about "gaining" if you eat more, don't you? and my hope is that you don't expect to lose 10 pounds or so every week consistently, as that's not only not realistic, but definitely way too fast.

800 calories a day is considered a "very low calorie diet" and i would NEVER advise this unless someone is specifically put on this and closely monitored by their doctor. there's the possibilitiy that your body begins to break down muscle to compensate for the starvation effect in these types of situations.

you mention you're on atkins. atkins is NOT just induction. atkins is not a crash diet. atkins is a lifetime plan intended to help you learn both how to lose the weight and how to maintain it. in other words, you need to be on the WOE the rest of your life, although matinenence is certainly different from the loss phases.

if you'd like input on what to eat, i'd suggest you post a few days worth of menus. without knowing what you're eating, it's difficult for people to make suggestions.

in general, though:

• don't be afraid of fats. while they've been demonized for years, they help us feel full and are usually not a problem for people following atkins
• eat your veggies! they are healthy and have the vitamins you need
• eat when you're hungry. you don't have to stuff yourself, but don't avoid eating to lose faster.

good luck, amy.

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[quote=Goddess;327908]amy-if you've lost 11 pounds in a week, i think it's premature at best to worry about "gaining" if you eat more, don't you? and my hope is that you don't expect to lose 10 pounds or so every week consistently, as that's not only not realistic, but definitely way too fast.


No, no...lol, I don't expect to keep this up! I'd be happy with a pound or two a week from this point forward... I also know that most of my weight loss is water, and I'm okay with that. I agree it may be a bit premature to worry about a gain, I just don't want to screw it all up while worrying about weather I am getting enough calories or not ya know? I have done atkins in the past. I actually managed to maintain a lc lifestyle for 4 years. However, this time is different for me. Last time I was 305 lbs, the weight melted off, with very little effort on my part. I could realisticly eat 55-60 net carbs a day, and still lose at a pretty rapid rate. This time, I am still overweight, at 240..(gained 35 lbs back since going off lc) but being 6'0" and waaay more physically active than I was last time...I am at a loss as far as how to handle myself as far as how low I need to go. You would think..."she's done this before she should know what to do" I can't even explain to you how different this time around is. I'm not even sure how I lost weight last time...LOL, I had a drinking problem, I was getting divorced, I never excersized and I ate a ton of bacon. HAHAHA......this time, I'm trying to do things right. I guess I'm a lil obsessed right now huh?

I will post some menus later this evening, I'm at work right now, and need to dig in!

Thanks!!!

Awe, I tried to the quote thing goddess..it didn't work.