How many calories should we be having?
 

The past week, I averaged about 1200, lowered from my usual 1350. I take salt twice a day, and magnesium, calcium pills yet when I wake up, I can barely make a fist. The weight is coming off too rapidly, this week, ~ a rate of 7lbs per week. I was alarmed so today I had about 1950 calories and decided to forget about weight loss for a few days.

This entire week, I did not exercise because I was doing other things. The previous two weeks, I did exercise about 6x a week. I'm thinking my exercise has ramped up my metabolism, and combined with my low 1200 calories, it's really caused me to feel weak in the morning.

Are 1200 calories too few for a male? During most of my weight loss journey since July, I've been at 1350-ish range but that was when I did not exercise at all.

This morning, around 2am, I woke up, feeling really weak, unhealthy weak, so I ate about 3oz of almonds, and a couple of tbsp of cream cheese. And so when I reawoke later that morning, I was pretty shocked that I lost 1.4 lbs, especially since I drank some water with those almonds.

So today, I consumed 1900+ calories and I think I'm going to not continue 1200 calories / day for a few days. I also lost .75 inches ( belly )over a few days so this tells me that my weight loss is alarmingly fast and I'm losing at a very unhealthy rate.

I just want a consistent and healthy weight loss around 2-3lbs per week, not the 7+/week which is scary. So needless to say, I am a bit alarmed because I don't think I have any idea what is going on right now.

My typical meals are:

- Breakfast: 2 eggs, 3 slices extra thick bacon, 1 celery stick
- Lunch - 2 Italian sausages, salad (today it was a 5 Guys bacon cheeseburger, lettuce wrap)
- Dinner - Meat (1 lb steak), salad or brocoli
- Handful of almonds 1 hour before bed

I figure 2000+ or so daily, minimal carbs. I do exercise almost daily. I am shedding about 3 lbs per week.

My unscientific take, and the reason I like Atkins, is I do not have to feel hungry all the time to lose weight. In fact, I rarely feel hungry on the low carb thing.

I put what I eat into a program that shows me the grams of protein, fat and carb that I eat, and also produces a wheel of percentages. That is what I'm looking at and concerned with. As a side bit of information, I can always see how many calories I've eaten, but it's not that important, I don't spend any time thinking about calories. I eat to satiety and when eating a higher % of fat, it's pretty hard to overeat. That's the great thing about Atkins...you learn to satisfy your hunger without stuffing yourself. When I eat carbs/sugar/starches/junk etc., I can overeat unbelievably, to the point where I'll feel sick. I just can't hear any of my body signals to stop eating.

As for calories, it fluctuates every day. I'll admit that sometimes I'm kind of surprised at how low my calories end up, but I'm always full and don't want more than I ate. Other days, I'm surprised at how much higher it might be. Just depends on what I ate. It's just nice to not eat to prescribed calorie levels.

If the weight is coming off fast you may be getting dehydrated.

I eventually had to pay attention to calories to get below a certain body weight and to maintain it. But even then, a lot of it was learning that for me, eating a more ketogenic form of low carb made the lower calories tolerable. Still, I've never managed to tolerate much lower than 1800-2000 calories a day for very long. I can do stints of 1600 calories a day, if I do low carb refeeds on the weekend, but that's about my limit. I don't really see the point of eating 1200-1350 calories per day unless you've established that you can't lose body fat at a higher intake.

You might get some false data from bringing your calories up to 1900 a day. When people fast, another way to get insulin very low, they'll experience a rebound on refeeding, regain some of that lost water. As an active male, 1200 calories sort of goes past calorie restriction and a little bit into "modified fasting" territory. 1200 calories will reduce insulin quite a bit more than 1900 calories, even if it's ketogenic food, if your weight goes up for a while on 1900 calories, it's probably just water rebound. Personally I would stay the course at the higher calorie intake for at least a couple of weeks. Calorie restriction can be of some use. Something you see on bodybuilding boards a lot--people don't drop their calories drastically, because those guys are sort of paranoid about losing lean mass. So first they establish maintenance intake, then they drop calories from there. It's not about trying to eat as little as you can tolerate, it's about finding the minimum effective "dose."

I agree with the recommendations to get your calories up, as the level at which you're consuming risks slowing your metabolism (automatic way your body compensates for what is perceived as starvation). Make sure you're eating healthy whole foods emphasizing foods that contain healthy fats and above-ground vegetables. With the right combination for you, you will continue to progress without feeling hungry or sluggish. Remember, no one can tell you what your optimum caloric level should be. We're all different, but there are common ranges that serve as useful guidelines. You'll find your optimum level at some point with patience and eating the right foods.