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Originally Posted by mrfreddy
i think there is real value in going beyond the Atkins vague-ish advice to "eat to satisfaction" or whatever it was. That advice clearly only works to a certain point, for most folks anyway. Even Dr. A himself was always a bit pudgy.
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To a degree I agree with you - for a long time I was highly critical of Atkins books, not because they were wrong, but because they simply were too vague, especially with the re-introductions in OWL. I wrote a number of articles way back - oh probably in 2002-2004 - about how to modify as you go along and swap out the higher fat items for more carbohydrate. Calories - no matter how many disagree - do matter at some point in the process of losing weight....what one can eat and be in a calorie deficit at 250-300 is significantly different than what they can eat when they're at 180-220, and even less is needed when they're then 150-180.
Atkins didn't get into the issue of calories enough IMO, and I think that's because for many, many people, appetite regulates on its own as they continue along - somehow intuitively they start eating less and reducing portion size, or they switch from something like cream to half & half...but for the folks that that doesn't "just happen" on it's own - those who don't quite find their satiety and their calories fall into place - yes, they do need much more information than Atkins published (although in Atkins for Life, he did get a bit more into what it takes for maintenance finally).
My big concern with KimKims is from some of the advice she's written in her blog - things like "why would you want to eat more calories" to a woman who weighed (I think it was) 280-pounds and was eating just 600-800 calories a day - sorry, but at 280, that's worse than starvation - it's critical famine and potentially doing a lot of damage long-term.
In my experience, and those I've worked with, the lowest calorie intake to consider is basal metabolic rate (calculators are online)....it's at least the calorie load you need for basic body function before movement (body temp, heart beat, circulation of blood, hormone production, etc - it all requires calories) unless you're specifically with serious metabolic challenges - if that's the case, then you really should do nutrient monitoring, because the less calories you're eating, the less variety of foods you're eating, the more likely you'll be deficient for essential nutrients - often ones not included in multi-vitamins, like biotin (some have it, but not all).