hi Sandy,

Yes, your calculation is correct. For very large persons with a higher fat to lean-body-mass ratio, they may go to 9 calories per lb. in the beginning. 1200 per day is the absolute minimum energy required for the body to do its basic functions of heartbeat, breathing, digestion etc. If you are tall, male, adolescent or very athletic and active, your calories must be higher.

This is a good question, keeps coming up a lot ... I think I need to write a permanent article to post in our Tips column about Metabolism and Starvation Mode. Thanks ... Speaking of our Tips column, which you can find by clicking on the red menu bar at the top of the page ... why not check out my article on Stalls and Plateaus. There are some good ideas there too. It's not a true stall until 4 to 6 weeks of no weight lost at the scale, no inches lost with the tape (you are measuring, right??) and absolutely no cheating.

Anyway, here are links to two discussion threads we've had here on this very topic. You'll find lots of insights from lots of folks.

- http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...=&threadid=4357

- http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...=&threadid=3723

hope this helps

Doreen