Quote:
Originally posted by steff75tx
......on average I'm eating 1582 calories and 14 carbs a day. Are these healthy and sufficient amounts for this woe?
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hi Steff,
Um, I can't remember which plan yer following. Anyway, Atkins is the most "carb-restrictive" - at least during the two-week Induction phase, but does not recommend that you go below the 20 carbs per day limit for prolonged periods. After Induction, you should be upping your carbs by 5 grams a day per week, until you reach a level where you are losing weight reasonably (about a pound a week) and if you're testing ketones, there should be at least a trace showing. That's what OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) is all about ..
.. Is the 14 carbs the TOTAL carbs, or carbs AFTER fiber?? (remember that Atkins does NOT subtract fiber for the carb levels) If that's your total carbs, it's too low. Add another salad or more lowcarb veggies.
About calories. A rule of thumb is that you should be consuming 10 to 12 calories per lb. of your current weight. This also means that as you get smaller, your calorie intake will too.
Do NOT go below 1200 calories a day; this is the level that even Weight Watchers keeps its members at. Two negative things will happen if you go to very low calories (VLC) -
- you will lose water and fat, at first, but then your body will begin to break down your muscle tissue in order to meet its energy requirements. Muscle has a higher metabolic rate than any other tissue in the body. You want to keep your muscles, in fact, you want to build MORE muscles in order to enhance this higher metabolism effect!! When lowcarbing, as long as you're consuming enough protein and calories to avoid muscle loss, your body will use FAT as the primary energy source.
- your metabolic rate works on a set-point mechanism, and it's amazingly adaptive. It's built into our survival "genes" or whatever. Anyway, during prolonged periods of insufficient energy intake (too few calories) the body adapts by slowing down the metabolism. It thinks, "hey, we're not getting enough fuel to run at full speed, we're only getting enough to run at 3/4 speed". So, it slows down, and adapts to the reduced fuel supply. Of course, the frustrated dieter hits a plateau at this point, and decides to drop the calories even further ... the metabolism responds eventually by slowing again ... and so on. The bigger problem is that once the metabolism slows, the body "forgets" that it was ever running at a higher rate. Basically, you're stuck at this reduced level, and will gain weight when you try to eat more.
How to avoid loss of muscle?? Make sure you eat enough protein. Rule of thumb is
minimum 0.5 gm per lb of ideal weight, but no less than 60 gm per day. That's for sedentary women. If you're male, or active, the requirement goes up to 0.6 or even 0.7 gm per lb. of ideal weight if you are very athletic, or do heavy physical labour. Another way to build muscle is weight lifting or resistance-type exercise.
Keep your metabolism up by ensuring adequate protein intake, try not to go below the 20 carbs a day for prolonged periods, and eat FAT. Studies have shown that daily intake of monounsaturated fatty acids, such as olive and flax oil especially can actually boost the metabolic rate (small boost, but hey who's complaining??) Note that flax seeds naturally contain the oil.
And engage in regular exercise.
Doreen
p.s.- lots of other very knowledgeable folks around here too!
I love all the new pictures! I can already see big diffs in everyone!
Way to go guys!
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