Karen;

Am I understanding this correctly? A person should consume 10 - 12 times their body weight in daily calories to enable them to lose weight and not go into starvation mode?

So, if 10 x my body weight is 1480 calories and I consume approx. 1200 per day, will that slow down my weight loss?

I've heard this in theory several times when I used to attend weight watchers but I've never seen a formula for it. Does that mean that I should increase my calories by 280-300 per day in order to reduce at a greater rate? I'm in a two week stall and am looking for reasons and solutions.

Thanks for any input!

Take Care ~
Sandy

gosh, i wish I could help you out here!!! I've heard SO many formulas for calorie counting! I once heard 1200 a day max is what anyone should consume. I tend to live by the rule, the more calroies you consume, the more calories you need to burn! leaving any calories unburned will increase weight! I couldnt tell ya which way to check tho .... keep smilin' - and most of all, keep hittin' the gym! the only way to lose weight is to lose ANY of the calories we consume!!

luv kris

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