Low-carb + low-cal (under 1600) is usually a recipe for disaster:

• slowed metabolism, making weight loss hard, if not impossible
• not enough raw materials to make essential fats, hormones, and enzymes
• chronic hunger

Calories ultimately matter. LC eating gives us an edge (fat's a little less efficient than carbs for fuel), and keeping insulin low keeps the "fat gates" open. But as we get closer to our goal weight, as we get old (45-50 *is* old, biologically), if we have thyroid problems (Graves or Hashi's), and if we happen to be female, calories matter more.

How much more they matter is an individual thing; YMMV, as we say around here. If you stall in your weight loss, cutting calories a bit might be necessary. What you want to avoid is making your body slow down its metabolism in response to cutting calories, and that response is quite individual.

Sorry that there's not a simpler, more definite answer.

I think that I probably come under at least two of your categories..... I would at 45 be considered old
I'm female
Plus at a normal BMI would probably be considered relatively close to my goal weight.

So it makes me worry about eating full fat cream cheese etc
I should start logging in what I've been eating as that would probably clarify things a bit more.

Thanks AJ you really are a fount of knowledge

I keep my fat high, and when actively losing, as always around 12-1300 cals. I never had an issue with difficult losses (I lost 100lbs in 10.5 months - it was mostly steady, other than a 9 week stall somewhere half way through), I wasn't ever hungry, and my energy levels were fine. I think it really depends on the individual. There's no one right level for every person - you have to find what works out for you.

Tracking will REALLY help you - the My PLAN tool here (up top in yellow) is really nice. It's great to be able to look back to see what you were doing right when losing well, and learn from what you were doing when things slow down. It's helped me countless times, and I'd say was really key in me understanding what *I* need, and keeping accountable.

Wow 1200 - 1300 calories a day from high fat foods.... I didn't think it would be possible.....

What would your average daily meals look like? (if you don't mind)

When I said calories ultimately matter, I wasn't advocating a low-fat diet. Better to have 3, smaller, nutrient-dense meals/day with fat as 70% of calories totaling 1300 calories, than 3 larger, low-fat, nutrient-poor meals coming to that same total.

If, and that's a big if, you need to cut calories to lose weight, you'll just have to stick with unprocessed foods. Cream cheese, for example, is a processed food, with less nutrition than, say, lard or coconut oil.

Breakfast (I'm not a morning eater) would be an iced coffee with heavy cream and mct oil. Sometimes a smoothie with frozen berries, protein powder, and heavy cream. Apple with pb. Eggs on the weekend - id have 3 with some veg scrambled in butter (with some cream added to the eggs) and be full til late afternoon.

Lunch was a lot of salad (my daily veg) with steak, eggs, avocado, etc

Dinner was a lot of steaks, burgers, or skin on chicken with a veg.

Cutting out processed junk and eating higher fat (I averaged 65-70%) caused my appetite to really drop and I became full much faster.