Carbs need to be low - but are calories important?
LozzieWebb
Posts: 69 Member
According to MFP I need an intake of calories if 1680 per day. When I was 'counting calories' it was no problem at all to get to these - in fact it was a struggle not to go over them! Now that I've seen the light I'm struggling to reach them - not feeling hungry and eating stuff just to get my calorie count up. Should I be worried about not having enough calories (I'm concerned about starvation mode or the like as my metabolism was shot for a long time -by the stupid array of weight loss regimes I tried!) or is it okay to have less calories than needed as I'm getting plenty of fats/protein? Please feel free to look at my diary and give me tips. Many thanks for your help with this - it is greatly appreciated 
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I wish I had your problem! I could happily eat 2000+ calories per day. I had a look at your diary for Tuesday and it does look pretty low to me. Can you add in some walnuts during breakfast, and a few coffees made with cream? I don't do calories, I work in kilojoules, but your day was under 5021kj which I know is under 1200 calories. I don't know if your day is over yet because it is Wednesday morning where I live.
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I think your diary looks good, if you are not hungry, why eat? Listen to your body.0
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I go thru periods where I am not hungry for days and then suddenly I get more hungry so it balances out.0
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This CICO (Calories in/calories out) debate has been much discussed. If you are interested, Click on the "start here" topic on the main LCHF page and then look for the threads arguing for and against CICO (calories in calories out). Bottom line? Some people have to worry about them, some don't. I do not worry about the whole "starvation mode" thing myself. Eat when you want. Keep it low carb. If you stall, you might have to add cals. I tend to have hungry/not hungry days and I just roll with it. If my cals are under 1200 more than 5 or 6 days in a row, I will throw in a higher calorie day just to keep my body guessing. Overall, though I do not sweat it.0
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IMO, yes. I like this a lot.
When people think about their food out of order, they mess up.
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feisty_bucket wrote: »IMO, yes. I like this a lot.
When people think about their food out of order, they mess up.
This is a good start, though I'd argue that for most people here, macros should be the base, followed by micros, followed by calories.
That is to say, calories do matter, but the nutrition usually matters more. Many of us have actually held calories fairly steady and can affect whether we lose or maintain (and gain, in some cases, I think), simply by changing macronutrient ratios and/or overall dietary composition (this has to do with how food affects hormones, and how hormones affect weight storage).0 -
Macros are important, but it's important to count those macros in GRAMS, not PERCENTAGE. If you eat close to your correct GRAMS you will be eating the right amount of calories. I have days where I'm under, but just be careful, quite a few people have reported problems such as significant hair loss from not eating enough.0
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I feel it balances out over time. I feel our bodies let us know what we need and I'm so glad this woe has taught me how to listen to it. I wouldn't worry too much unless you remain consistently below calories.0
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I do shoot for a 1200 calorie minimum. Some days it's just not happening. I don't worry about those days unless they're more than 3 in the past 7 days. That said, if youre having lots of 'not hungry, blah food, ewww' kind of days that aren't being filled in between with a fairly equal 'all the food, steak, burger, mayo' kind of days I'd start being aware of hairloss, water retention, bruising, cuts taking longer to heal. You don't want to leave it too long before you try to be conscious of eating enough each day. For some people low carb might work a little too well in the hunger control dept. 0
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I shoot for 1200 a day. I did just plain CICO for a bit last year, this number didn't scare me. I was exercising like mad though to squeeze in sweets at the end of the day or to eat a little extra from time to time, that it just got mentally and physically exhausting. On low carb, I don't have to worry with that anymore. I work out now because I want too, not because I feel I have to earn calories back just to enjoy food. I'm not hungry at all some days, some days I could eat a whole cow, pig, and a 100 chickens. Some days I net 600 or less calories, some days I skip my walk and net 1200 or more. I do believe that calories in calories out is important, but with low carb they just naturally stay low. It balances it out for me as well.
I don't really buy the whole starvation mode thing. I'm losing hair, but I was losing hair prior to starting this WOE so I can't blame it on that. My period comes quicker, but it's still the same pain in the rear it's always been. Everything else is A okay. I'd second the listen to your body comment and go from there. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat. I don't even think about food. On weekends I sometimes eat just one meal late in the day Maybe if I weighed 98 lbs and wasn't eating it'd be more of an issue, but I will never be 98 lbs LOL. 0 -
Hiya. Many thanks for all the replies! Yesterday I was just under 1200 but other days I've been a few hunderd over - so I'll not worry too much about the odd low day here and there I was beginning to worry, but feel reassured now.
I've just completed my first week and lost 5 and a half pounds -so will be interested to see what happens next week.
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LozzieWebb wrote: »According to MFP I need an intake of calories if 1680 per day. When I was 'counting calories' it was no problem at all to get to these - in fact it was a struggle not to go over them! Now that I've seen the light I'm struggling to reach them - not feeling hungry and eating stuff just to get my calorie count up. Should I be worried about not having enough calories (I'm concerned about starvation mode or the like as my metabolism was shot for a long time -by the stupid array of weight loss regimes I tried!) or is it okay to have less calories than needed as I'm getting plenty of fats/protein? Please feel free to look at my diary and give me tips. Many thanks for your help with this - it is greatly appreciated
IMO nope. Here's my reasoning. If I don't delete fiber carbs from my totals I end up self limiting my fiber which I want to get 25g of a day (Personal goal).
Similarly, if I start counting calories even without meaning to, I always end up limiting my fat intake just because fat is by its nature, high in calories. I have my calories set to 2000. I rarely get above 1500, but I've set it to 1500 before and it stresses me out too much when I get "close". I'd rather feel like I have a long way to go, even if it's just a mental thing. I don't limit my fat and I don't limit my calories. I focus on limiting my carbs - and on eating till I'm satisfied, not stuffed. I also focus on not eating when I'm bored and on not skipping meals.
These are things that work for me and I have theories on all of them, but over a year in now, I know what works for me. When I see my friends with caloric goals set to 1000 or even 1200, it just makes me sad and kinda depressed for them. I also notice they eat more junk and cheat more. I think it's cause they are hungry!
My favorite part of this WOE is that you don't have to be hungry! You just have to count your carbs. My advice is almost always "eat more fat". Not cause I want to sabatoge others, but because it's what I do myself when I'm hungry or when I start craving carbs or when I stall.
As always, results will vary.
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I like the above pyramid just like it is. I think Ketogenic dieting is a tool to allow you to eat at a deficit much easier than a SAD (low-fat diet). Of course there are many other benefits to the Keto diet, but generally, I like that my hunger levels are so reduced, I eat a lot less and don't get the terrible hunger pains. And I can water fast, for even faster weight reduction.
But that's just me, I am impatient. I think I could stop counting calories and eventually lose all my weight...but my life is going by so fast now ~ I'm 58 years old. So I'm in a hurry to get my health back, hence, I am doing the "lower calorie/less hunger/bigger deficit/model".
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / Water Fasting / E.A.S.Y. Exercise Program
107 pounds down, 17 to go.
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Have to admit that last night wasn't hungry for dinner, but had some nuts just to get those calories and fats close to target. Was still 300 below.0
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LCHF is my priority for meal planning & calories in & out are only secondary. If you are trying to stay in ketosis too little calories can affect your results. My Nutritionalist said to measure ketostix in the morning 1st thing as calorie progress during the day can affect it.0
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This CICO (Calories in/calories out) debate has been much discussed. If you are interested, Click on the "start here" topic on the main LCHF page and then look for the threads arguing for and against CICO (calories in calories out). Bottom line? Some people have to worry about them, some don't. I do not worry about the whole "starvation mode" thing myself. Eat when you want. Keep it low carb. If you stall, you might have to add cals. I tend to have hungry/not hungry days and I just roll with it. If my cals are under 1200 more than 5 or 6 days in a row, I will throw in a higher calorie day just to keep my body guessing. Overall, though I do not sweat it.
@Thaeda on the CICO subject I recommend William Davis, MD book Wheat Belly Total Health. We have been a week long road trip and have read about half of it. Dr. Davis points out many factors more critical CICO. It has times more critical thinking information than I have read in the last year.0 -
I know four people that close friends of mine. They all are low carb, BUT, they don't track their calories. They lost water weight, then they all stalled. And they have been doing it for months. There is something to deficit calorie eating, especially if you want to lose weight.
.........."You mean I'll lose weight if I don't eat?"...........
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / Water Fasting / E.A.S.Y. Exercise Program
110 pounds down, 13 to go.
It's Ketogenic or Bariatric Surgery! How I Found the Ketogenic Diet
Previous Discussions on the LCD & Keto Groups
Blog #10 Keto: Abbreviations, Acronyms & Terminology Used on the LCD & Keto Discussion Groups Updated0 -
I know four people that close friends of mine. They all are low carb, BUT, they don't track their calories. They lost water weight, then they all stalled. And they have been doing it for months. There is something to deficit calorie eating, especially if you want to lose weight.
.........."You mean I'll lose weight if I don't eat?"...........
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / Water Fasting / E.A.S.Y. Exercise Program
110 pounds down, 13 to go.
It's Ketogenic or Bariatric Surgery! How I Found the Ketogenic Diet
Previous Discussions on the LCD & Keto Groups
Blog #10 Keto: Abbreviations, Acronyms & Terminology Used on the LCD & Keto Discussion Groups Updated
I agree with this ^^^
To the OP:
Calorie deficit may come thru happy accident when we are grossly overweight
When I weighed 140 pounds more than I do now, I ate lower carb and more fibrous veggies. I just could not eat enough of that food to maintain my weight. It is too filling. So I did not count calories and lost weight!
That happy accident state of living didn't nullify CICO.
Low Carb is often misunderstood. And I have learned more about my body and how to make it burn fat. That is the key to the lower carb way of living. Fat is a fuel source while keeping glycogen under control
At this point I am occasionally in the 12% body fat range but usually living at 13-13.5%.
I have to count calories to keep dropping fat. No option to it. I have to go exercise hard. Going to ride 50 this morning and burn off 2000 calories and eat back 750 and call it a good day
But calories count for me. The closer you get to your perfect weight goal, the more they seem to count!
Good luck on your journey!
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