ATKINS CALORIE INTAKE???

I'v been on the atkins diet for 3 days now... im keeping my carbs below 30 and eating 3 meals... im trying to stay away from snacks (apart from the odd spoon full of sugar free jelly) as that is my downfall... i just did a tally of what i have eaten today and it said i only ate 700 calories... does anyone know if this is 'normal'? I'm hardly hungry so in no way am i depriving myself of food...

Replies

  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    You absolutely are depriving yourself of food if you are only eating 700 calories. Please eat more. I don't know about Atkins but I'm pretty confident you should be eating at least 1200 calories. 700 is scary low.
  • You absolutely are depriving yourself of food if you are only eating 700 calories. Please eat more. I don't know about Atkins but I'm pretty confident you should be eating at least 1200 calories. 700 is scary low.

    thats what i thought but it honestly doesnt feel like i am eating that little.... i guess its because my meals consist of mainly salad :/
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    You absolutely are depriving yourself of food if you are only eating 700 calories. Please eat more. I don't know about Atkins but I'm pretty confident you should be eating at least 1200 calories. 700 is scary low.

    thats what i thought but it honestly doesnt feel like i am eating that little.... i guess its because my meals consist of mainly salad :/
    No, it's because when you undereat, your hormones get messed up, and your appetite is controlled by hormones. Hunger isn't actually a great indication of how much food your body needs, especially when you're eating at a deficit.
  • featherbrained
    featherbrained Posts: 155 Member
    You absolutely are depriving yourself of food if you are only eating 700 calories. Please eat more. I don't know about Atkins but I'm pretty confident you should be eating at least 1200 calories. 700 is scary low.

    thats what i thought but it honestly doesnt feel like i am eating that little.... i guess its because my meals consist of mainly salad :/

    Chances are good that it's just because it's new. It will catch up to you. If you're anything like me ;) Can you pack in some eggs? Hardboiled will give you about 75 cals for a large, lots of protein, and I love them chopped up on my salads. Do you eat steak? Some red meat will up your calories significantly with no carbs. Olive oil on your salad could also help bring up your count without being real filling. Natural PB, or any kind of whole nut or nut butters are awesome as well. I can't remember what all is allowed on Atkins, but these were tricks I used when doing Primal.

    Good luck, and please, eat! :)
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    It's fairly common for intake to spontaneously go down when people low carb just because a whole range of food is off limits.

    But, as others have said, we need to fuel our bodies so you still should bump it up considerably if you want to avoid rebound weight gain. Also bear in mind that most of the weight lost during early low carbing is water weight which will come straight back once you reintroduce carbs, as you inevitably will.
  • When i tried Atkins about a year back i was never hungry and was forcing myself to eat. I was eating about 900 cals a day had zero energy, didnt exercise at all cos i didnt have the energy to. After6 days of strict atkins diet feeling very low. I ate a carrot and felt alive again! I lost 8lb in 6 days but decided it wasnt for me an i couldnt stick 8 more days of phase 1 i felt too letahrgic. Obvioulsy I put all the weight back on as soon as i started eating normally again.

    The trick to Atkins is restricting hunger which isn't imo all that good or safe. its healthy to eat and to want to eat. I need carbs!