Hi! I am starting on Monday and was worried about the calories too. After looking into it more, I realized that you don't need to count your calories throughout the day. If you follow the portions like the book says, you should be around 1200 calories on low carb days and 1500 on high carb days.

I know it sounds really low, especially if you aren't use to it but its all figured into the total weekly calorie deficit. Since there are reward meals or a reward day (depending on the plan you choose) your calories will increase on those days. I've also been reading Heidi Powell's blog and she mentions that it takes a couple of weeks for your body to get use to the lower calories. Until then, its just about sticking to the portions Chris laid out. Also, don't eat back the calories you burn. Heidi and Chis have figured that into the weekly calorie deficit as well. If you feel really hungry still, Chris says to make sure you are drinking at least 1/2 your body weight in water (oz.) and to eat more veggies. Also, adding a little portion of fat can help curb cravings that won't go away.

If you still feel uneasy about the calories after a couple of weeks, you can try to switch to the easy cycle where you get reward meals every other day. That will increase your calories per day instead of per week.

Sounds like you're doing great! As long as you're losing and getting all the servings you need in, you should be fine. Cycling the carbs will definitely help pass those plateau's too. I will be keeping track of my calories just because I'm a numbers girl haha. I want to make sure I am not going too low on my low carb days especially.

Congrats on your weight loss! Let me know how you like those workouts. I was thinking of trying them too

I still count cals because it's my best point of reference. On MFP, I get 1480/day. On low carb days, I hit 1200 or fewer; on high carb days, I'll hit 1400-1500. So the numbers still work.