Not meeting the caloric needs
This is a copy of the post over at forum.lowcarber.org where I have replied about calories
kangaroo said:
Hello everyone!
I’ve always wondered if eating less calories is that big of a deal. I mean, now that I’m low carbing, some days I’m ok with eating between 800-1000 kcal (and rarely do I exceed 1200/1300 kcal anyway), with no hunger or anything, but everywhere I read says that I’m not meeting my caloric needs and that I’m in ‘starvation’ mode. But if I am, shouldn’t I feel starved???
Should I stuff myself anyway to reach the calorie goal, even if I’m perfectly fine with eating less?
My response
Yes your body will tell you when it’s hungry. As like most living creatures, we are hard-wired for self preservation. In fact I don’t think you’ll find a single psychologist anywhere who will dispute that. Furthermore if you’re listening to your body and it does seem that you are, then you have no need to count calories, at least not in terms of are you getting enough.
A low carb diet works in a very profound and basic level not in terms of the quantity of food that we eat but much rather in terms of the quality of the food that we eat. Everyday our bodies have a certain requirement for particular nutrients. If the food that we eat is lacking in those nutrients as a high carbohydrate diet would typically be, then we have to eat vast quantities of food in order to get the small percentage of the nutrients that our body craves and then of course it has the perks and job of dealing with all of the other stuffs it didn’t need just to get out what it did need.
Whereas by following a low carb way of eating, the foods that we eat are much more in keeping with exactly what the body needs everyday, meaning that we have to eat a whole lot less in terms on quantity in order to get what we need in terms of quality. All that to say, I wouldn’t worry at all about how many calories you’re consuming everyday and proving your body continues to say, “I’m okay with this” just carry on.
Hope that helps,
Mark