I was just wondering if anyone knows how important it is to stay low calorie while doing low carb diets?

I like the low-carb thing and I'm not having trouble keeping my carbs down, just my calories. But which is more important?

I need advice.

~Jenn~

Maybe you should ask the "chicks" on the low-carb threads.
But, having said that, I did atkins for about a month a couple of years ago and read his book. According to Atkins (as I recall), you shouldn't try and montior your calorie intake, and especially not your fat intake.
Hope that helps.

Eventhough I fought it for ever the reality is that low carb diets usually make u feel full faster so u end up eating less calories. So, in the end calories are what u need to control. If ur eating to many calories when on a low carb diet, u are not gonna lose. Most carbs get absorbed quick and make u feel hungrier so that is why cutting them helps u eat less too. I wouldn't stay on one forever. Also, if u decide to go low calories instead of low carb then eat some carbs but the healthier ones like vegt. and fruits and expand from there. The worst stuff is junk food and fast food most of the time.

I love low carb. I don't count calories while doing it, but I do agree that I get way less hungry most of the time when I am eating plenty of protein and healthy fresh vegetables and fats. I think the days when I eat low carb low calorie, I tend to lose weight up to a point. And some days if my total caloric intake is too low, I will wind up having a high calorie day and sometimes (surprise surprise) that is the day I have a big drop in weight!

I do believe to in a limited way in the starvation mode thing. Switching what you are doing makes a difference. If you usually eat low carb, low cal, then have a high cal day occasionally. If you usually eat high calorie, then try it lower calorie for awhile.

The body can get used to what it is doing and if you surprise it occasionally you sometimes see the losses you didn't see before.

I remember one day being very discouraged and frustrated with my diet so I took a day off and ate horribly. The next day I lost! I paid for it a few days later though.

I would think it depends on what phase or whatever that you're on. If it's like the first phase I would think that also limiting calories would practically kill you, but I am definitely not one for low carb. Obviously for quick initial weight loss it works well because all the water loss and the tendancy to over eat carbs (such as chips, donuts etc), but I think in the long run, limiting anything (with the exclusion of saturated and trans fat etc.) isn't the greatest thing to. But I am a nutrition major, so I am more towards eating balanced well portioned meals and leaving out the empty low nutrient dense foods.

But to answer your question I would think that as long as you are watching your portions and honestly not over eating that you won't need to count!

I agree that generally, a low-carb diet becomes a low-cal diet inadvertently simply because you feel less hungry when you're not consuming all of those nutritionally-void sugary foods, so you eat less overall.

Someone mentioned high days and low days--if anyone is interested, I just started a "Calorie Cyclers and Zig Zaggers!" thread in the General Diet Plans > Calorie Counters section

I tried south beach for a week, and I felt SO SICK from the second day on. I always felt nauseous and had a bad headache...I just couldn't do it...now I just do calorie counting