HI M.R.–

I read this essay long ago, but many readers may have not.  Thanks for the link.

Cheers–

MRE

There are websites out there that compute the estimated calorie requirement based on activity level. For me, it’s 3200 at my current weight and activity level. Since I eat around 2000 calories a day, that means I have an energy deficit of 1200 calories . . . so theoretically I should lose around a pound every three days . . . or two pounds a week.

If I ate a “normal” diet of Low Fat and High Carb, those 2000 calories would contain several hundred grams of carbs.

But . . . I eat low carb . . . about 30 ECC grams daily.

I think my Low Carb eating actually creates a higher demand on my stored body fat. So it’s not just a 1200 calorie deficit drawing on my body fat, it’s much, much higher.

Why do I think so?

Because I’m not losing two pounds a week as I should in theory . . . I’m losing four or five.

So, I think that eating Low Carb creates a greater demand on stored body fat than a typical daily calorie deficit would suggest.

Is this correct?

If so . . . if a Low Carb diet creates a condition whereby the body uses more of its stored energy than a simple calorie equation might suggest . . . is there any way to measure this?

What I’m trying to figure out is how to estimate the number of calories I need per day . . . since I know how many carb and protein grams I need . . . this really translates into how much fat I need daily.

Thank you

Hi John–

You’ve experienced the metabolic advantage that occurs with a low carb diet.  The medical literature contains a number of papers showing that people who follow a rigid low-carb diet lose more than simply the reduction in calories would cause alone.

I never even fool with calories.  If you follow a precise low-carb diet–as you are obviously doing–the calories will take care of themselves.

Best–

MRE