A quandary. [View All]

[Longhorn]

I've been counting calories for the last six weeks. My BMR is supposed to be around 2600 calories so I decided to cut 1000 calories per day. This has been very comfortable and manageable and I had lost ten pounds as of last Tuesday. This week, I gained a pound but I'm used to the drill -- up one week, down the next, no change the next, etc.

Tonight, I had reached the 1450 calorie mark and that's where the quandary comes in. I wasn't really hungry and I've been trying to break the habit of eating because I want to and not because I'm hungry. On the other hand, I understood that if I don't eat enough calories, my metabolism may slow down. I decided not to have anything else today.

I'm just wondering how to find out how many calories I should be getting each day. I've read that I should occasionally have more calories to rev up my metabolism. Is that true and how many more? If I reach a plateau, do I cut calories because I'm taking in too many or add calories because I'm in starvation mode? Are there any definitive answers to my questions? :shrug: