I'm bringing this topic over to the War Zone because I find myself getting into it here and there on the Forum with people advising other people to "count calories" in order to lose weight faster, break a stall, or otherwise improve their success on their low-carb journey.

Many have posted excerpts from DANDR in which the great Dr. Atkins says that calories DO count: e.g. that a 5-carb, 1500-calorie diet will work faster than a 5- carb 2000-calorie diet, and other words to that effect. To quote such excerpts creates a serious distortion of the low-carbohydrate approach to metabolic energy management, as fully explained by Dr. Atkins in this book (and his successors in many more recent books about LC eating).

In chapter 1 of DANDR (paperback 1999), Atkins debunks what he calls "the calorie myth." He discusses the metabolic changes from carbohydrate control that result in a more efficient use of consumed and stored energy. Insulin is the key.

p. 6 "This metabolic correction is so striking that many of you will be able to lose weight eating a higher number of calories than you have been eating on diets top-heavy in carbohydrates. The so-called "calorie theory" has been a millstone around the necks of dieters and a miserable and malign influence on their efforts to lose."

Many of us on this site have been dieting forever. We've tried them all. Doubtless we've succeeded with them all. We've cut calories as much as we could for as long as we could, and still the weight creeps back. What can help us get off this roller coaster of hopelessness?

Please don't fall into the "calorie myth" again. Pick a low-carbohydrate approach. Follow it consistently and patiently as you learn to make it a lifestyle. You may not lose weight fast. You may not lose as much as you wish (see Taubes). However, in the most essential ways, you will make your body healthier in the long run. This is not a quick fix, but it can be a lifesaver.