Hi Mandypoo!

Actually there ARE limits. Hard cheese is limited to 4 ozs per day ( no soft cheese allowed) and meats should be limited to being satisfied but not stuffed. It takes time to figure out what it takes to be satisfied without over indulging.

As you lose the weight you will find you need to eat less to keep losing weight. Everyone is different. I find I have to keep my calories as well as carbs lower to lose or maintain. Usually men can eat a lot more than us women!

I know there's a huge difference between what I WANT to EAT and what I NEED to eat. Atkins never said eat as much as you want. The whole idea is to eat less so you can lose weight. You also don't need to go hungry. The first few weeks you might eat more as you are adjusting to a new way of eating.Most of us here have food issues with overeating so cutting out carbs helps. Protein is self limiting food, so you don't feel like you want to eat as much.

The wrong kind of carbs make you want to keep eating and eating. You feel more satisfied with a protein meal and greens, without the grains, starches and sugar. It's not as simple as eat as much meat & cheese as you want. Do read the book, read it over and over. It takes some time to figure this all out. I am very carb sensitive, probably more so than most people, what works best for me is to keep my carb count extremely low.

Hope this helps you out.