I have never posted on here before, I'm a frequent lurker. I used to frequently post on the AOL Atkins Message Boards / Support Groups, which is where I got most of my advice from. I do not have AOL anymore, but I do know there are quite a few AOL regulars that post here, and I only hope that they listen to what I have to say and pass it on to that board as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not just here to bitch about the other board, I have seen the same advice on this board.

Anyhow, when I first started back in April, I did all the research on Atkins. I have read the book twice and always kept it around as a refference. I would not put anything in my mouth unless I was absolutely, positively sure it was allowed. I used to post my menus on a daily basis and I had my fitday journal along with my height/weight stats in my siggy. Everyone said I was not eating enough, not getting enough calories and not enough fat. They suggested I add more olive oil and mayo. Over and over and over again I have read "calories do not count', "Count carbohydates only". I kept my carbs under 20g. I wasn't losing much, and everyone was saying the same thing, so of course I listened to them. It was about 50 other people's word against mine. They have been doing this alot longer than I have and have lost tremendous amounts of weight in short periods of time. So of course I was inspired, and took their advice. So instead of 1200-1300 (120lbs X10) calories a day, I stopped counting and went way above that. I even put spoonfulls of Flaxseed oil in my coffee.

NowI am just under 5 feet I have a tiny frame and have always been tiny. I always weighed under 100lbs. Well up untill I had twins earlier this year, that packed an extra 25lbs on me.

My point is this: Please do not just tell people that "Calories do not count"! They most certainly do. Newbies (or idiots like myself) look up to the pros and take their advice not realizing that they weigh 200lbs and CAN eat 2000 calories and lose weight. A person like myself, who weighs alot less and does not need to lose 80lbs, can NOT eat that much! I just wish I realized this back then because now I'm 14lbs heavier then when I started. Well unless of course they have a super duper fast metabolism but if that was the case they would'nt be here of all places.

Thats all I had to say. Don't get me wrong, I know alot of people give great advice, and this dosen't apply to everyone. But I'm sure if you did a search for the phrase "Calories don't count" you'll find a few posts written in a way that would make a newbie think they have to; or can eat more than they should and you will understand what I'm getting at.