Yes indeed, the concept of eating more than 1200 cals per day is a dream come true for people coming off the low-fat diet. Psychologically your point is very important.

Another important psychological aspect is results! I meet many people who have bought the Atkins book but get very few results, which is naturally very demoralising.

My initial point was about eating the right amount of fat, and I think this is a very important point. Another important point is to eat the right amount of PROTEIN. Three of the essential amino acids in protein can be converted to glucose, which can slow down fat loss and even prevent ketosis. This is likely to take place if the protein intake is too large.

Many sources of food that are high in fat are also high in protein. Cheese is a good example. 1 lb of cheese contains approximately 150 grams of fat and 150 grams of protein. The RDA for protein is 0.4 grams per lb bodyweight. For the average (non exercising) female this equates to 50 grams, and for the average male 63 grams. Although I believe these quantities are too low, fact is that there is a limit to how much protein we need, and excess protein will be converted into glucose.

Almost without exception, the people I work with who don't show results eat too much protein. When protein intake is decreased results increase.

In summary, I don't believe we should encourage over-eating on the ketogenic diet. Some people show great results even when bending the rules quite a lot. One guy I help (280 lb) can eat two slices of pizza and a few hundred grams of cashew nuts in the evening and still stay in ketosis (and still lose weight). Most people can't, and if you are losing less than 1 lb of fat (emphasis on fat, not weight) a week, I suggest that analysing and modifying the fat and protein intake will be highly beneficial.