I don't think anyone here ever said that the 10-12x your body weight in calories guideline was Atkins (Atkins actually doesn't restrict calories at all). It's a guideline (not a LAW)...a place for most people to start, especially for new people who have had low calorie/low fat drilled into them for a long time, and it's based on the experiences of hundreds of people who have passed this way as well as that of the mentors, moderators and admins. Many people do quite well following that guideline (like myself, for instance). Others find that they need to go higher (believe it or not) or lower than that to lose weight sucessfully. Eventually, we all need to find the right carb and calorie levels that work for us because we are all unique and we all lose at different rates and at different carb and calories levels, but we all have to start somewhere. I want to make it clear that there is no one formula that will work for everyone 100% of the time! That may be why there are many low carb plans that all have different levels of carb restriction. Starting too low (calories and/or carbs) is a recipe for frustration and quickly dropping this WOE. Better to start too high and not shut down your metabolism and work downward from there until you find the correct level for YOU than to start too low and quickly give up because you are hungry and frustrated. Don't be too quick to dismiss the voice of experience just because what they tell you isn't printed in some book. Often experience is far more valuable.