There is another school of thought -- which includes Dr. Atkins if I read his book correctly -- that says you should not have to count calories if you are doing Atkins. Eat until you feel full and then stop eating. Eat something at least every six hours while you are awake, even if you are not hungry. Make sure not to skimp on fats -- no lowcal salad dressings (use olive oil and vinegar) and put butter or olive oil on your cooked vegetables. Compulsively count every carbohydrate gram you eat. Most people, following those rules, eat the right amount of calories to lose weight on Atkins. If that doesn't work for you, then you can start worrying about 10x or 12x your weight.

When I say, if that doesn't work for you, I don't mean "if you don't lose anything for a week or two." Most people have a small stall after the first two weeks on Atkins. That is normal and most people who stick to Atkins will start losing again after their body adjusts to the new, lower weight they reached during induction.

I would add one thing to this that does not appear in Dr. Atkins book. Stay away from fake foods (bars, shakes, etc.). Eat meat, fish, chicken, vegetables, cheese, and other "real" foods. When you get off induction, consider adding some berries and possibly some nuts (but not too many nuts). The fake foods seem to slow more people down than anything else does.