Hi, Barb. I'm guessing from a glance at your list of postings that you're an experienced LCer. That would be me. However, I've spent years of my life doing the counting until, eventually, I arrived at something like "normal" eating, for me, that is pretty simple.

--Real food (nothing in a package with a list of ingredients)
--No sugar
--No starch
--No "fast food"

As a human being, I make a few exceptions from time to time. My maintenance weight is considerably above what I used to consider my Goal weight. But I've made peace with the whole process, and I'm grateful to Dr. Atkins for putting me on the right track almost 20 years ago. It would have been longer if I'd listened to him the first time.

Best wishes with your exploration.