Hi all, I'm new to this board. I too am counting calories. Last year I stuck to a 1200 calorie diet and wound up losing 35 pounds in 4 months. My family and I moved from Oregon to North Carolina last summer and over the winter I managed to gain back 16 pounds.two weeks ago I tried the Atkins diet and stuck to it faithfully and did not lose 1 single pound.I was getting sick from eating all that fat.So, I decided to go back to what works for me and thats plain old calorie counting. I've been counting calories (1200) since this past thursday and have lost 2 pounds already. So, hang in there because I'm here to say it really works.