So glad you found something useful in my post! Many, many overweight people are addicted to carbs. We don't suddenly awaken in the night crying, omg I just HAVE to have some salad! Some lettuce!
When we fall off plan it can be in a spectacular fashion. We can eat and eat and eat until we feel so full we hurt but we could still I bet squeeze-in just another mouthful or three. That is addiction. We try to stop doing this, we try to 'cut down', and we cannot. We cry and torment ourselves, call ourselves horrible negative names and swear up and down that we will start tomorrow and Boy! THIS time we won't fail.. then we do. Ten times more, twenty. If you try to quit any behaviour or substance that is harming you physically, mentally and spiritually, you are addicted. Knowing that takes away the guilt, to be honest. knowing that by low carbing you can stop this craving on a day to day, meal by meal basis, is liberating. Yes it will take a bit of commitment but you won't ever starve or feel disgusted with yourself after a tasty low carb meal. Freedom.
It seems to me that 'normal' weight people or only slightly overweight ones may not have a problem with carbs. So they can eat takeaways occasionally, and McDonald's, and fish and chips and milkshakes... they don't crave food all night afterwards.
I suspect that all heavily overweight and morbidly obese people, do have a problem. Limit the carbs and the weight falls off them, every time.
There is a steady flow, actually, of VLCD dieters to and from the Atkins forum. There always has been. After VLCD experience we learn that limiting carbs is a very good idea. But since we are now addicted to fast losses, and seeing the numbers on the scale go down like lightning, we surrender the new peace we have found with regular food and go back to the VLCD. This process is often repeated over and over. The very successful VLCD dieters may not need to ever switch; some lucky people just 'get it' right away and lose tons of weight in record time. But the rest - the real strugglers and agonisers, may need to swap very fast losses for that precious peace.