I lost over 200 pounds on low carb, while calorie counting. I gained about 50 of it back over four years, still low carbing, by "listening to my body" and eating what I liked, as long as it was low carb. I've now lost the bulk of that 50 pounds in two months by calorie counting. Perhaps some people can do fine without consciously paying attention to calories, but some others can't. It's important to A) know which of those camps you belong in; and B) ignore people who insist calories don't matter, once you've discovered that, at least for you, they do.