Calorie is a calorie. Is a calorie.

Right on, as usual! People who fail at diets fail because they commit to get-thin-quick gimmicks that aren't sustainable in the long term. So, when they inevitably return to the carbs or the meats or the dairy or whatever they categorically cut out to drop weight fast, it piles on PDQ. I mean, there are the rare exceptions who can be paleo until they die, but in reality, the best approach is eat everything, but not the whole plate of it. It's getting to be able to do that that's the tricky part. I'm the same as it sounds like you are! For a while, I nixed the sweets altogether, but really just to detox and because, for a while, I actually didn't want any of them. It was scary reintroducing the "bad" stuff to my diet again because I wasn't sure I would be able to have just a little instead of the whole thing, but I've finally figured it out. Wow, that was a lot of "me" talk! Anyway, point being, I think you're right. I've watched a woman I work with completely eliminate carbs, drop 40 pounds, then carbo-load like a junkie and gain 50, cut again and lost 60, and on and on and on. You'd think she'd get wise at some point, but it hasn't happened yet. Keep eating donuts, but have one for breakfast, as you did, instead of half a dozen, like 2014 me would have. Thanks for sharing your insights!