[BendtheBar]

Cutting isn't all about cutting calories, by the way.

Well playing the Devil's advocate, if you ignore and just play guessing games the results will be hit and miss. For most people they are miss. Any precise goal must have a minimal level of precision and attention to detail.

The more precise your goal, the more precise you must be to reach that goal. If you want to get to 170 pounds and don't care about bodyfat or body composition, your diet can be much looser. If you want to be 170 pounds and 6-10% bodyfat, you're going to require a high degree of precision. There is no way of escaping this unless you are 17 with an uber metabolism.

Regarding low carb diets...it isn't a miracle approach. I use a Paleo diet for the most part and eat minimal carbs. I've gained 30 pounds this year in doing so because I haven't monitored calories.