I respect Todd's views on things and have found many of his posts
interesting; however, I doubt that his loss of 12 pounds in 1 week would be
all or even mostly fat.  A lot of that could have been water, glycogen, etc.

It is common for people to lose 5-8 pounds in the first week of a low-carb
diet.  It is possible that even with the potato and small amounts of fruit
on the Anchell diet, that there was still a significant drop in carbs.  It
is more likely that only a couple of pounds of that was actualfat.

I think Anchel's diet may work for so many people because it
limits food selection drastically, cuts out salads (which people like to
dress with oil), cuts out nuts (which are very calorie dense), and a lot of
other foods.  I don't recall whether it cuts out salt.  If the diet
eliminates salt that could account for water loss as well. But, a
monotonous, bland diet can easily cut the amount of foods a typical person
eats.

my two cents worth,

Rachel