> would you exercise at all, or just go zero-carb?

I'm not sure I'd eliminate or de-emphasize exercise (even in light of the recent studies suggesting exercise is worthless in regards to fat loss). As I posted some time ago, last summar I started bicycling to and from work (6-8 miles each way). When I didn't change my diet I found my weight dropping rapidly after a couple weeks - it got so bad I had to intentionally overeat so the weight loss would slow down. At the time my intentions were not fat loss but rather combining a good form of outdoor exercise with a daily activity I did anyway (commuting), and saving gasoline (quite effective, actually).

This summer I am doing it again (now it's turned into 9-12 miles each way) - but I just barely started again after nursing a torn muscle. So, I haven't yet experienced the same rapid weight loss.

An interesting note - according to the studies I've heard about denouncing exercise for fat-loss, the least effective exercise is steady-state exercise (walking, running, stationary biking, elliptical, etc. all at the same, boring pace). What *is* effective is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) which seems to correspond with DeVany's chaotic activity theories. And, I can attest that bicycle commuting - up/down hills, speeding up and slowing down for traffic, and the occasional stoppage for traffic lights - is anything but "steady-state" :)