Good luck Jackie!
I’m not an expert, but you can listen to the keto dudes discuss this on episode 20 - The Big Fat Surprise. go to about 12:30 and listen. They get a question on this.
People don’t worry as much about calories with ketogenic - it’s more about the right calories, but at the end of the day, to loose weight, you need to consume less than you use. for every 300 calories deficite per day, you loose one pound per week. once you hit your goal weight, I suspect a ketogenic diet will give you more leeway, i.e., you won’t need to be so careful.
I have lost significant amounts of weight two other times on two other diets. when I was 30 (I’m now 59), I lost 51 lbs (236 to 185) on weight watchers. I lost that in 14 weeks flat. I averaged 4 lbs/week, which meant I had a 1200/day calorie deficit in my diet. I suspect that is about what it was, because I started jogging 3 miles/day during that diet and did not cheat. I kept most of that weight off for a decade or so. I ate a lot of fresh food on weight watchers, but I also ate a lot of artificial sweetners, butter substitutes, etc. It was a mixed bag.
5 years ago, I lost 30 lbs on Medifast. A friend of mine was on it and she had lost 80 lbs in 8 months so I tried it! It worked well, but it’s all packaged food and doesn’t taste very good. What it does, though is keep carbs somewhat low - 80 to 100 grams and keeps calories to 1000-1200. It’s not a long-term solution, however.
I rather like the keto diet because I’m a believer that most fat is good for us, so I’m eating real foods. I knew about Dr. Keys and his misinformation long before I went down the keto road. I’ve read much from Gary Taubes, and Eat, Drink and be Healthy from the Harvard school of medicine, which dispels many myths. Bottom line, I think I’m loosing weight right now and eating better. I, also, was pushing the type 2 diabetes boundary and my glucose readings are much better.
I agree with what people say here - don’t count calories, but be cognizant that you need to eat fewer than you body burns. It’s harder for our bodies to convert fat to fat compared to carbs, but it can do it!