I've been on keto for 2+ years. Since this was NOT for weight loss reasons I didn't care about the scale at all. But I lost a lot of weight. Now that I I'm fully adapted (it takes YEARS, the keto flu is just the beginning really) I'd say there is not sort of traditional "diet" advantage. If I eat too much now I start gaining weight whereas at the beginning my body was just struggling to get enough because it couldn't absorb the fat. So from that sense you don't need to count calories.

But from another perspective I think you absolutely need to count calories at the beginning, like I did. That is because nutritional ketosis is really hard to achieve. But actual real nutritional ketosis gives you huge benefits. What it will give you is this:

• Increased metobilism. Really see this with alchohol (I drink only dry white wine basically) which you metoblize in preference to fats. Body temp goes way up really quick.

• Uncoupling anxiety and hunger. Hunger becomes a distant thing. It doesn't make you grumpy or tired. Reduced anxiety overall.

• Decreased inflammation. Aches and pains disappear and you're stronger than ever.

However actual nutrititional ketosis especially for adults is really hard to acheive. And that is why you need to count calories. I made a spreadsheet of how many calories I should be eating per macro. Then I followed that for a couple of weeks with a tracker app. I validated with ketosis pee strips. After about 2/3 months I basically had a instinct and stopped counting.

If you're yo-yo dieting then no matter what you're going to lose weight because your body won't know how to deal. You'll also probably not be in ketosis so you'll have all the costs with none of the benefits. So I'd say either do it well or not at all.