They can be. One thing my wife and I have found to be important is satiety. Back when she dieted via any diet where she cut calories she became hungry all the time. And it always became hard to overcome constant hunger. Eventually she would fall off the wagon so to speak.

With low carb and the meal focused and centered around meat protein we have always eaten all we wanted, never having to "go hungry". We eat all we want. We just either don't eat or very sparingly eat things that raise our insulin levels. High insulin levels in the body cuts off fat burning of the body. Meat is a high satiety food so satisfies hunger better than low satiety foods.

I think that has been a big factor in our success of sticking with low carb way of eating. We really don't look at it as a diet. More just a way of eating. We don't go hungry, instead eating all we want. We just avoid foods that raise insulin a bunch. Namely things high in carbohydrates (potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, etc.).