Just to share personal experiences. My focus is 1) appetite control and 2) calorie restriction. My focus is NOT the daily amount of fiber, fat, carbohydrate, protein, vegetables)

1. Over 10 years, personally the most effective appetite-control strategy is delaying and skipping meals. “Not hungry? Don’t eat.” I did lots of read-up and am convinced it’s rather safe if consistent. For breakfast I often skip completely, or unflavored milk alone. For lunch I usually push to beyond 2pm (was 3pm). For dinner, I push to beyond 9pm (was 10pm). Once I settle on a meal schedule I stick to it for months. This delay/skip strategy definitely reduces my overall food intake, and helps reduce overall calorie intake.

However, in the morning and afternoon, I often follow vegetable/fruit diet (#3) so the adaptation is “Not hungry? don’t eat any starch or meat”

I know some friends practiced other forms of intermittent fasting, and lost tens of kilos.

I guess skipping dinner would be good, but my “system” bio-clock won’t let me as I feel seriously hungry sometime after 10pm, unless I fall asleep before the hunger kicks in. 200-calorie protein powder meal-replacement + small amount of solid protein/starch is a new idea worth trying.

2. My 2^nd effective strategy (targeting calorie) is starch reduction. Throughout my adult life I am fairly strict on the amount of fat and sugary foods so they have seldom given me a real problem (see loss-of-control below). But starch has been my primary calorie source (50%-70%) since age 5. In 2013 when I endeavored (like hell) to cut starch by half and further, my weight dropped by 4 to 5 kilos. I basically set a hard limit on rice and bread.

Compared to the #1 strategy above, my knowledge and experience about starch is more limited as I continue to read and experiment. Currently, I am experimenting with edamame, green peas and sweet potato. “Experimenting” means reduce as much as I can tolerate, and enjoy when I let myself. I read they are rich in fiber and lower in calorie-per-pound. Most important – they are satisfying (as starch) and tasty, so I can eat them regularly and don’t feel hungry afterwards. In this experiment, I aim to cut by 80% my intake of rice, brown rice, bread, whole-grain bread, and noodles.

3. My 3^rd strategy (targeting calorie not appetite) is yet to produce weight loss in my “system” (due to hunger) but is a nutritionally proven strategy for calorie reduction – increase fruits and green vegetables, usually raw. They are all high-fiber low-calorie. (Banana is slightly higher calorie. See my listing in ## low-cal foods.) So in the last 3 months I eat a lot of them, hoping the total calorie contribution is still low (like below 500 calories).

However, despite the high fiber I found these foods unsatisfying, perhaps due to low calorie. So I still felt hungry after eating a ton of them. I end up eating other foods to satisfy the hunger. I don’t consider it a failed attempt though. One reason is starch reduction — this 3^rd strategy has reduced my overall starch intake (including edamame, sweet potato etc). In terms of overall calorie, I hope this 3^rd strategy is taking effect. By eating tons of vegetables and fruits, I probably eat less starch less cooked food (usually oily), less junk food than before.

Beyond my top 3 strategies, I follow a few minor techniques:

• Meat and fish – I reduce them in favor of (raw if possible) vegetables, fruits and nuts. They provide protein but often comes with lots of fat, mostly hidden.  Fish is healthier than meat, but harder to prepare. Additionally, meat and fish always require other foods as company.  (In contrast, my favorite starchy foods, vegie and fruits can be eaten alone.) I was 90% vegetarian for a short few years before getting married, and felt very healthy and in-control of my diet; now I’m more relaxed about meat and fish but strict about fats in them.
• Fats and sugar – are always relatively low in my diet. Average once a week I eat deserts like chocolates and ice cream, and those offered by colleagues (invariably high fat high sugarJ). I love cheese and pizza but tell myself to stay away from them. I don’t drink sweet beverages except occasional milo and Green Machine. I virtually never eat deep fried food or alcohol.
• Peanuts and other nuts – are very satisfying and tasty, but high fat. So I often use nuts to make my raw vegetables more palatable and satisfy my hunger. I probably eat twice more peanuts than most people so I need to watch my portion size. For a year I have stayed away from any coating over my nuts whatsoever. Once I break this self-control, it will be hard to rein in again.
• Milk, soymilk, yogurt – is trivial in my diet. I eat them daily. Mostly low-fat low calorie varieties. Not satisfying. Sometimes they help make my raw vegetables more palatable.
• Fiber – is supposed to help me feel full but has Never helped me with appetite. After eating a ton of fruits, vegetables, and chia seeds, I still feel a unsatisfied craving for “proper food”. I guess it’s due to calorie.
• Simultaneously unhealthy and fattening foods – by the conventional standard about 3% (no more than 5%) of my entire dietary intake is considered fattening and also nutritionally poor, including ice cream, chocolate, cookies, desserts, free food in the office… On this count, I feel my quality of food is much better than average.
• Temptation – If I get exposed to pizza, pastry, fancy cookies, fries…  (high-fat is my weakness) I find myself at a weak position in the face of temptation. I know I don’t want to fight this battle, so it’s extremely important to stay away from the temptation.
  • Loss of control – occurs when there’s free food offered in the office.
  • Controlled Indulgence – is the better alternative to loss of control. For example, once a while I indulge on ice cream and chocolates I buy for myself. This is my controlled, deliberate concession to temptation. I’m not aiming to emulate 苦行僧; I don’t want to feel like a loser; I don’t want to feel guilty. Life is too hard already 😉

Many friends asked me why I want to be lighter. One of my motivations – lighter means better endurance and fitness.