I pretty much agree with everything you're saying here. The only thing we seem to disagree on is that I believe a successful diet is overwhelmingly due to CICO

I pretty much agree with everything you're saying here. The only thing we seem to disagree on is that I believe a successful diet is overwhelmingly due to CICO. Yes, it's not the only aspect of a successful diet, but it is mandatory. I also agree that everyone needs to tailor their diet to their individual psychological needs, but not at the expense of CICO. > Don't talk down to people when clearly they have had success and have studied the topic. If we're comparing anecdotes, I always have success losing weight with a mainstream healthy diet (moderate protein, moderate carbs including some sugars, very low fat). I have had success with other diets - including high fat ones, which I don't do anymore because I don't think it's healthy. In every case I attribute my success to weighing food and tracking calories.