[JoshMnem]

I think calorie restriction is a more interesting idea, because it forces you to think about eating high-nutrient foods. The first things I did were to eliminate sugars and other processed ingredients, including all flours.

Continuing to eat junk and assuming that pills and supplements will compensate for that is probably not a good idea.

[dmix]

From the article:

> From a public health perspective [restricting calories] would be impractical for many and dangerous for some.

Regardless of what's the most optimal solution it's very helpful to have the option when this isn't an easy/practical option. And having tried to cut out sugars and processed foods in my own life, it was certainly not easy and required a significant monetary and time investment to cook my own meals, and buy fast-expiring produce.

It doesn't have to be either/or to reach health goals, as you can mix the two depending on your particular resources.

[naasking]

For whom would calorie restriction be dangerous?

I don't get the time and monetary cost either. You can precook your meals for a whole week on Sunday night, as long as you don't mind a little repetition.

[nopinsight]

For the elderly and perhaps others also, too little insulation means a higher chance of accidents (falls etc.) turning fatal.

It might be quite hard to consume a sufficient amount of certain nutrients like Calcium on caloric restricted diet as well.

[JoshMnem]

> And having tried to cut out sugars and processed foods in my own life, it was certainly not easy and required a significant monetary and time investment to cook my own meals, and buy fast-expiring produce.

I've been doing it for two years, and there are solutions to those problems. It's cheaper and faster to eat healthily and restrict calories than to cook a typical US diet -- it just requires a different perspective.

I wish I weren't busy at the moment, so I could build a website about how to manage it.

[mistermann]

I'd love to read even some high level bullet points of avenues to investigate, if that form is possible.

[JoshMnem]

A few quick ideas from my experiments are below. I'm not a doctor so these aren't recommendations -- just things that I've experimented with.

It requires a change in perspective. A quote I like is, "food is not a recreational drug." Food is fuel for a fermentation tank (digestive system). If you want the machine to run well, figure out what creates ideal fermentation environment. (Watch out for things like sugars and flours.)

I do meal prep by steaming a lot of vegetables in advance[1] and storing them in containers in the refrigerator. Then I can quickly make a variety of meals by combining the vegetables in various ways. Legume (bean, lentil, split pea) and vegetable soups are also good to have on hand at all times. Tahini is a base for a good sauce. I think 2 tbsp will provide about 10% of daily required calcium for most people.

When out of the house, I bring along some chunks of raw red cabbage and raw broccoli.[2] They are cheap, filling, and actually pretty good, especially when you're hungry. I think it's okay to skip meals when healthy food isn't available. Restaurants can also usually provide steamed, plain vegetables on request, if you're eating out with people.

Drink a quart of cold water before starting breakfast and sufficient water throughout the day.

If you need to reduce calories, you can make a cutoff time for eating -- like 4, 5, or 6 pm. That also provides 14-16+ hours of fasting per day to rest the digestive system. Another way to do it is to have reduced calorie days, like on the 5:2 diet.

When reducing calories I focus on high-nutrient foods. My main staple is steamed vegetables. I'd recommend becoming very familiar with different kinds of vegetables and how to cook them (steaming and/or adding to soups). A bookstore would probably have a selection of vegetable encyclopedia-type books.

If it seems hard to maintain a healthy diet, it's still easier than being sick. I went from 215 pounds to 145 pounds, hovering around 150.

Even if you don't reduce calories significantly, a diet focused on vegetables is probably going to have great long-term benefits, including life extension.

If you're in the Bay Area, and want to talk about ideas, you can come to one of our programming meetups.[3] I like to exchange ideas with other people who experiment with food. Or send me an email ([e-mail]), and I'll invite you to a place where I've posted more information about the experiments.

[1] https://codeselfstudy.com/files/food.jpg

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz4YVJ4aRfg

[3] https://codeselfstudy.com/

[GordonS]

> When out of the house, I bring along some chunks of raw red cabbage and raw broccoli.[2] They are cheap, filling, and actually pretty good

They might taste good (I like nicely cooked and seasoned veg) and be cheap... but "filling"? I absolutely do not find veg filling. More filling that something high in high-GI carbs, sure, since you're not going to have a spike and sharp drop in blood glucose levels signalling hunger, but protein and fat are a lot more filling that veg.

A good example is eggs, which are amazingly filling, cheap, quick to cook, versatile, and only around 150 calories each - and I feel full for at least 5 hours after eating just two of them.

[JoshMnem]

If you do some calorie restriction, raw cabbage will probably be filling. I've been doing it for two years and vegetables are very filling under the right conditions.

I think it's worth eating some cruciferous vegetables raw for additional health benefits.

[pwnage12]

Compliance for CR is near impossible though. I'm a believer in it but am still 10 pounds overweight. It won't work for everyone, obviously (because so many of us are overweight).

[gwern]

It's not impossible. Look at the CR experiments like CALERIE. Dropout is something like 10-20%, similar to intermittent fasting or other kinds of diets.

[JamesBarney]

I'd heard CALORIE was selective with applicants in order to increase compliance.

[gwern]

Most studies are.

[arnoooooo]

Intermittent fasting is not that hard.