What I've been able to gather over the years (and in this thread) and pretty much what I've incorporated into my diet is the following:
- Avoid processed foods
- Avoid added sugars
- Limit fruit intake (especially those high in fructose) and especially avoid fruit juices
- Avoid simple carbs (e.g., bread, tortillas, flour) and look to lower carb intake in general (~300g daily limit seems excessive)
- Eat more meals composed of higher fat/protein and a vegetable (e.g., protein and a vegetable)
- Fats aren't as bad as people believe
When it's all said and done, I think you're right though. The fact of the matter is we all love carbs and sugar way too much. We need to eat more plants.
I'm interested in that last statement regarding aspartame. It seems you find extremely polarized opinions on artificial sweeteners. I've often read that, regardless of the health impact (or lack thereof), artificial sweeteners are more-or-less "tricking" your body into thinking it has calories incoming, when in fact, it doesn't. Your body, feeling jipped, tries to compensate by craving more calories. But, again, this is hearsay.
Finally (N=1) I drink way more aspartame sweetened soda than any sane person should and I was relatively easily able to shred roughly 1/3 of body weight without serious hunger.