Nutrition is, like economics, a dismal science. To avoid weight gain, burn more than is taken in. It's like cutting spending or raising taxes to contain a deficit. Weight loss programs are like the bond market's temporary extend and pretend forgiveness for taking on more debt. At an unknown date in the future, forgiveness turns to vengeance. Oprah Winfrey bought Weight Watchers in the certainty that its clients will never want to face this simple fact. In 2011 I researched WW and the weight loss industry for a hedge fund client, talking to several dozen nutritionists, doctors and NHS Primary Care Trust directors all over the UK. The NHS pays for people to go to WW and its competitors because it knows avoiding bariatric surgery for one patient pays for 100 going to WW, even if their weight loss is small and temporary.

My workaround: Fire Netflix and bike 15-45 km/day and in the summer swim 700-1000 meters/day.

The 45 km is a round trip between Jurmala and Riga and burns 1200-1400 calories.

Pre-COVID, I added an hour of full court basketball against 20-40 year olds 2-3x/week (I'm 66). Earn and burn your calories and your body will let you eat whatever you want. I just downed 100 grams of Belgian chocolate. The added benefit is having a body that will athletically do whatever you ask of it.

Don't like to bike? My wife walks 8-15 km/day. 1 km walking = about 2.5 km cycling.

A fiscal solution: tax TV remotes by the click: https://medium.com/p/442283dd77c8/edit.