I think roasting or air frying is the way to go. How about something with roasted potatoes (or other veggies, like cauliflower), or roasted legumes?(roasted chickpeas tend to be popular!)

I agree, it has to be a lifestyle change NOT a temporary change. However, at the same time I find that I often don’t crave those foods as much the less I eat of them. For example pizza or Oreos went from maybe once a week to maybe once a month or less. While it usually tastes good in the moment, I have been trying to focus on how I feel afterwards. Eating “healthy” (lots of vegetables/legumes in general) and exercising has actually helped me reduce or eliminate a lot of the random aches and pains that I associated with getting older. As soon as I notice myself slacking off a bit and eating more sugar or processed foods I start to feel it in my joints. Pain (or lack thereof) is really good incentive for me!

It’s interesting to see how different news organizations write the title of this research. I think this one is the most fair. I’ve also seen “IF no better than counting calories” which is technically true but also paints IF in a negative light, since the research seems to show either way can be effective.

I did find that IF worked really well for me when I tried it back in 2018, but when I went off it I gained weight back very quickly. I’m currently just doing CR and counting my macros with the macrofactor app and it’s also working well. The good thing about previously doing IF is that I’m no longer super freaked out/it’s not the end of the world if I have to skip a meal for some reason.

I had issues accessing both of those articles but this one from NPR seems similar for anytime else in the same boat: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/25/1178163270/ultra-processed-foods-health-risk-weight-gain

It makes a lot of sense- those foods are often engineered to be irresistible/cravable, much more than “natural” foods are. If they are easy to digest without a lot of fiber, it also likely affects our microbiome.

It’s also one benefit of being super busy at work. When I’m teaching (college) I often don’t get a chance to eat lunch until maybe around 2:30-4pm some days and I usually don’t even notice I’m hungry and until I stop for a minute.

I did a 106 mile charity ride about two weeks ago (Chicago to Michigan). That was super fun and had great SAG stops. I don’t have any other long rides planned for a while but later this summer or early this fall I’d like to ride along the I&M canal trails and possibly camp overnight before returning (~70 miles one way, some gravel some paved trails).