After changing my mind dozens of time on this topic, exactly what you say is the only stable conclusion I reached. Effective weight loss is effective calorie reduction, whatever you do to reach that is whatever works for you.
Seconded. I've noticed that the diets I have tried successfully (which have all been variants on "consume food during a limited number of sittings per day") have worked by allowing me to use noticeably less willpower than it would normally take for me to use to limit my calorie intake by that much per day.
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