I agree John and it’s not that different here in France with local MTs. Someone in our French lesson was saying her MT had said it was “inevitable” that we got type 2 diabetes as we aged. My observation on hearing this viewpoint is not repeatable here! I think she was not impressed with me as I was disputing the wisdom of her doctor.
For me, what has helped is moving from a view that I am “dieting” to a view that I am eating differently. For me, the dieting perspective is not sustainable because it is about “lack”. Also it was always linked to some specific event – eg wanting to get into a dress for a friend’s golden wedding. So once that event was over the weight would creep up again.
I go to the stage where I was tired of seeing the rolls of fat around my waistline when I looked at myself in the mirror. From there, it has just been “little by little” – tweaking/fine tuning all the time the minute I feel my weight may creep up again. After a while, there is a positive investment in seeing how well I’m doing and not wanting to slip back.
I found Brightline Eating and Susan Peirce Thompson to be invaluable because she explains the science behind why we find it so hard to lose weight (eg that we now know we have finite willpower) and so I adjusted my behaviour to support what happens in the brain and at a cellular level. Absolutely key was getting sugar out of my life, completely /utterly / totally because of its addictive qualities. Then no white flour ever in any form. Then, as @toryroo says, it’s about moderation in proteins and lots of veg/fruit/salads. There’s more, but just to show what I’ve achieved – I weigh myself daily and have been doing so for nearly 1500 days. This is not a diet. It is a way of life.