@heavyphil I don't think we're disagreeing. I'm just suggesting there's nothing magical about skipping breakfast (for a while, skipping lunch worked for me): in either case, if you eat less you burn more glycogen stores and/or add less to them.

The risk is that reducing consumption by skipping meals (instead of reducing portion size) can lead to more blood sugar peaks and troughs, which eventually lead to strong cravings that induce more snacking or bigger portion sizes. That's why restriction diets eventually fail for most people, even if they show exciting results for a few weeks/months at the start.

With my mobility restrictions from the spinal injury, long-term ADT, and family history of type 2 diabetes, I'm at high risk despite being fairly active for a man my age. Losing 20 lb would help.

But I'm coming at it the other way around this time: first stabilise my blood sugar to minimize peaks and troughs and the resulting cravings, then worry about reducing my weight, very gradually. It's not primarily about the number on the scale.