My diet is just: Eat your damn vegetables.
Scentifically speaking, the Chinese eat an abundance of calories in a day, nearly 4,000. The difference between 4,000 over here and 4,000 over there is: they eat most of their meals in vegetables and natural foods like fruits, and garnish meals with proteins.
There's a huge difference in nutrient dense foods and the empty calories. Empty calories that are eaten all the time (even low fat, 'high vitamin' foods that are processed) make the body feel you must be starving with the low calorie food. You could eat a ton of this food, and feel full, but your body has nothing of value from it.
We all know what happens when the body goes into starvation mode: it stores all the fat just in case it has to use it later.
So 'big people' aren't actually eating too much. They have bodies that are starving!
In theory, counting calories will help you lose weight, but it's hard and often people don't feel full. It's hard.
When people switch to nutrient dense food, eating mostly fresh and cooked fruits and vegetables and meats the majority of the time, they lose weight and feel full. The body gets out of starvation mode.
If you want to do it the easiest way possible, make like 80% of your plate veggies and fruit (doesn't matter what type, just make it as 'natural' as possible) and 15% protien. If you are still hungry after, go for more fruit and protien and rice. Fill up!
From there, give in to a few temptations on occasion, like a cookie or ice cream as a treat. As long as your body is full of vitamins and getting them regularly, these treats won't pull you back into starvation mode.
That's what I've been reading in science journals. If you fill up your plate with natural foods, your body naturally sorts itself out.