I finally found the diet that I like and can live with - even long-term.
I'm calorie-counting. I've also decided to keep the same diet from day to day without variation, since I've carefully calculated the calories and foods. It makes it easier to shop and prepare for each day. I wind up eating three meals with snacks in-between, and so far I haven't gotten so hungry that I think I'm going to binge.
Total calories for the day is about 1490, I believe. 100 less than I had normally been eating, which surprised me. I feel fuller on this diet than before with fewer calories, which is a bonus.
Here's my daily diet:
Breakfast: 1 turkey sandwich (3 oz. deli turkey), 1 mini-peppermint patty (York).
Mid-morning snack: 1 regular peppermint patty
Lunch: 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (5 oz.), 1 serv. broccoli
Mid-afternoon snack: 1 regular peppermint patty
Dinner: 5 oz. grilled tilapia, 1 vegetable (130 cal.)
After dinner snack: 1 vegetable (130 cal. - something like corn on the cob or homemade mashed potatoes)
Before bed treat: 1 bag Popsecret butter popcorn (100-cal.) and 1 regular peppermint patty