Hi Mike,

I understand that everybody has their own opinion on what to eat, so this may be of zero interest to you.  If you are open to best available dieting research data take a look at Dr Greger's research.  He has a lot of easily available data on his non-profit website  https://nutritionfacts.org/

I recommend simply reading or listening his book "How not to die".  It is full of research analysis on what actually works and what does not.

My personal experience.  My wife went into his plant based diet and pushed his book on me during family trip.  I listened and got convinced.  Over multiple years I have kept reducing my eating habits and replacing with recommended foods.  It is not fast, but over time my general feeling of healthiness has improved.

I generally tried to atkins diet (it killed my work out by the end of 1st week, I had no energy), eatiing a little frequently (I worked out during that time).  I even tried salads.  None of that worked for me.

Plant based approach, beans, leguns, nuts.  All of it is easy to follow and there is no problem to maintain for me.  So I am happy and generally follow Dr Greger advice for years now.  And best of all, it is not a diet in the sense of going on a diet.