> Anything else and more is sectarianism and people bragging about their choices not having verified their true claimed efficacy or benefits.

Everybody's looking for a silver bullet and wants to advocate for their specific one by tearing competing theories down. The reason that IF works is because it's more difficult to eat at a caloric surplus when you can only fill your stomach for 8 hours a day. Full stop. There might be modest ancillary benefits but as far as weight loss it really is as simple as calories in versus calories out. There are tons of variations on this theme dependent on goals and tolerance for discomfort but simple math wins ten times out of ten.

For the layperson IF or keto or something similarly extreme is effective but difficult. It requires strict adherence to a lifestyle that impacts one's social life and makes eating prepared foods difficult. Worst of all it leads to impromptu cheat days in moments of weakness that spiral out of control and negatively affect consistency. For people trying to lead a normal life I personally think eating at 80% TDEE with 1:1:1 macros is the most sustainable - you eat at your leisure, get sufficient protein for lean muscle mass and still eat carbs for energy and fun. It's basically "eat less, have a protein shake." Combine this with some light cardio and body weight/kettlebell stuff while watching TV and you'll see great functional fitness gains in addition to quick and steady weight loss.

Of course it's hard to build an online quasi-religion around moderation so this type of thinking isn't mainstream despite its efficacy.