I find distraction a very simple method.  When I'm absorbed in a problem, I can go the better part of a day without eating.  Often then, when I finally eat, it's because the lack of food / nutrients is starting to significantly hamper my thinking and focus.  But it takes (this well/overfed U.S. resident) some time to reach that point.<p>The problem is to keep this mode of life up for a sustained period of time.<p>I also tend to lose significant weight while on vacation.  This is usually because my vacations involve: 1) Intense, extended interaction with people (very occupying, if "distracting" is perhaps not the best word to use re social company) in non-food settings; 2) A lot of traveling and getting around from one novel place to another, again very occupying and without much of a food context.<p>I guess I could add that vacations for me involve very little TV.<p>Finally, as an aside, I've remained a fan of "TV host" Craig Ferguson's simple comment on the topic:  "Eat less, move around more."  I realize that it's not that simple for everybody, but for a fair number of people -- myself included -- it is.  And his phrase, especially delivered in his accent and trademark combination of absurd and serious, is very memorable.  This makes it useful to me on an ad hoc, day to day basis.