My most recent working hypothesis for weight loss is that we can use an electronically excited compound of nitrogen and oxygen that is able to bond with a transition metal ion found in much canned fish.
Specifically, by putting celery leaf and stalk pieces in distilled water along with some toasted banana leaf (the toasted leaf provides FeO, a less common form of ferric oxide, via a high-heat reaction of oxalic acid with iron) and setting it in a glass jar in the sunlight (solar radiation provides a broad spectrum of light wavelengths), I think I am making NO2*. Celery leaf is a good source of nitrates and so provides a small nitrogen molecule that can interact with the oxygen (O) atoms produced by solar radiation.
By eating sardines or other canned fish afterwards (but not all brands or flavors work), I am getting either manganese or zinc cations. With the help of bile and likely either 1) the hydrogen cations (i.e., protons) and chloride anions produced by the stomach lining, or 2) bicarbonate ions or other substances secreted into the duodenum, the manganese or zinc anions bond to the NO2* to make either zinc nitrite or manganese nitrite. I haven't decided yet whether my hypothesis uses zinc or manganese to make this unusual compound, but I'm leaning toward zinc because it's an important cofactor in many human enzymes.
Looking at the table of standard reduction potentials, it appears that the presence of zinc, silicon dioxide, oxidized manganese and oxidized aluminum treated with heat in a closed container permit the formation of zinc cations (Zn 2+) [Update on April 15, 2022: I changed my mind about the possible helpfulness of aluminum. The use of aluminum seems to correspond with rising obesity, particularly in baked goods. I'll avoid it when seeking to make my zinc cations.]. I'm currently playing around with foods and cooking utensils/materials that feature those four things to see if I can get a consistent weight loss effect without having to rely on getting the correct brand of canned fish.
In my previous research on molybdenum, I looked a lot at ways that our bodies can change sulfites and nitrites to sulfates and nitrates. Now I'm focusing on what healthful benefits nitrites might provide when paired with less-examined cations.
[Update on April 15, 2022: I think there is still one more molecule I need. I'm looking currently at cis-hydrogenated-acetoin, since it seems that it would sometimes occur in yogurt and other products made by bacterial fermentation.]