From The Sands

You don't want the playwrights to turn on you, because they can quickly turn public opinion against you. Controlled recipes goes against a lot of the principles we've instilled into the country (in my opinion). Mandatory activities doesn't change much immediately, so it is inefficient but otherwise it is viable. Mandatory drugging has more negatives than those listed, as it normalizes the use of drugs and could lead to drug epidemics. Finally, purposeful destruction of crops is drastic but is most likely to succeed.

I feel like the most 'drastic' thing Queen Sajar would do would be both:

> Mandatory Activities and Artificial Famine.

How I see this working:

SpoilerShow

In an effort to inspire her people the Queen had doctors come up with a series of exercises that could be performed in 5-10 minutes throughout the day. Though not suffering from over-consumption herself, she would publically participate in these exercises from the royal balcony. Additionally, she'd set up broadcasting towers in parks and central squares around the capital that would broadcast instructions in the early morning and in the evening. These towers relied on a combination of magic and tower beasts, so they were expensive and not as mass-producible as wanted. The Government would also come to subsidize the creation of national sports leagues and attempt to aid in spreading the most popular sports to neighbors for an international competition every couple of years.

Additionally, she would have agents introduce artificial blights to certain key crops and otherwise interfere with food production, in order to have a calculated famine. Some nobles would come to resent her for this, if discovered, she knew but from past experiences she also knew how greedy the noble class could be. In an effort to minimize their unrest, she would use the more pliable nobles to enact these deals allowing them prestige as well as getting 'kickbacks' from the government for doing the nation a service. She knew that a paid and proud noble who is, even if unwittingly, part of the scheme would be less likely to come forward about it, as it would hurt their own position and put them at risk as well.