[coffeecloud]

Record every calorie you eat. Set a goal ~500-700 calories under your base metabolic rate.

Once you record everything it becomes clear where the extra calories are coming from and where to improve your diet. Diligence in log keeping is key.

[mattthebaker]

Prefer counting as well. At the end of the day weight loss is bound by thermodynamics. All diets are just hacks to help subconsciously tip the balance. May as well cut directly to the root and just count.

Health is a different story and more subject to what is actually consumed.

[kgin]

This should be the only answer with 10k upvotes.