[idsout]

Exactly this. I'm 30yo, have been overweight most of my life and I've finally learned this. Since last May I've lost 65lbs by simply putting my height, weight, activity level, and age in an online calorie calculator and have weighed myself every day and kept my calories at or under this target. I just started feeling energetic enough to start weight lifting as of one month ago and my weight hasn't changed (started eating +450 more calories a day), but I'm already starting to physically change (slightly more defined arms and chest for instance).

You don't need a fancy diet. Just count calories every single day long enough and you will lose weight.

An added benefit of counting for so long is that I can now roughly estimate the number of calories in food when I'm out with friends. I just factor in those slight cheat outings into the beginning of my day or next day.

[knicholes]

That's great! Like you said, the scale can lie. You could be losing fat and gaining muscle mass. In that case, I'd say your next step is to make sure you're eating enough protein in addition to the right amount of calories so as to provide your body what it needs to build that muscle. I use MyFitnessPal to track my macros.

Fun ways to track your progress other than the scale include body measurements (with a measuring tape) and pictures! Or DEXA.