[dguaraglia]

You are absolutely right. That's what worked in my case: I started, about a year ago, to count calories using the Lose It! app (I can't recommend it enough, it's a free service and works for most food you can get in the US.)

Soon enough I could distinguish between a 600cal lunch and a 1000+ one. Or between a 500cal snack and a ~200cal one. Just the realization that I could cut about half my caloric intake by choosing A over B and not feel hunger made a huge psychological difference: all of a sudden those huge Five Guys burgers weren't as tempting as they used to, and I started using 'calorie free' stuff (like tomatoes, celery, and even some cheese spreads) because it could fill me up. I used to ignore veggies because 'why would I put them in my sandwich if I have a tastier option like bacon/mayo'.

At the end of the day, paraphrasing Timothy Ferriss said in one of his TED talks, I had to learn to "eat like an adult", instead of giving in to every childish want.