What food to eat / avoid on a diet?

It's calories in vs out and in context to weight loss, it's less calories than your body requires that impacts weight loss, period. Saying that there is some dogma attached to those link but if you decides to follow those suggestions, that's fine, as would any combination of the two, see how that works.

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My general rules for losing weight is not dieting per se, but to focus on eating well. Eat as little prepackaged, processed food as you can. Especially avoid eating out in restaurants. Cook your meals with fresh ingredients and watch your caloric intake depending on whether you want to loose fat or gain muscle. I think dieting is a bad idea, most people end up going back to their old habits in the end. Changing your approach to food and what you chose to eat is more important, because that eventually will become the norm.

Depends on your goals?

To be general lower in weight? Eat anything with you calories below maintenance at the end of the day after energy is expended.

To be in fine physical shape, well then it matters.

Yeah my goals are to lose weight.
I was already going to cut out the junk food I've done it before and didn't find it hard. Like I just want to switch to healthier things like from white pasta to the wholewheat , no white bread just brown . Try and cut down on processed food and some of the meats with a lot of fat etc. Like I'm not going to eat everything on that list as I don't like some of whats on the list just going to see what I like from the list and try and eat more of that.

Use a good rule of thumb, if it looks like it was when it came from the ground/animal, eat it. If doesn't don't. If you are not sure, don't.

Keeps things easy.

I have been researching for over a year and there is a lot of misrepresentation, misinformation, etc.

The way to a healthier body is the following:

Eat natural foods i.e. fruits, vegetables, meat (steak instead of hamburger) etc., natural unsalted nuts and beans.

Don't worry about the amount of sugar from fruits it is not the same as processed sugars, high-fructose corn syrup, etc.

Try to not eat white or whole wheat bread but whole grain instead (read the labels as advertisers are tricky).

Stay away from most trans and saturated fats but you still need some sat fats but from good sources like avacado etc. again whole natural foods.

Stay away from all processed foods, low fat / lower sugar / margarine and other substitute items.

This is not all inclusive but can get you in the right direction.

Bottom line more calories burned than consumed = weight loss. But healthier eating means both weight loss, a much healthier you (heart, liver, kidneys, etc.). And it is much easier to maintain a good healthy eating habit than a diet.

Good luck to you and everyone else out there that are working hard to improve their lives.

Oh yeah and exercising is a main ingredient in a healthier life, don't have to run a marathon or won a muscle building contest. Just work out several times a week with cardio (in the fat burning or maintaining zone) and some strength exercises even the small dumbbells if nothing else.