How to decide which diet?

When I started here at MFP, I was a complete newbie to weight loss, and was overwhelmed by all of the vastly differing methods, too.

So I started small, at a pace and knowledge level I could grasp in increments.

I let the MFP program estimate the number of calories I needed to be eating in order to lose weight at a healthy pace.

Then I spent the first two weeks simply getting accustomed to accurately logging everything I ate without making any changes to my diet whatsoever. That baseline information was an eye-opener! It made it very clear to me what specific foods in my current diet 'cost' me in terms of calories. It also made it clear exactly where I could start by making small changes - changes I could live with - in order to reduce my overall calories per day.

Once I got the hang of it, it actually became kind of fun to figure out where I could cut down a bit here or there without feeling deprived, where I could find palatable substitutes for some of the more caloric items, as well as which items I could keep as they were, but just manage the portions.

Once that was under control, I started walking for exercise.

The combination of these two elements allowed me to lose 75 lbs in a year and reach my goal weight. And I honestly feel that the first two weeks of logging what I normally ate was the key for me to educate myself before just jumping in and perhaps arbitrarily cutting or eliminating foods based on what some trendy 'diet plan' was telling me I should or shouldn't be eating.

The thing to keep in mind is that ALL eating plans to lose weight function on the CI<CO principle. ALL OF THEM. There is no magic diet or food that will zap those pounds off. Any way of eating that allows you to lose weight only does so because it also puts you in a calorie deficit. Your CI (Calories In) is less than your CO (Calories Out).

And anyone who tells you differently is trying to sell you something you don't need.