Sick of chasing fad diets?

You're off to a good start by deciding not to follow any fad diet. Definitely don't become that person who does a lot of exercise, but refuses to eat more than 1200 calories. Don't let any one bad day be the reason for quiting. I had my fair share of off days during weight loss, but because I consistently ate less and moved more to create a deficit, I managed to lose ~60lbs.

Don't divide your life into "dieting" and "non dieting" sections; it's about your whole life.
If you can't wait to get back to "normal" eating, you're going to put it all back on again.
Weigh yourself often enough to be accountable, but not so often you're driving yourself crazy.
Be honest with yourself and own the choices you make, good or bad; log everything.
Eat what you like, eat when you're hungry, eat slowly and enjoy it, stop when you're satisfied.
Never eat because you're bored, angry, nervous, depressed, or for any other emotional reason.

I'm in the same boat. I don't want to jump onto a fad diet.

Don't let guilt suck you into a cycle of overeating and restricting. High calorie days are not the end of the world. Eating something unplanned doesn't mean your day is ruined. Food is food. Instead of dividing it into "good" and "bad" then feeling guilty when you eat something "bad", divide it into "worth the calories" and "not worth the calories".

Giving yourself that power of choice will result in your choices being more mentally satisfying and enjoyable. When you pick the lean protein and vegetables over pizza because you are saving calories for some ice cream (or any analogous choices if the easiest diet for you doesn't accommodate ice cream), it tends to feels way better than succumbing to ice cream temptation then feeling bad about it. It's also more controlled when it's a part of the plan instead of a deviation.

Don't eat bland foods unless bland food is what you feel like eating. Make sure most of your choices are enjoyable. No specific diet foods are necessary, and no specific non-diet foods are necessary to eliminate unless it makes things easier for you.

In a nutshell, try to make dieting as pleasant and as easy as possible for you. No need to white knuckle it on one approach when an alternative approach involves less white knuckling.