Just calorie counting?

I actually easily lost about 30 lbs in three months. I logged my food. About 1200 calories a day (I'm a 5'3" female). But, I wasn't hard-core about it. Somedays, I would be under and somedays I would be over. I wasn't following any specific diet. I was going a little on the low-carb/moderate protein/ and high healthy fat side. But, I'm from Italian decent, so if you try to take my pasta away...you may lose an arm *LOL*

My intentions were to exercise. But, I didn't. It was just calorie restriction. But, I was eating nutrient dense foods. So, at times, it was hard to even reach 1200 calories.

One thing to remember, is that if you are logging there's a lot of healthy foods that contain carbs. blueberries, broccoli, etc. I personally love yams. But, it will seem like too many carbs on your diary.

As @Alatariel75 mentioned, I too focus mostly on lean protein and veggies. And, I have an occasional cheat day that I have pasta or bread.

This isn't probably what many people do...But I recently started lightly steaming broccoli and after cooling it, I add to my salad. It might be weird, but I love it!

I counted calories, but I concentrated more on balanced healthy meals and snacks, I would do things like eat nothing but watermelon all day, then be ravenous and overeat the next day. I needed to be educated about helping my body. Balance is still what I struggle with most.

I started out just counting calories to stay in a deficit, which worked well.
More exercise/activity came gradually later on - always happy to find a justification for eating more
After a number of months I also started to pay more attention to my protein intake, to reduce muscle loss.

I lost 75lbs - regained a little now so still 70lbs down.

I just counted calories to lose weight. I lost around 50 pounds in just under a year, have stayed at a healthy weight for 8 years since the same way.

As I got going with logging, I paid attention to which food choices kept me mostly full and happy, with a good energy level. That made it easier to stick with it.

I didn't do any of those named diets. I kept eating the same range of foods, but changed portion sizes or frequencies of some foods. Portions of tasty, filling lower-calorie things increased, portions or frequencies of higher-calorie things reduced. Logging made that pretty easy.

I didn't even much increase exercise to lose weight. Exercise is important for best health, but I was already quite active even while obese. (Stayed obese for a dozen years while working out 6 days most weeks, in fact. It's pretty easy to eat those extra few hundred calories and not even notice.)

I do pay attention to nutrition, but that's more about health than weight management.

I don't recommend it, and it was done mostly to make a point, but people have lost weight eating mostly snack foods like Twinkies, only meals from McDonald's, mostly foods purchased at convenience stores, and more goofy things like that. Most of those people's health markers improved, too, just from the weight loss.

Weight management is about calories, at the foundation. If a special way of eating helps a person stick with reduced calories more easily, and they can see themselves eating that way long term to keep weight off, then the special way of eating is helpful. Otherwise, not helpful.

Some people choose keto, fasting, etc., because they think those diets have health benefits beyond weight management. That's fine for them, but those things don't suit me, and my health is fine enough now that I'm at a good weight, getting reasonable nutrition, eating foods I enjoy.

Finding a way to eat that a person can stick with reasonably happily long enough to lose weight (and keep it off) is IMO important. Exactly what that eating routine is will differ individually.

I'm wishing you success: IME the results are more than worth the effort!

I lost 30 lbs counting calories and exercising. No other extra methods