I gave up sugar, white flour, rice, potatoes and fast food! Now I eat all kinds of meats, fruits, veggies, nuts and cheese.....and I eat throughout the day. I don't count calories or even portion sizes. For me it was the bad carbs that caused me to gain weight (bread, pretzels, white rice w/sugar and cinnamon, fruit loops, etc).

I do weight watchers and I love it.
The best thing is that I can eat ANYTHING I even go out to eat regularly. You can work anything into this plan, which is why I love it.

I count calories...I'm doing about 1200 calories a day.

Because my caloric intake is so small...everything I put in my body needs to be FUEL. I learned very quickly that if I put things in my body that didn't fill me up and give me energy...1200 calories can go quickly and you can end up feeling hungry, deprived, and with a headache.

Therefore...I've cut out pasta, white bread, and white rice. I've replaced it with brown rice or whole wheat. I try to only have 2 servings of starch a day...I'm trying to keep my carbs under 120 total...and that includes fruits and veggies....so to get all the veggies I need... those carbs go fast, too. I also keep under 30 grams of fat a day...and using these guidelines I don't have to eliminate anything completely if I really want to...but it keeps me accountable. I'm always exploring new things I can add to my diet...and I'm just now starting to feel "normal" I feel like I have a substution for almost everything.
I love love love "Lose it" (application for my phone)...I've said that on this board before...it's really helping me keep on track, and having it right on my phone helps me make writing everything I eat down convienent.

I do a loosely-adapted Weight Watchers point system. I can eat anything I want, but watch the portions to control calories. Also, I try cook from scratch as often as possible, rather than turning to processed foods. Just a personal belief that it's healthier, though I've also found that I actually end up with more on my plate that way.

I also do both. As others have said, it's hard to get proper nutrition on a low calorie diet, and you do have to lower your caloric intake (relative to your activity level) in order to lose weight. For some people, cutting out the empty carb calories may naturally lead to a lower caloric intake because less processed foods have more bulk and help manage hunger. But I know that I can easily gain on healthy foods, so I have to count calories, minimize empty carbs, and even limit healthy carbs in order to lose successfully.