Kimber, I had the same sort of battle going on in my head in the last few weeks. I didn't want to count calories because it takes too much time- but I know when I try to just "eat well" or "avoid carbs" I go all over the place by the second day. One morning last week after a several day eating frenzy, I woke up and I realized I was driving myself insane by trying different rules every week- it's a terrbile way to live and I was just hating myself.
So I thought- well calorie counting is the most practical because I can't expect myself to give up my favorite foods- I am just miserable without them! I also can't expect myself to only eat when I'm hungry because I can always say I'm hungry! I need some rigidness and some flexiblity. I also worried about getting caught up in the numbers, but I quickly realized I eat the same things over and over so it's just a matter of adjusting the portion sizes. Without sparkpeople I don't think I would be able to count at all though!
Maybe just take one step- start counting! You can slowly transition to eat clean and work out- but cutting your calories will definitely start you off with results! I hope this helps!