Just because you are "counting" something doesn't mean it's a fad diet. In the end, you need a well-balanced diet that gives you enough calories to support your metabolism but few enough so that you lose weight. All of the various "counting" methods are just different ways of getting to that end result, with a little difference in philosophy here and there. To lose weight and keep it off, you have to take some responsibility, and that includes educating yourself. Nobody ever lost weight permanently without putting in a little time and effort in learning a few things. You don't have to earn a Ph.D. in nutrition. Tracking what you eat in SOME way, however, helps you understand yourself and your relationship with food, and ensures that you are doing what you need to do to lose weight and be healthy.
I agree that for you the Dr. Phil book would be a good approach for you. It's a good "start from scratch" method that will give you good rules of thumb for managing food and activity, without a whole lot of math and hassles. If you want some outside help, you might look into my program, Jenny Craig. It uses an exchange system that is easy to master but counts calories for you without you having to memorize a bunch of numbers.
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