I am a calorie counter. As you can see from my profile, I have lost 49 pounds over the last 5-6 months, and I am currently in maintenance. I love the flexibility of calorie counting because nothing is off limits -- but the daily limit keeps you accountable. It is easy to start. Just go out onto the web, find a good calorie calculator and determine how many calories someone your age/weight/height needs to maintain and then create a reasonable deficit of between 500-1000 calories a day to lose 1-2 pounds a week (Just not dropping below around 1200 a day which is a good baseline of how many calories all our bodies need for base metabolic function and nutritional needs).
I think calorie counting is a great way to prepare for the maintenance stage because you spend the months of weight loss learning how many calories your body needs, depending on exercise level, and learning to eat "regular" healthy food while you are doing it -- so that you do not really change your eating habits at the end...just add a few more calories to stop losing.
I eat 5 small meals a day -- to keep my blood sugar even and keep from getting hungry. I make sure I get protein with EVERY meal/snack for the same two reasons -- plus it helps my body maintain its lean muscle mass. I limit my sugar and non-whole grain carbs, but I NEVER say I CAN'T have something on a special occasion...like my birthday, Thanksgiving, etc. I eat cake, chocolate, etc. in moderate amounts every once in a while...even while I was "dieting" or, more accurately, making my lifestyle change. I eat LOTS of veggies and fruit and high fiber foods as well as making sure I get enough healthy fats like olive oil in my salad dressing, avocados, nuts and fish about once a week -- basically a "whole foods" approach to eating.
I write down all the food that goes in my mouth in a little spiral notebook I carry, and I keep a running tally of my calories for the day. I plan my meals in advance whenever I can so that I don't "run out" of calories too early in the day. I "bank" calories for special occasions, and I do have an "off plan" meal once or twice a month -- everyone deserves french fries once in a while-- although, truth be told, I prefer a baked potato.
I also cycled my calories during weight loss, which means I had high calorie days and low calorie days that averaged over a week to my "target" level -- this gives you high days to look forward to and "tricks" your metabolism into not improving its efficiency if it is getting a consistant low level of calories (which can make weight loss more difficult).
I also got, and continue to get, 30 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) cardio and 15-30 minutes of Steady State (SS) cardio 6 days a week (I have a stationary bike), and I do resistance training 3 days a week, at home, with a mix of "body weight" exercises like crunches, push-ups, leg lifts, squats, etc. as well as using resistance bands with handles and door attachments for biceps, triceps, chest press, back, rowing, shoulders, etc.
That is all I can think of...good luck!!!