Weighing in here with my story (pun intended)

Short guy, topped out at about 210 pounds, ideal weight should be more like 160-170. I did the Weight Watchers program where you count points. It was really eye-opening to where the bad calories/fat come from - simply taking things like mayo off your sandwich and using mustard instead, can free up a lot of points. They also have charts with most major chain restaurants on it to gauge the insane amount of calories that go in their food, if you enjoy eating out. It also doesn't restrict what you can eat - you crave a cheeseburger and fries, go for it, but it counts for a lot of your daily points so then you have to balance it with more healthy meals the rest of the day.

I lost 35 lbs and have maintained a steady weight for over 12 years, so I can say this program worked for me.