Well, to be fair, a more balanced diet that is based on caloric restriction wouldn't have you giving up.. well, anything. You just don't consume as many calories per day. It is substantially more about portion control and actually knowing what you are eating vs. just cutting something out of your diet. Except soda/starbucks etc, those are basically going to be sticking points with -any- diet, for the most part. There's just way too many calories (from any source) with very little satiation and nutritional value to be considered worthwhile. And aside from going vegetarian/vegan I don't know if there's a no-red meat diet, but hey, people will try anything to sell themselves that calories in < calories out isn't the overall endgame for weightloss.
I used to be all in on the low/no carb hype train as the best way to lose weight because it worked so well (and quickly) for me. After doing a lot of [varied sources] reading I've come to the conclusion that, for someone who is ONLY concerned about losing body fat, calorie deficit is all that's required.
My YouTube mentor (is that a thing?), Layne Norton, is a firm believer in Flexible Dieting (otherwise known as If It Fits Your Macros). It's not new to a lot of you guys, but for those of you who haven't heard of it before, with this philosophy there are no "good" or "bad" foods. You have a budget of macro nutrients per day and how you spend them is up to you. Love ice cream? No problem, you can eat a cup of ice cream and spend 64g of fat and 30g of carbs. However, spending so much of your fat budget in one sitting means you'll have to eat really lean for your other meals. Same for high carb foods like pizza or pasta. Obviously foods like ice cream are pretty much devoid of micronutrients and vitamins, so for your overall health you probably should try to vary your diet, but for weight loss it doesn't matter.
Layne Norton and a couple of his buddies started a new site a few months ago:
http://www.avatarnutrition.com. It's basically an algorithm that guides and recommends your macro ratios based on your current body composition, activity level, and goals. It's $10/month, so I figured I'd give it a try. Overall I really like it, but I'm a little more specific in my goals than just weight loss. If you're just trying to lose weight there's plenty of free resources for you. I like this one because it has a ton of custom resources (quick reference charts, reference videos, Q&As, etc), and it's better suited to my goals.
As Rezz points out, flexible dieting is probably your best option if you're the kind of person who experiences mental anguish at the thought of forgoing certain foods.
Here is what Avatar Nutrition has me at right now.
