I've lost 25 lbs in the last two months, two years ago I lost 40 lbs without exercising but got a little skinny fat, this time I have been working out too.
What worked both times for nutrition/diet
Delay breakfast, really high protein, low carb does not matter really so long as;
1. No breads or refined sugars(a tiny bit of honey or a sip of juice is ok)
2. You can eat about as many carbs as protein IF you are running and working out.
So long as I portion out my protein and some fiber throughout the day I am not hungry in the evenings. Stay consistent. STAY CONSISTENT.
When I am working out a good bit; 5am wake up, run and workout out for 1hr in garage, sweat a ton, etc. then I; take a protein shake shortly afterward then keep with my usual diet of later breakfast and the rest of my calories.
I also think cycling water through intense exercise then re-hydrating in the day helps pull weight away. Really high fiber (35-40g/day for me(male currently 190lb+) pretty sure helps too. By the time I get that much fiber it is difficult to not get 150g+ of carbs, so I am not worried about it. Just avoid eating a bunch of apple or oranges for fiber, too much sugar, I usually have one big fruit per day.
Ok for the second important part, price.
I'll precook and eat ~5lb of chicken breast per week <$10.
A bag of lentils <$2.
One large piece of fruit a day(or the leftover pricey berries the wife or kids have not eaten) ~$5
4 cans of chunk lite tuna <$2.5
Various nuts on occasion <$1.5
Some oatmeal ~$1
Some greek yogurt~$2
Pea Protein powder~$5
So that is roughly $27 per week. Not a perfect meal plan for MMPete but not bad for a good weight loss diet. To lower cost I could cut out most of the greek yogurt and protein powder and up the chicken breast(it by far the best bang for your buck for lean protein) but then it could mess up my intermittent fasting in the mornings that seems to help so much with cutting.
If I were just maintaining I would do what I mentioned above with the pea protein and yogurt but then supplement with home smoked BBQ. A little more fat to the diet and some variety. Not to mention it is fun to smoke meat.
EDITSo, if you are just starting out or trying to restart, I would do these things in this order(pick up where you are in the list if you have been trying).
1.Track calories, watch what you eat(not even necessarily change just pay attention)
2.Start walking/ running, playing soccer, what ever you have done in the past that you enjoyed
3.Watch some videos, listen to others, read articles, get ideas
3. Cut breads, alcohol, sugar etc down.
4. Begin to choose higher protein options
5. Pick something to meal prep for the next week. It doesn't have to be for everyone, or even for the whole week, just lunch for a few days is good. If you don't enjoy it and don't do it again, that is fine, pick something else. Ideas; chicken breast, beans/peas/lentils, oatmeal-steel cut, traditional rolled, quick cooking(good to acceptable), baked fish, even hamburger precooked aren't that bad.
6. Try to start each day with exercise, even if it just a short run before work. The more you will do it the more you will enjoy it. Now I get up at 5 am everyday b/c I want to.
7.By now you are getting serious, what are your goals? Low BMI, low body fat %, being able to pick up 2 10yo and carry them to safety. What happens once you reach that goal, are you going to eat a bunch of fast food hamburgers; have a transition plan work out(work past your 'goal').
8a. Now that you are motivated it is time to get serious. Get up 1hr before you need to, sweat it out.
8b. You know what food works; meal prep virtually everything. You can add a little spontaneity, but keep it reasonable.