Weight loss is almost always CICO (calories in, calories out), regardless of what you are consuming. Doesn't matter if you eat 1200 cals of salmon and veggies, or 1200 cals of pure bread. But you'll have other effects like you mentioned - a heavy carb diet makes me bloated too.
With regards to the glycemic index, pasta cooked al dente will be better for your blood sugar than pasta that is overcooked or "soft."
This simplifies things FAR too much - especially for a complicated issue. If you ate 1200 calories a day of simple carbs, your blood sugar/ insulin reactions would completely take ove.
In any event the answer to the OP is - it depends.
I found as I went beyond the age of 40 and had a second baby that things didn't behave as they once did.
Strict calorie restriction didn't work anymore - in particular, 1200 calories was a recipe for disaster - not enough calories! I read a couple of books around the time that I was trying to lose the 2nd baby weight, and realized that the 20 years of government advice to eat 6-11 servings of carbs a day was BS.
I, too, like to keep my meals budget friendly, but I simply cannot eat that many servings of carbs a day. On a typical day, I probably eat 2-3 servings. If it's a big workout day, maybe 4 servings.
For me, this means a serving or two for breakfast (gets my brain moving) and one for dinner. The bulk of my meals are vegetables. The bulk of my calories for my meals are fats (olive oil based dressings, nuts, seeds, avocados, cheese, eggs).
When I was losing weight, my meals were centered around animal proteins. I prefer to not eat that many, so once I lost the weight, I gradually shifted. My carb intake went up a little (from 2 servings a day to 2-4). My fat intake went up. I started using beans as my protein instead of counting them as a carb.
It's interesting to note how particular foods may affect individuals. While I was losing the weight, on what was basically a well-balanced calorie reduced diet (1400-1500 cal/day), I was losing about 2 lb a month. For fun one month, I eliminated wine, wheat, sugar, and fried foods. Now, it's important to note that these four items were not major parts of my diet - a total of 3-4 servings a week (not each, total). I dropped 7 pounds that month. I repeated the process the next year and lost 6 pounds.
Fast forward another year and I am having digestive issues. I self-diagnose to pizza (wheat? cheese?) I give up wheat. I lose 8 pounds
It's important to note that I did not change my total calories nor the amount of carbs at any time. When I gave up wheat? I ate oatmeal, corn tortillas, potatoes, rice instead. It seems like it is something specifically with wheat. I've maintained this weight for almost a year now (far below what I thought I'd ever be at - and I was already at a healthy weight). I can eat rice, barley, gluten free pasta, gluten free bread, corn tortillas. And I do.
But volume-wise, it's not much. This morning: 1 piece of GF toast and 2 corn tortillas. For dinner? Fried rice (with white rice this time) and stir fried vegetables. Probably about 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup rice.
For lunch, 3/4 of the volume of my food is vegetables. For dinner, at least half.