I switched to eating simple "whole" foods and avoid foods that are heavily processed. That's it. I don't obsess over what I eat or count calories. If it's good wholesome food in pretty much it's natural state, I eat it. If it's junk I don't eat it.
This means no soft drinks, no pies, no cakes, no cookies, no ice cream, no chips, no "snacks" from the snack machines or the snack aisles of the supermarket. It also means no "microwave dinners" from the frozen food section of your supermarket.
It isn't that hard to do. Once you start eating good food and good food only, you'll wonder why you ever ate that other stuff. I eat lots of vegetables, fruits, meats (lots of meats), fish, nuts, etc. <>When I am in the mood for a snack, I'll have a handful or two of nuts. Or a banana. Or a tin of sardines. Even a hunk of cheese (just not that processed Kraft stuff). Anything that is natural and wholesome.
If you are accustomed to soft drinks, they can be tough to give up. Try this. Get some carbonated (mineral) water from your supermarket that is like Perrier (but there are plenty of non-French sparking waters out there). Add some pure lemon or lime juice and it will taste surprisingly like soda. Only it will be so much better for you.
Beer (water, barley, hops and yeast) and wine (grapes) are also good to drink if you are so inclined as they are 100% natural.
For dinner, I always cook some fresh meat, a vegetable or two and usually rice or that "cous-cous" stuff from Morocco that is quite good. Also I eat a lot of hot peppers and garlic. So my diet doesn't lack for spice at all.
Olive oil is a must. I use it instead of butter and other types of oils. If you must have butter, make sure it's butter and not margarine - which is just a stick of chemicals that will do your body harm. But olive oil is preferred. If you don't have a taste for it, develop one. It is one of the best foods you can have. I have at least one or two tablespoons on my food every day. It is loaded with the "good" kinds of fat (poly- and monounsaturated) and it has lots of health benefits which you can find with a simple internet search. Avoid at all costs the coconut and palm oils (which are found most often in processed snack foods) - that stuff is poison to your system.
I'm not a granola-munching, Birckenstock wearing health food junkie by the way. I just like to eat the fresh, wholesome foods that our bodies were built to digest. One of my favorite meals is a T-bone steak slathered in fresh onions and mushrooms. Or a fat burger with melted swiss cheese and jalapeno peppers. (I do avoid condiments like mustard and ketchup because they too are loaded with additives.)
In addition to eating naturally and simply, I also walk four miles a day. Don't have the energy for it? You soon will if you eat natural. Don't have the time for it? I use my lunch hour at work. It is easy for most people to quickly work up to 15-minute miles which will get you the four miles in an hour. Instead of eating lunch, I have a banana or a tin of sardines about an hour before my walk. As a result, I am filled with energy all day. I also sleep incredibly well, having the most vivid dreams of my life since starting this program. I also require less hours of sleep than I used to. I used to "sleep in" on Saturdays until 10 or 11AM. Now I get up on my own even on those days before 7AM full of energy. As a result, all my weekend chores and errands are usually done early.
Hope this works for you and good luck!
Oh yeah, and ditch the aspartame. That stuff will do you no good at all.