The first time I tried to lose weight and used whole foods it was a big help.  I found that whole foods were much more filling, than processed foods and reduced my food cravings.  Once I hit my goal weight is was pretty easy to keep for years, but then I got fat again, because I started eating too much food.  However, I have turned over a new leaf!  

This second time around trying to lose weight, I found that I couldn't stick to the diet if it was basically whole foods.  It's weird, but I let back in stuff like bread, bacon and boxed cereal and I'm finding it pretty easy to stick to my diet and lose weight!