I followed Dr. Peter Gott's 'No Flour; No Sugar' plan. Was very successful. I lost about 65 or more lbs. in just over a year. It's really as simple as the title suggests - no refined flour, no refined sugar. Natural sugars/starches are fine so you really do have a balanced diet. It does require quite a bit of label reading at first, particularly if you're used to buying lots of packaged foods. As with any diet though, you have to make it a life-style change, not just a diet. I'm not as diligent as I was for the first few years so have gained a few lbs back (about 15-20) but could easily drop that again. I still follow this eating plan about 8 years later. There are books available for this but you really don't need them. There is also a cookbook to give you some ideas for different ways of making various dishes. Use oatmeal for filler (like meatloaf, etc.) and the like.
Good luck with your journey.