Which diet is healthiest with a steady but lowish loss?

[Titsywoo]

So I need to lose 3-4 stone. But I have gallstones. They are symptomless currently so I don't need surgery but if I lose weight too fast (more than 1-2 pounds a week) they will get worse. So I need to stick to that sort of loss. I also have bad anxiety and am hoping losing weight and being healthier will help so which diet is the 'healthiest'.

So many options and I don't know what to go for! I would rather not join a club as money is tight at the moment. I have all the books for slimming world/weight watchers/rosemary conley which I started and gave up within a month of each

My Fil is in hospital at the moment with gall bladder problems.

Doctors have given him a special diet to follow.

I have tried many diets myself over the years but find just counting calories to be the way forward, however, my mil was looking for ideas and I noticed the principals of the hairy dieters books seem to be very similar to what fil's doctors are saying so that might be worth a try.

I don't know about the anxiety though. As a separate issue I find cutting out caffeine helps me with that sometimes.

Log what you eat on My Fitness Pal
Try to keep your calories within your TDEE of your perfect weight

No snacking at all : just have two or three nutrient rich meals per day
cut back on sugar as much as you can

that's about the long and short of it
and costs nothing (saves money in fact as you'll be eating less)

I agree with my fitness pal, I am steadily loosing half a kilo a week counting calories with it.

Another vote for MyFitnessPal. It's free, it works really well, and you can adjust your rate of loss to suit you in the tool. And because it's just counting calories you can have a little bit of what you like? Rather than having some foods completely off limits. Come join us in the Weight Loss Chat room on the 'MFP to lose weight 2' thread!

I'd say 5:2 personally.

I am also trying to lose weight and find that my anxiety can be made worse if I go about it the wrong way.
For that reason I think it is best not to go on a particular diet but to educate yourself about healthy foods and healthy amounts of exercise.
Previously I used MFP to log everything and to aim to burn many calories through exercise. The problem was that I was still not eating the right types of food and I was berating myself if I didn't hit my targets. This resulted in me being fed up, despairing of myself and eventually giving up.

For the last couple of weeks I have been trying to not deprive myself of the things I want to eat but really thinking about the health benefits of each meal I eat and trying to jam as much goodness in as possible. By the time I've put onion, garlic, pepper, tomato, spinach, mushrooms etc into a dish there isn't too much space left for calorie heavy pasta and fats anyway!
Snack as much as you want- but make it things that are good for you such as fruit or nuts (almonds are a great snack.)
The weight won't come falling off, but I really feel much healthier than when I am half a stone lighter but filling my body with (strictly controlled) portions of junk. My anxiety has also eased because I am loving and caring for my body rather than hating it and wanting to change it.