I agree with sstorkel completely. I have lost 30+ lbs over the past year or so, basically following the steps he outlined. What worked for me was downloading the free LoseIt! app for my iPhone. You don't need a smart phone to use it, but it makes it easier to track everything you eat as well as exercise. LoseIt! also has a website, where you can track calories and also take advantage of various graphics, charts, etc. There are other comparable apps that I am sure work just as well.
With LoseIt!, you just enter in your basic data (eg, weight, age, height) and how much weight you want to lose over what time period. In my case, I started out with a goal of losing 1 lb/week over 5 months. It gave me a daily calorie budget to follow and I was allowed to eat that many calories a day, allowing for calories earned from exercise. Eg, my starting budget was about 2,000 calories/day but if I exercised (cycled) for two hours a day, I could actually eat more like 3,000-3,500 calories a day. The program automatically adjusts your budget as you lose weight because your body needs fewer calories as you lose weight.
Long story short, I lost weight at almost exactly the rate predicted by LoseIt! It worked so well that I reset my target weight several times to lower levels. Originally my plan was reduce to 180 lbs, which I reset to 175, then 170 and finally 165. My weight is now about 166, so I'm almost there.
I did not have a huge issue with hunger but I had to change the way I ate. I started eating much more high-fiber food, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Started controlling portion sizes, measuring food, cutting out second helpings. Find out real quickly that my real problems were salty foods and eating out at restaurants. Salt really makes you gain weight through water retention, and restaurants load food with salt.