In my life I've been on more diets and "weight loss fads" than you can imagine. Calorie counting is literally the ONLY thing that has been easy, reliable and effective. I've lost 2 and a half stone since December. It would have been a fair bit more but . . . Christmas!
The things I've found important:
1. MyFitnessPal. I literally couldn't do it without this fantastic app.
2. Start on higher calories so you have room to drop if you plateau. You're on 1500 I see so I think you're good. I'm currently on 1600 and still losing comfortably but I like knowing I have room to drop. I see people starting on 1000 calories and I think "whyyyyy???".
3. Don't worry "too" much about carbs/fats/sugars to start with, as long as you are in deficit. I love my carbs and still eat loads.
4. Identify your craving times (at night in front of the tv etc) and make sure you have some calories to allow for a snack.
5. Eat as much unprocessed food as you can. Cooking from scratch is always best when possible.
6. Plan. Like Littlemissnaughty, I have meals planned out a week in advance. I have one of those menu boards in my kitchen with it all written out.
7. Life is for living. One bad meal is NOT going to wreck everything. I went out for pizza last weekend and still lost weight this week. It's all about balance. ONE meal. Don't let it spiral into a bad day, a bad week etc.
8. Straight talking motivation. The one thing that has helped me most is a fitness instructor I follow on FB. He is the main reason I switched to calorie counting. He's crude, foul-mouthed but completely straight-talking and says it like it is, with no bulls**t. I absolutely love him. He does regular live Q&A's too, which are usually really good.
https://www.facebook.com/JamesSmithPT/
Good luck!