I suppose I was lucky in that I already loved all those things you described so well, all I had to do was remove the Carbs and Cakes, I did like cakes and puddings

but I am finding some very nice replacement recipes that don't appear to raise my BG. For me the difficult thing is meat, I never was a big meat or fish eater and so the increase in these foods still proves difficult and maintaining weight is not easy, thank goodness for nuts and 90% chocolate, 100% is still a step too far for the difference to be gained on the carb count.
Of course there are other benefits to weight loss, hills have become a breeze on my Muddy Mountain Bike rides.