You're getting different advice, as it was different for all of us,
Read through our stories, read what worked for us as individuals.
You mentioned 'slim fast' - read the newcastle diet threads.
It would be nice if they was a simple formula we could give you, with a list of things to so.
There isn't. We each found our own way.
I don't low carb personally, but as others have said, it works very well for them.
As Andy has said, I went low GI, low calorie, had a good result, and yes, even manage the odd pot noodle now when I need to, if there is nothing else, as I'm not as carb intolerant as I was, and eat low GI carbs normally.
Pot noodle is not something I'd recommend, but keeping the options open suits me.
But you need to make a change, sort out the carbs, lose the weight,
But you need to do changes you can keep to for life.