Home cooking usually isn't the problem
Most people who struggle with weight reduction already eat reasonably sensibly at home. Where the calories actually pile up is everything eaten outside the kitchen — coffee runs, the pastry case, a restaurant order that seemed fine at the time. Fixing meals at home while ignoring that is why a lot of plans stall.
What's actually in the cup
A plain cappuccino is milk, espresso, and not much else — usually under 120 calories. A large flavoured frappé with whipped cream can run past 400, before whatever sits next to it on the counter. Neither tastes "healthy" or "unhealthy" on its own; the gap is the added syrup and cream, ordered by default because it's the first thing on the menu board.
Ordering the plain version most days and saving the sweeter one for occasionally isn't a sacrifice, it's just moving the calories to a day you actually planned for them.
The pastry case is doing the same thing
A croissant or a slice of cake next to coffee adds another 300-500 calories on top of the drink, and it's rarely a conscious decision — it's proximity. If you want something sweet with your coffee, two or three dates do that job: eaten plain or split open with a bit of the pit removed, they satisfy the same craving at under 200 calories for three, with fibre the pastry doesn't have.
Ordering at a restaurant without overthinking it
A few defaults handle most menus: pick the option with a named protein and vegetables rather than one built around pasta or fried batter; ask for dressing or sauce on the side, since a lot of a "healthy-looking" salad's calories are in the dressing; skip the bread basket if you're not actually hungry for it yet, rather than eating it because it arrived first.
Plan the splurge instead of banning it
Trying to never have dessert or a sweetened drink again is why so many plans collapse in week three. Picking one meal a week where you order whatever you actually want, and eating normally around it the other six days, tends to hold up a lot longer than an all-or-nothing rule.
None of this needs a strict diet
Weight reduction meals don't have to mean home-cooked salads forever. Most of the difference comes from what gets ordered by habit at the counter or the menu, not from anything wrong with a home-cooked dinner. Change the default order, keep the occasional treat intentional, and the rest tends to sort itself out over a few months rather than a few days.