Low carb is very effective. There are a few dozen causes of hunger, but I'm convinced that a major cause is the drop in blood sugar. You eat a meal, your blood sugar spikes, a few hours later it drops and you get hungry. If your blood sugar never spikes, then it can't crash and you don't get (as) hungry. I can consume 1000 - 1500 calories a day without getting hungry on a low carb diet and quickly lose weight. I've found it to be very effective for short term weight loss, although hard to sustain for more than a few months. So if you need to lose 5 to 20 kilograms (10 to 50 pounds), try low carb. If you need to lose more, you will need a more sustainable long term option.