I also do CICO and try to eat “healthy”, which mostly means little sugar, limited carbs like pasta, rice and bread, and also care with fats and oils. I’m not convinced that IF alone would help me lose weight if I’m not also watching what I eat.
I prioritize foods that are hard for me to overconsume – veggies, meat, eggs, fruits, lentils / legumes – and that have undergone relatively little processing. 2-3 weekly meals tend to reside on the higher-GI end of the spectrum, revolving around things like potatoes, rice or pasta; the remainder is reasonably balanced (though even those can’t be considered low-carb by any stretch of the imagination as they still include a whole lot of fruit). Calorie-denser options such as nuts or dairy are to be found here and there in modest serving size only to squeeze in extra calories when needs be; complex sauces and dressings are avoided in favor of plain olive oil, vinegar or butter. Bread used to be a rare sight when I was actively losing whereas at present I may have a slice or two every few days (still need to be mindful and treat it as a “dessert”, as I can eat half a loaf before even registering). Sweets and alcohol were and remain rare, usually confined to social meals. Consumption of packaged snack-type items and caloric beverages besides the infrequent glass of hard liquor has been zero.
Pros: Haven’t had to count a single calorie; eat until comfortable satiety; don’t have to worry about the sporadic (3~5x/month) social / restaurant meal where it’s hard or impractical to enforce the above.Cons: Meals take longer to prepare and are slightly more expensive; can get monotonous if the cook is, like myself, mediocre; maybe a tad too restrictive for those who must frequently eat socially.