My take, (as someone who has never shopped at whole foods),
Just reducing the amount you eat has the biggest effect (in my health anyway).
The few times I have been able to really lose the weight I found myself taking the stairs the three rungs at a time like I used to when I was a teen.
Unfortunately it’s hard to not eat too much especially when you are either on the road or working or hanging around at home or on the beach, hmmm,
OK it just hard to not over eat.