If you want to lose weight the main factor is going to be your diet because you can't out exercise a bad diet. After you clean up what you eat and start making smart choices, the next issue is portion size. I think a lot of us don't know what is a proper portion size. Lucky for you it is written on the back of pasta packages and rice! So you don't have to give up pasta, just keep it the right portion size! Before cooking a starch or protein I always weight it in my food scale, and I just have a cheap one from bed, bath, and beyond. 

 

I'm sure you see the whole wheat pasta here and think "I can't do that, I don't like the texture". Well I've tried many brands and they all taste different, some not so great. But I found that the line Trader Joe's carries tastes great. It does take a little longer to cook than white pasta, but holds longer in the fridge once cooked. If you don't have a TJs near you a couple other brands I recommend are Dreamfield  (which is low carb and a great option for diabetics), then there's Ronzoni Smart Taste which is white pasta enriched with fiber and calcium. I would have recommended Barilla Plus (which is half and half) to get you started but after reading the comments from their CEO I will be staying clear of that brand. In fair disclosure you can watch his video apology on Barilla's facebook page. Once you get into the habit of always eating whole wheat pasta and the firmer texture, you won't see much of a difference from white.