I'd say make huge changes in the way you move your body and smaller changes in the way you eat to get started. Changing what you eat is never enough, it takes an even more serious commitment to exercise faithfully, imo.
Another thing might be to not make many recipes from DC! haha I know, I know, I love this place! But the vast majority of what is posted isn't very practical for someone who's trying very hard to loose a layer or two of fluff.
Make little food changes to start out, like only eating whole-grain bread / bagels and ditch the butter / cream cheese, if you have to have something on your toasted stuff, put a tiny dash of natural peanut butter (no added trans fats, etc.) on them. Substitute brown rice for white. Have the meat on your plate be a "side" and let the vegetables / grains be the main attraction. Use spices and salsas to kick up the flavor in food. A high quality EVOO can be substituted for butter in almost any dish.
When you're hungy, eat. But make sure what you put into your mouth has nutritional value!! That means ignoring (or in my case, not even buying) junk food.
When I feel the need to feed, that's just what I do. Only I have learned to fill myself up on a half a head of broccoli or cauliflower or a huge salad. Or oatmeal with soy and a dash of maple syrup. Yogurt with granola. A smoothie with frozen bananas as the base (add whichever berries you like, a teaspoon of honey, some soy milk and a dash of ground flax seed). I make sure to have something that feeds my body with energy.
There are no cakes and cookies in my house either. So when I think I absolutely must have something like that, I go purchase one of whatever it is I'm craving. I eat it and I'm done with it. Then I'm good for another few weeks.
Don't eat for at least three hours before you go to bed. Your body needs at least that long to digest the last food you ate. Metabolism can kick into high gear and work most effectivly as you sleep only when your body is not concentrating on digesting food.
After I made changes to how much I moved, I either walk or do pilates every day and often times both, the eating stuff just kind of fell into place. It was like my body started craving things that were good for me. So I learned to listen to it. =)
G'luck!
Z
Oh ~ and just wanted to say that just because you have a bad day or two, don't give up! It's not about how perfectly you eat in a small slice of time, but it's how you eat over a period of time.
It's silly, crazy to weigh yourself everyday and expect to see results. I say toss the scale out the window. Once a month is plenty!!! How your clothes fit, how you "feel" inside of your body, the new lightness in your step will all be much more accurate indicators of the good changes you make.