You are only a little lighter than I was when I started a little over a year ago and we are both roughly the same height. Here is what worked for me.
I completely stopped drinking Coca cola (a personal addiction) and switched entirely to drinking water over the course of the first month. If I feel a need for flavor I add some Tru-lemon, which is a freeze dried lemon zest that adds no calories but a nice flavor.
I gradually shifted my eating habits from three food groups; meat, cheese, and pasta to a more balanced diet. I consume 40-50% of my calories as carbohydrates, 20-30% of calories as protein, and the remainder as fat. This is what is usually meant by a balanced diet. The carbs were gradually shifted from predominant processed grains to predominantly vegetables with some whole grains. For meat I tend to choose white meats while before it was predominantly red meat, though I still eat both. And for fats I have mostly shifted from butter to olive and canola oils.
A typical day for me consists of a breakfast consisting of granola, bannana, and milk (after my morning 45-60 minutes of exercise). Lunch will be a sandwhich (with lots of veggies) on two slices of whole grain bread, and a cut up apple. Dinner will either be a meat/veggie plate or a salad of meat and veggies. Depending on my hunger levels I will also eat snacks during the day. These can be fruit or nuts depending upon what I feel like. Every once in a while I will still have sweets as well.
The key for me was making gradual dietary changes. Learning to prepare one vegetable a week in a way that I could at least eat as an example. Over time I have found that I actually enjoy the taste of the veggies I prepare now. Indeed many things that I did not used to eat at all are foods I now enjoy. Examples are carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, and beans...
All of these food changes have been integrated slowly over a 9-12 month period.