My story was almost the same as yours! Except that I was bumping up to the mid-150s...
I realized that I was out of control with carb binges. I decided to try a pretty strict low-carb (but not extremely low carb) diet for a set amount of time - 4 months, to be re-evaluated at the end of that time frame.
I have been FAR from perfect, I still have my slightly binge-y moments and I still have very little ability to control what I eat when I am with others ... but that being said, my insane chocolate/bread/candy/etc binges are eliminated and I have managed to lose 16 pounds in a little more than 3 months. Nothing short of miraculous, given that I had been trying to lose those "few" pounds for more than two years.
According to my original plan, I was to be done by the end of this month. I may continue for a while longer before going into maintenance, haven't decided yet. I have to figure out my maintenance diet AND I need to incorporate regular exercise into my life.
I chose to focus on weight loss first. Seems like in the past I was always coming up with complicated diet/exercise regimens and honestly I think I would just overwhelm myself and give up. Also at the fittest I probably ever was - running regularly, doing Body Pump classes regularly and yoga - I was holding steady at close to my maximum weight.
I SHOULD be doing more low-level exercise like walking and yoga and I do try to get that in but in general I am terrible about that. By no stretch of the imagination do I think dieting and being a couch potato is a good idea, just for me personally, I struggle a lot with making time for exercise.
So in summary, what worked for me was:
1.) committing to an eating plan for a certain time frame rather than "I have to lose X pounds."
2.) reducing carbs (eliminating sugar/white flour products etc) was what I had to do to free myself from the constant cravings.
3) I decided to focus on diet first - exercise is only walking and yoga classes.
Best of luck to you! I have to say, I was in a really, really low place when I started. It feels really good to accomplish goals (even though it was so incrementally slow that I didn't really even appreciate that I was achieving anything - hence the time commitment rather than focusing on the 0.9 pounds loss that was my average!!)
ETA: I totally agree with what
seize the day said about daily accountability! Sometimes it keeps me in line knowing I have to post my weight the next day