Welcome!!!
We are about the same weight and height
Do you have a plan in place? Are you going to exercise?
Counting calories is super easy and you can eat anything as long as the calories from it fit into your allotment for the day... of course healthier calories are better and cutting out bad carbs (whites: bread, potatoes, sugar, flour) helps regulate your blood sugar. Eating healthier helps you feel much better. Alcohol is probably a big no no, I dont drink, but I do know I hear many say that any time they drink it's not a good thing.
I totally reccomend a calorie counting site there is sparkpeople.com and fitday.com I have used both and like both for different reasons, lately I use sparkpeople because they have a point system to earn virtual trophies and I kind of like that.
I also love the Walk Away the Pounds videos, the 1 mile ones are a great start for someone who just isn't fit enough to begin with something crazy like 30 day shred or P90x lol I am doing the 2 miles most days and will probably soon try to bump a few days a week up to 3 miles.
You can do this. Read around this forum, there are so many success stories.
(ps... I am so jealous... a size 24? I haven't seen a size 24 since before I had my last 3 kids!)