Hi Connie,
Throwing my voice into the chorus here to encourage you to get copies of Atkins '72, Atkins New Diet Revolution, and Stillman's Quick Weight Loss Diet. You can find all three of these essentially for the (inflated) cost of shipping on Amazon. Keep them next to your bed and read for a few minutes before you fall asleep.
I don't recommend following Stillman--that plan is `meat, not milk' [groan], but it's a good start--it's a quick eye-opener about just how simple (not necessarily easy) a low-carb approach can be. Then start cranking your way through the Atkins books.
We all find that we have to tweak it to fit our own bodies--but that's exactly what Robert Atkins describes in his books. Anyone who says to you, "the Atkins Diet is so unhealthy" has probably not read his writing, where he says things like "If you're not exercising, you're not doing Atkins," and "Make this diet your own." His philosophy on impatience in dropping weight is worth the read as well--"Think of this as a rest-of-your-life way of eating, not a temporary diet. You'll get there; concentrate on enjoying the journey." (paraphrase) He describes a method for telling whether you're going to be a rabbit or a tortoise, and some useful thoughts for each to consider.
The chapters are short--just try to get through one a day and think about them as you fall asleep. Look for other ways to gauge your progress besides the scale: take measurements, watch the fit of your jeans, pay attention to your energy level.
Find ways to make this easy on yourself. I understand the busy thing, trust me. I just bought three roast chickens from the big box store, which was actually cheaper than buying and cooking them myself. Along with eggs and cheese, my protein is covered for the week.
Cultivate patience and commitment.
A parallel. You work helping people with taxes. You can see the difference between people who make consistent positive choices with their finances, and the ones who come in with their records stuffed into oatmeal cartons who haven't filed for the last three years and want an immediate fix. That latter category describes many of us--we've followed habits that created problems, and now we want the problems fixed and we want it NOW. We don't especially want to hear that it's a commitment to changing the way we live and the way we think, and that it's going to take time, any more than those clients want to hear, "Increase your deductions," and "Put money into savings for next year's taxes."
I encourage you to take that long view. Tell yourself that by the time filing closes for 2016 taxes, you'll be at your goal weight, active, liking the way your clothes fit.
Another comparison would be the students who consistently make school a priority and do their homework and commit time to studying, attend classes, take notes, ask the prof for help, compared to the ones who skip classes, read the Cliff Notes, and do all-nighters before the mid-terms and finals. We need to learn to be the slow, steady, committed ones who understand that this is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. Much as we all would prefer the quick fix, thank you.