Hi Seychelles, def not an expert lol just someone that used to be a bit fat and now is a bit less so, but I def have to still really watch my weight or it creeps back alarmingly quickly 
. We sound quite similar in terms of size and activity levels, I couldn't get on with low carb either, I just like my carbs too much I think!
For me what does work is boring but its basically calorie restriction, I just used MyFitnessPal for quite a long time and ate around 1200 cals daily and did lose weight on that albeit slowly, I allowed myself to eat pretty much what types of food I wanted so long within it so long as it came in at no more than the 1200 cals. To make that not a miserable permanently hungry experience it sometimes was I focused on healthy, home cooked food, sensible controlled portions, lots of fruit and veg, minimal alcohol and treats.
Getting into 5:2/fasting was just a natural progression of that for me, I was increasingly finding having no more than 1200 cals a day every day just such a grind and I do like to have the occasional meal out or treat which is hard to fit into that system and there can then be the temptation that once you've 'blown' a day anyway to just think 'fuck it' and carry on eating and eating. I find a fasting system easier to manage, your main calorie deficit comes from the 2 fast days, and so you can eat more 'normally' when you aren't fasting, 'normal' doesn't mean loads of junk, takeaways etc but eating to your TDEE or natural eating requirements so in theory you shouldn't feel hungry those days. I find fasting encourages healthy habits such as making sure you don't mistake thirst for hunger, mindful eating rather than thoughtless gobbling and eating proper planned meals rather than lots of snacks and things on the go (ofc you can do all these things without fasting too!). On your non fast days you can have the odd 'treat' day where you go out for a meal, eat well over your TDEE and still lose weight which is a miracle to me 
I would recommend for you to look into 5:2 or 16:8 and see if it feels like something you could do? It's definitely not for everyone but it works well for me. I've never been a big breakfast eater or daytime snacker so those were things I felt I could drop without too much difficulty, and actually it's then not too much of a stretch to not eat lunch on fast days meaning I just have one meal a day those days. It helps to understand what kind of foods satisfy you and don't cause you to feel hungry again a few hours later, I too love carbs, but 500 cals worth of pasta or bread really isn't much of a meal (I could inhale that in 5 mins and be looking for more ) and certainly wouldn't be enough for a whole day, whereas 500 cals of mainly veg and lean protein, while still a modest meal actually looks like a lot on the plate, takes a while to eat and digest and can be quite satisfying. I'm not promising that if you do 5:2 you'll never feel hungry, I'm always a bit skeptical of diets that make that claim, my body always grumbles and protests at losing its fats stores, but on 5:2 I've found the hunger is limited and manageable providing you do it right...
In a broader sense I think it's helpful to understand your TDEE (look up a calculator online) and what that looks like in terms of daily food and portions, it may surprise you to know what 'normal' is, the myth that everyone needs 2000 cals a day to survive is pretty unhelpful for those of us that are small, old and not especially active! Keeping a really honest food diary for a week or 2 can be helpful to identify any hidden calorie bombs or bad habits you may have gotten into (for me it was evening sweet treats on the sofa in front of the telly) and before embarking on a radical diet plan or overhaul maybe start by making smaller sustainable changes, things like introducing alcohol free days, reducing your snacking, replacing junk with healthier alternatives, things like that?
Good luck!