Hermione, same here hun, the cumulative weight of 2 close pregnancies, plus comfort eating following a difficult bereavement, mean I piled on........7 stone .
I think a lot of us have the baby pouch. Mine was disgusting, but it is improving, now that I have lost over 4 stone of what I've put on. I've done it using the GI diet. There's a thread on here all about it if you want to find out more, but there are a number of threads with people following different programmes, all helping each other.
However, I think it's important to find an eating plan that works for you.
What have you tried in the past that has worked/not worked and why? Maybe think that through to help you decide how to approach losing weight now. Plus, as you say, nothing too time consuming in terms of preparing food. I tend to make up 2 big pans of soup and a veggie stew, then freeze a lot and work my way through them during the week.
I felt so down at my biggest because it really was affecting my health. It's taken about 7 and a half months to lose 4 and a half stone. For a long time, I couldn't face it, it seemed like such a mountain to climb, but then I thought well 12 - 18 months to get all of the weight off (out of my lifetime) ain't so bad.
There's lots of support on here if you want it - Yorkiegirl runs a "Mumsnet Mamas" weekly weigh in thread if you want to join that. There's also the "Support For The Long Term Slimmer" thread too.
I really sympathise and know how it feels when you don't know where to start. One thing I would say is, choose a sensible plan that doesn't leave you starving .