Total Beginner Needs to Get Fit

[HLS2k6]

Could use some very preliminary advice from someone knowledgable and capable of getting through the novel below:

I need to get in shape. I'm 33 years old, 6'4 and around 270 (a soft 270). Around 3 years ago I lost a little over 50 pounds (totally on diet, no exercise), but I gained it all back. I've been browsing this forum for a couple of weeks, and am feeling like now is the time to go for it. I'd like to get fit (not huge, just fit) and lose 50-70 pounds through a total lifestyle change-- diet and exercise.

1) I figure I'll use one of these tracking sites like fitday for tracking my diet, but I'm clueless about what to eat and when. Can anyone recommend some good books to get me up to speed?

2) As far as working out, I'd vastly prefer home equipment to the gym. I don't want to spend more than about a grand if I can help it. I was thinking of buying a nice bench and dumbell set (Ironmaster or Powerblock) and trying to do workouts with just dumbells and body weight exercises. I'm not interested in getting huge and I'm really not interested in getting hurt. I won't have access to a spotter at all, and the idea of 6 reps with huge weights on a bar sounds really iffy to me. Can someone tell me if this is a good plan and/or what I should look to buy?

Beyond that, I'll run for cardio, and would like to include stretching and yoga for overall health and to improve my golf game.

Thanks in advance for any help!