I need to lose about 28lbs that I put on after giving up smoking.?

I want to do a low carb high protein diet but don't want to do it Atkins style, ie. risk my health by going into ketosis. Is it possible to still lose weight if I eat a small amount of carbs each day, eg. fruit, rice, wholewheat pasta, along side the high protein stuff? I have also joined a legs, bums and tums cl so this is not just a quick fix that I'm after, I want to get healthy. I weigh about 11 and a half stones and I am 5ft 4. Thanks for any advice.