Its not a myth, but depends alot on what you eat.
If you eat carbs then yes, it does matter, because if you dont use your carbs, it ends up as fat when your body absorbs it during the night.
But you can however eat proteins in the evening if you are hungry.
And it also does matter how many times you eat, eating often and in small doses gives you a more even blood sugar level wich increases your fat-burn rate.
Regarding the topic at hand, how to loose weight, dont over do it in the start.
A big mistake many do is to start out exercising 5-6 times/week, go for it a few weeks and then get tired of it/gets an injury due to overexhaustion.
So my advice is, begin with 1-2 days/week weight training, 1-2 days cardio, and take a walk for an hour or so for the rest of the days except one.
Allways have atleast 1 day with complete rest.
Regarding what you eat, lay of the candy, soda and the like.
Keep your diet concisted mainly of protein and vegetables.
If u want to eat carbs, do it from the morning or before/after your workout sessions, thats the time you can use it the most effectivly.
And its never to late to start, but the older you get, the more time and effort you have to put into it.
Good luck!