First I would suggest you pickup a book called The Zone Diet. I believe it is the best overall diet a person can follow if not aspiring to enter a bodybuilding contest. It is based on a 33% fat 33% carbo 33% protein structure. Diet and training are 50-50, you can never reach any goal with just one or the other. Set a good diet plan up, and then go from there.
Briefly, take your target weight times 15, and this is the amount of calories you should consume each day. Break it down into five meals and follow the suggestions of the book if you take the time to get and read it. Adjust your caloric intake accordingly whether you are not losing, or losing too quickly. Be smart and don't try to lose more than a pound per week. If you do this you are already reducing your caloric intake/burning ratio by 500 calories a day, and that is a lot.
For training, I would say just jump right in with weightlifing unless you don't like it and prefer things like circuit. More muscle = more metabolism, plus the lifting itself burns on average 400 - 600 calories an hour depending on the person and intensity.