advice need for this newbie. thanks in adavance.

Calorie deficit to lose weight from fat stores. Aerobic exercise (cardio) for cardiovascular fitness and endurance. Strength training for getting stronger and preserving muscle mass: you lose a little muscle when you lose weight, since you have less total weight to move around, but strength training can help preserve it.

Strength/resistance training can involve weightlifting (a lot of people here like Stronglifts 5x5, but that's only one option of many) or bodyweight exercises (e.g. "You Are Your Own Gym" by Mark Lauren or "Convict Conditioning"). The advantage of weightlifting is that you can easily measure your progress by the amount of weight that you lift; the disadvantage is that it requires joining a gym (unless you have space and money to buy your own equipment and someone who can teach you good form). Bodyweight exercises can be done anywhere, but there is a limit to how much resistance you can achieve (though it's a fairly high limit and fine for general fitness).

It's a good idea to avoid machines that isolate only one movement (such as Nautilus machines), because they don't contribute anything to overall joint stability.