Never ever starve yourself! If you do, your metabolism will shut down and make you slumpy, so you will burn less. You will have muscle loss as well as fat loss, but with less muscle, your energy needs will be smaller as well. When you reach the desired weight, returning to your previous eating habits will make you put on the weight back and more. Many people go through this vicious circle of starvation diets and don't understand what is going on.
Look up what the recommended caloric intake is for your physique and make sure you eat at least 80% of that. Now make also sure you burn more than that by exercise. Combine different aerobics with at least some weight-lifting (to keep all your muscles at good tone and help against bone loss). Alternate weights days with rest days to allow muscle and tendon recovery. Try to "hit" all parts of the body, not just what you consider "problem area". If you use elliptical machines, try to keep mostly in the "fat burn" regime, since "cardio" regime is likely to burn muscle, especially if you are tired.
In terms of diet, try to eat 50% veggie/fruit + 25% protein + 25% carb. Generally foods that have protein also have enough fats for the daily needs. Try to completely cut out "easy carbs", e.g. refined sugar, corn syrup, sugary juices, particularly sweet fruits etc., and concentrate on "slower-release" carbs e.g. yams, whole grains. That also prevents insulin spikes and helps avoid pre-diabetes. The more processed and refined the food, the more likely it is bad for you. Stay away from saturated fats and trans-fats.
Check out are Thurmond's nutritional system, Gunnar Peterson's core gymnastics, "Ultrametabolism" for toxicity/inflamation/synthetics explanations, and Dr Phil's books (yeah, I know) for the psychological underpinnings of obesity.