Beginners weight program - HELP!

babyblues4

I use to be a diehard lifter 8yrs ago. I LOVED the way my body looked! I buddied up with a friend at the gym who was an avid lifter and she "trained" me. Well, 8yrs later, a move to a different town, several pregnancies later and being over 40 I no longer like my body composition. I've been busting my *kitten* at the gym 3-5 days a week (doing cardio) - waking up at 5am as that is the only "me" time I have, but I'm not seeing the results I want. Yes, I've lost 20lbs (and want to lose another 20) but I'm not toned.

I've been trying to design a weight routing and I'm so overwhelmed with the amount of information out there. Full body workouts vs split training. ... Low reps/high weights vs higer reps/lower weights.... etc etc.

All this is leaving me dazed and confused! Help!

I've thought about getting a trainer but I don't like the ones at the (bigbox) gym I'm at (They themselves are in awful shape and they are very costly and not very effective workouts) I don't know of any other reputable trainers in the area.

How did you start weight training? Where did you get your routine?

HELP!