Weights vs. Cardio for fat loss...

if you end up losing fat, looking thinner/fitter, but gain weight from muscle, why would gaining weight matter? just wondering.

for me, all the weight I've lost has been from doing cardio literally almost every day since the beginning of october (in addition to eating much, much healthier). however, one of my new years resolutions was to add weight/strength training as well because I want to be strong...not just thin.

At minimum, lift weights and eat at a deficit. No cardio necessary. Lifting weights ensures that you'll retain your muscle mass while you're losing weight.

It's unlikely that you'll actually gain any muscle while eating at a calorie deficit, because your body needs a calorie surplus to do that, but your muscles will start to look more defined as you lose weight and the fat peels off. However, sometimes, because of voodoo magic, you can get what we call "newbie gains," i.e. you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. Sadly, that doesn't last very long.

If you're into cardio, then go ahead. It burns some calories and can be good for your heart. It's not a necessary part of the fat loss equation, however! Don't feel you have to do it.

I got in shape eating at a deficit and doing a full-body weight lifting routine 3x/week. I occasionally use the treadmill to do some sprints, but that's about it.

Calorie deficit for fat loss.

Weights for muscle retention. (We lose muscle when when diet. This is sad.)

Cardio for cardio fitness, and to help maintain calorie deficit while eating more.

did cardio, lost some weight, was tough to keep up, plateaued a lot, started lifting weights and the rest came off plus now I can eat more.

you will look much better if you chose weights over cardio. but like others have said doing both is ideal.

but for weights do real weights. not body pump or other things like it....im talking real weight lifting with heavy weights.

weights! Hands down! If you are doing them right, your heartrate will be up higher and longer than if you do cardio and you will be continuing to burn calories for hours after you stop working out. just regular cardio only burns calories while you are actually doing the cardio, ie, running, elliptical etc.. You want to do some searches for Anaerobic vs. aerobic and it will explain this process to you. Don't do heavier weights just longer and slower smaller weights. Try said excercises for 30 seconds at a time and then work up to 1 minutes of each excercise and see if you don't get a larger heart rate happening. You really don't need weights actually, your body weight is weight enough, try push ups, try pushup with one leg lifted, then the other, its enough weight. Do arm circles for two minutes....it burns...no extra weights. Squats both legs, one leg, front and back one leg....do that for one minute and you will feel the burn. search bodyweight workouts, this should get you started and good luck. I used to be a runner and all I did was hurt my body, now I do weights, and minicircuits and am so much stronger and leaner than I was as a runner. Here is a start for you http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/tp/Best-Bodyweight-Exercises.htm. There is also the skinny fat theory of just doing cardio to lost weight. There are a lot of people who are thin who have a large body fat percentage or no muscle mass.....a lot of these people are avid runners but do not do any weights....this is not healthy! Get strong, be focused on it so you keep your bones strong at the very least! Us women need that for sure to live painfree into our older years.
good luck!