Does Cardio build muscle?

You should do both weights and cardio.

Cardio:

Cardio strengthens your heart and lungs and increases blood flow throughout your body. It is good for your brain and your muscles. And you will build muscle, depending on what type of cardio you are doing. I cycle and have major leg muscles--and very lean legs. The same goes for running--you will strengthen the muscles that you use.

Strength training:

As another poster correctly said, lean muscle burns (metabolizes) more calories than fatty tissue. Translation: if you increase the percentage of your body weight that is lean muscle, you will naturally burn more calories.

As far as what you should do, I would add at least 2 days a week of strength training (notice I did not say weights). Depending on what you have available to you, you can do:

Upper: dumbells can be used for the entire upper body workout--bench press, incline press, shoulder press, reclining overhead extensions, "nosebreakers" (for triceps). you can also use straight bars, or pulley systems too. Start with light weights and high reps (15-25) and add weight each set.

If you don't have weights, do pushups, pull-ups (hard, I know), use elastic bands to do curls, etc.

Lower:
Lunges (no weight needed), squats (no weight needed), step-ups (box or step), straight leg raises, leg curls, etc.

If you keep moving from exercise to exercise without resting (known as a circuit), you will keep your heart rate elevated and add a cardio workout to your strength training.

Exercise in general speeds your metabolism, burns more calories and tones and tightens the muscles under your skin. Do core--abs, crunches, bicycles, planks, etc. If your ab muscles are tight and strong, your tummy will look flatter.

It would be helpful for you to have someone show you some exercises--preferably a trainer or someone who knows what they are doing.

Good luck!

A month is gone in a snap of the fingers.

Chose your mid term goals, define a program to get there and start yesterday.

The idea of "I want to see results in a month" sells DVDs and shakes but it rarely works long term. And if you are going from nothing to 100 mph you are likely to hurt yourself.

But, if you do just want to do it that way, any single program will show 'some' results in 30 days.

Building muscle takes a stupid amount of time and effort. A calorie deficit without resistance training causes the loss of lean body mass. I do not understand why people would sacrifice muscle just to see the number on a scale move and then plan on trying to regain what they lost.

You would be much better off to preserve what you already have while losing body fat. That is done with a calorie deficit and resistance training. Resistance training does not have to be weights in a gym. It can be body weight exercises, or adding resistance to what would be considered cardio. Like riding a bike up hills, sprints, HIIT. Weights are just easier to add small increments and keep your body adapting to the increased resistance.

The answer is NO, do not wait to start your resistance training until you lose a certain amount. You will spend an enormous amount of time and effort trying to get back what you already have now. Start today.

bump for reference. Very interesting!

I'm sorry. But, are you people crazy? Have you ever seen a professional soccer players legs? They rarely do resistance training and their legs commonly are like tree trunks. How do you think they get that? they run, run, run.
Have you seen a professional sprinters legs? Now they do a fair amount of weights. But, back in the day, they did not and they had huge legs.
My brother just played soccer and ran hills when he was in high school, and he developed almost 25 inch thighs.
I knew a lot of guys who bicycled in high school, and their thighs just exploded.
Granted, the key here is that these guys were male and they did these activities during adolescence, when a male's testosterone level is high and growth potential is immense. But, clearly, you can build serious muscle doing cardio -- intense cardio.
Most males who build huge muscle lifting weights do so during adolescence too.

I'm sorry. But, are you people crazy? Have you ever seen a professional soccer players legs? They rarely do resistance training and their legs commonly are like tree trunks. How do you think they get that? they run, run, run.
Have you seen a professional sprinters legs? Now they do a fair amount of weights. But, back in the day, they did not and they had huge legs.
My brother just played soccer and ran hills when he was in high school, and he developed almost 25 inch thighs.
I knew a lot of guys who bicycled in high school, and their thighs just exploded.
Granted, the key here is that these guys were male and they did these activities during adolescence, when a male's testosterone level is high and growth potential is immense. But, clearly, you can build serious muscle doing cardio -- intense cardio.

Last 2 words there nailed the reason and ability on the head.

You must overload a muscle with tension for body to feel the need to make it stronger.

The sprinters, not the marathoners.

The bike sprinters, then short time trialists, then long time trialists, then heavier mountain men, then avg road rider - even in pro -peloton there are big differences.

Soccer players compared to Austrian rules foot-ball players compared to Rugby, slight differences there too.

The more aerobic based, the less need for more muscle, because you can just keep improving what you got. When you reach the point you need more, you better do the intense stuff as only way to gain it.

The high intensity - HIIT, nature of some of those sport's training give them muscle growth like that. If not specifically going out and doing intervals when it's time to build muscle.

Ran hills - great interval workout.

Why are intervals so good at building up strength and muscle compared to plain aerobic cardio - because it's as close as you'll get to lifting while doing "cardio".
All out anaerobic intense effort with maximum load, followed by brief rest, and do it again. Just like sets and reps.

Yes, for example running, you use your legs don't you? midsection for balance, heart for endurance...yes it does take some level of muscle to do these things.

I'm sorry. But, are you people crazy? Have you ever seen a professional soccer players legs? They rarely do resistance training and their legs commonly are like tree trunks. How do you think they get that? they run, run, run.
Have you seen a professional sprinters legs? Now they do a fair amount of weights. But, back in the day, they did not and they had huge legs.
My brother just played soccer and ran hills when he was in high school, and he developed almost 25 inch thighs.
I knew a lot of guys who bicycled in high school, and their thighs just exploded.
Granted, the key here is that these guys were male and they did these activities during adolescence, when a male's testosterone level is high and growth potential is immense. But, clearly, you can build serious muscle doing cardio -- intense cardio.
Most males who build huge muscle lifting weights do so during adolescence too.

none of the examples you listed are cardio...

Soccer players do things like sprint and kick. Both have type II muscle fibre usage. So durrrr that they have larger legs than athletes who only do cardio.

No. You can't build muscle unless you are at a calorie surplus. At least from everything I learned. That doesn't mean your muscle can't get stronger.

OK, thanks everybody, these are all fantastic responses! I should have clarified, however, that I have already been working out for over 6 weeks, and seen not that much difference? Though some say they can see it in my face? So it wasn't a case of "1 month, let's burn ALLLLLL the fat." And I am working towards a healthy existence, not just bikini season, but it would also be nice to be comfortable on the beach, for once, and I have had health kicks before but they never last because I fail to see results that motivate me to continue.

Measure--stop paying so attention to the scale. If your face is thinner chances are so is your waist, neck, thighs and hips.
Squats and pushups will build muscle--as stated earlier, any resistance will. Genes dictate where you lose fat. Usually it comes off your waist first, but not always.