[bigchillcar]

bello,
height and weight don't sound wrong to me. you can't 'spot reduce' fat, and the best plan is to try to drop bodyfat as slowly as possible. crash dieting always has a 'rebound effect'. i would continue with my weight training..do it first, then finish with your cardio session. do you know how many calories you're burning and what type cardio machine? i prefer the eliptical machines to stationary bikes..i find that you can do a better job of getting your heart rate up. target heart rate for you would be like (220-34)= 186x0.7= 130 beats per minute..that's 70% of your max heart rate. try to maintain that for the full half-hour. on an eliptical machine, you should be burningin the neighborhood of 400 calories. sounds like you're wanting to get a more lean look? make breakfast your largest meal of the day if possible, or lunch if that isn't possible. eat as little after 7-8 pm as possible..try to limit the carbs after that time for sure. drink plenty of fluids. you should be drinking 180 ounces of water per day at your bodyweight. how long have you been training with weights? for the first several months, newbies develop strength solely through neural adaptations..your muscles learning 'how to do the exercises', slowly recruiting more and more muscle fibers for a given amount of work. eventually, after several months of this adaptation, muscle itself begins to increase its cross-sectional area in response to training..this is when you slowly begin to notice signs of muscle hypertrophy. it just takes time and committment. intensity is key, as is the type of exercise selected, their order, amounts lifted and rest periods between sets..all play roles. in general, for training solely for strength,keep your reps in the 5-8 range, heavier weights, rest periods about 3 minutes, total set volume lower. for more 'bodybuilding' style, keep the weight used moderate, reps in the 10-15 range, rest periods 60-90 seconds between sets and set volume higher. the latter style will result in much more burn, as your body has to adjust to buffering the accumulation of hydrogen ion by-products of exercise (lactic acid buildup). periodize your plan. work strength-style for a couple months, then switch back to the higher rep program. hit the muscle from varying angles in order to innervate all the muscle fibers in a given muscle group. don't over train..give large muscle groups 3 days of recovery, smaller ones, give 1-2 days. multi-joint exercises like squats and deadlifts, although tough for beginners, will do more to promote hormonal changes in your body, which stimulate its growth than isolation exercises like leg extensions, arm curls, etc. i'm not sure what your exact expectations are..and without seeing your body, it's hard to comment on what precise strategy you should be employing. hope that this helps. good luck!
ryan