cardio to lose some fat

well right now I am fine with my weight but I do have a lot of flab on my stomach and thighs. Im pretty sure this was due to the fact that i achieved my weight loss through changing eating habits mostly. I do do ab exercise and lifting with 5 pound weights right now and  i eat about 1200 a day . As of right now i dont really have a cardio routine. My question is how much cardio should I be doing to help burn the layer of fat over stomach. I dont really want to lose weight..just burn fat and gain muscle.

Cardio will most likely make you lose weight.  A complete strength training program will most likely help you "burn that layer of fat"  If you begin strength training and/or cardio you should reevaluate your caloric intake.  If you go to a gym a personal training session or two mught help you create a plan to fit your goals.  And there are alot of links in the sticky posts at the top of this forum - or at least there use dot be. I haven't been on this site in a while.

cardio is for fat burning now but i would also suggest weightlifting for the long term affect it would have for your weight loss/maintenance.  usually with cardio i wouldn't suggest anything more than an hour, usually after the 60-90 minutes of cardio you actually begin to burn up muscle.  also for a cardio routine i would suggest high intensity interval training.  walk/jog/run and repeat, this will burn fat the fastest and it keeps your body from going into a rut.  hope this helps, judging by your name you from the carolinas?  tarheel right here.

thanks...I think I will try and up my weight training while getting in some cardio...I have to say I think a cardio dvd would would work better for me because  Icant stay on a treadmill more than 10 minutes of  i get bored....Ive always wanted to try a personal trainer but im a college student and its really not in my time or budget at the moment.

Oh...and yep Im a North Carolinian

Weight lifting and HIIT are two of the best activities that will burn fat and speed up your metabolism.