Can weight training alone help to lose body fat?
I've been doing light weights for about 4 weeks now, and I'm looking to lose body fat and tone and shape.I'm using dumdbells right now but am getting ready to start using a bar and adding more weight.
I'm not doing any cardio right now other than the walking I do at work its a very big building and have to walk alot to get to one end to the other.
The fat lose has been real slow in the last few months so would I have to add a 20 to 30 minutes of cardio to get it moving faster?

I guess that was two questions but if anyone has any input I would appriciate it.

Weight training increases muscle, which burns more energy than fat, thus raising your resting metabolism. By raising your resting metabolism you will burn more energy while sitting around.
Cardio (unless it's the HIIT type!) only raises your metabolism while your actually doing it.
So, it's very clear that weight training may offer greater weight loss and health benefits than simple cardio. IMHO, weight training should be the basis of a fitness program.
Cardio is great for your heart, and shouldn't be discounted, though. It can also speed things up a bit, cuz every little bit of exercise counts towards your goal.
If you lift as heavy as you can and rotate your lifts, the weights will work for you. You don't have to add cardio. But if you have the time to schedule cardio workouts in between weightlifting days, or in the mornings, it won't hurt.

By the way, if you decide to add cardio, I would recommend HIIT for 20 minutes.
Also, the lifts you do during your weight workouts matter. You need to focus on lifts that work your core (!); the entire body comes in to play on core lifts.
The best are squats and deadlifts. They make you strong and will contribute to muscle everywhere on your body.

lilli's got it exactly right....

Weight training will help build muscle which will increase metabolism.

If you're looking to speed up your fat loss I would suggest doing HIIT cardio (High Intensity Interal Training - if you didn't know ). It involves taking your intensity level of cardio up and down to really get your heart pumping - and has much more impact that simply running/jogging for 30 minutes. Here is what I do:

Minute
1 Walk briskly
2 Run
3 walk briskly
4 run
5 walk briskly
etc....

the whole idea is that at each running I am taking up my speed and pushing myself faster until I feel like I can't run any more or any faster. By the end of my 20 minutes I'm out of breath and sweating.

Good luck,
Kiks

well if I can lose the fat with just weight training alone I may stick to that for right now.I don't enjoy cardio all that much.I'm doing light weights right now and building up as I go.It's been over 19 years since I've done any kind of weight training and I want to start out slow and work up in weights.As I recall I really got into it and enjoyed it alot.I figure if I enjoy what I'm doing I'll stick to it.Thanks Lilli and Kiks for your replies. Monica