If you are more interested in fat loss as well as tone, then you must do weights first. You really dont start burning into your fat until you are 20 minutes into your heart rate elevating. If you do your weights first (try to have little rest between sets to keep your heart rate up) you body will be all warmed up and ready to start dipping into your fat stores.

If you do cardio first...then the first 20 minutes you will be just warming up to get to the fat loss level...when the other way...you just jump on your machine and you are ready to be a fat burning machine!! Trust me!

The more muscle fibers you have, the more calories you burn through out the day...its good to lift! If you just want to lean and harden up and not get bulky at all, depending on if you tend to bulk up, do light weights, high reps, 15-20. I recomend the new NY ultimate body plan....the dvd that jsut came out for the book Is unbelievable...I highly recomend the diet and the workout....when you are ready to maintain...you switch over to "sound mind, sound body", david kirshts other book. WOW! I just started and am already seeing crazy results, and It is low impact...so its not bad on joints!