Hi There,

Thanks for all the advice and sorry for the slow response!

Ok, I'll have a look at building some kind of meal plan and I'll probably stick to some more cardio based exercise for the next couple of months. Like you say, I'd prefer to just get rid of some of the fat and then focus on building the muscle and toning up more afterwards.

Thanks for the tips on the carb and fat sources, I'll bear that in mind.

I assume foods to stay away from are things like bread, potatoes etc? Is there anything else that would be in a normal diet that I should try to avoid?

At the moment, my Gym exercise consists of the following (can vary slightly but pretty much the following)

2km Rowing to start or 15 minute cycling
Flat Bench Flies @ 7kg on each arm - 3 x 10 reps
Bicep Curls @ 10kg on each arm - 3 x 10 reps
Chest Press @ 35kg - 3 x 10 reps
Leg Press @ 60kg - 3 x 10 reps
Shoulder Press @ 20kg - 3 x 10 Reps
10 Minutes Running @ on average 8 km/h (I'm useless at running!)
Lateral Pull Machine @ 30kg - 3 x 10 Reps
Pectoral Machine @ 25kg - 3 x 10 Reps
Smiths Press @ 35kg - 3 x 10 Reps

Then I tend to finish off with:

Plank for 30 seconds (3 times with a short break)
Press Ups - 2 sets of 10
Sit Ups - 3 sets of 10
Leg Lowers - 3 sets of 10

I don't think I've missed anything out on the above..

I try to do all the exercises slowly to get maximum effect. I've noticed if I do that, I find it a lot harder but I'm assuming it's working the muscles a lot more.

What do you mean by compound exercises? Could you explain a little further?

Any other advice you've got would be great. I used to be doing things like squats but I tend to alternate my exercise and add bits in / take them out. That might not be the right thing to do any maybe I should be more rigid with my gym workout!

Thanks for your help!
Lewis