Okay, so I'm new. I'm 5'7" and 137lbs, but not much muscle tone and flabby. Am looking to rectify that. Not looking so much at weight loss, but inches to lose.

I'm ready to get a routine going but am kinda overwhelmed at all the info. This is what I have:
home gym- has about 40-50 different exercises, weights of 12.5 up to 150lbs
exercise bike- the kind with the arms, kicks me in the rear after a few minutes
huge backyard- I've got a track-like circle to walk

Am willing to change the diet, I love to eat, am not real big on fatty foods or sugary foods, but I like to eat. No problem switching to leaner meats and adding more veggies. I just don't know that much about calories in foods, how much I'd need, or how much exercise I'd need to do daily to burn up 'x' amount of calories. Or like is it better to cut down on what I presently eat or better to switch to smaller meals more often.

What I'd like: to have long lean muscles, my abs back, and smaller jeans size. There's just so much info it's kinda overwhelming. Any good starting pointers?

ok to start with dont worry about all of the millions of details you can get stuck in with

counting calories is great but burning them is better :P

you have a good weight to start with for your height so i wouldnt even bother looking at the scales anymore

make obvious improvements to your diet, more veg, less processed foods, less coca cola etcetc

as for the exercise do something you enjoy, your home gym sounds great, so use it!

personally i like to start with my cardio, have a light jog or jump on that bike of yours and get your body nice and warm, get your heart rate up there and get a good sweat on

when ready move onto your weights, pick a few body parts as you have already and simply highlight them be sure not to work the agonist and antagonist on the same day as you will tire too much / it will effect your recover and the building of your muscle

for example dont work your biceps and triceps hard on the same day, working 1 also hits the other lightly

on a monday you could work your chest, shoulders and biceps with the weights, finish of with sets of situps etc to strengthen your midright, i really rate body weight exercises for your core

tuesday could then be your legs, work that butt, your quads and hamstrings and wednesday back to upper body but diff muscles and so on and so forth

above all enjoy it, everytime you come back see if you can improve little by little

on a final note, to see the definition in your abs and other muscles you need a low body fat % so keep that in mind

good diet
good sleep
good exercise

thats all you need

__________________
"it's not how many hours you put in. It's what you put in the hour that counts"

Hey, thanks for taking the time to answer all of that.

The scales hadn't been looked at in a while, that was what it said the last time I looked. *thumbs up* Don't really care what it says, just how the clothes fit.

Am glad you wrote that, I was trying to work everything every day. Will aim for working different areas to give other areas a day's rest, or two. And add more cardio (yee).

Am reading a book on the 3-Hour Diet, where you eat every three hours, smaller meals. Claims to boost the energy, and you're eating all the time so no hunger. And nothing's off limits, I can handle that.

Sounds like a plan, will try it for a while and see how it goes.

Thanks for the help!!