The Gym: Friend or Foe?

Up until recently, it was not uncommon to hear me say something to the effect of "I'm allergic to the gym". In high school and college I was a cheerleader which, despite the never-ending 'It's not a sport' debate, was extremely effective in keeping me in shape. During my last two years of college, between games, intense dance practices, hours of stunting (I was a base AKA the one on the bottom of the pyramid, that's me in the gray shorts) and weight training, I was working out an average of 2-3 hours a day. And I must admit, I was pretty toned and hot at that point. Well, when cheerleading ended, I quite frankly needed a break! I spent a lot less time (and by less I mean none at all) in the gym and a little more time (by a little more I mean pretty much any that I wasn't in class, working or sleeping) in a bar of some kind or another. Hey I was newly 21 and it was my senior year of college - don't judge.

Anyway, my point is that this much needed break from the gym ended up lasting a tad bit longer than I anticipated. (Is a year and a half too long of a break?) I ended up gaining about 15 pounds and 3 pants sizes at my heaviest. Luckily, this Fall I got up off of my lazy rear and joined a gym by my house! The atmosphere is very laid back and friendly and they have a ton of great classes everyday of the week. I started off pretty strong, going to classes 3-4 times a week. Though I've slacked off a bit since the colder weather has hit, I still try to go to the gym at least 2 times a week. I've even started working out on my own quite often, outside of a structured class setting. I must say, I'm pretty proud of myself!

Pride aside, I'm not seeing the results I had been hoping for. During my first visit to the gym, I got a private session with a trainer who explained all about muscle burning fat and needing to tone up and focus on one muscle group at a time and all that stuff. I also know that my eating habits would give a personal trainer a heart attack if they heard them. Usually I do about 30-40 minutes of weight lifting/machines and about 25-30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical. But, I can't help but thinking: "Maybe I'm doing something wrong"

I know a lot of you lovelies are avid exercisers so I was hoping I might get some pointers from my skinnier, toner, more in shape bloggy friends out there?? Any tips, tricks, really great fat burning/muscle building work outs out there?