Hi Rickz,
before you and your friend even start working those beer bellies, you need to set a weight-loss diet. I recommend you to look out some experienced fitness trainer in your local gym (asking for references and professional training certificate is a good approach).
The quality of your diet and commitment to your training are keys to your success! Be advised that if your weight and height are different from your friend, you both might need a little bit different diet. You should mention what is the aim of your training to your trainer, so he can optimize the diet to your goal.
Usually, the pricing of diet vary, based upon your trainer's prestige but in my country, I haven't seen trainers giving diets for more then 20 euros. Of course those celebrity fitness trainers usually give the most expensive diets
.
My second advise is that cardio is VERY important to loose some weight. To effectively loose weight, you might consider setting your daily schedule to include 2x/1h of cardio and work out trainig during the day. Even if you have day off, ie. when you do not go to the gym, you should not skip your cardio.
For example: You wake up at 6:00 am, you should not eat anything at this point, dress up and go out jogging for 1h. The reason behind this is that your body will not start to effectively burn fat before 30-40min of constant cardio. When you come back, you will be exhausted. Now is the time for your breakfast. During the day when you go to gym you can include second hour of cardio at the end of your training (
Note: running has the best results but might be tough on your knees, based on your actual weight, if I have calculated correctly, so I advise you to go swimming instead or ride bicycle).
For the gym training part: the weight-loss work out session should consist of sets with 15-20 reps with a bit lower weight then normal. Cause you need to stay warm all the time. The pauses between sets should also be shorter then usual. Also don't forget to keep your body hydrated with simple non-carbonated water (nothing with sugar), cause you might get cramps without proper hydration.
This is very complex topic, so if you have any further questions, just ask here or send me a PM.
Good luck!