I've been working out pretty regularly for most of this year. 3-4x per week. I've dropped 30 lbs and am working my way towards 40.

Lifting is not a cop out. And working out outdoors or indoors doesn't matter. What matters is burning calories.

In half-hour increments of cardio-type exercises, I've found that calorie burning works in this order of general activities. The # of calories is for me, based on the amount of activity I've built myself up to. The numbers will be different for people, based on their personal ability. The ratios are generally the same, though.

- Walking: 150-200 calories
- Biking (exercise bike): 250-350 calories
- Running: 300-400 calories
- Rowing (rowing machine): 400-600 calories

I don't have access to a pool, so I am not able to swim. It probably fits between running and rowing, but that's just a guess.

99% of the time, I will do biking/rowing/walking-running for the first half hour. I finish up with lifting. The physical activity gets my blood flowing and makes me feel better. However, the real payoff as far as getting the feel good endorphin rush(i.e. getting myself high), is doing weights. Plus, its just as important to build muscle mass as it is to just burn fat.

Over time I have gotten myself to being able to pull 120lbs at 50 reps with upper body. I can push about 120 lbs 30-40 times at an overhead angle, and 40-60 at a straight angle from my body. This started from only being able to do 80-90 lbs about 6 months ago.

For lower body and legs, I've gone from being and to compress and extend with my legs(squeezing in and pushing out with the legs, mainly thigh area) from 80 lbs to 115 lbs at about 60 reps for each.

I have gone from pushing 190 lbs with my legs(perpendicular squats) to 250 lbs at about 40 reps, and 20x for each leg at 150 lbs.

Doing the weights is what releases the endorphins into my bloodstream. That's the payoff. Nothing better than a natural high (yeah, I've done the unnatural highs and they aren't quite the same).

I was a big kid, then thinned out while in high school. After that, I started putting on a lot of weight and was very, very heavy in May of 07 when I moved to San Francisco. I'm now about halfway to reaching my goal weight.

Don't do diets. They don't work. They fail. You will fail. Just start by working out. Pretty quickly things that have lots of sugar and crap in them start tasting bad. I used to drink a ton of soda. I drink almost none now. I drink more wine and some beer than I used to, but only if I go out.

The most important thing to remember is that the change WILL TAKE TIME. I am by all measurement of the word still "fat". However, I am a lot LESS fat than I was and am feeling the best I have in 10 years. I'm 28, btw. I have some muscle tone finally, even though I can only feel it and its not terribly evident yet. And it feels GOOD.

It will take time. Months. My long term goal is 80 lbs. However, my short term goals are 2 lbs. If you weigh yourself every day, be prepared to expect your daily weight to vary by upwards of 5 lbs on some occasions. Don't worry about it though. Water weight is a bitch to the ego. So don't worry about it. Don't set artificial goals in your brain, or you're just setting yourself up for failure.

I personally weigh myself a couple hours after I work out, so about 3x a week on average. I find that my metabolism has become self-sustaining. If I don't work out over the weekend and do it on Monday, I'll find that I've dropped a pound even though I haven't been working out for a couple days. "Woot!" goes my brain.

My appetite has decreased. I still eat a lot of the same general foods. But I don't eat junk crap anymore(chips, hotdogs, etc). Not because I really wanted to, just because they started tasting bad. Depending on the person, you'll have more or less cravings for certain things, but I've found cravings aren't really that bad. However, quitting smoking has been a bitch and something not so easily stopped.

Several things I've realized:
1) I like smart girls with pretty faces and big tits. I see these girls all over the place, and they're with smart guys that are in good shape.
2) I'm horrible about setting goals. Fuck that. I'm sick and tired of setting "personal goals" only to stop caring about them after a day or so and having this feeling of personally-induced guilt about putting things off.
3) I sleep because I'm tired. I eat because I'm hungry. I work out because I feel like shit if I don't.

So those 3 things basically can be summarized as:
"Getting into better physical shape isn't about pushing myself to do something I don't want to do. That's W-O-R-K. I feel better when I do it than when I don't. That's the natural recipe for a good habit, and I didn't even have to make a goal of getting into a habit. It just happens. Plus I want some big DD tits in my face. I'm sure there's a ratio of pounds lost per female cup size gained that could be garnered into an equation to further illustrate my point."

Take care, get thin, get girls.