i thought i'd post a hurrah for you guys working out and losing so much weight.  

2 years ago i got a pair of lab pups, littermates, and started working them out daily.  we take 3.5 mile walks daily.  with 2 of 'em on me i really have to stroll fast to keep up.  if i went any faster, it'd be jogging, not walking.  the dogs really enjoy the walks, and i'm noticing a great side benefit.  

i work in a high stress environment, so being on top of breaking, critical situations is important, as well as keeping up with a crushing workload from the paperwork generated by these situations, mostly critical only in the client's mind.  i live with work related stress on a daily basis.  

i once had problems with neck pain, i'd get all stressed out and my upper back and neck would be simply knotted up like a twisted rope.  very painful.  i got a pair of buckwheat pillows at a jazz festival while we were camping, and it was like night and day on the old neck.  this spring, i started walking more and drinking less vodka, instead of every other night on the workout, i'm hitting it nightly.  

my stress level at work has been reduced dramatically.  i feel stronger and lighter, somehow, on my feet.  i don't regularly weigh myself, but i know i'm overweight.  when all this started i was about 240 at 6', now i'm down to around 220 and keeping on going.  my belly is tighter, not so much flab, and now, when i do have a drink, it hits me harder and quicker.  

the trick here is commitment.  i'm thinking of getting one of those bowflex things at a garage sale and starting to work out with that on nights i don't walk.  the walks i go on nowadays are mostly walks in name only.  i'm doing 3.5 miles in one hour straight up with a 10 minute break at the convenience store to water the dogs.  i have a workout partner who comes over to check vodka levels at my bar and help with the dogs on the walks, and he's getting more committed as well.  he works retail (home despot) and has his share of stress from dipshit customers.

this is all coming from a longtime couch potato.  i'm thinking the best change is gradual not radical.  i've joined gyms three or four times and wasted enough money there to purchase enough ammo for the rest of my life.  reality of the situation is that i don't really enjoy working out in a fishbowl with a bunch of 19 year old gym bunnies in tights everywhere.  i got tired of being the fat guy in the corner sweatin' it out.  

another benefit is that i'm seeing tighter groups at the range.  now, to quit smoking.