[CJFusco]

About 3 years into college, I discovered that I was about 30 pounds heavier than when I went in. Granted, I was a skinny little dude when I graduated high school, but lots of late-night beer and pizza had taken its toll.

Basically, I designed my own workout plan. I knew that if you put too much strain on your body too quickly, your results wouldn't be great.

There is a 3-mile loop in the woods near my old house. I decided I would walk around the loop for the first couple times, and then start running. I would go every other day. The first few times, I walked, and I noticed I was a little less out of breath by the end. So, I started running around the loop.

You say you might not be into strength training, but you should know that muscle burns fat; the more muscle mass you have, the faster the fat will melt off your body. I decided that on the days I didn't walk/run, I would lift weights. Nothing strenuous, I concentrated on reps more than weight.

After a couple weeks of running 3 miles, I started running 3 and then walking another 3 around the loop. After a couple weeks of this, I started running twice around. By the beginning of the following fall, before I went back to school for year 4, I was running 9 miles every other day. Week-to-week, I could see the fat just coming off. I could see my jawline again.

Over the course of a summer I went from 180lbs back down to 150 (I'm only 5'8" - this is an ideal weight). Actually, I actually overdid the running a little the next summer and dropped a little bit underweight (140 or so). I am now hovering at about 150.

Definitely let your muscles recover after working out, but I wouldn't discount a little strength training either. Twice a week and you will see beneficial results, trust me.