I lost 70+ lbs 16 years ago. Mine was "pregnancy" weight that just kind of "hung out" after the baby. It took my about 2 years to loose the weight and I did it the boring old fashioned way: sensible eating and more activity.

Along the way I fell in love with running and actually went the OTHER way developed anorexia and was way underweight. The thing with running is that the lighter you are, the faster you go. As long as you don't get injured.

I actually took up cycling to become more balanced and to GAIN weight and build muscle. Cycling develops (on my body at least) large strong butt and thigh muscles. It also seems to make me wicked hungry and my eating improves.

If I need to shed some fat (like after the holidays, ugh) I add a few longer runs into my week and that seems to do the trick for me.