Workout

I don't do exercise to lose weight...weight loss is going to come down to your calories coming in vs calories going out. Regular exercise is relatively minimal in regards to your overall energy (calorie) expenditure.

I've been in maintenance for years and exercise 5-6 days per week just as I did when I was losing. My exercise doesn't really cost anything except for the purchase of my bike and my monthly gym membership for weight lifting...I pretty much ride my bike 3-4 days per week and I lift 3x per week...I did the same when I was losing. The difference between losing and maintaining is just the amount of calories I'm eating...If I need to drop weight I eat a little less...that's it.

If the goal is just to move the scale down, cardio in whatever form you can handle is the way to go. It hands down burns more cals than anything else. If you spend an entire 60 minutes running/rowing/pedaling/aerobics/elliptical/dancing as fast and as hard as you can, with no rest, you will burn a ton of cals.

If you want to lose fat, and still maintain/maybe add, some muscle, HIIT is great. Which version is best is gonna depend on you, what holds your interest, what can you actually do, etc. Face it, telling you to do something that wipes you out in the warm up is not gonna help you any. Telling you to do some high impact stuff when your knees are messed up, not good either.

Find something that looks fun to you, and that you can do. Poke around on youtube looking for stuff, and then if interested, see if there is a way you can do it at home, or if someone in your area offers it. Doesn't mater what it is, if you don't keep doing it.

look up Fitness Blender, or look at PX90, or maybe you would like to do kickboxing (9Rounds is a fun place for this), or boxing, or.. well whatever.

I just have a gym membership. Thankfully, I work for a company that has a gym on site also. This week, I just started in the mornings when I get to work, I'll do a 20-30 minute cardio workout and in the afternoon after work, every other day, I lift weights with my husband. I've always been big into the gym, but like cwolfman13 said, it really comes down to the calories. I stopped watching my calories and ate or drank anything I wanted since I worked out every day and ended up gaining 20 lbs over the course of three years. Now I'm back at the meal prep stage. The morning cardio is more for me because I have the time, I'd rather do that than just sit at my desk and do nothing, so why not.

The most important thing about working out... it has to be fun and something you look forward to. If it's not, you won't make it a priority and it will quickly turn to a chore. Try different stuff.... variety can be a big help in making the habit stick. 4-5 years ago I lost 30lbs doing nothing but basic boot camp style body weight exercises ... I never ran a mile and I never picked up a weight. Run on the street, find a building, stadium or parking garage and run the stairs, build a library of body weight & boot camp style exercises. All those things are free. Consistency and diet are key ... success will follow. Now I enjoy everything from the local gym, to Orange Theory, to stadium runs, to my tried-and-true boot camp moves at home. It's a struggle for me to take a rest day now.