Trying to lose weight? Here’s some advice on exercise from the book “How to Lose 9,000 lbs. (or less)” (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $13.95), straight from people who’ve done it:

“Exercise — walking with friends is the best way to make myself get up and get out of the house. It motivates me tremendously. My pace is quicker, and I learn so much from the conversations we have while walking; it’s like therapy. The other thing I love is my Digi-Walker. It’s a pedometer that captures steps; you don’t even have to set it. It monitors how active you are. Ten thousand steps per day is the equivalent of five miles, and as long as I do that I can eat a normal amount of food and not gain weight.”

“I prefer to get my exercise outdoors. I’ll take windsurfing, biking, and swimming over working out on a treadmill any day!”

“There are really fun ways to lose weight if you don’t enjoy the gym. Go outside and shoot hoops with a friend or go for a long walk in the city. You don’t have to lift weights to work out your body.

“If you walk, try walking just a little faster. You burn off about 80 more calories an hour just by walking three miles an hour compared to two miles an hour. That’s just a little bump up in speed, but to get 80 more calories off your fat butt is well worth the extra effort.”

“The best thing when dieting is to do exercises you like, not necessarily those that are going to burn the most calories the quickest. I’ve tried to force myself to run because it burns the most calories. But I hate running; it makes me miserable. However, I love taking long walks. Taking walks may not burn off as many calories as running, but I know I’ll take a long walk once a day. If I kept my mind set on running, I’d never burn anything off because I’d never get myself to run as often.”

Hundreds of Heads Books’ survival guides offer the wisdom of the masses by assembling the experiences and advice of hundreds of people who have gone through life’s biggest challenges and have insight to share.