Although I'm not overweight, I had been trying for a long time to get myself to exercise, and finally started running a few years back, and I totally agree with the "this is not a temporary thing". Right now I basically run at least once a week but average about 3-4 times a week (it's only on terrible weeks that I get one run in, and I'm usually really antsy if I can't run more than once). That is basically non-negotiable, I will continue running regularly until I'm too old to.

If you are going to engage in that level of tracking already, you should definitely consider looking into bodybuilding. It's a good way to build confidence for former fatties (myself included), and you get to eat more.