Best way to burn calories?

Exactly.

"The amount of effort to lose calories by exercise is out of all proportion. Why should I go for brisk walk in the cold and then have used up only 150 Calories. I don't know any one who lost much weight that way."

You do now.

Between 12.10.08 and 20.12.09 I lost 15.2kg. I was eating an average 3130 kcal/day, so my exercise must have put my metabolic rate up to 3400 kcal/day, a full 1000 kcal more than someone who does no exercise.

On TV last night Michael Mosley showed an experiment in which people who went on a diet felt three times more hungry than those who did an equivalent amount of exercise instead of dieting, and their ghrelin levels soared too.

I am a late convert to proper exercise, its far more effective than any form of dieting. By doing a proper session once a week under professional guidance (important at my age and with dodgey back and mild prolapse) and then 2 or three gentle ones during the week coupled with a few dog walks and a bit of ballroom I have slowly lost a good stone and, more importantly totally regained a waistline.
I can honestly say I've not dieted just found myself thinking 'well you worked hard do you need a second biscuit?'. I've also found myself slowly improving my diet....I pad our meals with more veg/salad than I used to yet, its almost as if my body is overriding my emotional hunger. I do still have times when only a thick slice of buttered toast will do....but they are much fewer.

If you concentrate on what you cannot eat.....it only makes you want it more. When you feel you can depend more on your body (I was feeling very old and lacking in stamina) your confidence returns and you slowly just do a bit more and take on a few more challenges. I can, also, honestly say its done far more for my emotional wellbeing than 6 months of very expensive counselling!

Yes I agree after walking - and I'm not agaist that, you do feel better but I'm not down at the moment. I sprained my ankle in October and had to sit about a lot and then with the ice and snow in Germany I am housebound again but I have lost weight.

But a hard regime and cutting down on food will only jump start the body into making do with less. That is why if a diet, then the 5-2 diet other wise your body and it is the body of an older woman, will get used to haveing less which was what human bodies learned during the millions of years of evolution.
Don't over do it.