Well I went to the gym for six months and didn't notice any difference in weight (I'm still going by the way)
Then I went to uni last September and it meant lot of walking to lectures and that has lost me quite a bit of my stomach. I'm still eating properly
So I would say give walking a go and like Richard M says eating properly is important. Should see the crap thing people eat at uni and not very much and they are all putting on the pounds