Tell Me How

I started by waking up at 5:20am. It was really hard to do but once I started doing that regularly now it's not so bad. Also maybe do something after the kids go to bed. I exercise then too. I have a workout video or elliptical I do in the morning. I do my stepper after the kids go to bed while I watch TV.

The only time I EVER make it to the gym regularly is when I have a workout buddy. For a while, I had 3... (I was going 5 days a week, so I went 2 days with one, 2 with another, and 1 with the last! lol)

you must not want it bad enough yet.
if you did, you would do it.
it's all in your head.
i just quit smoking, cold turkey, on ny eve. i have barely had a craving even because i finally decided "I HATE everything about what cigarettes are doing in my life".
you need to hate the junk food and you need to hate your laziness in the same way.
when you get up and move along with an exercise show on tv and then do it again tomorrow and then the next day, you will find a pattern starting and each day gets easier than the last.
don't make your start date for a Monday. Monday's have problems of their own already attached.
make your start day on Tuesday. don't do anything too extreme that you can't live with.
care about yourself enought "finally" to get healthy. do not worry about what anyone else thinks because what they think does not matter. it's all about what you think. and if you really dont mind being 50lbs overweight, embrace it and quit stressing.

Im in the same boat. I think we should get a few woman with similar goals together (online) who encourage each other, I have one lady from this site in my fb friends, and we have talked about supporting each other. it could be as simple as a quick morning chat, a decided time we will go walk, we go walk, or whatever, exercise video, walk at home (i have a link) decide today is going to be 15 min walmking, see you back in 20... so its like we are encouraged...

It's entirely up to you to get the motivation. If you're committed to losing that weight, you make it happen. It's never easy, but the hard part is just getting off that couch. You have to WANT to lose the weight or it won't happen.

Be accountable. Part of why I succeeded with Weight Watchers was because you have to record everything you eat. Writing it down sure makes you pause when you know you might eat something putting you over your points allowance. You also learn to make smarter choices in what you eat. If you're not already, track your food each day so you can see when you're off-track. If you're snacking too much, get away from the food. Get outside, shovel snow, go for a walk, put in an exercise DVD.

Get the gym clothes on. Once you're dressed to exercise, it's harder to make excuses. You've made the effort to change into workout clothes, so might as well work out. Find an exercise you enjoy, whether it's walking, dancing, jumping rope, whatever. Just move. I like the routine of going to the gym and supplement with workout DVDs.

Best of luck!

Get yourself an exercise buddy. set up a time and know you are letting her down if you don't show up. Even if you can't do it for yourself (yet) I bet you will not want to let someone else down. After awhile you will feel so much better health wise and about yourself then there is a good shot you won't need that buddy anymore to stay on track.

If you need coaching or a diet plan contact me for suggestion.

I feel your pain.

I am in just about the same boat. Need to lose about 50, and no initiative.

I'm joining Weight Watchers. Hoping the start of that program will help to boost my motivation...

I wish you lived closer so we could support each other! I am struggling with this big time recently. I used to be so motivated, but now I'm always finding another excuse. I think the best thing to do is to start small. I live in a townhouse, so some days I just walk up and down the stairs several times. Is there any exercise you like to do? I actually did the treadmill the other day while watching a show on netflix and I felt soooo much better after. My husband watched my kids so I had genuine "me" time. Also, try chewing gum to prevent yourself from snacking. Drink lots of water, so you won't feel as hungry. Good luck!

Do you belong to a gym? That is your first step - joining a gym (if you don't have a treadmill or elliptical at home). The second step is to FORCE yourself to do it! Start with baby steps, meaning, don't start running since you don't work out! Start walking. Then start fast walking. The good news is that you can stop at fast walking. You do NOT have to run - ever! Fast walking will crank up your heartrate and will also help you lose weight (in combination with healthy eating and portion control). All you have to do is fast walk every day (or almost every day) for 30 minutes at a time. If you will be doing this at home, park your treadmill or elliptical in front of a TV and watch your favorite show! If you'll be doing this a the gym, bring headphones (or whatever it's called, I don't use it) to listen to your favorite songs. Let's start out w/ 4 days per week. Write the word "exercise" in big, bright letters on your calendar on 4 days (maybe Mon., Wed., Fri. and Sat?). Since you have included it on your calendar, you MUST do it! If your brain and eyes see it written on your calendar, you must do it. Then, enjoy the reward of crossing it off once you did it! Once you start doing this, move it up to 5 times a week. Don't forget to eat healthy and have portion control and to drink plenty of water, and eat fruits and veggies. If you do this, you WILL lose weight, and once the numbers on your scale start going down, you will have all the motivation you need to continue/maintain!!! You can do it, I promise! Good luck!

This is the FIRST thing that has worked for me...

We all know that we can promise ourselves to exercise but its also easy to let ourselves down and not do it. My friend and I were sharing this same struggle.

We decided that we would exercise 20 minutes 5X/week. On our own... whatever exercise we wanted. We kept track on our own calendar. (we actually make fun exercise calendars on Publisher)

If we both reach our goal for 4 weeks, we get a "Girls Day Out". If one of us doesn't reach the goal, we have to start the 4 weeks over.

I know that if I mess up, all of her work is "wasted" and she misses out on the day out, not just me.

It's worked perfectly. We've been consistent since the middle of August!!!!! We're really noticing the difference! And even though our busy schedules has made us fall behind in using up our Day Out together, we still keep going.

No doubt you have a friend that wants to get in shape as well. Team up!

I have the same problem. You just have to quit making the excuses and just DO it! :)

Next time you catch yourself making an excuse, tell yourself NO. No excuses. Let's get up and do it!!

I challenge you do get up & do some exercising RIGHT NOW! :) Do something convenient to do - run in place, pushups, crunches/reverse crunches, etc. All you need is a floor!

sparkpeople.com is free and with no "catches". There are a ton of members and lots of sub-groups so that you can find supporters. There are videos, recipes ... just about anything you can think of.

If you're still wary, get a fake email & name and use that.

Lots of good advice and support there. Good luck! It's ALWAYS a battle for me. I never get an urge for broccoli the way that chocolate seductively calls to me.

If I ever figure that out, I'll let you know.

Same experience for me. I "bit the bullet" and joined Curves with the intention of going 3 times/week. Didn't happen. But then two friends also joined Curves and we have set a specific time on specific days to meet at Curves. We just started this week but I've put the days and times on my calendar and am going to treat them as inviolate. They are set appointments.

As to snacking, I don't buy snack food. What isn't in my house I don't eat. Most of the time. I do treat myself from time to time.

Yes, we should be able to control ourselves but I found that setting up outside controls such as exercising with friends and not buying snack food works better.

Schedule it in and do something simple and fun. Maybe stretch while watching TV, do 15 minutes daily or 3x a week for starters, then slowly increase. Then you'll be more motivated to do it once you have more energy because of the little bit you are doing. Join a gym and go every other day etc. Start small, simple and do it today. Don't wait until Monday. =)

You have to be at your breaking point to change. That's what happened to me last June - I was done. It turned from I want to I NEED and that's what happened. There was no turning back for me. I took Advocare to loose my weight. I still need some more to loose....just money right now is tight. Going if for surgery doesn't help on the money situation until I go back to work in March.

If you have a friend that wants to work out too, you can motivate each other. A group of friends from my church all go to the YMCA a couple times a week. Not only would I probably not go if my friends were not there, there is childcare so it is a chance to get away from the kids for a little while and get some "girl time". And at the same time making yourself healthier. We do Zumba together and have a blast! Plus we have all met some great new friends at the Y who share a lot in common with us.

1. I have found the old Nike slogan, "Just do it," very helpful. I literally think that to myself.

2. Don't exercise to lose weight. Exercise for the feeling you will get from it immediately afterward. You will feel strong, proud, more energetic, your face will be flushed and rosy, your skin will look clearer and you will feel happier. So you exercise for the short-term, immediate gains; not for the long-term, I-want-the-body-of-a-Victoria's-secret-model, gains.

3. Music. Make sure you listen to some great work-out music. It makes all the difference.

4. My big reward at the end of my workout is to lie on the floor, panting, and relax and let the blood rush to my face. I figure it's keeping me young-looking. And at my age, I need it.

You've got to just do it. If you say next Monday I'll start or I already ate this cake so today's shot...I'll start tomorrow -- that stuff is going to be your mantra til the end of your life! You have to accept that you will have slipups. Some days you won't exercise, some days you'll eat pizza but you kinow what -- right after that pizza buffet, say that was a mistake but i wont let it ruin the rest of the day. in fact i'll eat a salad for dinner to make up for it. and then it'll kind of turn into a life of moderation and you may not lose as fast as going all out on a chicken breast and steamed veggies diet but you will eventually lose -- slowly but surely. that's what i'm doing by the way and so far i've lost almost 3 lbs since New Years! yay a rsolution i'm actually sorta sticking to! good luck :)

Where are you now? I say start now! Stop doing what your doing and walk in place, what motivates me is being mad at someone or something, so when I need that push I think about an old friend who I had to cut loose and how the next time I see her my body will be bangin and I can speak to her like she was a stranger and keep it movin! and say to myself "yeah I was smoking then and I am hot now! When I tend to put it off I will say okay instead of doing the treadmill I will walk up and down my stairs, I try to replace the task that seems so unreachable in my mind with something else so at least I am doing something.

find a work-out partner! and drink lots of water!