Okay, confession time: Some time in September, I stopped exercising. I didn't plan to do it, but I hurt my foot so I couldn't go walking so I was going to the gym to bike but that's a pain and, anyway, excuses are easy. The bottom line is that it's been more than a month since I've gotten any deliberate exercise.
For me, exercise is one of those things that I feel good about while I'm doing it and after it's over, but I never want to do it. I am most definitely not an, "Oh, I'm bored - I can go work out!" person. I am a dragging myself into it, every single time, person. And I was pretty good for a while.
I know I need to start again. I know it's better for me, that I'll be healthier and it will help with my weight loss. Most importantly, I know it will help my mood, which has tanked in the last month. (Coincidence? I think not.) I know all that, and yet, it's still not happening.
How do you go about getting your butt in gear at times like this? Logic isn't working for me, and "just do it" clearly isn't working. Help! Any advice would be awesome.
The bottom line is that you've just gotta (I know you said that is not working, but that is the bottom line).
You control your next behavior. You are in charge. Put your shoes on and walk away from your house for 5 minutes. That's all. Then turn around and walk back. A 10 minute walk. Voila! You'll be glad. You know you will. I believe in you. I'll check this thread tonight looking for what you've done today. No pressure though or anything.....
I am most definitely not an, "Oh, I'm bored - I can go work out!" person.
Honestly, I do not know anyone like this! So if you're waiting for that to happen... it's probably not going to!
I think it's really easy for people to treat going to the gym or getting exercise in general as an "option" rather than a priority. What worked for me was putting it down in my day planner like any other appointment--a doctor's appointment that you just have to keep, a car servicing appointment, a hair appointment--you get the picture! And then when the time comes, you do it just like you would get yourself to the doctor. You don't hem and haw and say Oh, I'm too tired to go to the doctor, Oh, I can see the doctor tomorrow (ha! good luck!), Oh, Oh, Oh etc.
In this way, you take your feelings, moods, other work you have to do, and excuses out of the equation. You don't wait to feel "motivated," or "in the mood," or "happy to be going." You just get your butt out the door!
I wish we could come to your house and physically pick you up and throw you in your car and make you drive to the gym at gunpoint and hold you under guard the whole time you're on the bike, but doggone it, we can't!
Sometimes what works for me is to say "I only have to do five minutes on the treadmill...just five minutes and then I can stop."
Once I do five minutes...well 10 doesn't seem so bad...then fifteen. For me (and it sounds as though for you) it is the getting started.
The other thing...is to see if you can incorporate some of it. Is there anywhere you can walk to? I know it is easier for me to start walking "somewhere" than nowhere. I have a small backpack. I can walk to the pharmacy, to the library etc. It's aerobic, and I have a destination.
The bottom line is that you've just gotta (I know you said that is not working, but that is the bottom line).
Yeah pretty much what I was going to say as well.
The problem is when you say: "Logic isn't working for me, and "just do it" clearly isn't working." Well .. there's really nothing left. You can bribe yourself, you can logic yourself, or you can just force yourself. If none of those are gonna work ... well you're going to do it or you're not.
For me the thing that works best is treating exercise like one of those things that you just do because you're a responsible adult. I don't like getting up every morning and going to the office. I'd much rather snuggle under the covers (esp this morning when it was 29 deg out) and sleep til noon. But I do it because I'm a responsible adult and it's one of those things that you have to do. For me, exercise is the same way. I do it because it's one of the things I do as a responsible adult.
That mindset might not work for everyone, but it's kept me on track more often than not.
I agree with what everyone else said. It's not an option to not do it. I know if I want to be healthy I have to do it. Some days I hate every minute of it. I'm really liking the benefits of it though, like all the energy. My husband was reminding me of how just a year ago I was really struggling to keep up when we went on a vacation to NY. He had to keep stopping and waiting for me to catch up. I almost passed out in a subway. The other day I took my son for a walk and we walked fast for an hour and twenty minutes. He had a hard time keeping up with me. I think we walked four miles at least. I felt so strong. That motivates me to keep going. Just get out there and do it and think of how good you will feel!
I'm with everyone else -- just do it. It'll come to a point in your life where you are debating what to do for exercise, not whether you'll do it at all. I look at exercise as something I have to do in order to lose weight, whether I feel like it or not. I enjoy some activities (jogging, softball) while there are some I don't. For instance, I went to a walking group this evening at my community center, which has just started for the winter season. I am not fond of walking in the first place, but I LOATHE walking around in a circle for an hour...it's boring and monotonous. But I needed exercise, so I went and did it anyway. I also do a lot of exercise videos during the winter months, and I am counting down the minutes until I'm done. I look at exercise as a necessity in life, such as paying my bills -- I'd rather not, but I like the outcome (heat and light, for example).
Like you, I have issues with my feet. I've got some pretty severe arthritis that just puts me DOWN, sometimes for months at a time.
Your first entry here has your key to success for these times.
"Get butt in gear" = mat exercise. Even if you don't have a dvd, most cable companies have a fitness channel. If you don't like the time, record it and do it at your favorite time.
Get up and do it early in the morning before you are awake enough to object. By the time you wake up and don't want to exercise, you are halfway done!
(I am the queen of exercise excuses, myself. I always say, I have a 3 year old so I CANT. I have no one to watch her while I bike. But in reality where there's a will, there's a way. For both of us
So, I got up this morning, put a brace on each ankle, and did the WATP 2 mile. It was fine. I didn't hate it, and I felt good about having done it. In reality, it was so not a big deal. I think the longer I put it off, the bigger deal it became in my head.
I also remembered a piece of advice I read years ago: Just change into your workout clothes. Don't think about working out, just change clothes. Then once you do that, you might as well work out.
Thanks for the support, all. Once again, 3FC rocks.
Good for you, Lisa! I often tell friends, "don't think about it, just do it". I change into my workout clothes after work, it's become so automatic that exercising has become automatic as well.
My butt is not in gear (help!)
So if you're waiting for that to happen... it's probably not going to!
You can bribe yourself, you can logic yourself, or you can just force yourself. If none of those are gonna work ... well you're going to do it or you're not. 
