[tinneranne2]

If I were sleek and toned, I honestly wouldn't care about getting any smaller or lighter. I just don't want to be lumpy and jiggly, so exercise isn't something I can avoid any longer.

I'm really lucky in that I have access to several exercise programs. I have:
30 Day Shred
Jillian Michael's Body Revolution
Insanity

I also have a serious attitude problem. I hate to exercise. I loathe it, i detest it, i abhor it. I've somehow convinced myself that its harder for me than it is for other people (I do rationally understand how full of crap that is). I see larger people exercising and I'm like "well, they might be fatter but they are used to working out."

Exercise doesn't have to be fun, it just needs to happen. And while I get that, I need to be able to think of it differently or it will not get done. So for my fellow exercise haters (or ex-haters) how do/did you force yourself to suck it up and get it done? How do you cognitively reframe it and motivate yourself?

[sacha]

Part of my problem was that I had not found a workout that I loved (for me it was heavy weightlifting and kettlebells). If you haven't found anything that you can tolerate yet (you don't have to love it! tolerate it!) then I would recommend doing what you need to do NOW, but keep looking!

And the results. Once you stick to it for a few months and see the results, it is impossible not to love.

Sometimes people start out too hard and get discouraged (Insanity puts off a LOT of people because it is meant for people who are already very fit). Does this happen to you?

[sacha]

And the best trick to getting it done is to write a schedule and treat it like grocery shopping or paying a phone bill - do it. When my youngest (7 weeks) falls asleep first and I can keep my toddler busy with a TV show, I grab my kettlebell and go, right there in the kitchen if that's all I can do. No dressing up in workout clothes, no planning a workout (already done), no looking at the weather, no excuses for the mind to wander away and the clock is ticking....

[Pink Hurricane]

I understand what you are saying, as I used to have the same attitude towards exercise. When I was at my heaviest it took every ounce and every push for me to work out for only 15 minutes. Then once I started seeing a little change, I made myself follow by the ten minute rule.

I have to commit to my workout for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, if I still want to just sit down and say screw it, then I can. But almost always, by that point, I want to go ahead and finish up my exercise because I know how great I will feel after, and how that burn and those endorphines and the feeling of my body cooling back down is going to make all the difference. That's how I do it, and now I have come to enjoy that time as my peaceful time, time for me, and time to make myself better.

[CherryPie99]

I have said this many times - I think of exercise like I think of work. There are many, many, days when I wake up and don't want to go to work. But I do - why? Because there is NO alternative. I HAVE to go to work if I want to have money to live.

When I don't want to exercise, I don't give myself a choice. There is NO alternative because I don't want to be fat and/or flabby.

When I started out, I HATED HATED HATED any exercise. Zumba saved me. I love dancing and that felt more like dancing then exercising. I still do Zumba from time to time, but it's pretty easy for me now.

[LucyOlivia]

Aren't the exercise suggestions you're talking about DVDs that you do at home? Now I can't speak for you but I would find those VERY hard. I would also find the gym very hard. This is because I find it hard to get my inner voice to tell me to 'do the DVD' or 'go on the exercise bike/cross trainer'. They are also lonely activities. So I find the ONLY way I can exercise is to go to a class like aerobics or spinning as then there is an instructor to tell me what to do so as long as I am obedient I will definitely get a good workout. And there are lots of other people in the class and I like that. So that's why I would personally recommend a sociable workout with an instructor.

[LucyOlivia]

Oh and I LOVE what CherryPie99 has said about exercise being a necessity and that you should find something you love (like dancing).

[alaskanlaughter]

i too treat it as a nonnegotiable appointment and have literally scheduled other obligations around my time at the gym LOL

to each their own though - find what works for you....someone up there said about a sociable workout...for me personally that doesn't work...but for you it might - or it might not...just be open to trying different things

some days i have to coax myself into it...like "i can have my coffee after my workout" or "you dont have to run, just walk today" or even tell myself that all i have to do is be on the treadmill for my 45 minutes (which i love, by the way) and if i decide to run, then i do...and if not i'll just walk etc

[bunnabear]

I agree with both the idea of scheduling your exercise which is something I've started doing and the idea of finding a routine you don't dread. The idea of scheduling is the same concept for me as meal planning...the more I can take the last minute decision making out of the equation, the less chance I I have to lapse and go off track. I schedule the when and what for each day of the week. Also, the idea of finding something you love (or at least don't hate). I am not one to go to the gym or even to a class necessarily and I've tried about everything there is on the market in terms of DVDs and home exercise (including multiple pieces of equipment). I have fallen in love with Zumba. I bought the original DVD set and the xbox Kinect game. It is truly fun for me and I don't dread it at all which is a first. I also supplement with some light weights, Fluidity, and walking/jogging (this is a family exercise that we do 3 days a week). I hope you find your exercise mojo. By the way, Instanity is INSANE: I have that set and it is not something I'm ready for at this stage of my life.

[tinneranne2]

I like to walk, so I try to do 4 miles a day in the warmer months. It's evil outside in Buffalo and will be for a while, so I am trying to find something else for the time being.

I love yoga classes (dont even consider it a workout) and would be down for trying Zumba as well. I will look into getting some DVDs of that nature I can do at home. I definitely prefer group classes, but it isn't financially practical at the moment.

Thank you for the wonderful advice ladies. I will definitely start scheduling my workouts. Accountability is difficult for me (despite logging all my food) but I'm going to do my best to just suck it up.

[alaskanlaughter]

i log my exercise just like i log my food....and on days that i rest, i will mark "rest day" or another reason for not working out such as "diagnosed pneumonia today" etc...and it needs to be a good reason too LOL

[beachbella85]

Definitely, finding something you love is really important. I love exercise, I like feeling sore afterwards, its gives me a huge sense of accomplishment. Also, exercise helps me battle my depression, so I like the 'high' that you get afterwards and the general feel good. My problem is sticking to it...I'll be going strong for like 2 weeks then nothing for like 3 months and then one day I look up and around, and am like, o yea, wasn't I supposed to be doing something about this fat thing?...lol story of my life.

At any rate, I love it more having found kettlebells. THEY'RE SOOO AWESOME and they are fun and easy. But then I injured my back in an accident so I'm down to just dumbbells but still founding ways to get the burn in. I don't do exercise dvds/videos. I get the fitness magazines and sign up for the bi weekly newsletters and find new exercises for myself to do with resistence bands and the like. Also, when in doubt, turn on some grooves and just dance...or the Wii game JUST DANCE is also really awesome and they have a fitness workout programmed into the game...It can get a bit intense...but its enjoyable.

[redreine]

I know EXACTLY how you feel.
I've tried so many different ways to exercise, it's unreal. Heck, I even LOVED some of them. But I have never once stuck with any of them.
There are a multitude of "reasons" in my stay fat playbook. Number one is the fact that I like myself this way.
But the truth is, I DO. I like myself this way because it means I don't have to be responsible, and that's my biggest problem. I have no self-discipline...and no self-esteem. I may love myself in the moment...but in the next moment I will hate myself.
I will never truly love myself until myself is someone I would want to love. So I think about other women I look up to...strong, fierce women...and they also LOOK GOOD. And they EAT HEALTHY. And they EXERCISE.

I don't know when I'm going to get it through my thick skull that to be the woman I adore, I need to treat my body as my temple and eat right and exercise...but when I do, I'll let you know what worked for me.

[fitmom]

I mark it on my calendar, literally. I make myself a priority. I'm worth the effort.

[strutter5150]

For me, I have to do something I enjoy and it has to be coached by someone I can stand. Insanity did that for me. I completed it in November and you can see from my stats that I'm not Fitness Queen. The workouts were HARD but my motivation came from the fact that I COULD DO IT when I thought there was no way I could and from Shaun T as well. He was tough but he was also funny and seemed "real" to me; I never felt like I was being looked down on or unworthy of working out with him, if that makes sense. The expletive that had to be bleeped out in one of the workouts still makes me laugh when I think about it, along with "You can frickin' do it, so let's work."

I tried 30 Day Shred. It was a good workout, but Jillian just rubs me the wrong way and I didn't look forward to putting in that DVD and seeing her face. I tried 10 Minute Trainer but again, I didn't really click with Tony Horton either. I'm doing Chalean Extreme now and I'm on the fence, but willing to give it a bit more than a month before I decide.

I have found with all my experimenting that I prefer more traditional type workouts vs. the dancey ones like Zumba. I get POed that I can't get the footwork down right away (I have no grace! lol) and I quit. Throw some pushups at me and I know I can do that, throw some new, not complex kicks at me and I'll figure them out quick.