ladies i just can't seem to get motivated to work out i mean i havent lost anymore weight in the past 2 weeks and i find myself eating a lot of junk food lately. how do you ladies stay so motivated and how often do you work out and where do you work out. and what is a good diet to try. thanks in advance ladies.
stacey

Hi Stacey!

Actually I don't stay motivated... there are days when I can hardly drag myself to exercise. But I do it anyway because it is a decision I made and I want the results badly enough to do it. But it's NOT always easy. However, it does become easier once it becomes more of a habit and ingrained in you. Hang in there!

I work out in different ways. This summer it was a lot of water aerobics but with fall and having to go to a public pool, more like once a week. But I do an hour or so of energetic walking just about every day and now have begun taking my 3 pound tonig balls and working out with those while I walk.

Going to the gym is good although I don't do it all that often so I try to get in strength training in other ways as well. I like to be outdoors if I can and try to be creative in different ways of getting a bit of exercise. Today at a yard sale I bought a HealthRider machine for $16... not sure how much help it will be as there are some reviews that say not much but I figure every little bit helps and it DOES pull a LOT of different muscles. LOL I can't do it very long at all!

Oh and as for motivation... actually I try not to use that word as I find it is too often given "magic" meaning and people trying to search for some non-existent "force" that makes them do it. But this forum is a GREAT place for encouragement and support. You might consider joining us in our exercise thread here where we all set out own monthly goal of minutes and then try to make it. It's not a contest... .some goals are high some not so high... but the important thing is to SET a goal and then work towards it! It is fun to see your totals add up and be able to run up the group total too!

Hope this is helpful!

Hugs

Stacey, my motivation has come from the betterment of my health. Taking fewer presciption meds, sleeping less, having more energy, fewer doctors visits, improved lab results and such. I have days that I don't want to "just do it", but I do it anyway. It is becoming habit for me to exercise regularly and eat healthy. Not to say that I don't have times when I feel lazy or eat poorly, because I do. But at least 90% of the time, I do what I should do. Which before, it was hit and miss on any exercise or healthful food. The smaller clothes, firmer body, wt. loss has been an added benefit.

some days i want to quit but then i think of how much work i have already done. i just work out 5 days a week and rest on the weekends cuz my body needs it! i get frustrated too because of plateaus but i just keep at it.

Stacey,
I know that it's hard to get motivated, but I joined Curves about 3 weeks ago and I really enjoy it. You are around women that are in the same place as you. The people that work there are ones that motivate me...and they do have a good diet which I am on as well. I know that everybody has their own diet that they feel comfortable and you have to do what feels right to you. I know that it's hard.....I have had to watch my weight my entire life. I am here for you if you ever need to chat!

Stacey: One of the things that should help is to be here more often. The women who post here are phenominal and they WILL rub off on you if you hang out with them enough. Great ideas are shared on a daily basis and you have to soak at least some of it up if you're checking in.

VERY well said, Thin Thinker!!! So true.

Plus, you don't want to come here and say "I didn't do diddly squat" so you go do stuff.

Oh and Stacey, another important thing is to focus on your NSVs -- or "non-scale victories" and share them to encourage others and yourself! This is the place where you can talk about this stuff and it is NOT considered bragging.

i'm just getting started with my weight loss again after a long time of doing nothing. i am doing water aerobics at the ymca and am starting to do weights on the exercise ball at home. what's helping me to keep going was getting to know the people at the gym. it's nice when the other ladies in the class say hello and ask you about things. they also ask where you were when you miss a class. the classes i take are during the day when i have a break at work and are full of older women, so when i miss for no good reason, it's like having your grandma give you a disapproving look. anyway, getting to know people or having someone to work out with, or even just someone you have to be accountable to, really helps. lori

Stacey .. hi there hun .. Im with Misti .. one of my prime motivations is the knowledge that I will be coming in here and I really dont want to say I fouled it up again rofl .. seems a little shallow really when I think about it lol .

I DONT exercise everyday ... I have the weekends off ... usually .. but I try to get it in every day through the week .. and more often than not its late at night .. for some reason that is when I enjoy it more .. then I have a shower and go to bed lol .. I only do my Richard Simmons dvd at the moment .. Im not good about going out on my own yet .. but I have been going a little further every month (am now around the corner and halfway down the block before I turn back). We are going into summer now so Im hoping that will encourage me to get out more (and my hunny just bought me an ipod so Im hoping that will get me out there and going further).

I dont follow any particular plan any more .. I just count calories .. and Im still having a hard time reaching my daily limit even tho Im treating myself to things like hot chocolate and mini milky way bars! DRINK DRINK DRINK WATER!! Plenty of it!

Oh .. and not exercising on the weekend doesnt mean I dont do anything rofl .. I just dont do my dvd and that is the only exercise I count for my monthly minutes (unless I go on a purpose walk for exercise). Shopping is done and cleaning up etc ... as long as it builds up a sweat youre doin some form of exercise ...

Challenge yourself too ... dont rely on others to challenge you ... they arent the ones that have to do the challenge .. you are .. So challenge yourself!! Even if its a small goal .. achieve that and you will be able to give yourself a boost .... dont always count on the scales to help in your journey .. sometimes they will be the very thing to challange you and make you fall down when you wonder whats the point! If they arent being co-operative just ignore the darn things for a month .. BUT DONT GIVE UP! Find other ways to let you know that your journey to health is changing you .. maybe youre sleeping better, breathing better, having less headaches, can clean up without getting out of breath...... and like Patti .. I dont want to give up now ... I have gone through the withdrawls of giving up a bunch of bad things, trying to get into a routine etc .. darned if I want to have to go through all that again!

And best of all .. COME ON IN AND READ AND POST!! There is a lot of inspiration to be found when you see those like Zelma (who became a finalist in the Slimmers World Slimmer of the Year comp - and we all think she should have won it too!), Kenya, Misti, Wyllenn, Ammi, .... and omg .. so many others! Have faith in yourself ... you managed to get yourself in that condition .. so you know YOU can get yourself out of it again

HUGGIES

Stacey - When I started exercising I was so out of shape that everything was so difficult. I knew I needed to start, but the idea of doing hours out walking or in the gym always overwhelmed me. So I made a decision to do something for at least 10 minutes every day. I would either do a video, take a short walk, or even just walk in place in front of the tv. As long as I did 10 minutes, that was enough and I would see how I felt. The more I did the easier it got and now I really enjoy exercise. I also love coming here and tracking exercise on the exercise thread where we all add our minutes together.

As far as diet, I do calorie counting because I can't take the idea of banning any particular food (the minute I tell myself I can't have it I crave it). I spent some time reading here and discovered that aprox 2000 per day was good for someone at my weight and I started to track everything I ate using an online tool like fitday.com. Once you know what you are eating you can start to make choices and changes.

Also I came here and have gotten fantastic support from this great group of people. I don't think I would have done half as well without them.

Stacy -- I have never before in my life exercised regularly. I have never liked it. As others have said, though, this is not about what I want to do on any particular day, I have to keep looking at the bigger picture. So, I agree with Misti, it’s not about motivation, it’s about commitment. After all, do you always want to go to work or pay the bills or [insert similar activity]. No. You do it because you have to.

I have had so many days where I fought with myself about whether or not I should exercise that day. I swear, if I can get my shoes on, that’s the biggest step!

As part of my commitment, one thing that really helped was to set exercise goals every month. I started exercising regularly last September, and found I was getting in about 450 minutes on the treadmill. So I started setting goals of minutes to exercise/month, and each month would do a little more (you can see my stats below).

Eventually, I started an exercise thread here on the 300+ group for all of us to use for accountability and I invite you to join us!!!! The thread is stickied at the top of the page and the info about what we do is there – basically, we set goals and then report on how we’re doing at meeting them. We also track the group’s minutes (which is fun!) and we have already exercised well over 100,000 minutes this year!!!!

I can say that, over a year later, lots and lots of small steps and decisions have led to enormous changes in me: I was excited to join a new gym a few weeks ago, and have a trainer now! I’ve been lifting weights since January and have a body smaller than I’ve seen in 20 years, and stronger than I’ve ever been.

Commit to doing SOMETHING (it doesn’t have to be much to start, really!) and keep doing it, and you may very well surprise yourself!