Hi, I'm new here. I am a single mother trying to lose 30 lbs. I have limited time and have found that the most convenient time for me to go to the gym is in the afternoon after work. I find, however, that when I am tired from a long day it is oh so easy to blow off the gym.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can motivate myself to get to the gym on days when I just want to curl up on the couch and eat chips?

I used to get that feeling every afternoon too... the thing is, often the motivation won't come. So you just have to push yourself, force yourself to just go and do it and I find that afterwards you have a bit more energy and feel good, which makes it worthwhile. Don't wait for motivation or success to come to you, you have to get out there and meet it halfway. At least in the first weeks, you might find that the motivation comes after you do the thing that you needed motivation for!

hey ginbay, what i do to get motivated and even if i'm not i'll just drive to the gym and i walk inside and the gym and the motivation kicks in. good luck just think of your goal.

I'm a single mom too and my motivation would be: I don't have to go home and look at the dishes or the laundry that needs to be done. When I was going to the gym (I gave that up because my kids hated to go) I used to tell myself that I'll just walk the treadmill at an easy pace for 30 min. I understand what you mean "tired". However, I remember that after I get into the workouts (I'm just starting out again) that I get more energy. It's just getting to that point. So the ladies are right - you just have to make yourself do it. I hate the truth sometimes.
However, for what it is worth, here is some motivation: GO GIRL! YOUR DOING GREAT! LOOKING GOOD! YEA! YOUR THE BEST!!! GO GO GO GO!!!!

I used to feel the same. And if I went home first, I'd sit down and eventually talk myself out of going. So I kept my gym bag on the passenger seat as a reminder to go to the gym. And I told myself about how after a workout, I'd have the energy that was missing right now. Sometimes I've done a workout JUST to get out of that being tired and blah feeling. I'd also agree to meet people there. So they were expecting me to show up and I couldn't just not go.

Bring your gym clothes/ workout clothes to work ... with your sneakers. As soon as you are off from work .. change there before you even get to the parking lot. The outfit is half the fun right . It is soooo much easier to talk yourself out of going if you are still in your work clothes. I also find that if I start off slow I will normally pick it up somewhere in the first ten minutes of my run or I will add extra miles on the back end. An object in motion stays in motion ... An object at rest stays at rest. You cannot argue with physics.

Thank you for the support. I think all of you are right, it is a matter of making myself go, especially in the beginning. Getting dressed at work is a great tip, I'll try that out this week.