Hi, just found this site and it's like I found a group of old friends.

I'm a middle-aged + mom, wife, employee and student. And I am a cancer survivor (6 years next month)

After treatment, menopause (forced on me by the chemo) and probably because of aging, the girl who worked out all her life to stay thin is FAT. And miserable.

I know I need to exercise but I can't find the time, and when I finally can find the time I'm too tired or would just rather not. How to find the MOTIVATION? That's what I'm hoping to find here - some tips and tricks, as well as the knowledge that there are others out there like me who are making changes and that if they can do it, I can too.

Good luck to you all!

Welcome! You don't have a ton to lose so you should be able to do a big chunk of it with diet alone. Of course you'll be healthier with exercise but don't let being busy stop you from starting. I have been able to improve my diet without increasing the time it takes to prepare food, but then I don't have a family to cook for. I also let my issues with exercise stop me for too long. The bottom line is you can eat more and lose weight if you exercise but if you eat less, you can still create a calorie deficit without exercise.

Glad you are here!

Firstly, congratulations for surviving cancer!

Second, I think that motivation comes from setting mini-goals (and a long-term goal) that are realistic and achievable. For me, my exercise isn't heavy and I only do a 30 minute walk with a 2 minute run. Minus the run, the 30 minutes combined with my reduced calorie intake are enough to have my weight falling. It's not incredibly fast (my PCOS doesn't help with that!) but it is enough to encourage me to get off the couch and go outside.
Another thing that works for me is walking instead of driving. If possible, try parking your car further away from work or taking the stairs. Maybe taking the bus part way and walking the rest is easier? Does cooking meals take up potential exercise time? Maybe you could try making meals the night before and reheating them? Are there chair exercises you could do or DVD/Youtube workouts you could try? (Sorry if I'm going overboard with my suggestions!)

What we choose to eat is a huge factor in weight loss. The only reason we gain weight is because we aren't burning the extra calories/energy we consume over a 24 hour period (you probably already know this!) Choosing sugar-free products help too. I love my sugar-free hot chocolate

What motivated you to workout before you gained weight? I think that losing weight is mostly a mental game and it gets easier once you move past the first hurdle. You'll get there!

Welcome and good luck on your journey!!

Just wanted to say - congrats on being a cancer survivor of six years! And between work, school AND family, no wonder you are tired, dear.

I have no advice as I tend to be motivation-challenged myself at times, but this site is so encouraging so hoping it will help you (and me, and everyone!)

In the meantime,

I don't believe in motivation. I made a commitment so I stick to it. You take care of your kids without motivation and pay your bills whether you feel like it or not. You're in school so you do your assignments because you believe you have to. Treat your health the same way. You need to be healthy so do the things that will get you where you need to be. I don't know why we act like we need some magical motivation to stick to our diets. There are so many things in our lives that we don't want to deal with but we do them anyway.

Good luck!