Okay, let me offer my ABUNDANT APPRECIATION for all help!!!! I am just overwhelmed by this. AND I am allowing it to be THE excuse for not doing anything!

I am 250 pounds, I have truly made a family-wide change to "eating right"... but I am struggling REALLY struggling with the exercise part. Now I can and have done great with biking (7 miles a day) and walking (5-7 miles) during the nice weather months. BUT I live up here in the North Idaho tundra... so not so much walking/biking right now. I own a treadmill (a nice one - I HATE IT! Boring) and a old stationary bike, and hand weights.

I also struggle with time... as most others I work full time and I am a mother of four kids. So my days really just fly by... and around 830 I get everyone to bed... and I want to sit! I really need a kick in the butt and some motivation here... I tell myself I'll get up at 400 am to have time to work out and shower before the kids rise and the day starts. BUT I also hate mornings... I am the queen of the snooze button!

Also do you guys have a favorite dvd, website that shows exercises, etc.? I think if I had a a routine... what to do, how any reps, which order...etc.

I NEEEEEED words of wisdom, words of encouragement, success stories, and I need a good strong kick in the pants!!!!

HELP!

Thank you!

I love TaeBo workout videos, that I got on ebay. I have workouts that are 30 minutes and 60 minutes. I usually do one when I get home from work. Sometimes I get dinner in the oven and workout while it's cooking. I do TaeBo about 4x a week. I try to go for walks 2x a week, too.

do you have a tv or radio where the tread is or an mp3?

I like to do the workout routines that are built right into the treadmill: weighloss intervals, hill intervals, training intervals, etc. I also crank up the MP3 player. I can usually get to the point where I don't feel like I am on the treadmill anymore because I get so engrossed in my music. I usually do an hour of cardio- two different workouts on either the treadmill or the eliptical.

The treadmill (or dreadmill as some refer to it) can be awfully boring. But we can MAKE it interesting or at least bareable. Do you have a walkman or ipod? Do you have a tv hooked up? Or dvd player you can watch movies on? Do you mind reading on the treadmill?

You can also switch it up. 10 minutes weights, 10 minutes treadmill, 10 minutes bike. Anything to keep you moving indoors.

I also like the idea of some tapes. I use a yoga dvd. Yoga: Just my Size. And ... *cough cough* a Richard Simmons DVD *cough cough* ^^

One last thing, if you discovered (like me) that you are NOT a morning person, and no amount of reward is going to get you up at the butt-crack of dawn, then DO NOT PUSH IT. You're only going to get more & more upset with yourself that you don't get up. Schedule it in at another time that works for you. The morning just might not be it.

Try out some new things. You'll find what works!

I download audiobooks into my iPod and listen to them when I walk.

Susan

I personally loved the treadmill, but always have a plantar's fasciitis flare-up when I walk on it, even with no incline, so my foot doc and regular doc both said no more treadmill. So, I recently bought the Walk Away Your Waist dvd that comes with stretch bands, and I like that. Do I do it as often as I should? NO!

Maybe you could check out some exercise dvds at the library, try them, then buy the ones you like? Just be sure to not overdo it at first, but work your way up gradually. Good luck!

I have done tons of workout videos...For intense workouts I think The Firm and Tae bo and for super intense Cathe. You can read about them at places like collagevideo.com and also videofitness.
Also if you want a laid out routine BeachBody offers several, that are quite challenging.

And there are so many videos out there! From Strippercise to Dancing with the Stars to Kickboxing ...its what you like to do.

If you have a playstation you can also get games that program your workout and unlock new places etc as you workou. With one of them you program in your weight and it helps you choose routines with the balance ball, heart rate monitor etc.

I personally love Dance Dance Revolution and also good old walking tapes like Leslie Sansone. I just did the WW tape in the blue kit today and that was fun.

biggest loser dvds are great! try using the treadmill while watching a favorite show, makes time fly by
someone once told me the i dont have time is not an excuse , its not about having time or making time to do it, its about TAKING time to do it for you and your health!

I have Yoga Booty Ballet Light & Easy, by beachbody. I like it. I also used to do step aerobic videos, you can probably get a step pretty cheap.

Also, the old standards, park further away, go out and get your mail/newspaper instead of picking it up on the way in in the car, you can walk around a mall if it's too cold, I walk on breaks at work and take the stairs instead of elevator (prevention mag. had an article awhile ago about adding stairs in your daily routine), I go to a ladies room that's upstairs when I'm at work, instead of one on the same floor, sometimes I just do some of the steps from the exercise video while I'm in the kitchen doing chores. One girl on the Flex boards has a mini-stepper, she raves about it, they have those mini trampolines, too. Yoga is good also, you gain strength and flexibility.

Maybe you can play some games with your kids, I like the idea of that dance dance revolution, and twister, I think there'd be alot of laughing with those!

I'm the one with the mini stepper *waves* I do rave about it. It's a great way of getting in some extra steps, and also, working hard at it for half an hour gets me four full activity points for the Flex program, which I am using this week as an experiment, but usually just use the 35 flex points. This is the second mini stepper I have owned, and in half an hour, I can usually do between 2000 and 2500 steps. Add that to the walking you usually do in a day and it makes a big difference! I watch TV shows on my laptop or listen to music while I do it, and the other day, I read a novel that I had to finish for school, which believe it or not didn't give me any form of motion sickness as I thought it might. I was very pleased that day - totally killed two birds with one stone!

I think the only reason I am sticking with my exercise plan is because I don't mind doing it. If you can find something that you can work into your day, like my stepper, since I usually spend half an hour a day watching TV on my laptop anyway, if not a bit longer, it's not so bad. If you don't feel like it's a necessary evil that you just have to do, it really isn't as painful as I expected it to be!