I joined 3FC in 2004! ... I have been an infrequent visitor and have only lost (and gained back) about ten pounds since then.

I'm tired of it! I'm tired of being lazy! I need to make some changes but I feel like I need someone to kick me in the butt to do it!

I have an elliptical. I haven't used it in at least 6 months ... until last night. I got on for about 10 minutes. I felt like someone that smoked a pack of cigarettes after I got off (I don't smoke at all and never have!)... I HATE that ... I was wheezing and coughing the rest of the night. Will that ever go away?

I also have a Wii and the Wii fit for what it's worth.

I suffered with a herniated disc in my back for a year ... it was horrible I was in pain all the time. I had surgery in September and am now for the most part pain free.

So NOW I need/want to get into shape. I feel like my body is WEAK.

***SORRY THIS IS SO LONG***

What motivates you? What makes you go to the gym or work out even when you don't really feel like it?

Hey!! Glad that you are back! I've only been here for about a week now and already I feel like I've learned alot and gotten alot of support. So..check in often and get to know some people.

For me something just "clicked". I'm going to be 28 this year and I am scared of what I hear the 30's do to your metabolism and really want to kick this weight before I get any closer to the dreaded age. As far as the exercising goes. Try slowing down and see how that goes. I've noticed I can get like that too if I'm not paying attention to how fast I'm going on my elliptical and it takes a little while for my breathing to calm down. I do know though that soon enough it won't be such a struggle to exercise and your breathing will be much easier! It just takes time!!

I think it's great that you're trying to work out. However, I think it's important to start slow. Can you start by walking 10,000 steps a day? A cheap pedometer will tell you how much you're getting. Maybe you can then start to slowly incorporate the elliptical. You shouldn't be wheezing and coughing all night. I would start by doing it much slower and for a shorter amount of time. Then, you could increase it slowly...very slowly until you get to the point where you can do it fairly comfortably (that doesn't mean not sweating, of course).

What motivates me? Nothing actually. I just got into the habit of doing it. I get dressed in my workout clothes in the morning and I go to the gym as soon as I can in the morning. I also try to be really active all day long. If you're watching t.v., how about doing crunches during commercials? Push ups and bicep curls can be done too...you don't need much. Then, slowly, you will feel yourself getting stronger and stronger and you'll be more excited about your progress. It's more about consistency than motivation. How much do you want this? I had to really ask myself that question. I found a program that works for me where I focus on my calories, exercise and my mind....all those things have to be done right for it to work and I"m not willing to let go of all the great benefits I've had since I started in September.

I'm sure you can do this!!! Don't worry about feeling week...you will get strong...you just have to stick with it.

Well ... I got back on the elliptical tonight ... (yes it's kind of late but whatever works right?) I managed to do 30 minutes and I don't feel as wheezy this time. I tried to pace myself a little better and slow down if I felt like it was getting too difficult to breath and then worked my way back up again.

Hi, I am 22 years old and weigh 215 lbs. I am also starting to workout today! We should be web accountable to one another and post what we eat and exercise everyday. Want to?

Well I do have a sparkpeople account and I am going to try to go back to putting everything on there.

And here I was feeling bad because I joined with complete motivation to lose all of my weight back in 2007. The important thing is that you keep coming back. I thought I was going to have a perfect road to weight loss... and I did REALLY well back then. I got down to 145 pounds, then I messed up for a few days, gained some, and gave up and stopped coming to 3FC. Now I weigh in the 170's... and I look like I weigh in the 200's because I'm an apple shape and have a huge "beer gut" like a man would have, or look pregnant only mushier, haha.

Anyway... I thrive on negative motivators for some reason, so what motivates me wouldn't necessarily work for others. For example:
-My mom called me last night to ask if I was dieting now because when she visited for Christmas she was disappointed to find that I weighed what I did when I was pregnant with my daughter.
-My boyfriend's dad made a fat joke when we were out for NYE and spent about 5 minutes emphatically apologizing to me, which only made matters worse that he would feel so bad about making a fat joke around me.

I just get so angry at myself when these things happen (which is an increasingly frequent occurence for me, lately) that it ends up being motivation.

ahhh im so happy I'm not the only one back. cupcakesundae, similar situation with me. I too joined back in 2008 (i think) with the intention of losing but never really broke 25 pounds. Then last year I gained like 15 back .
what motivates me? of course to get healthy like everyone on here says ... but also extra push for me is I am Maid of Honor 2011 . knowing I have to do that is really getting me going. But this time, I am going to stick with the exercising and calorie counting even after the event....

Hey love! I have the same issue with motivation. They say that just putting on exercise clothes can up your chances of going to the gym by some crazy percentage (can't remember the number but its huge). Next time you are feeling lazy or something, toss on your work out clothes and tennies and see if you wanna get your workout on then

I am still trying to figure out how to get the whole food portion thing under control. I will let you know once i figure it out, hehe

I have a work out buddy, ha my mother! It's really nice to be going through this with someone else, if I don't feel like going to the gym she makes me, and vica versa. I also have someone to talk about everything with, like foods we miss, how good we feel after we go to the gym, and of course what we're going to do once we lose the weight That's a favorite conversation of ours haha!

So if you can find a family member, friend, co-worker or something to work out with that could work

Oh ... I am engaged (have been since 2003!) and we finally set a date! 7/21/11 in VEGAS! So that can be motivation even though it seems like a long way away ... and I hope to not be struggling with my weight that far in the future ... I know it's going to take longer than I think/want! lol.

30 minutes on the elliptical again tonight!