So I'm losing weight by doing the food portion of the program but I can't seem to get the exercise 3 times a week down (not even once a week). I really don't like to exercise so it's hard for me to do it. I'd rather spend 30 minutes coming up with excuses not to exercise than spend the 30 minutes just doing it.

The sad part is I have a gym membership, a treadmill, a weight bench, and exercise videos at home that I don't use. I have a Wii but not Wii fit because I don't even use the stuff I have.

My mind set at this point is I'm losing a good amount of weight without exercising so why do I need to exercise? What are the good points of exercising? Does anyone have any suggestions to help me get going?

Off the top of my head, the benefits of exercise are:

- When you diet, you lose both fat cells and tissue cells, meaning that you also lose muscle mass. This will leave you ultimately in a much less healthy position. Exercise is necessary to rebuild the muscle cells, thus focusing the weight lose primarily in the fat cells.

- Regular exercise raises your metabolic rate, allowing you to lose weight at a faster rate;

- Regular exercise releases endorphins in the brain, not only elevating your mood, but also acting as a mild appetite suppressant.

- Since muscle weighs more than fat per cubic centimeter, 10 pounds of muscle take up less space than 10 pounds of fat. Your weight loss will LOOK like more.

There are more, but those are the main ones.

As for suggestions, I'm afraid I can't help much there. I am in the same boat as you - I know the benefits, but I have a hard time getting motivated - especially since I have the additional drag of age and arthritis.

Good luck!

I was going to join a gym but with the weather getting nicer I just decided to walk at my breaks at work. Mostly I may walk one 15 min break and then I am TRYING to get into the habit (or at least wanting to) of walking for 15-30 minutes in the evening.

Mary,

I'm an exercise hater too! My BF and I get up early in the morning three days a week and do a WII cardio workout. Since we do it as soon as we get up, we can't talk ourselves out of doing it. Plus, it leaves our evenings to do things we enjoy. I will admit that I am not a morning person either, but, by doing it this way I know it's getting done. So, it's worth it.

I know someone who did MRC and didn't exercise the entire time and met her goal by the time her contract is up. I have a hard enough time losing the weight while exercising, so, I know it's something I must do. Plus, they claim it does wonders for that flabby skin we're all going to have.

Good luck.

Why even think of "exercising", why not just talk a walk outside and enjoy nature...that's not exercising. Find things you enjoy that are physical and you won't think of it as exercising.

The flabby skin just may do it for me. It's been in the back of my mind that it may help the flabby skin but I still have trouble doing anything.

I look at walking outside as exercise. I shouldn't look at things as exercise and maybe my mind would change but I can't see it as anything else at this time.

You are doing great with your weight loss and deserve a big cheer for that! I'm not very motivated to exercise either - I don't like it and I never will. The main reason I do exercise is not for this program, but for the future. I know that once I've lost it, I am going to keep it off. I am not going to lose all this weight and then, a year later, be back where I started. So, I need to develop habits now, on beyond MRC. And, that is what gets me up off my chair. I figure even if I'm inconsistent, I'm still doing more than I was before.

This is such a good point. Most people think that if you don't have a plan or aren't consistent you aren't doing anything. I am also struggling to find my motivation again, and some weeks I work out 3-4 times, some only 1 and some weeks none at all. That doesn't matter though - what matters is that I am doing it sometimes. So I agree with you 100%!!! It is also wonderful advice to look at doing things you enjoy as exercise. Go to the park, take your dog (if you have one) on a walk or to the dog park in your area. Also, remember that going up and down stairs or cleaning/doing laundry/mowing the grass - things that we feel like are chores and take up our time -well those are things that get you off the couch and get your blood pumping. Every little bit of movement helps and be proud of every step (whether big or small) you take.

Initially it was so hard for me to start exercising, but now I am addicted. Exercising has definitely helped tone up my flabby areas & also helped with speeding up my losses. I started out slow and have gradually built my routine up. I would suggest walking to start out. Also, a gym buddy is so important, b/c having that person to push you at the beginning I know helped me out A LOT

Exercise is always a chore for me, even after being a regular runner for over a year...I love the feeling when I am done, nothing like it...but at times I have to give myself a "pep" talk to get out the door to run...

i hate exercising too, but i always do feel better after i do it. after i lost about 30lbs i started exercising because i was smaller but still had the same body shape. it is not what i want. i want to be firm, even if i am never super skinny. i don't want jiggly arms or a muffin top..haha. so this is why i have to exercise, to firm up. i notived that even when i was buying smaller sizes, they still didn't look much better.

I HATE to exersize but I know if I dont the flab will always be there. I have started by walking 30 to 60 min a day..maybe that is too much, try 15 to 20 min every day. I find if I don't do it evrey day then after the day of rest I can't get myself to do it again, that is why I do it every day. I also think having someone to walk with you helps, if not then listen to an Ipod or somethng. You can do it...one step at a time.

Find a way to make it enjoyable. For me that means entertaining my brain, because if my brain is bored, I can't keep going. So I listen to a podcast, watch tv episodes on my iphone or go to the gym at a specific time so I can watch a favorite show on the gym tv.

Mixing it up until you find something you like helps too, try a class, or order a workout video on netflix until you find one you like.

It also helps to purchase an inexpensive pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps every single day and write your steps down in the food diary. There are more sophisticated ones now that sync with your computer and tell you your activity levels which you can try too - Philips Direct Life is one and the FitBit is the other (i love fitbit and their food diary is the greatest thing ever! and you don't even have to have a fitbit to use it, it's free!)

My main motivation when my mind is whining "I don't want to do this!" is that my mother died of a stroke (her second at least) at 78, and her mother died of one at 80. I will NOT repeat that.

Otherwise, it really does feel good to do it--at least afterwards :-) I was in great shape a year ago, was into body building, weight lifting, etc. I really, really gotta get back there. It is difficult right now though, because I'm still at that stage where I'll actually put on weight if I exercise too much. Will get back to it slowly though.

Slowly (balanced) -- that works. Ya don't have to be a athlete to make it work!