Hello! I've been up and down and around this board. I joined years ago. Finally, I found the motivation to lose about 50 lbs, and I did it! I even kept it off for a long time. This was after years of failed weight loss attempts.

Then I got married and had a couple of babies and now I have an 8-5 office job. Since having the second baby (who's 18 months old) I have gone from diet to diet. I was on WW for awhile and lost about 15 pounds, then we got hit by an ice storm and lost power, and that was the beginning of gaining all the weight back because we ate out a lot. (After power was restored we had the holidays, then we moved to a new house so we ate out a lot then too).

So here I am, not a pound lighter than I was a year ago and maybe more. I know what to do, I know how to do it, and I know I can do it because I did it before.

Or at least I thought so. When I lost the weight before, I just got out of a bad relationship. It was easy to learn to eat healthfully and get to the gym or whatever I wanted to do for exercise because I only had to answer to me.

My latest efforts have focused on bringing exercise back into my life. I discovered the only way I'd exercise consistently was to get up at 5:30 and do it. That was going well for awhile. Lately, I can't help but hit the snooze when the alarm rings.

I'm losing confidence in myself. What will it take for me to finally get to the point that I am truly ready to do it? Or should I take another break for now because I am only ending up getting discouraged?

So, help, advice, anything would be great. What was that aha moment for you that made you follow through? Or what are your tips for getting up to exercise in the morning when all you want to do is sleep?

Thanks!

Getting up early to exercise doesn't work for everyone, but it really works for me.

I think the key with the snooze is to NEVERNEVERNEVER stop to think about whether you should hit snooze or not. You have turn off the alarm, sit up and stand up, all in one motion. If you have to, try telling yourself that after you get up, use the toilet, have some water, whatever, you could decide about going back to bed. But the IMMEDIATE standing up is critical. Thinking about it will never result in getting up.

Hey! Congratulations on your weight loss and marriage and children!

OK, I have to push myself out of bed in the morning, too--but I don't think I could go right to exercise at that point.

Is there any way you could fit your exercise in later in the day? For example--a brisk half-hour walk at lunchtime, or half an hour of exercise, like a video, before or after dinner? Just some ideas--you could spread out your exercise that way and not have to get up quite so early.

I'm sure you do know what to do and how to do it. Have you considered re-joining Weight Watchers? You might benefit from that real-llife support.

Good luck to you!
Jay

I like to exercise in the morning mostly because if I wait the liklihood of it getting done shrinks -- alot.

I am a snooze hitter. I simply cannot just get out of bed the first time the alarm goes off. My husband does but I just can't do it. I hit the snooze 3-4 times b/4 I am roused enough to get outta bed. I also know that I have to be downstairs by 5:30am at the latest in order for me to have that coffee and not rush around like a nutcase. So my solution is that I set my alarm 1/2 earlier than I actually have to get up. Hey, it works for me.

Here's a bit on 'motivation' that I've read several times when I just didn't 'feel' like doing anything. Maybe it'll help you too.

"Q: How do you stay motivated and on track? I tend to lose steam on a new program after the first week or two.

A: Motivation, as in being all rah-rah excited, doesn't happen to anybody, or if it does, it's fleeting. I'm not motivated to workout. I do it both because it needs to be done and because I'm emotionally invested in it. Very much like bathing and brushing my teeth. I may not always enjoy the process or the time it takes, but I do it at the start of every day because it makes me feel good about myself and gives me confidence. I don't want to be all scary and stinky and have people run from me. :-) However, at no point do I feel "motivated" to haul myself out of bed in the morning and get in the shower. I just do it and don't entertain the idea that I might not. I'm someone who bathes. You can be someone who exercises. It's just that matter-of-fact.

In the beginning, until your cruise control kicks in, you can focus on the emotional investment part of it. Find a dream or aspiration that you want to make real and then spend as much time as possible visualizing your new life. How will it feel? What will you look like? What will you wear? What will people say? What will you do? What will you eat? What will your day be like? That's powerful stuff because it creates the mental shift necessary to pull off just about anything. Without the mental shift, you can make as many lame-*** attempts as you want, but nothing will ever stick. Your mind has to change before your body can. You have to know that this new reality is possible, and you'll know it's possible because you'll see it every day in your head."

http://skwigg.tripod.com/blog/index.blog?from=20071210

I'm an early-morning exerciser as well -- partly because that fits my schedule best, and partly because I'm a natural early bird anyway. It helps me to prepare everything the night before -- lay out exercise clothes and just have everything ready. Then just roll out of bed and tell yourself that all you have to do is just START. Just get going and do a little bit, that's all. Once you get started, you'll find you will keep going anyway. But getting started is always the hardest part!! It's still hard for me, and I do it every day!

Also, you may want to try to get to bed a little earlier, if possible. It's hard with little guys, but maybe your husband can take a bit more of the night time duties, so you can get a little more sleep. That also helps in getting up earlier, and over time, your body will adjust to the new schedule. YOU are worth it, and exercise is important enough to make it a priority.

The other thing that helps me is to set some kind of exercise-related goal. When I first started exercising regularly, my goal was to work out at least 2 days per week, every single week. Later on my goals became running related -- running duration, speed, or preparing for some kind of event. But, if you set a specific goal, then you aren't working out aimlessly, you have a purpose -- you're "training", and that gives you another reason to roll out of bed and do it. And when you achieve your goal, celebrate it, and set another!

And another thought ... how much do you LIKE what you are doing, exercise-wise? Is it fun ... and challenging? If you're bored with your routine, no wonder it's hard to muster up much enthusiasm to get up for it. Maybe switching things up will help make it more fun and exciting again.

I know, for me, regular exercise/activity is absolutely critical for achieving and maintain weight loss. I simply cannot do it through diet alone. Plus it makes me feel better mentally and physically. When I finish my early-morning workout I feel happy, energized, and somehow more in control. Plus, then I'm DONE! So I think your focus to re-establish a regular exercise program is spot on and will be enormously helpful to you. Good luck!!

I'm an early morning cardio gal too. With a little one in Kindergarten and another doing a.m. pre-school, I find that like Julie If I don't exercise in the wee hours of the monring, I won't find the time to do it any other time.

Still...getting out of bed is the hardest part of exercising in the morning, this is especially difficult in the winter months...but really...I have no other advice than an ad that pretty much says it all..

JUST DO IT!

I am the same. I just can not get my butt out of the bed that early. I have told myself over and over that it is not a choice, it just never happens. I hate that, but I have come to terms with the fact that I am just not a morning person, let alone a morning exerciser. So I make sure that I am able to fit it in during my day. I set aside that 30-60 minutes a day when I get home to JUST DO IT. Since that time is automatically carved out of my day, I have no choice but to do it. I do not want that guilty feeling of doing nothing later.

As far as motivation……. I want to be healthy and because I made that decision a while ago, there is no going back for me. Even if my weight loss stalls, I do not want to eat like I was before. Everywhere you go out to eat there is always something that is healthier than the fries and such. In my head I just always tell myself that it might take me awhile to get to where I want to be but I will get there.

Don’t give up, that is the worst thing that you can do for yourself.

Same here. I also just can't bring myself to exercise in the morning because I don't want to have to take my entire wardrobe, makeup, hair stuff, conditioner, moisturizer, etc. to the gym with me and do my whole morning routine there. And I just don't have time to exercise and then go back home and shower and then go into my office.

So I do it on my way home from the office in the evening. I put my gym clothes in the car and I just don't go home first (if I go home, I won't leave again). In fact there have been days that I have been driving home and my brain has been on autopilot - and before I know it, I'm parked at the gym and I don't even remember driving there.

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Yep, me too. I'm at work by 6 a.m. (keep in mind I have no children!) and to work out in the morning would put me at getting up at 4 a.m.... that's just not going to happen.

So I also make it on the way home from work... my gym is 5 minutes from my house and RIGHT on my route home so I really have no excuse. Well, that's not true... I've definitely found excuses! But much like other posters here have taken a no-nonsense attitude to getting up in the morning and exercising then, I have to take the no-nonsense attitude on the way home from work when it would be easier just to keep driving past the gym and go veg out in front of the TV at home!

I bring my gym bag to work and change right before I leave.... I find if I'm already in my gym clothes then I'm more likely to go... believe me, I will find ANY excuse not to go, but unfortunately for me, exercising is a MUST in the weight loss journey.

On Tuesday/Thursdays, I swim around 7am at a local swim center. Which isn't exactly early but means I get up around 6am and get to work around 9am. On other days, I may exercise at home before work. I will also take my dogs for a walk on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays before work which I don't equate to exercise but I guess it is somewhat. I also try to exercise after work as well, even if I exercised in the morning. I'm more or less designating fridays as my slow/rest days though and only plan to exercise lightly on fridays.

Thank you all for the kick in the pants and great advice.

I was actually pretty pleased with myself this summer when I decided to get up early to exercise. I followed through for awhile, and if I slept in one morning I didn't the next. I think since it's getting closer to winter, the lack of light in the morning is affecting me. I think the idea of a) setting my alarm earlier than I will get up to snooze and/or b) just getting out of bed no matter what will help. I have scheduled in about a half-hour wake-up time now so I can drink some water and watch a Tivo'd show before I go right into my workout. I really like that time of the morning!

As some of you have mentioned, I would like it if I could exercise after work. But as others of you have mentioned, I find it too easy to slack off if I don't do it right away. So I really have to try to make this morning exercise work.

I do mostly like what I do for exercise...I have a large variety of workout DVDs. Ideally I would get an awesome gym-quality elliptical, but that's not in the budget right now, and since it's hard enough to get going in the morning when I'm at my own house, I just don't think going to the gym is an option for me right now. I'm also trying to sneak in more activity at other times of day, I just don't want to count on this as my main exercise.

And the auto-pilot comment is a good point. I think I have to remember how good I feel when I'm active until I reach that point where I'm starting to notice results, which will naturally motivate me.

As far as re-joining WW, I just don't think I'm up for that. It's a small town and I don't want to see some of the people who attend the meetings! I like the accountability aspect of WW, but I can't justify spending $40 a month to attend a meeting where someone weighs me then tells me stuff I already know. Maybe I should just get my blog here going again.

Thank you all again for the awesome tips and motivation!