I have been on this diet since January and I have only lost 40 pounds. At this point, I just been dieting with no exercise but, I just can't find the motivation for exercise. I really want to lose more weight but I just can't find the right exercise that will allow me to have fun and not think about the diet and pain.

OK, well first off, 40 lbs since January is awesome progress. Thats been about 5 months, so you're losing 8 lbs a month, which is right on track in terms of healthy weight loss.

If you want to start slowly with something fun, try distraction. I started by jumping on a rebounder/mini trampoline for 30 minutes a day...low-impact, tons of fun, and I'd watch TV during. Or I would go swimming. Both were fun and let me forget that I was exercising. After a while, my body started liking the exercise for what it was, and I don't have to always distract myself anymore, but it was a great way to start.

You've ONLY lost 40 pounds. Huh? That's FANTASTIC!!!! Most people would be thrilled with that. And so should you. You must look and feel soooo much better. You should be EXTREMELY proud of yourself.

Exercise is essential though to continue to lose weight and then maintain it. It does get harder as you get further into your journey. So now would definitely be a good time to start adding in some exercise. This is about obtaining your optimal health and it needs to be done whether it's fun or not. There are lots of different options out there. You've done such an amazing job so far, it would be a shame for you to not be able to go any further. You need to look at exercise as something that is a "have to". Like the dirty dishes and the laundry and brushing your teeth. Have you considered joining a gym? There are tons of different fitness DVD's on the market. And then of course there's walking- a great place to start. Dancing is another great and yes, FUN option. I urge you to start experimenting and find something that you can tolerate. I'll bet you will be surprised and find that exercise is not all that bad once you get into it. And you will LOVE the results.

Congratulations on the 40 lbs lost.

There is nothing wrong with you, having dropped 40 pounds in 5 months is pretty amazing. You should be proud.

Exercise is essential for fat loss. I do mini steppers and stationary bike alternately on weekdays. I just park them in front of the TV and 30 mins just fly by. On the weekends, I would take a power walk with friends or go swimming or play tennis or roller skate and so on. I always have fun exercising. That's probably the reason why I look froward to it everyday.

I sure wish I lost 40# since January. I'm still trying to get brave enough to hop on a scale. I used to weigh myself daily, but don't remember the last time I weighed myself. I agree that a 40# loss is awesome since January. If you lose it any faster, it will just return faster, believe me-I know from experience! I sure hope that 5 months from now, I'll be 40# lighter! Keep up the good work!

I've been doing this as long as you have and I've lost 26, almost all of it January-March. And that's with exercise. And the past 2 months I've been back and forth with the same 2-3 pounds. I'd be thrilled with 40 right about now.

You didn't mention what type of dieting you're doing. I'm basically just watching calories and doing some moderate exercise. I didn't like the idea of exercise before and when I started this, I was doing several 10-15 minute spurts a day because I couldn't really sustain much longer than that. Now I can go longer. I've made exercise fun for myself by playing music while I'm doing it and by changing around what I do. I've really gotten into the indoor walking (partly with Leslie Sansone's videos, mostly on my own) and sometimes I change it up to a jog. I'll dance (badly, lol), do the bicycle, do my Total Body Trainer, stability ball, resistance band, use wrist weights, etc. Seriously, if you had a camera planted in my house, you'd see me walking and dancing around at midnight with my mp3 player on. Doing it all to music makes it fun to me, and spurs me on. I'm not counting steps or sets, I'm just moving and moving. And it really puts me in a great mood, too.

WOW! Losing and keeping off 40 pounds since January is amazing!

You mention that pain is an issue when exercising...Do you have injuries or illnesses that create this problem for you? Water exercise like swimming, aqua aerobics, water walking and so on are great for those who have pain.

The only thing I see that is "wrong with you" is that you don't realize what an amazing thing you've done by losing 40 pounds since January!

If I'd lost 40 pounds since January, I'd be at goal weight. But I've only lost 18 pounds, and I'm stalled for over a month, now, while I still have about 25 or 30 to go!

YOU'RE DOING FINE! - want to find a good exercise? Do some RESEARCH - find out WHAT YOU ENJOY, & then go from there. Plenty of different kinds of exercise! And exercise doesn't have to be painful or hateful! - you'd be surprised how much fun it is to SWING. Remember? Like when you were a kid? Swinging is actually VERY GOOD for your arms AND your tummy! - and that's just ONE example!

So HAVE PRIDE IN YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT of losing 40 lbs! - and keep on going! You're doing GREAT!

Thanks ladies. At times I don't realize that 40 pounds is accomplishment. I just want to stay with this program of weight loss for life. I really scared that by me not finding something I love to do, I will just fall back into my old habits of eating.

First, congrats on the 40 pounds, that's really quite an accomplishment especially without exercise.

My only advice is to try everything. No one exercise is right for everybody. And it should not be painful. Uncomfortable when you're pushing your limits, yes. But not pain.

Here's what I do for exercise, maybe it will help. I use a treadmill at home. I have an iPod and I love music, so I develop different playlists that get me excited about hopping on the treadmill again. For instance, a couple nights ago I created a playlist with all songs with the word "run" in them (get it? run, treadmill? lol). Stuff like that, even though nerdy, keeps me motivated and keeps things interesting. You've got to find something to motivate you, as well.

40 lbs is incredible

exercise is good for you, but you shouldnt lose weight faster than you have been...you are right in the healthy range.

Dance
Walk
Play on playground equipment

Just move more.

If I had lost 40 lbs. since January, I would be less than 20 lbs. from my goal weight. 40 lbs. is a lot in 4 months. You should be very proud of yourself and to have lost it all without exercise is amazing. You definitely don't want to lose it any faster than that for health reasons and for easy maintenance once you get the weight off.

Denise

Torister, I like the Sid Caesar quotation! And congratulations on your loss so far!

Jay

Miss Honey:

I decided to use you as my inspiration. Looking at your starting weight and where you are now gives me the incentive that I too, will make it. I'm not sure if I'll lose it as fast as you, but I will try! Two pounds per week is definitely a realistic goal, so hopefully "in time" I'll reach a 40# loss. Also, another reason why I'm using you as my inspiration is your user name. Your username reminds me of my mother, unfortunately she passed away a few months ago. My mom loved honey, so much that at her memorial service we had a jar of honey & her "used" honey bear on display. The pastor even included honey in the eulogy! So, the name "Miss Honey" really is an eye catcher to me. My mom also was worried about my health & weight, so I'm dedicating this weightloss attempt to her.