Originally Posted by Toots:
Thanks to everyone who replied! I had my swimming lesson today and the last 10 minutes was great and I really enjoyed myself. I can't wait for my next one! I wasn't exercising on the stairs, just had to walk up to another floor and I didn't want to take the elevator. That said, I still hate the stairs.

Anyway, I've had a good time swimming and tomorrow night I'll go for a long walk which I love. It's pretty hilly in my area so that will help getting in shape but I'll be walking slowly at first and then build towards fast walking.

And I'm really interested in trying the C25K that Gold32 mentioned. Is that something that started on this forum?

I was going to say find something you love, but you already did! I play ultimate frisbee 3 days per week. That's not exercise, that's what I do for fun! The other days I go to the gym or run outside. That's not exercise, that's what I do to make me a better ultimate player. It's all about finding something you can enjoy (and occasionally pushing yourself out the door when you're having an unmotivated day).

I hate the fatigue of exercise but there is a subtle difference between pushing yourself too far and pushing through it. It was hard to notice the difference at first but the more you exercise the more you will be able to know which is which. If you feel like your have reached your max STOP don't hurt yourself but if you think you have just reached a hard spot push through it and you will be awarded with some much needed endorphins and a feeling of pleasurable warmth. When you can learn to get to the point where the endorphins start flowing you'll start to enjoy exercising but in order to get to that point you will need to push yourself. Unfortunately there are no short cuts. You'll just have to find something you enjoy doing.

Originally Posted by rachinma:
How would she get up the second half? ;)

Try starting out with walking every day and slowly pick up the pace.

Find a handsome guy to carry her?

Like the others said, start off slow. If you aren't 100% thrilled on doing stairs, go for a walk. What I did to get motivated was hiring a personal trainer - he made a program that worked for just me - so he knew what I could and couldn't do. Not saying a trainer is for everyone, but it's definitely an option. Perhaps a workout video or water aerobics? There are tons of options.