Exercise Frustration

Hi, I'm only 16, but I am sadly 270 pounds! I'm sick of it and want to lose weight! Every once in awhile I get really motivated and I'm like "YEAH! I'm actually going to work out today!' And sometimes it even seems fun. But, most days it just feels like work. What do you guys do to get motivated. (I'm having a horrible "diet day")

I think the best thing is to find something that is enjoyable.  I practice yoga daily and love it, so it never feels like work.  Are there activities you enjoy?  Walking, biking, playing sports?  There are lots of ways to work out without beating yourself up in a gym.

For me, working out would've never worked for losing the initial pounds. It would've just frustrated me. i am about 9lbs away from goal and I have to push myself to go  to the gym(although I always do). I would focus on healthy eating and calorie counting first, but that's just my opinion.

Good luck! =)

walking is a good way to start.  Maybe with a sibling, friend or even your parents.  Don't go alone and Don't go at night.  Yes you are talking to the most paranoid person on the planet.

But seriously, start off slow then increase the distance then increase the speed.  Before you know it you could be jogging 2 miles. 

Also, alot of high school have a gym or weight room, that's agood idea too. 

Investigate, find out all of your options then alternate, keep it interest and avoid getting bored.

good luck, I wish you the best.

You could try consciously moving your body more like taking the stairs, or the longer route to where you need.

And you could dance up a storm in your bedroom to your favorite music, that makes it feel less like exercise to me.

From my experience I would suggest walking. It does not stress your joints as much as running, and you have plenty of time to look around, and focus on the things you see. Simply go out that door and walk for an hour. Make it a habit.

Check out beachbody.com and try turbo jam.  It is soo much fun and before you know it you are done.  The music is great!  I also walk 3 miles a day.  Do you have an IPOD?  Put your favorite music on and go.  You just have to do it!  If you do it long enough, it becomes a habit.  I don't feel right if I haven't worked out for lets say 3 days.  Get out of your head and all the excuses.  Pick the best time of day for you and commit to 5 days of week.  No mental talking or if you have to say I am not doing it fine just do it anyway!  Move your body past the negative talk.  Before long, you will wonder why you hated it!  

i get motivated when i have like a date next week,and i have to look nice and sexy wahhahaa

wahahha that keeps moving. . .

If you have trouble getting motivated, try group classes at a gym/community centre.  Examples are aerobics, kickboxing, yoga, spinning, etc.

I find that when I have a group class to go to, I don't have as many 'excuses' why I shouldn't go - especially if you pre-pay for the classes!

For me it is just a choice. Do I want to be fat and lazy, or do I want to work and be fit and healthy? I have found that working out really sucks in the beginning, but once you and your body gets use to it, you want to do more of it. I change things up all of the time so it doesn't get to boring. I walk, jog, bike, lift weights, dance, shadow box, anything I can think of, as well as using workout machines. It is really worth it in the long run!

I've found that my best motivation is finding a friend to do something with me.  I have tried unsuccessfully for a while now to convince some of my friends to join my gym (why is it that the people in my life who say they want to tone up, bulk up, or drop some weight are the least willing to do anything about it?).

I go to the gym 7 days a week, twice a day, and there are times when I hate every second of it.  When I'm running I don't want to talk (or can't for that matter) as I focus on pacing and breathing, but my 2-3 miles only takes 15-30 minutes.  The subsequent easy hour on the elliptical or stationary bike gets boring quickly.   Luckily my gym has TV screens on every piece of cardio equipment, and since I don't have TV at my apartment I get my daily dose of news in the morning and CSI or Law and Order: SVU at night.   But it would be ten times better with a friend to talk to.

So yeah, try to find a buddy.

I think the hardest thing about exercise is getting into the habbit and getting your body used to it. Once you get past that then the sky's the limit. When I was younger I used to actually go to the gym for 2 hours a day 7 days a week. Trust me when I say I barely workout a couple days a week now and probably only about 20 min. I'm trying to work on it though, which is why I'm here.

My suggestion is try and find a good balance. Maybe force yourself to just do 10 min each day of something you like. Just dancing in your room to your favorite music or jumping rope to your favorite music. And you don't have to do it all out for the whole 10 min to begin with either. If you are starting to feel like it's too much of a strain, give yourself a 20-30sec break. Then once you're used to doing that try to cut down on the breaks and extend the time you're doing it. Soon it'll be a habbit and you'll be going for 20 min a day without breaks.

Once that happens you might try some other things. My biggest problem is that I'm too embarrassed to go out and try exercising in public so I'm bound to doing things at home. I do like dancing and jumping rope though. =D There's also a lot of fun exercise videos and, if you have cable, I think there's an exercise channel. Good luck, I know you can do it!

just do it. sometimes it'll feel like work (because it is work!), but always you'll be glad you did it after you are finished. even if it's just an hour start to finish, including change of clothes & a shower, you'll be happy you did it once it's over.

so, when you have an opportunity to exercise (1 free hour is all it takes), try to stop telling yourself how much exercise sux & how much you don't want to do it, and start using self-talk that emphasizes how it'll only take an hour, how good you'll feel when you've done it & how good for you it is.

just do it ;-)

EDIT: D'oh! I totally forgot my BEST MOTIVATION HINT : read while you're on the treadmill or elliptical (takes some practice) or stationary bike. read a very good book, a real page-turner, one that leaves you wanting to get back to it, and only let yourself read it while you are exercising. i keep my book in my locker at work and it really motivates me to head down to the gym each day because i want to know what happens next. i love to read culinary travel books (Peter Mayle, Jeffrey Steingarten & Ruth Reichl come to mind), and non-fiction (just finished The Devil's Highway, just started Coyotes, and Confessions of an Economic Hitman), but engaging fiction would be awesome as a motivator.

I have the same problem, I hate to work out, which is weird because I went into the army!  When I went in I was 300, when I came out I was 180 but I hated the way I had to PT so after I was out of the service I just kind laid around and Im back up to 275.  Im starting to count calories which is a good first step, but what is really helping me is I have two 6 month old puppies that Im trying to house break that love to be outside, to get them out I have to walk down three flights of steps, and by the time I get home I walked 2 or 3 miles and my dogs are tired and I have to walk up thoes steps again, so my sugestion may be a little odd, but if you've always wanted a dog, nows the time to get one because all they want to do is walk for miles and miles with you, and if you take them to a dog park, it's fun, social, good for you, and it dosnt even feel like work.

If you're doing something that doesn't require focues (like walking, jogging, stairs, etc.) then an mp3 player can make all the difference. It helps distract me and motivate me to move at the same time. Obviously it isn't as much of an option for some exercise (wouldn't want to swim with it, for example) but putting on your favorite tunes can motivate you and help you keep pace.
Alternately, watch tv or read while you use a stationary machine - anything to keep you from dwelling on how unpleasant the exercise itself may be. Once you get in the habit you may enjoy it for itself, especially if you pick something you can enjoy, but to start a little distraction is good.

I do mostly walking, and now that the weather is nicer outside, I want to go out and walk.  But I'll walk anywhere.  I've become a pacer.  I pace on breaks at work, sometimes I do it while watching TV.  I think anything that gets you moving is a good thing.

I recently bought the video game Dance Dance Revolution, and I play it on workout mode.  It's fun!  And it's a good workout if you get into it.  Having something fun to do really helps keep you doing it.

Group exercising!!! If I didn't have a group exercise program I'd probably exercise sporadically like I normally do,lol!! Having a boot camp like program helped me in SO MANY WAYS!!

Its still hard but start small and don't expect to wake up with a flat tummy. Soon you'll notice you have more energy and going up steps are less strenuous! lol....take your time. You are young and you can do it!