Exercise Motivation

I have a hard time motivating myself to work-out. I hate it but it is critical at my stage of weight loss. Anyone else have this problem or tips on how to get motivated????

I am the worst for excercizing. I dont think Ive worked out in, oh... 4 years? I used to go to Curves when I was 15, wasnt into it and quit. And been a couch potato/ computer geek since.

I wouldn't recomend this long term but, maybe try having a cup of coffee (caffine) to make you feel like you want to get up and go.

I wouldn't recomend this long term but, maybe try having a cup of coffee (caffine) to make you feel like you want to get up and go.

I actually cut myself off of coffee in the morning and fattening foods right before bed. I tend to get hart palpitations, and if I have those two things before I go to bed or when I wake up I get heart flutters.

I like to set mini-goals and then give myself a non-food reward for acheiving it.  E.G. I hit my February weight goal, so I get to buy myself some new jewelry.

If you go to the gym--try and find a gym buddy.  When I first started, that was what kept me accountable.  Now I enjoy working out and have made it into a habit so I could probably do it by myself.

If you do it at home, try doing it FIRST thing in the morning when you wake up.  I know it's hard to get yourself out of bed, but you feel GREAT.  I also make a calendar on Sunday and write down what exercise I will do each day.  That way, I don't have to think about it--I just look and see what I need to do that day and do it.  If you work out later in the day, set a specific time--like right after work or at 6:30 or something.  It helps having a SET schedule.

Or else, I just say ENOUGH. I WANT to lose this weight for ME. Now get up and go! You'll feel great afterwards and you KNOW it!  that pep talk usually helps :)

Here is something I started just this past week and it's had MAJOR results.  I've been eating less and exercising WAAAY more. 

For every separate food item you eat, do an exercise.

It's that simple. I like to ride my stationary bike but I've usually only been able to get to 10 minutes a day, 20 at MOST... on a REALLY good day.  But just last week I decided to ride my stationary bike for 5 MINUTES for every food I eat. 

I'll give you an example. Today I had an eggwhite on an english muffin (97 calories), a whole wheat pita with sliced turkey and hummus (150 calories), and 4 oatmeal raisin cookies (640 calories--sad, I know).  So, I divide that help.  The first two were healthy choices, so I rode the bike 5 minutes for each--that's 10 minutes.  The cookies on the other hand... not such a great choice.  So for EACH cookie I rode my bike for 5 minutes.  So, for 5 minutes whenever I could squeeze it in, I rode a total of 30 minutes and burnt 420 calories!!!!!!  YES!!!!! 

This is just one way to get motivated.  Maybe it's not the bike for you--maybe it's 30 push ups per food, or 50 crunches, or 100 jumping jacks.  But it's something.  Chances are, you'll either eat less or exercise more. 

So go for it!

Good luck!

<3 Megs

I hear you.  But the thing I've come to realize is that you just need to do it regardless of whether or not you want to.  I haven't found a way to really psych myself up for it, but I just remember how great and accomplished I feel after and that usually gets me down on the treadmill!

my motivation to exercise rides on my health insurance costs. In my area if you go to a gym 12 times a month, they reimburse you 20 dollars of your insurance costs. This certainly keeps me going. Now, I wonder if you could provide yourself a "kitty" of $$$ per month that you get to use as you like if you only exercise?

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and understanding, It helps alot!!!

I belong to a gym. If I had to workout at home there is no way I could stick to it. It gets me out of the house, I get to see new faces, and I feel like I am accomplishing something. When I am there, I pick out fit women my age and say to myself - I wanna look like her. Also, gyms offer lots of different activities so when I get bored with the elliptical I am going to try a spin class.

Do you have an ipod or mp3 player? That is what gets me through my workouts. I reward myself for going to the gym or sticking to my calorie plan with new songs. There are websites that put together songs lists for different types of workouts and those are fun to try. My husband and I are thinking of getting a video ipod so we can watch our tv shows while doing cardio. I'm not sure how that will work out because I like fast music to  get me to move faster but you have to keep mixing it  up otherwise things will get boring.

 I know this sounds like a cliche, and no one really believes it at first... But working out actaully improves the way you feeel!!!! I get depressed if I dont exercise now.  And that dosen't mean full throttle hour long max level cardio sessions either... I work in some weight training ( a good way to build muscle and fight fat) with heavy cardio, and on days when I want to take it easy, I just put on my shoes and take a walk.  Its actually peaceful to get out by yourself once in awhile.  Think of it as your time to relax and meditate.

Also, when I was first getting into going to the gym, a big motivator for me was being able to see that counter show me how many calories were being burnt... and sometimes I even (guilty pleasure) listen to people when they talk at the gym some of these conversations are better then any TV Ive seen, you can learn tips on, proper work out stratagies and motivational ideas at the gym too.   Hope that helps!

jesslu, how about building movement into your day as a first step? I'm not much one for exercise (so I understand how you feel!!), but one thing I do is use the restroom one floor below me at work, so I walk the steps. As much water as I drink at work, you know I'm climbing those steps a number of times each day! That's just a little something, but I find little changes easier to make than big ones.

Another little change I've made -- it's not a habit yet, but I have been pretty good about doing it -- is to do crunches in the morning. I do these on my bed, usually after I've showered. I'm up to 40 crunches 4-5 days/week. It's not much, but it's more than I had been doing!

my best motivation for exercising is that it makes me feel good. yeah, I'm burning fat and building muscle and that's motivating, too, but the mental benefits of exercising are very motivating! It's the one thing I can do when I'm feeling tired that refreshes me. If I'm sad or mad, a walk always calms me down and cheers me up. And, if you're not into an exercise regime yet, try squeezing in exercise: take the stairs, park far from your destination, pick up gardening, do some vigorous spring cleaning! Plus, exercising means I can eat more and that's very motivating. Good luck!