would like information/peoples stories/tactics

hi everyone

so this is one of my first posts, but i have been browsing around for quite a while, learning how to be "healthy" and change my lifestyle.

so for the past week i have been planning to start exercising as of monday (tomorrow).

the problem is, in the past when ive tried to exercise, i am usually an all or nothing person and once i start i would attempt to exercise every single day, and i think this might be one of the reasons why i fail because its too much for my body to get used to going from no exercise to hour every day? so then i miss a day of exercise and give up altogether

i would like tips on how to ease into exercise, should i start say 3 times a week and do that until my body is comfortable to move up to more?

im 60 kg & have started (last week) eating 1500 calories a day

Thanks for your replies sorry this is long post!

I've definitely been that person before you exercises daily for months and then completely stops and does nothing for months. I think the biggest part of it mentality. So many of us have an on/off idea of how it works, and it kills us in the end.

My solution was to give myself what I call minimum and maximum goals. My minimum goal is to workout twice a week, my maximum goal is five. As long as I hit to, I'm good. I feel good about myself, I don't feel 'off track,' etc. I work towards working out 5 times a week, but it's not always realistic, sometimes life happens, and I don't want a missed workout or two to be an excuse to stop altogether.

As an added note, I highly recommend the New Rules of Lifting for Women.

I'm also an "all or nothing" type of person with working out.  For years, I was extremely athletic, heavily involved in martial arts, and very very fit.  Then for some reason, I just stopped.  Haven't been able to get back into that grove since.

Same goes for dieting...all or nothing unfortunately.  I will do great for months and then screw up one stinkin' day and give up forever.

I'm trying to change that this time around though.  For me, it helps to have someone help to keep me accountable.  Find a workout buddy or something.  For example, if I'm working out in a class that I've paid for in advace, I'm more likely to show up everyday than if I'm just trying to make it to the gym or go jogging when there's time. 

I'm so upset - found out for past 3 weeks i miscalculated calories + actually ate 400-500 per day more than i thought :(

so i gained weight instead of losing... :(

i feel so fat

anyone have any tips on how to get back on track?

I am exactly the same way! The best way to do it is to find someone who wants to exercise with you. In the past i had a gym membership and if it wernt for a friend i would have never gone. Today, I have a bf who, we both agreed,  we need to quit smoking, start running and get healthy. So for the past few nights we have been running. It takes a push. And you need to Want to do it. You want to get in shape. you want to look great. you want to exercise. So push yourself. Think how amazing you could look. I know when i give up on exercise i feel like crap about myself. so thats an extra push. Find a friend. To ease into it, start walking, or get a membership to a gym. My legs are dead today because my bf and i just jumped right into running 3 miles a night, so depending on what exercise you plan on doing, ease into it as you need to. Don't go beyond what you can't do. Work your way up. start with one mile. work your lungs and your legs up and when youre ready, move to more miles. Hope this helped. I wish you the best of luck.

Jessica

I find it really important that healthy lifestyle choices become habits.  And I need to do things regularly for them to become a habit.

Since I am a "naturally" sedentary person, what worked for me back in January was to decide to go to Curves Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  If life intervened, I would make it up on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday, but I committed to doing it 3 times a week.  Once that was a habit, I decided to "move" at least 30 minutes extra every day.  It didn't matter if it was a 30 minute walk after work, Curves before work, or 30 minutes of heavy gardening -- my day wasn't done until I did my 30 extra minutes.

Once that was a habit, I added in 15 minutes of calisthenics every day.  I get up in the morning, weigh, drink a glass of water, and do a progressive program (I am up to level 22).  No matter what.

My goal was to go from "sedentary" to "light activity" to "moderate" activity by the time I was at goal.  Based on my calorie deficit, I am now some place between "light" and "moderate" and I am about halfway to goal weight, so I think it is going well.  If I had started where I am now back in January, I would have given up long ago, but now this level of activity is truly a "habit" -- I don't feel right if I miss it.

My advice is to do something, no matter how small, that you can commit to doing regularly, and keep adding things as you get more fit and have an exercise habit.

I'm another "all or nothing" kind of person, but have learned to temper it to some degree.  I work long hours and travel a lot, so I have a hard time scheduling set workouts.  I do better with friends, but for the same reasons, that doesn't seem sustainable, either.

What I've found has worked best for me lately is a particular product.  It does require a bit of investment.  I promise I do not work for this company or the product, but do believe in it.

I have been using the Wii Active DVD (by EAS).  It does require having a Wii system, but not the Wii Fit.  It has pre-programmed workouts that only require 20-40 min per event, depending upon what level (easy, medium or hard).  They have a 30-day challenge pre-set; it bases the workouts on two days on, one day off.  It comes with a resistance band, and that's pretty much all you need if you have the Wii remote and nunchuck. 

What I love is that if I miss a day, it just moves the workouts forward.  It also has a survey that checks energy, stress, rest and other levels, and can adjust the workouts accordingly so you don't feel beat up.  I'm able to do the workout in my den, with minimal equipment, when I feel like it, and it's a good workout, but not to the point of killing me.  Finally, I can bring the DVD with me when I travel.  It has built-in goal-setting/tracking and "recognition" of success.  Frankly, as someone who is not a great fan of exercise, I truly find this enjoyable as well as effective.

Finally, I give myself a break.  If I'm just too tired or if I really want to eat something, I do it knowing the trade-off is longer workouts or a little longer to my goal.

I've lost 25lbs in the past year, and have 18 to go.  My goal is to reach that by February 1.