Will this become a routine? Success?

QuevedoM

Today was my first day dieting, and exercising. I wouldn't really call it dieting, I am going by the calorie counter on here and proportions. Can anyone tell me that the exercising becomes a routine after awhile, just like brushing your teeth. Also, has anyone us just counted calories and exercised and has had success?

Birder150

Congratulations on your new beginning. :flowerforyou:

I find it really inspiring, motivating and helpful to go through the Success stories threads on here.
You'll find the answers to your questions in post after post of successful people. It'll blow you away the things people have accomplished through diet or exercise or both.

As for exercise, find something that you love to do, not something you think you should do and that way it won't be difficult to build a routine.

qtgonewild

I started eight weeks ago tomorrow. I started by logging and walking. I couldn't walk much at first but I kept on it. now I walk a lot. alot for me. and I love it. love it. love it. once I lose fifty pound I can't wait to get to a gym. just too fat to go now. or whatever. but yes. you will probably learn to love it.

slb573

Just get into something you enjoy doing and keep going I would really recommend classes since I found they are easier to make a routine out of because it isn't something you can just say I'll do later.

kem05

It does become routine. If you find something you enjoy you'll really start looking forward to it. I have recently started doing the leslie sansone walking videos on YouTube, and I love them! I'm at work right now and am actually looking forward to getting home so I can do one! I don't normally feel that way about exercise - treadmill, walking outside or the exercise bike.
Good luck on your journey!

QuevedoM

Thank you everyone! I am starting on walking tapes also, my mom has had some success with them.

gmallan

Yep it definitely will. I find that if I go more than three consecutive days without doing something I feel yuck and slugish.

Some tips for getting it done:

1. Find something you love, like or at least don't hate doing
2. Get yourself a workout buddy, it's much harder to bail on a session when someone else is involved
3. Sign up and pre-pay for some sessions with a PT or boot camp
4. Make a bet with a friend or family member and put some money/a chore on the line for each missed session
5. Make it convenient to go the gym (i.e. pick a good location and time to go), if it's hard to get to you won't go
6. Lay out your workout clothes in advance and get dressed without a second thought. Sometimes gettting in your gear and getting there is half the battle
7. Go before work or immediately after work before going home. I find once you get home and sit down on the couch the laziness kicks in
8. Join a sports team and make it a social occasion

michybeans

I tried a bunch of things at first until I found what works for me. I tried running - hated it (have bad joints, hurt my knees a lot). I tried yoga and loved it but the time commitment was a lot and the class schedule didn't work for me, so it stressed me out ironically. I eventually joined a gym close to my house (big difference - having it so close to home makes me go more often since I don't have to sit in traffic for an hour to get there) which has been great. The gym offered a free introductory course for how to use machines (most do) so I learned how to use the elliptical and other cardio machines, which was helpful because I was intimidated by them.

After trying a few different machines, I came up with some favourites and do those a lot. I get bored easily so I also change up the order of the machines I use, and do different ones sometimes. I also got Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD which is fantastic/torture (lol) and I do that sometimes too when I am sick of the routine of the gym.

My advice would be just try a bunch of different things at first and see what you like. It will become a routine and enjoyable if it's something you like doing. I've seen progress every week and it's so motivating. My advice on that too would be don't just look at the number on the scale (weight fluctuates) but get one that calculates body fat percentage and BMI too, pay more attention to that, and also take measurements. Sometimes you can gain weight from muscle but lose inches.

Sometimes I don't feel like exercising (too tired, sore, crappy day) - sometimes I push through it and go anyway and sometimes I don't. It all balances out and just listen to your body.

Good luck, I hope that helps!

michybeans

Oh I forgot to mention, not sure if this will help but I also like to set mini goals for myself for every 5 pounds I lose. I then reward myself with something I want at the time - like $100 to spend on new clothes, or a new movie or stuff for my house, etc. For my final weight loss goal, I am going to buy myself a new camera I've been REALLY wanting for a long time. So it keeps me very motivated to stay on track. Since mine is centered around shopping, I purposely don't shop unless I've hit my mini goals. I'm half a pound away from my next one right now and super need to buy pants as mine are way too big now, so I am really motivated to drop the last 0.5 as it's getting embarrassing trying to bulkily cinch my belts to hold my pants up! Haha

alisonlynn1976

Yes, exercise becomes a routine part of your day if you keep doing it. Additionally, I used to hate exercise and see it as only a necessary means to an end, but then I found something, kettlebells, that I genuinely find fun and look forward to doing.

femjesse

I think it depends on your attitude towards exercise. I have a bad attitude towards exercise and I use it only to offset additional calories to meet my goal when I feel guilt over not meeting my goal. As a result I have not exercised in a while and I often feel hungry on my calorie allowance. The only exercise I will do is the stationary bike while watching TV. I'm more okay with being hungry than I am with exercising for an hour to offset my hunger.

Donald_Dozier_50

I started here on April 3rd at 287 lbs. at 6'0" counting calories on here and walking for exercise only (because that is all I can do). Within three months I was down 67 lbs. at 220 lbs.

I had an injury that prevented me from walking until three days ago, During that period I only dropped 3 lbs. but where I started at a 56" waist and was down to a 42 inch waist but even with little exercise I stuck to the diet and went down to wearing size 36 jeans and to 217 lbs.

Everyone has different successes but as you get started and see where you want to end up, you will find the right path to get there.

I have 34 lbs to go.

simonkurth

Hi
This website works. There are no gimmicks or hidden REASONS for success. Consistently log and exercise 5-6 times per week. You will have tremendous results. It doesn't happen overnight, but it will happen.
Good luck

TheBitSlinger

No... the exercises I do suck. They are tortuous, and I hate them. What I love, and what I come to look forward to, is how awesome I feel afterwards. The glow and the burn, that's what I do them for.

Counting calories and exercising is all I've done to lose weight. Eat less, move more, repeat.

Cindyinpg

It becomes routine, whether you love it or hate it.... But why not find something you love? For me that's kickboxing! I HATE it if I miss a class. And yes counting calories and exercise works. I've lost 120 lbs doing it! (89 on MFP). I enjoy the exercise I do and I love the foods I eat and do not deprive myself. That means I will be able to do it forever.

sam18u

Hi What I would suggest from my experience is that you start slowly and catch up with what you like doing and the things where u think u can burn calories and save upon how best to go about doing it...and ofcouse if u are watching calories.. then also keep in mind that you need to eat something to keep ur required energy level and still burn..

Try to be objective and add activities you like and share your experiences and will become easy for u

KingRat79

If find the best way of it becoming a routine is to make it a routine. What I mean is you do your exercise on the same day every week at the same time, for example every Monday Wednesday and Friday at 6pm you spend an hour in the gym. You do it on that day religiously, you don’t think about it, you don’t question yourself, you don’t allow anything to get in the way off exercising at this time, you don’t make excuses. You just do it.

lewcompton

Don't know that brushing my teeth is a habit... but this has become a full-time habit! I'm Lew. Married, dad of two soon to be three... Down 185 in 14 months... Anyone is welcome to add me!

Samstan101

Start with easier stuff like going for a walk or a swim - anything to increase your activity level. Try stuff to see what you enjoy. If you've not done any exercise for a long time it will make you puff and pant to start with and probably make your muscles a bit achey the next day or 2. I used this as a positive - I was starting to make a difference to my body. Don't be afraid to try new stuff - I always hated running and I mean really hated it! Even when I was young and fit, running was just something I endured to be able to do the sport I liked. However, this time I knew it was also a good way to burn calories so started doing a C25k programme (podcasts on my ipod). I took is slowly so as not to kill my knees and around week 5 a weird thing happened - I finished a run and realised I'd enjoyed it! I now love running and only don't do it more than a couple of times a week as at my size it hurts my knees if I do it more. In between I use the elliptical trainer or swim for cardio and do at least 1 weights session a week. Weights are important - I didn't want to lose my weight and then have to tone up. I wanted to maintain as much muscle as I could (after all its been carrying around 303lbs at its best!). Good luck and feel free to add me as a friend if you want

cwolfman13

Can anyone tell me that the exercising becomes a routine after awhile, just like brushing your teeth.

It becomes routine when you make it routine...it doesn't just become routine on it's own. you have to prioritize it...you have to "make" time for it, not "find" time; finding time is passive and there's always something "better" to do. To be as routine as brushing your teeth or taking a shower, it has to carry that same priority...you don't go to work or whatever and just say, "oh well...didn't have time to brush my teeth today...maybe tomorrow"...of course not, you make the time to do that. Exercise and fitness is the same way.

Sontoun

I call it a "lifestyle change" in my eating style. I cut out totally empty calories like soda, juice, and sweets. Otherwise I eat pretty much eat the same, just less of it. I do eat try to make wiser food choices but I will never be that salad person and I do eat the occasional sweet and dessert, just less of it. I started drinking more water which was super difficult for me when I started, but now I don't even think about it. I also set smaller goals so I wouldn't set myself up for failure. I don't weigh myself often; I go by how my clothes fit. I went from size 16 to size 6-8. I lost 40 lbs that first year and have maintained for over a year. I log in daily on MFP no matter what. I "fall off the wagon" on both eating and exercise but I don't beat myself about it, just restart again!

Exercise was added slowly. I don't run because I have a bad knee, but you can walk, bike or elliptical. When I started I could barely do 15 minutes of the elliptical without feeling like having a heart attack. But I kept at it and added more days per week and an additional 5 minutes every week or so. Now I can do 90 minutes on the elliptical and feel like I can still do more. When you are ready, add some weights in a few times a week to build muscle so you can burn fat faster. Exercise is NOT my favorite, but I do it because I like the results. I'm still working on that one. I listen to music I love when I workout and try different things such as yoga, cardio barre, hip hop abs, insanity workout. Now I found a trainer who pushes me to try different things. My body is changing still because of the trainer and I'm more "fit" and have a normal BMI. I still have "big girl mentality" because I still reach for the XL clothing when I try on clothes, but the trainer says that may never go away...still working on that one!

So keep plugging away at it because it can be done...just set smaller reachable goals and quit looking at scale so much! Hope this helps!