Eating healthier but lacking the motivation to hit the gym..

qpray01

For a few weeks now, I have been eating better, counting calories, etc. However, I am still not motivated to hit the gym, what should I do?

erickirb

You can exercise without going to the gym. You can do videos at home, run, walk, bike, body weight exercises. Maybe start there.

ebert5150

I started by just walking for 30 minutes a day. After a few weeks I started to feel pretty good and decided to join a gym. The first couple weeks at the gym were pretty hard for me. I had let myself get weak and out of shape , so when I started to work out I really felt it. After 2 months of doing cardio 5 days a week and weights 3 days a week I feel better than I've felt in 10 years. I would just start slow and work up as you are ready.

Amarillo_NDN

Healthy eating is the first and main step in being healthy. As for the gym, no law says you have to go to one. There are lots of things you can do with out leaving the house to get a good work out.

Beebee78

Gradually ease yourself into it. Start off with walks and then build yourself up - you will start to feel better and will soon be hitting that gym xxx

leslieheb

I would find something that you enjoy doing. For example, when I was in college the wellness center offered zumba, indoor cycling, yoga ec t. It also makes it easier when you fine a buddy to go workout with. It could become a social thing for you and a good friend to catch up on lost time and things happening while doing something productive. I just moved to a small town and another teacher and I have been walking and we share the ups and the down, struggles, and share classroom ideas as we do our walk for the day. It makes it a lot more enjoyable and keeps you going when you know someone else is counting on you. I hope that everything starts looking up for you. Have a blessed weekend.

hill242

Don't go to the gym if you dread it.

The best exercise is one you enjoy. I encourage you to look for something else then - bike, hike, skate, skip, whatever floats your boat

platoon

Take a long walk with some good music... :-)

baker_c

I hear ya loud and clear - I hate the gym too! I work out at home on most days . I have the fitness channel, a treadmill and a ton of videos. I recommend to do what you love!

fudJy23

Keep your ears open for different work outs. Like the others have said, it's not always about the running/biking and weights at the gym. In the last few years, I've also heard about the exotic dancing type classes (this is just an example) and I actually went to an intro pole class last week. It really was a hair's breath between stripper pole and Cirque de Soleil but both require a great amount of upper body and core strength. If I could get away with weekly yoga classes and maybe the pole classes (haven't quite figured out if I'm comfortable enough in my body for them), I would consider quitting the gym, except that winter is coming up and that means less time to run/bike outside.

qpray01

Thanks for the encouraging words... I like the idea of walking for about 30 minutes a day and I can look into buying some free weights for home. I appreciate the help.

superwmn

Posting the below from my blog. Might help

There was a time when we all moved our bodies for the joy of it. I don’t care who you are and how much you think you hate exercising. There was a time, even if you were only a few years old, where you loved to do SOMETHING that involved physical activity.

As time passed, I lost the love of movement because I bought into the idea that exercise had to be torture to be effective. Sure, going for a 30 minute walk probably doesn’t burn as many calories as a 30 minute run. But I won’t run since I hate running. I will walk because I love walking. See where I’m going here? DOING something I love is more effective than not doing something I hate.

I won’t go for that run. I will think about how I have to run later and dread it ALL DAY. Then, when it’s time to run, I will delay it as long as possible. If I do run for a few days or even a few weeks, I won’t stick with it because NO ONE WILL STICK WITH SOMETHING THAT THEY HATE. Nor should they.

I was at a point with exercise where I genuinely thought that I hated anything that involved movement and I had to relearn my love of movement. Anyone can do this. Here’s how I did it:

I was a dancer my entire life but stopped dancing after college. When I gained weight and stopped performing, the opportunities for me to dance were all but non-existent. I was inspired at my heaviest to start taking dance classes again. When I got into class, it was like coming home. Sure, I was out of shape and not one-tenth of the dancer I used to be, but dance is one of my greatest loves and my hours in class flew by.

I was busting my rump and sweating like a beast NOT because it would lead to more calories burned, but because to dance, for me, is my body’s ultimate form of expression. I have to dance or I will die. It literally POURS out of me.

So that was one night of the week. What about the other six? I would leave class each week WANTING to move more, but the urge to ‘exercise’ never hit me the other six days of the week. Why? I know now it’s because I needed to remember other activities besides dance that used to bring me joy.

Quite by accident (and I’ve written about it in this blog), I discovered that I love to bike ride. While on vacation in a beach resort, some friends and I rented bikes (I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I figured that if it was torture, it would only be one hour of my life). Much to my surprise, I LOVED it. When we returned from vacation, I was DESPERATE to own a bike. Once I owned that bike, I would wake up at 5in the morning (no lie) unable to sleep because I was so excited to hit the bike path. This love was the exact same love I had of bike riding as a child but had totally forgotten about.

Once I had dance and bike riding I knew I was on to something. I live in Buffalo and can’t ride year round so I had to dig deep and remember other activities I used to love.

In middle school, I couldn’t sleep the night before a roller skating party.

Growing up, you couldn’t keep me out of the pool during the summer months.

My senior year of high school, I went indoor rock climbing for the first time and LOVED it.

You get the idea. Do what you love (and trust me, you love something).

This has progressed into an exercise habit. Now, I try to move my body every day. I’m not obsessive about it, but have learned through listening to my body that moving on a daily basis makes me feel good. I sleep better. I wake feeling rested. I have a means to relieve stress. The list goes on. Life happens and some days there just isn’t time, but I don’t obsess over a missed workout because I’m going to have another work out tomorrow. And not because I have to, because I want to. Genuinely. I wasn’t always this way, but this has been my progression.

Some days I don’t feel like working out (GASP!). It’s true. But I know that I can’t trust my feelings. My feelings are a huge part of what got me into this mess in the first place. I can really only trust my body. When I don’t feel like working out, I check in with my body. What’s going on in my body? Is it fatigued? A little…how’s about I go to dance class anyway but take it easy tonight. I can always leave if I’m too tired to continue once class starts.

What always ends up happening is I get to class and feel energized. Some classes I have more energy than others, but my body isn’t a machine. It doesn’t operate on the exact same level every day. I have yet to go to class on a day that I ‘felt’ too tired to work out and abandoned ship in the middle of class (or regretted going).

Go. You can always leave. Your feelings are lying to you.

lilRicki

what about joining a tai chi class? or yoga for beginners. I loved loved loved my tai chi class...and there were all sorts of fitness levels and age groups so i never felt self conscious (like i do at the gym)...it's a great core work out and so peaceful and relaxing on top of it! I had to stop going to the organized classes but i sure did get a dvd to do in my living room...i wait until my child is in bed and my fiance is occupied and i get down with my bad self in the living room.

junebug523

For me, the most difficult thing about exercising is just getting off my butt...so I know how you feel! I think others' suggestions to start with 30 minute walks is a terrific idea. There are two keys for me: no excuses, and consistency. Find something you enjoy; it will help to keep you motivated.