I got fat

vivid2012

I don't know how it happened but I got fat. In the past 2 years I've gained 30 lbs and now am 150 lbs for the first time in my life. I used to be skinny enough to wear this kind of dress.
http://tinyurl.com/65okwku
and 120 but those days are over. I ask the workoutaholics, how do you find the motivation to workout? I hate doing it but I have the want to go. I know the next step is obesity. What do you do to stay lean and trim?

ejmcam

The motivation comes with time. You have to give it a while and before you know it you cant imagine not going! Someone once told me that it takes like 4 or 5 months for it to become a habit and to atually want to do it. It didnt take me that long, maybe 2 months. But once you start to see the changes and see that the dedication really pays off, you wont want to stop! It may feel like it takes a long time to see the results but if you stop before you see them, then you will just have to start over from scratch when you decide again to try. The best thing is to stick with it. If you do, you will see the results eventually.

Wendysworld13

There is no special formula for motivation - you eed to find out what works for you. I finally said enough - I couldn't/wouldn't be fat the rest of my life. I did not want to be an embarrrassment to my son and I want to be healthy to play with the grandchidren I hope to have someday.
The best thing I did was join a gym and find some women to work out with. I find it helps me get there and it helps me work harder while I am there. I HATE WORKING OUT. With a passion. I hate making myself sweat and I hate the way I feel during exercise. Everyone says they feel so good after they work out - endorphins and all that jazz - I don't, I feel tired and sweaty and like I want to go back to bed. However, I am liking the results. I am down two pants sizes and shirt sizes and am getting comments about how good I look. That is the ultimate motivation. The guilt of letting others down is working to get me to the gym - Its a start.
p.s. - I work out at gym 5 days a week and on weekends at home doing something - anything active for at least half an hour.

NikkisNewStart

Your first step is facing this: "I don't know how it happened." Yes you do. Only when you face the behaviors that caused your weight gain can you change those behaviors and lead a healthy life.

This will give you a starting point.

red_hatorade

I agree that it takes time to get to a point of actually feeling the need to workout. Before I started working out, I was so lazy. I would never do anything that involved being active. Now that I started working out, i almost feel an obligation to do so. Call it motivation or whatever, but i feel like I have to workout now. And honestly, I don't really mind it anymore.

fastbelly

For me it took me a couple of months of pushing myself until it all became second nature, now I can't see myself not going out at least 5x a week.

Today I had to take a rest day and it actually felt weird not going out for a walk. If my leg muscles weren't so sore I'd have been out the door again.

I set a target for this month to walk/jog 150Km and I'm getting behind due to very bad weather at the start of the month so I need to catch up, tomorrow I have week 2 day 3 of the c25k workout and if the legs feel ok I'll continue walking for an extra 30 minutes at least. The target is to cover at least 8Km tomorrow.

Set achieavable but challenging goals for yourself and keep chasing them.

lisapickering

There are alot of different types of workouts, try different things and see what works for you. Classes are often good -- more fun, time goes by faster. Once you find something you like you actually look forward to it!

ThumperWabbt

You need to find something you enjoy doing, and/or something that means something to you. I train for the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure--we'll walk 60 miles in 3 days. There's no way to do it without training, so that gets my asterisk up and moving. I did it once last year, am doing it twice this year...which means adding cross training into the mix. I'll get the training done because the cause is important to me.

I love swimming, so that's what I'm doing for crosstraining. I'm not very good at it, pretty slow, but the fact that I look forward to it gets me to the gym. I also have a Trikke that I love to ride, which makes it feel more like play. I bought a Street Strider that I suspect I'll love once I build up to being able to use it more. Toys make working out fun.

I used to train in TaeKwonDo--loved it; going to class was never a problem and felt like punishment when I couldn't go.

If you can find something, that alone will motivate you. If it doesn't feel like work, it's a whole lot easier...