How do you motivate yourself to exercise?

The rolls of fat still emerging from my jeans and my bra straps motivate me. And of course BACK FAT!!! :mad:

My cousin recently died of a heart attack and he was a fit-looking construction worker. That motivated me to check things like my resting heart rate. I discovered it had a lot of room for improvement, bad enough to need medication.

Diet can't fix that. Diet alone isn't enough to have a healthy heart. Don't get me wrong, diet is important, but not exercising your heart is asking for trouble later.

So, I am pushing myself through some incredible discomfort as I try to take up jogging despite being over 200 lbs. In just the 22 days or so that I've been exercising, I've gotten my resting heart rate down from 115 (tachycardia) to 82 (Normal, but not ideal).

I am tired of being this person in a fat suit who can't run a mile. The furthest I've been able to keep up a jog is a little over 1/8th of a mile.

I want to be the person who can do anything. That's my motivation. Yeah, starting to exercise after years of not exercising is tough. I'm going to have to throw away this pair of shoes as my toe blisters burst in them and I had to cut my sock off as it was stuck to my blisters. So, now I'm wrapping my toes so they don't rub. But, you get the idea.

I always used to tell people I got shin splints walking. Well, it turns out that after a few weeks of easing into it slowly, I'm not getting them anymore even walking/jogging on concrete.

Only the first few weeks are horrible. The first few weeks your out of breath with the slightest movement, everything hurts, your wearing the wrong clothes, the wrong shoes and breathing incorrectly. It's awkward and awful. BUT, it gets so much better! Back when I was lighter, I used to love rock climbing at the local climbing gym. I'm too heavy to do it at the moment, but, I think I could start in another 20 lbs. Sometimes you have to start with walking, but, then eventually you can find a sport you love. If you live in an area with seasons, you can even have your exercise change with the seasons so it doesn't get dull. Swim in the summer, hike/run in the fall and cross country ski or snowshoe in the winter.

For me personally, it was finding something I enjoyed and variety. I could NOT slog it out at the gym for 5 hours every single day! However, in recent months, I have found that I enjoy jogging (need to get back into more in the New Year and hopefully get involved with charity runs), aqua aerobics which is a great laugh and doesn't feel like exercise and Pilates as it works the core but very gentle.

I'm hoping to start boxercise soon as well as its looks like fun. If I think *excerise* it puts me off, if I think *classes with my mates for a laugh* it's good social fun. As for the running, it gets me outside in the fresh air and I really do enjoy it. At the very least, I take the dog for a walk every day if possible (she comes with me for a jog as well...both except when its raining as she hates it! Ha) even if I don't feel like it because it does HER good and then I feel better for it myself.

My only advice is find what works for you, try different classes and keep a variety so you don't get bored. As for the pain, I'd recommend going to the doctors.

For me, it's all about being able to enjoy the foods I really love. To stay within my MFP 1200 calorie weight loss budget, I had to give up my 130 calorie frappachino light UNLESS I walked about 2 miles or did a 20 minute circuit DVD.

Now that I'm on maintenance and can fit the things I love into my daily allowance, it's a little harder to motivate myself everyday, but I think the holiday season will help. While I can and do say "no" to many of the treats that are available in abundance, stepping up my exercise routine will allow me to indulge in those things I really want without derailing my plan and my results. I still pass up most of them, but if I've done my morning 350-400 calorie burn and someone comes along with one of my favorites, I can enjoy a small serving without risking a setback.

Oh, and just so it's not "all about the food," I've also set some fitness goals like 5k time, run time (before slowing to walk), faster sprints, longer sprints, etc., and I LOVE seeing my progress as I improve. On the workout DVDs, I started off not being able to do any "real" push-ups, so even 1 is progress. Work toward the little milestones to keep you going as you will definitely see a difference when you take off too long.

I eat back some or all of my exercise calories so for me it's the motivation of more food. I have my calories set low so that with workout calories I eat at approx my BMR. I also enjoy how much more energy If I workout regularly.

Let's think outside the box. Do you like to ice skate or square dance?

What if you did your usual walking with a weighted vest; thereby getting more bang for your exercise buck, so to speak ... what about Zumba? What about Aqua Zumba, maybe in a place with a pool? Maybe your gym-that-doesn't-have-a-pool doesn't suit your needs and you need to look elsewhere?

Did you ever box? Do martial arts?

I look at it as a job, something that I have to do..
There's no thinking about it, I just do it..
if I don't workout I feel like a total bum lmao...

I have a large mirror over the vanity directly across from the shower in my bathroom. That's all the motivation I need.

Biting the bullet with exercise is the fastest way to give up. If you have to force yourself you will be less inclined to be motivated. Just find an exercise you enjoy, and slowly work at it. Maybe fit your hobbies into your exercise and that way you can make it suited for you and more enjoyable.

Hope this helps!

The rolls of fat still emerging from my jeans and my bra straps motivate me. And of course BACK FAT!!! :mad:

yep same ! lol

I wish I could answer this question. I breathe. I eat. I exercise. It's who I am.

Every night before I go to bed I check out the Health & Fitness column of Pinterest. It helps me to remember why I'm working out the next morning. I also have a motivational background on my phone for me to see when I turn my alarm off in the morning.

What does motivate you? Maybe it's money, or that feeling that you can do something your friend, sister, or spouse can't do? I get a lot of exercise, but don't go to a gym to do it. I ride my bicycle to work and back, and to most places around my town, so I don't have to pay $4 a gallon for gas in my car. I have always loved riding my bicycle, but the more money I am saving, the more it makes me ride the bike more places instead of drive. And my friends/family/spouse are constantly commenting that they don't know how I can ride so many miles each week because they couldn't do it. I'm the fat one, and I can do it but they can't. I have to say, that secretly makes me feel pretty damn good!

Also, consider maybe some sort of team sport might be up your alley? In the summer, I play on a couple of different adult softball teams. So 2-3 days a week, I am also outdoors on a field running my butt off for a couple of hours at a time. (in addition to riding my bike to work) I absolutely love playing softball, and wouldn't give it up for anything. I enjoy being part of the team and seeing all my softball friends, and the competition with the other team. Also, if a whole team is there waiting for you to show up, you can't really skip out on them or they might not be able to play! So this motivates me to not miss my softball "work out".

So, I get my workouts in, but not in a traditional go to the gym kind of way. I don't like the gym much either. I'd rather be outdoors.

I guess, for me, the first thing I'd ask is what exactly is it about exercise you hate so much? Is it more that you hate the pain you experience when you exercise at the gym? If you didn't have those issues, would you actually like to exercise? The key to exercise is to find something you like. The other thing to remember is the recommendations of 30mins of moderate activity 5 times a week, doesn't have to be done in 1 sitting. you could break it into 3 10mins sessions throughout the day, or 6 5mins sessions. And again, these don't have to be formal gym based things. some research would show that those who introduce daily activities, such as parking further away from where you need to go (so as to walk further), taking the stairs etc. are more likely to be maintained over a prolonged period of time. Another thing to remember is to start small. Don't beat yourself up because you don't want to just jump into 4 training sessions a week at the gym. Set yourself a goal each week that fits within your schedule and limitations - like, this week I will walk for 5mins 5 days this week. Then take it from there. The fact that you are looking for ways to try to motivate yourself is already a clear indication that you will find a way to work something into you lifestyle.

This is how I started, and now I currently train around 5-8hrs a week. Start small... finish big! :-) Good luck.