Does it get easier???

Don't give up!! Starting the journey is the hardest part. If you are walking 1+ miles you are doing great and burning those calories you need to burn. It will take some time to get yourself motivated but remember, you can do it.
I started working out again after years of inactivity. I could barely finish a one hour personal training session (in which they took it easy on me)...now I can do any cardio classes, run 3 miles a day and do elliptical for 20 minutes, lift weights, eat right, AND I've lost almost 30 lbs. (only 17 on MFP)
Believe me, you will get there! Just don't give up!! You and your health and whomever else you love are all worth it!!!

It'll get easier when you aren't even looking. Just keep on keeping on!

I never did more than walk to the ice cream shop in the mall for the majority of my life, and today I finished a 12 week program of moderately intense exercise six days per week. Getting up to exercise at 5am feels natural, a habit. Next I'm going to get back to my outdoor running and start incorporating the things I enjoyed from the 12 week program (HIIT, Pilates, and strength training) into my running program. Go back two years into the past and tell me I'm going to be doing this...I would have laughed myself silly.

You can TOTALLY do this.

Yes, it will get easier as you lose weight.

As you lose lbs, you have less mass to carry around with you. It takes a lot of effort to move those extra 85lbs you have on your ticker. I've lost 36lbs to date- thats roughtly 16% of my mass and I walk so much faster these days and with a LOT more bounce.

When I started running, the bouncing of my jiggly parts was uncomfortable and almost painful. After a few weeks it stopped being bothersome. Stick with your walking, its terrific exercise!

It definitely gets easier! But like with most things in life, if what you're doing isn't enjoyable, especially if it's painful, you'll stop doing it. So I recommend that if you think it's "too hard" right now, find another activity that maybe delivers less stress to your body. I find swimming laps or maybe a stationary bike helps. Any and all exercise is a good step Keep it up darlin!

Yes it does get easier...

walking was my start...now I lift weights 3x a week and do HIIT training, ride my bike and yes I still walk...sometimes 1mile sometimes 3 miles, sometimes fast sometimes slow.

ETA: try downloading an app for your phone I use map my walk, it's sync'd with MFP and it is a great motivator to see the miles covered, time and pace...I am actually walking faster than I thought...

I most DEF gets easier.

When you start out, you dread the walk/run/exercise and welcome off days.

When you get into a routine you look FORWARD to the exercise and..you feel bad when you take a day off!

Also when you start exercise will make you tired, but when you get into it you will start to see an increased energy from working out.

Yes it does get easier! I started that last week of January walking a half mile in 20 minutes, tomorrow I am running my first 5K and expect to be able to run all 3.1 miles of it. It probably took a month for me to run without my calves SCREAMING throughout my walk/run. Start slow! I started by running for 30 seconds and then walking for how ever long it took to catch my breath. Don't add more than 10% distance every week and write down your progress on a calendar. It is so encouraging seeing my times and distances improve each week/month. Good Luck! You can do it!

It definitely gets easier! But like with most things in life, if what you're doing isn't enjoyable, especially if it's painful, you'll stop doing it. So I recommend that if you think it's "too hard" right now, find another activity that maybe delivers less stress to your body. I find swimming laps or maybe a stationary bike helps. Any and all exercise is a good step Keep it up darlin!

This.....walking is low impact....not no impact. You may need a day off here & there. Walking stretches (after your muscles are warm) are very helpful too.

Calf Stretch -- Take a big step forward with your left foot, keeping you right heel on the ground. Hold the position and repeat on the other side. Be sure to keep your body upright and your abs tight, do not arch your back.

Shin Stretch -- Standing up, hold on to a stationary object. Stand with your weight on one leg and straighten it. Place your other foot on the ground, with toes pointed and your toenails toward the floor. With the tops of your toes touching the ground, roll your foot and leg forward, from the ankle. Release and repeat on the other side.

Hamstring and Lower Back -- Slowly bend forward from your waist with your knees slightly bent. Reach for the floor and hold. Only bend as far as comfortable.

Outer thigh and buttocks and spine -- While lying on your back bring your right knee up. Place your left hand on your thigh and gently pull it over to your left side. Do not pull at the knee. Your shoulders, left leg and back should remain flat. Pull gently. Then repeat on the left side.

Lower back -- While lying on your back, bring both knees up towards the chest with the hands. Round the lower back and relax into the stretch. Don't do this stretch on a hard surface...it will bruise the spine!

Quadriceps Stretch -- Standing up, hold on to a stationary object. Bend your right knee, bringing your foot toward your buttocks. Keeping your left knee slightly bent, grasp your right ankle with the opposite hand. Slowly pull your leg up and back, bringing your foot at high as comfortable. Repeat with other leg. (To protect your knee... think of pulling the quads back rather than pulling the foot toward your buttocks.)

Standing hip stretch - Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Cross left ankle over right leg just above the knee. Squat slightly on right leg. You can press the left knee towards the floor for more stretch. Repeat on the other side.

don't give up! when I started I could only do 1/2 mile a day and thought I was going to die.....and I didn't want to do it. I kept at it and every day was hard for a while then it became easier and I went a little further and then a little further...I am now at 3 miles a day and 3.5 miles an hour....and it totally relaxes me to walk and I enjoy it!! (I never thought I would say that) it takes the human body 3+ months of doing something to make it habit. keep going!

I am so out of shape! I am only walking 1.25 miles a day at a moderate pace and it feels awful! I started last week and I am wondering when it will start to feel better and when it won't be such a chore...I really don't want to give up.

DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This could be the start of a new you and it is up to you! We can't give up on ourselves! You have to matter to yourself! Why did you start this whole thing? Was it to make yourself better or for someone else?
If it was for you, what has changed? You still matter! You can do this!!!!!!

Exercise and building fitness is always stepping outside your comfort zone. It's always going to entail a certain degree of discomfort, because by definition, it is pushing yourself to a higher level of activity than you normally do.

However, you do get to a place where you start to feel "comfortable with discomfort."

I remember when I first got back into swimming, and I was extremely distressed about exerting myself, feeling like I wanted to take a breath, but it wasn't the right timing for a breath yet so I had to wait. That was 5 years ago, hundreds of thousands of yards, 8 triathlons, two state swim meets, and now yes I still spend most of my swim workout in a state where I'd like to be breathing more than I am. But I've learned to be okay with that.

There are huge benefits to stretching your comfort zone in this way.

For one thing, your routine daily activities will be at the "extreme comfort" part of your comfort zone - your everyday, minute-by-minute life will feel very, very comfortable indeed.
Also you will find that other kinds of uncomfortable situations - such as a dreaded meeting with your boss, or confronting your kids about a behavior the need to change, or negotiating a compromise with your spouse - are much less distressing than they used to be - because you've learned to be more comfortable in uncomfortable situations.

Finally, the biggest reason to do this: if you don't, your comfort zone will shrink. That's the natural tendency of the comfort zone. Let's say that this year, you're comfortable parking your car lot near the nature park and then walking to the park and walking another hour around the park and then back to your car. If you just let nature take its course, you won't be comfortable with that in a few years. If nature takes its course, your comfort zone will shrink and then you'll want someone to drop you off at the park and go park the car themselves so you don't have to walk from the lot. A few years later, your one hour walk in the nature park will be 40 minutes. Then, it won't be too long before you just decide not to go to the nature park this year.

Your comfort zone is always either expanding or contracting. When your comfort zone gets small, your life gets constricted. Eventually your comfort zone becomes a prison. Don't let that happen. Keep stretching your comfort zone.