Motivation

When I start losing motivation to go out for a walk, that's when I know I have to find ways to stay active. If the weather gets terrible where I am, and I can't get as much walking in as I'd like in a day, there are a variety of ways to stay active without having to leave home. I often see people mention youtube videos to stay active with, or fitnessblender.

If walking is really out of the question right now, maybe look into some bodyweight routines that you can do while you're kept indoors. At the very least, you'll have come out with some physique improvements and a little extra fat to burn away with a manageable deficit when you can include exercise again.

watch youtube videos and use those to exercise

Ive never used a gym I'm a youtube and fitness blender fan

Check out Jessicasmithtv (YouTube channel) if walking is your thing. She has a good selection of walking style workouts. She has a good selection of any type work out actually - and all completely free.

more long underwear.

danika2point0 wrote: »

If you like walking, try Leslie Sansone DVDs. You can get them very cheap at Walmart. Alternatively, you can switch on the TV and walk in place in the warmth of your living room!

I love Leslie too. Some of her workouts are on youtube.

OP - it's smart to simply maintain and not fall off your plan. Calorie intake is the bottom line for weight loss/maintenance - not exercise. It's worth remembering if you're frustrated about not working out.

Yeah, I dial back my expectations of any significant weight loss during the winter months. Instead, I change my frame of mind and my goal becomes maintaining my weight. I set my goal to "lose" a half-pound a week, and that generally means I maintain, given that little extra nibble or glass of wine that slides by. Then, I switch up my exercise. Try an app like "You Are Your Own Gym," that focuses on body-weight exercises, or like others have suggested--YouTube videos, whatever. Can you get a used exercise bike or treadmill for your house? Walk at the warmest part of the day (like over a lunch break)? For me, I mix up both cardio and weightlifting all through the year--so in the winter, I focus on weights with a dash of cardio, hitting the gym at least 3x/week.

Once spring/summer hits, I go on the targeted weight loss plan where I'm more diligent in tracking food, and add mountain biking, pickleball, and increasing my walks, and I'm thrilled if I hit the gym 3x/week for weights, it's usually twice.

Be flexible--figure out a plan that works and won't drive you to feeling guilty or, worse, to depending on "motivation." Motivation is fleeting and can easily be rationalized away. Don't ever depend on motivation to keep you going; it's short-lived and not a good crutch for the difficult times and for permanent lifestyle changes.

Realize that winter sucks, in general, for some exercises. Give yourself room to figure something else out, and commit to it. Also, food intake is more important in terms of maintaining or losing weight; exercise is for overall fitness and to gain a couple hundred calories that you can then consume. Good luck!

BernieMBurke wrote: »

@CarlydogsMom What is pickleball? Just curious.

It's a court game with a net and you generally play doubles (not always). The court is about half the size of a tennis court. You have a paddle and you hit essentially a whiffle ball back and forth. It's a good physical activity for all ages. The ball moves slower due to it being a whiffle ball, and I often get my a** kicked by people in their 70's, simply because the ball doesn't fly around so fast, and there is actually some strategy involved. You can play for hours and not get wiped out; or you play hard and have an incredible workout. It's surprisingly addictive.

Do a search for pickleball on YouTube, you can see some young dudes play it amazingly well and fast in matches.

Pickleball enthusiasts say that it is the "fastest growing sport in the U.S." I'm not verifying that, but I do know that a lot of folks, when looking for a retirement area, won't move to a place that does NOT have an active pickleball league. I'm flabbergasted that after only playing it for 2 summers, I may be one of them when the time comes.

@tomteboda those are beautiful pictures!

Winter is my motivation, because I want to look better by the time summer rolls around again. So when I'm looking for motivation when it's cold, it's the fact that I know it'll be getting warm soon and I want to put the work in now and enjoy the fruits of my labor in summer time!