How to make exercise a habit?

Just do it! Everyday... do something positive.... nothing more than walk around the block... just do it!

I started off with an indoor bike.. so as I'm watching TV I biked. I would set my mind to biking for a whole rerun of Charmed or Gilmore Girls. That turned into walking. That turned into jogging. Getting into competition with yourself is the best advice I can give. Can I go longer? Can I go faster? Can I have less walking breaks?
All of this turned into kettlebell workouts which I now love! Cardio and strength mixed into one! So now I job and do KB workouts on a regular basis, and I enjoy both. Good luck to you!

I agree wth @HermanLily --I was injured and wanted to get back in the habit of exercising after being off for a long time, so I made the goal of 1 h of some sort of aerobic activity first thing in the morning (or at the latest lunch time). I started with just walking around the neighborhood. After doing it for about 6 weeks, I was able to increase the amount of running and still stay active each day for the same amount of time with a combination of running, walking and water walking. The key was the consistency, so that even when my schedule got a whole lot busier at the end of those 6 weeks, I was eager to make space for the exercise.

I dislike exercise so I do as little of it at the highest intensity as I can, and then it's over. I can deal with anything for 15 minutes. I could live through being waterboarded for 15 minutes. And 15 minutes of HIIT cycling - high intensity two minutes, extreme intensity 1 minute, repeat 5 times - reliably burns almost 300 calories and drops my blood glucose if it's high. I make myself do the 15 minutes every day even if I do nothing else.

Then I try to add fun things. I find challenges fun. I started with the 200 squats challenge and the 100 push-ups challenge and the 200 squats challenge, then moved on to strength training when those got easy. I'm doing c25k right now. I also enjoy music, so I dance and do Zumba and Bollywood routines.

I have always loathed traditional gyms. They bore me to tears and was part of the reason I couldn't stick with a workout plan in my mid-30s. By accident I stumbled on something I love, which became a passion - BJJ/MMA. I dropped 90lbs and am in the best overall shape of my life at age 42. I need my training time like I need breath.

You can get exercise anywhere. Look for non-traditional methods and find what you love.

I got started when a medical condition had my doctor order me to stay off my leg as much as possible. (Cellulitus led to lymphedema. The leg wasn't healing because they were still trying to find the right antibiotic. And I was told that walking could further heat an already overheated—due to infection—leg and slow down the healing even more.) So... reverse psychology. The more I was restricted from walking, the more I wanted to get off my kitten and move. And by the time the vascular surgeon cleared me, I was ready and rarin'.

I started with a 25-minute daily walk. Then I realized that I had lost enough to use the glider in my basement safely. And I started slowly increasing the time of my walks.

I discovered the MFP forums around January and started reading and learning. Stuff like 'strength training isn't just another exercise you can do, but something that can help you preserve muscle'.

And I started noticing a few things little by little:

• I deal with stress and minor anxiety issues. In the past, eating to numb the emotions was one my unhealthy coping strategies. Since I've started exercising, I haven't had any serious bouts with either.
• TOM has gone from severe cramping and stomach issues to almost no side issues. I find I want more salt and carbs then than the rest of the month, but it's more of an 'I feel like I could go for a little more popcorn or a bigger baked potato' than going through an entire 2.5-quart pot of matzo ball soup in a day or 3-4 loaves of naan with garlic butter. And it's more of a want than a craving.
• My walking speed has improved.
• In a year, my blood pressure has gone from 130/90 to 110/80
• It seems that I have deltoids. And they're kinda visible.

tcunbeliever wrote: »

Did you miss the part where exercising gives you more calories to eat???

That was the hook for me, and I think this point is not made often enough. I effectively make up my deficit (when I'm losing) with exercise, and eat at approximately my maintenance level.

Some awesome advice here! I'll add that having an accountability partner really helps. For me it's my sister who lives 1500 miles away. Every night before bed I text her that I'll be getting up and doing this work out or that work out. Just knowing that I promised her that I would be getting my butt out of bed and doing a work out forces me to get my butt out of bed. Because in the morning, I text her and tell her that I crushed that work out. If you have a friend to meet you, even better! But even someone that you can't lie to and talk to everyday will help.

Sam29a wrote: »

How do I get from couch potato - literally, I probably walk 500 steps a day - if that, to at least somewhat active?

If you only walk about 500 steps a day, try adding 50-100 extra steps each day. Before you know it, you'll be off the couch and enjoying challenging yourself to see how far you can go.