Do any of you have any tips on how to get and stay motivated to exercise? If thinking about it worked, I'd be in great shape!

I hate to sweat! and I am probably one of a few who don't really like being outside, I have a treadmill, I use as a step to reach the clothes line to hang clothes; a stationary bike, I hang wet ball caps on; some other thing I don't remember the name of; and a recumbent bike I use once or twice a year but just can't stay motivated. I have a bad low back and knee (I have to wear a brace). I'd love to build up my legs so it's easier to get up from a seated position and maybe even someday from the floor.

Thanks.

I too have a bad lower back, and I have arthritis in my knees. I use a Body by Jake Cardio Cruiser. It sits high enough off the ground you don't hurt your back, and is really great for strengthening your legs. As for motivation, I think of my skinny cousin who is always looking down her nose at me. Losing this weight and proving I can keep it off is al the motivation I need. Good luck finding what works for you.

I have a great suggestion for you..check and see if your local YMCA or gym offers a water aerobics class..there isnt any sweating because the water cools you off and it helps build muscle through water resistance but because the water helps you float you feel your weight very little so you can work out for a longer time...I really like the water aerobics because its fun and doesnt really seem like a workoput so you keep coming back to it.

Do you want to be fat? Do you want to wear plus size clothes? If not then kick ass girl, get on that treadmill and run, run for you, run for the people who teased you so you can say look as me now, run for life, run to breathe, run to be healthy, just do it for you.

First, you just have to sweat to work out. Even if you do it in a pool so you don't notice, you HAVE to do it. You need to embrace this fact, and wear your sweat as the badge of honor and effort that it is. You *earn* your sweat.

That said, my motivation comes from:

1) not wanting to feel terrible. I felt so unbelievably bad (basically sick) for the months leading up to my weight loss, and I never, ever want to feel that way again.
2) loving feeling better. I can do things now because I'm more physically fit - like play golf for a full afternoon or even just, say, run up the stairs without feeling winded. I take advantage of that as often as I can and am thankful for that feeling. Through exercise I've managed to become in better shape than a large portion of my skinnier friends. I no longer feel like a prisoner in my own body.
3) Fear. When all else fails I google "diabetes," sometimes "diabetes and blindness" or "diabetes and amputation." It's grizzly. It's also real. Thank God I seem to have narrowly avoided it, at least so far.
4) I don't give myself time to de-motivate. If I'm going to exercise when I get home from work, I do NOT sit down before I start. I do not eat before I start. I immediately get to it and I don't stop until I'm done. If I'm exercising first thing in the morning, it is the FIRST thing I do in the morning. Everything else that I "have" to do comes secondary.
5) I do it for *me*. Not because I "should," not because someone else wants me to. For *me*. Therefore, there is no "cheating." There is only the decision of whether or not to do it. I don't know you specifically, but I do know myself and members of my family who have had (severe) weight problems, and it seems to me that what you're doing mimics what I and they used to do. You're not exercising and you THINK you want to do it. In my opinion and my experience, however, if the pressure to do it was coming from yourself, then there would be no conflict. Finding that reason to do it for yourself is something that no one else can really provide, and it takes a LOT of self-reflection. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the diet's the easy part. The hard part is getting your mind and will to line up with the reality of the lifestyle change.

You've had good success with the diet, though, so you've got to have something in there...figure out what it is and go with it! And if you stick with it for a month or two, you'll start to feel the effects on your health the rest of the day, and then it will snowball. You'll be so glad that your energy and strength have improved that you won't be able to imagine going back. I know that in my case if I were forced to choose between diet and exercise, at this point I'd take the exercise and never lose another pound (luckily I don't have to make that choice, though! ), because its effect on my overall wellbeing is dramatic.

Also, for a regimen that I enjoy for strengthening your back and legs, you might want to look into a Kettlebell. They make lighter ones for women, and they improve strength, flexibility and have good cardio effect as well.

Good luck!

-j.

I have made decisions in my past that keep me motivated. One of the biggest reasons I decided to join the military when I was 19 was because I knew I needed more than just my personal motivation to keep me in shape - for the next 20 years! And it has worked. Right now I am out running 3x a week purely out of fear. I will be finished maternity leave in 2 weeks and I am scared stiff of going back to work and being in horrible shape. I have done it before and it sucks. Unfortunately just fear of disease and feeling crappy and being fat isn't enough, but fear of humiliation at my workplace seems to do the trick.
Also, I have a passion for horses. My little horse doesn't need a 250lb person on her back, so that does motivate me to lose as well as provide an activity that doesn't feel like exercise. Try brushing a thick coat of dried mud off of a dirty horse, scrubbing til your arms go numb, or walking 2 miles through the woods to catch your horse because she prefers the grass at the back of the pasture...a good workout and fun too!
I don't suggest you join the army or buy a horse, just explore less conventional ways of being active. Learning about new activities can provide the exercise you need as well as keep you interested in what you are doing.

My best suggestion for motivation is get a group of your friends together and take walks. I've been walking on my two work breaks, and for a half hour at lunch, with my co-workers. I wasn't really keeping track of it, but then one day I put it all into my fitday activity log and I was walking between 4 and 7 km every day... that's huge! The fact that we were jabbering the whole time made it go fast, and it's harder to ditch out when there are other people doing it with you.

This week I'm off work, so I've decided to walk to do things that I wouldn't normally walk to. Yesterday I walked to the library to pick up a book (3.1 miles r/t). Today I'm going to return a video I rented (probably more like 5 miles r/t... or more). Since the whole point is getting to that destination, I won't stop halfway and turn back. If you do this though, be sure to bring a cellphone with you and some change for the bus, just in case you get a leg cramp or something!

I am starting to walk on Sept 5. That's the first day back to school.
For me, it's like an appointment. It's not something I fit in or bump when time is short.
I have an appointment 5 days a week afte the kids get on the bus. If it rains, I'll use my treadmill. (Which I use the same way you do now LOL)

My motivation... it's an appointment not an option.
I've set the goal well in advance so I can get the "thinking about it" stage out of the way.
Now I've added a DVD workout to my plan. Still going through the "thinking about it" thing. Should be commited by Sept 5.

Good luck