Exercise motivation?????

OK, so I went to my surgeon for my 5 week post op check.  He took a look, and a poke or two, and a listen here and there, and said I was doing great, now START EXERCISING.

Well, he may as well have told me to start eating my own foot.

If I didn't have a problem with exercise, I may not have been in the predicament I was in necessitating surgery!

I am the absolute QUEEN of excuses.  I got a dog seven years ago to motivate me to walk.  Her leash is dryrotted, and she'd probably be paralyzed if it weren't for my son taking her out!  (Then I got three cats, so I can sit on the couch and curl up with them and have another excuse not to move!  HA)

I was injured in a car accident 20 years ago, and every time I've attempted to exercise my upper body, my neck injury kicks up and completely KILLS me for weeks.

(And the excuses have begun....!!!)

I do ok with cardio (elliptical??) and lower body (legs and such), but the first thing my surgeon noticed were my newly deflated bingo-wings.  I'm horrified at the thought of going thru life with batwings, and tripping over my boobs is kinda freaking me out as well.  I remember when I joined the gym, I always felt fantastic after I went....but then I started coming up with more excuses not to go.  It takes too much time, I'll never get dinner on the table, I'll miss Big Bang Theory.....here we go again!

Why am I sitting here trying to find ANY excuse not to walk the stupid dog around the stupid block, or take out my (purchased long ago) yoga and pilates for fat people DVsD and just DO SOMETHING!!!

Finding a walking friend is kinda difficult.  I work, and my hours don't jive with most of my friends.  I also don't want to use the excuse that "so and so" isn't coming, so I don't have to....and again, there's the damn dog, waiting by the door, staring at me, like she knows.....

By late afternoon, especially on work days, I start getting exhausted.  I barely have enough energy to go home and make dinner anymore.  I still feel worn out a lot of the time.

How do I do this????  HELP!!!!!

I work 4pm - 1am Sunday - Thursday. I have a small hobby farm (large garden, expanded it to 100 x 100 this year - horses, chickens, rabbits,dogs cats - all demanding food and care I also spend at least a couple of hours a day helping my bedridden, SMO mom and 78yr old dad.
I stay exhausted and busy and " just don't want to"

But I do. I know the only way I will stay consistent is with someone else - I will NOT let someone else down. Even if I am paying that someone to be there.
I work out with a personal trainer 2x a week, an hour per session. When I first started it was 1 session a week, 30 minutes. She encouraged me to walk a 5k every month. Now I am determined to jog one, then work on "running" one. And then maybe .... MAYBE... a sprint triathlon.

And the dog will not let you down.... I bet she'll be willing to walk rain or shine.

You don't have to walk or go to the gym.... Join a dance class. Or a martial arts studio. Get a Wii or Xbox and get the fitness games. Kayak. Canoe. Swim.

Excuses are like armpits - everybody has them and they generally stink.

Oh Cheryl you made me laugh - I am a queen of excuses too. I bought a treadmill years ago and promised my hubby it would not become a clothing rack like my last one. Well guess what? Yup clothes on it.
Everyday I say this will be the day I start, but it never seems to happen. I did however get outside this week when the weather was warm and weed - that counts right?

I wish I had answers for you - excuses yes, but no answers to help. When you find that motivation or if anyone has any to spare I can use some as well.

A personal trainer is a great investment and good ones a very motivating

I could have written this.  Really. 
I'm old enough to know that I'm not going to any darned gym on a regular
basis after my 10-hour work days. Not gonna happen. I'm also old enough
to know what I'm willing and able to do on a regular basis.  That's the key.
Make it something that will work for you.  I'm not gonna walk my dogs
either and I think they're getting over it.  Well, my home-made doggie
cookie bribes work wonders for that...but I digress.
I found an indoor walking DVD that doesn't kill my aging joints or my
trick ankles. I use 2-lb wrist weights and darn, I like this thing!  There's
no jumping around or bouncing that's gonna kill me, but my heart rate
gets right up there. I then can follow it with a wicked workout that also
isn't hard on the joints but is designed to work out the legs and glutes
etc. in an easy-on-the-joints way, but it really gives me a workout
amazingly.....in my own living room.  I finally found something I can
stick with.  I'm not perfect and sometimes I slip, but I get right back at
it.  In the Spring and Summer I'm given to hard turf digging and back-
breaking work in my project of a house or my yard, so I get lots more
in nice weather, but I still do my walking and exercise DVDs.

Hang in there and try various things until you find the one that will
work for you.  I dunno- maybe you are a gym kinda person....or walking
or running with a buddy- or riding a bike or skating or Pilates or Yoga
or Zumba or...........?? 

I am exhausted at the end of the day too, but I find that if I force myself
to do my walking, I feel better in the long run and I sleep better too.
I still will always have to work at it, but it's less of a "hate" thing now that
I found a DVD that actually fits me.  Now if I could just order up some
motivation from Amazon.........

Good luck!

 I'll miss Big Bang Theory.....here we go again!
Cheryl....go to a gym that has personal tv's on the equipment and bring your headphones. 

No way of knowing what will motivate you...that's part of the this whole process of self-discovery.

But here's what motivat(es)ed me:
this is multi-part journey - part eating right, part getting my head on straight, part getting healthy and fit, part feeling good about myself. Between my insurance and myself, we paid a whole bunch of money for this multi-part adventure, not to mention the whole alteration to my plumbing for the rest of my life. So why would I NOT want to do everything, and I mean everything, to make sure I'm a success.

The food part, yep, that's coming along - fill in that check box, the getting my head on straight, yep that's a work in progress, BUT I am progressing - sortov fill in that check box; getting healthy and fit - damn straight that's a BIG old check in that box, and feeling good about myself? See.,...since I have check boxes in the three areas of my multi-part adventure, it's a pretty sure thing that I'm feeling good about myself and my journey.

So in a nutshell, I'm making the investment in myself by doing what needs to be done. And you know what I've discovered along the way? I LIKE it -- I LIKE doing what needs to be done, I LIKE feeling good about myself, I LIKE sweating and achieving new levels of fitness, I LIKE being happy and not making excuses for myself. Geez, I think I'm falling in love with myself all over again -- and that's a good thing (as Martha would say).

So why not pop in fun exercise DVD (Bollywood Dance/Masala Banghra is a riot if you haven't already tried it already (I defy you to not smile why you are doing it) and have it ready, bind up those droopy boobs in a compression sports bar, DVR the Big Bang Theory, throw some food in a crockpot for dinner, and do something for yourself that's going to make you successful, make you feel better, and make you look better? Plus that big old check you can put in the check box on your To-Do-Is-Done List is pretty damn rewarding.

 I was the queen of excuses too and hated to exercise.  But once you start, you actually find that you start to enjoy how it makes you feel.  One thing that worked really well for me was to join Team Challenge to train with a group and trainer for a half marathon to raise money for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.  Both my kids have Crohn's so it was motivation to me to do something to help them.  The first training was three miles and I thought I was going to die!  The trainer told me that day that he didn't think I'd be able to make it and right then I decided nothing was going to stop me.  I came in last at every training but I kept going.  Now, two years later, I'm training for my third Team Challenge half, and training two of my friends to do a half in May which will be my fifth half.  If I can learn to do this and enjoy it, anyone can.

If joining a training group isn't possible, join my online April Challenge.  How about challenging yourself to take your dog out around the block 3 or 4 times a week for every week this month.  It may not sound like much, but it's a start and you have to start somewhere.   You can find the details in my post or I can send them to you.

Good luck.  As one person says, you can do hard things.

Jan

I am very goal oritented so I have to set specific, defined goals to keep myself motivated. When I first had surgery, I would exercise sort of regularly and half-heartedly, but at 6 months post-op, I was still feeling kind of wimpy. I decided I needed a REAL exercise plan to get strong. My first major exercise goal was to complete a 90 day "Body for Life" challenge. I am so grateful there was a 90-day commitment required bacause I would have given up pretty early out if it had not meant I "failed" atthe challenge. Just so I would not fail, I kept it up. And strangely, at about 6 weeks into the 12 week program, I all of a sudden saw incredible result...like overnight. THAT created the motivation I needed to keep it up without feeling miserable. When I would get to the point where it felt boring and I dreaded my workout, I would do something to spice it up. Soemthing unrelated to exercise. For instance, I recorded my favorite one hour tv show and would only allow myself to watch while doing the elliptical. I read a magazine or book between sets during my weight training. Once my program was over and my muscles were totally buff, and now that I am at my goal weight, I find it hard to keep up a program because I don't have specific guidelines and rewards. It took me a few weeks of floundering to realize I need to create a new program and goal. So I decided to commit to 4 weeks of a 3 X week exercise program and when I finish, I will shop for my very first sundress! Only one week left!!! I am so excited! But I am also trying to figure out what my next program goal and reward will be.

I hope some of the advice you receive in this thread will help you find something that will help motivate you. But, remember, you have to do it yourself FOR yourself! Good luck!!

 Two thoughts: have you considered self-hynosis tapes?  I know a company called Potentials Unlimited has a downloadable mp3 on exercise.  I recently purchased one from them on self-confidence; I figured it couldn't hurt.  A friend of mine swears that self-hypnosis has changed her life. 


Second, I've found that as I lose more, I want to do more.  My biggest downfall is coming home from work and sitting down.  A body in motion, stays in motion and all that.  So, I come home from work, put on my sneakers, and am back out the door with the dogs.  Plus, I know my dogs (just like myself) only have one life to live and I don't want to deny them pleasure any longer.