Are YOU exercising?

Hi June Bugz . . . I am having an awful time getting started on a walking regimen and need a pep talk. I've got two little ones at home (summer vacation for 3-1/2 more weeks). My excuse for not walking so far has been that it is too difficult to schedule a time when I can get out alone, and I'm feeling rather wiped out lately. The kids walk too slowly . . . and one of my children is autistic and sometimes its difficult to keep him closeby. Too stressful. I've tried waiting til bedtime for them, but it's dark and the mosquitoes eat you alive. Plus we've been having extremely hot, humid and rainy weather. OK there's all my excuses, ahem. My plan is to walk in the mornings once school starts again. But that still leaves a couple of weeks of nothing. Any suggestions on what else I can be doing? I have Richard Simmons "Sweating to the Oldies" videos here at home, that's one plan. What are YOU doing exercise-wise, June postops? Maybe if I hear what's going on with you, I will get off my slack behind and make more of an effort and less excuses. THANKS. -BJ

No small kids here but I have been very tired. I was trying to walk 2 miles a day and was only managing it about twice a week and would dread it like the plague now I am trying to walk 15 minutes a day everyday and I seem to feel better, no dread. I read an article that said at first you are trying to develop a habit not endurance. Check out www.walking.about.com I subscribe to the "fake until you make it" plan. Yesterday I thought ok if you aren't going to walk at least read about it, lolol and then I got out there and walked. Hope this helps. mj

like you I have kids at home and it is impossible to walk with them, especially since we live in the country. There are no good walking surfaces out here. I am going to curves now, 3 days a week and when school starts on the 12th of Aug. I will go 5 days a week. I may purchas a stationary bike. I use to have one, wore it out, loved it.

Hey BJ, I'm always too self concious to walk outside so I bought a set of the Leslie Sansone walking tapes. I too have those little terrorists who are out of school so we all stand in front of the TV and walk away the pounds. It is GREAT! I got the set at BJ's Wholesale for 15 bucks with the abs belt too. They have a 1 mile tape, two mile one and a 3 mile one. I'm not brave enough to try the 4 mile DVD yet. The one mile one is only 15 minutes and even the 4 mile one is only 45 minutes so these seem to work real well for me. She breaks it down by 1/2 miles and such so you can stop whenever you want. My girls LOVE it! Hope this helps. H

I'm walking 2 miles a day after work at a local mall. I do it 5 times a week & haven't had any problems. I'm using an exercise ball for home exercises to improve my stomach muscles too. Jerry Open RNY revision 6/3/04 355/295/200

Hi Barbara, I go to my friends pool and tread water almost every night for about 1 hour. I get out into the deep end and just start kicking and I also swim some back stroke laps. This is low impact and I just love it since I broke my back about 5 years ago. Oh, I only go swimming late in the evening around 8 with my friends or my husband and son. Hope this gives you some good ideas. Dawn

Okay, so you want to exercise. That's good. Now, move that want into action. Take Baby Steps...Turn up the radio loud and dance around the livingroom with the kids (I have 4 and they love it 11/9/4/2). Jump, turn, walk in place. Just do what you can. In a short while, doors of opportunity will open. So, just try not to beat yourself up over this. It will come. Also, one of the big reasons for exercise is to try to keep the muscle we have. Get some weights or they have those stretchy bands and just do a little strengthening. Good luck! Right now I can't even walk these days very much. I feel so tired. But I WILL get to it. Waiting on the energy burst!

BJ, I work at a manufacturing company and figured out that if I walk from the back of the plant all the way around to the other "office" buiding, that is a quarter of a mile, instead of walking from the front just across the parking lot. I also started friday, swimming for 15 minutes in the morning. I plan to swim on mon/wed/fridays. I realize that humidity can be awful, but the one thing I always say about it is: The hotter or more humid the weather, the more I sweat. The more I sweat, the more I lose. Giggle. Even if it is just for 10 mins girlfriend, try to get out there. That is how I started. Just think, Weigh****chers only asks for their members to walk 20 minutes a day, in 10 minute increments at first. And the other ladies have given you some great ideas too. Hope this helps. Mary Kay

Mary Kay, I just wanted to say that your picture is adorable. KK aka shrinking K

Currently I'm working out at 35 min. a day on the Treadmill or the Elliptical machine at my gym about 4-5 days a week. I'm not sure if its a combination of the healthier diet and the excersise but my energy is through the roof! I love it. Don't get me wrong, there are days I'm just too wiped out to do it but I tell myself I'll just to 20 min, when I get to 20 I might as well continue the rest. I also tell myself "bikini body, bikini body"!