Need advice from all my friends

As most of you know......I HATE exercising and have not done much of it at all I know, my bad!!! Anyways I went from 293 last Dec 8th....to 162 now......131lbs.....but now as I am in arms reach of MY goal (well past surgeons goal) I am at a stand still!!!!! For the last two years I have been paying $53 dollars a month for a gym membership I rarely use! It is time to renew and I am not sure what to do!!!!I keep thinking zi should cancel it and just buy an eliptical for home........But I am not sure I will use that any better either!!!!! The gym seems so perfect.....free daycare, a time to be by myself and get out doing something healthy!!! But I don't go......I am afraid I will get the eliptical and never do it either since, there is always something more important going on at home, soaps, what not So there is my dilemia.......should I quit the gym I hardly use and buy another piece of equipment......or should I try and stick it out another year and make myself go.......I know if I get into the habit I just might like it, but it is a HARD habit to form!!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance Jesi

Hello Jesi, Do not quit the gym it will do you good believe me I go 3 days a week and i'm loseing again its hard for me to go too but I go after I take the kids to school I have been so much happy since I joined you will to once you start going just tell yourself you have to do this for you. you will feel so much better and you should start loseing again. I hope this helps i am always here for you when you need it. take care see ya soon Laurie

I wanted to walk more, but it was getting harder to find the time to walk down by the river (not to mention getting colder), and I hate going to the mall to walk though I've done my fair share of it. I have a bit of a history of buying equipment that just ends up sitting there. I wanted an Eliptical, too, but what I decided to do was buy a treadmill for $100. If I used it enough to wear it out, then I'd buy a nicer treadmill or eliptical. The cost wasn't enough to worry about if I didn't use it. I've been doing great working out the last few weeks. I park it in front of the TV and get walking! I also have a weight lifting machine thing, too, that I bought a couple years ago that I use. Personally, I'd rather spend a couple hundred dollars ONCE, exercise at home, not risk any embarassment, and watch my favorite show rather than spend 50 bucks every month on a membership that I may or may not use. But that's just me Good luck! molly

Maybe you should find an exercise buddy! That way you will feel more obligated to go because you wont want to let the other person down.

I did kinda have an exercise buddy, but she was the one always backing out.......and I really don't have to many friends here in Dubuque.....it is a very clique town!!! I have my hubby and kids but they hinder me more than help me really!!!! ANYONE IN DUBUQUE THAT WANTS TO EXERCISE.......EMAIL ME!!!!!! Thanks Jesi

Jesi, I joined a gym, signed up for some classes, & now feel that it is my responsibility to go to them. It isn't my favorite thing to do but I am getting used to it & enjoy it to some extent. I also have a couple machines & "do-dads" that I bought but seldom use them. I have no one to force me to use them & even though they are in the family room in front of the TV it is too easy to find excuses to not use them. No matter how good a machine or expensive it is, it will do no good if it isn't used. I vote for continuing your membership, taping your soaps to watch at night, sign up for classes so you have a certain time to be there & then give it a month or two & see what happens to your weight, your shape, & your general outlook. I bet you'll continue. By the way, my surgeon's PA felt my abs when she checked for any hernias yesterday. Maybe those crunches are working after all. Good luck Jesi. Dixie

OK Jesi, this is not going to be the popular opinion, but I think you should ditch both the gym membership AND the buying of a machine. I have bought thousands of dollars worth of machines over the years and barely touched them. We have been members of the YMCA, with the most state of the art exercise equipment known to man, for ELEVEN YEARS and I can count on one finger how many times I have exercised there. I say get outside and go for a wal****il it is too icy, then walk indoors at the mall when it gets too slick out. Walking is the only exercise I have ever excelled at, but the heavier I got, the more arthritis symptoms I have in my knees and feet and now I can not walk at all (not for exercise anyway). If you must do something other than walk, buy a ten dollar aerobics tape and do it in the living room. Remember, I am still pre-op, so maybe my tune will change after I lose a hundred pounds like you have. But I know for me, how disgusted I feel about all the money we have spent on machines and monthly dues, all for nothing. jean

I pretty much agree with Jean. Ditch the expensive clubs, machines, etc. I can't even exercise with a buddy because as soon as I feel "pressured" to exercise, my attitude plummets and I don't exercise at all. What I found to be the best exercise, despite my expensive machines and memberships, are the "walk away the pounds tapes" with Leslie Sansone. She is constantly saying "and that's why I keep saying walk away the pounds really works" which gets on my nerves (lol) but you can do a 1 mile tape in 15 minutes and a 2 mile tape only takes 25 minutes. I've worn my pedometer and you really do get in 2 miles without jumping and best of all, it doesn't matter how much you weigh, the tapes are easy to do and go really fast. (Even with the weight loss, I'm a lazy person at heart and don't want to spend a lot of time or *gasp* a lot of energy exercising.) lol If you can avoid it, I recommend not buying many exercise tapes either unless you know you really like them. Borrow somebody's or even check them out at the library to see if you'll really do them before wasting the money. Good luck!

Morning Jesi Well I'm glad I found someone just like me!! I live 30 miles (60 round trip) for any kind of a gym, would love to be able to belong to one, BUT with the drive the price of gas plus the membership I just plain can't afford it. Now that the winter months are upon us going outside in the cold is an absolute no no due to the heart attack. And I was just beginning to like walking again with hardly any pain!! Can you go to the gym in the morning or later in the afternoons? Does a person good to get out. Maybe the "old" you is still hanging in with you, not wanting to be seen out in public? Free daycare? How lucky can you get! I bought a couple of Richard Simmons tapes & they are collecting dust right now. Need to get them out & do some serious exercising! Thought I would save them for these winter months that I'll be cooped up. Since the gym is expensive (for me that is) I would opt for home exercise. Get the twins involved with it also! My grandson loved it when I popped in Richard & he would "dance" to the oldies with me. Who is your PS & what kind of insurance do they accept? I have Title 19, would you check & see if they accept that? Thanks much! Nobody around this part of the state does PS so I'm looking at a longggg drive to find one! Take care Hugs Carolyn

Okay, Jes, you know I had to get in my 2 cents and you know what they are. Keep the gym membership and go after you take the girls to school. Take Madi to the day care and enjoy a workout on your own. They probably offer free trainer services to get you started on a routine. If not, let me know and I will pay for a half hour or hour of services for you to get a good routine down. (I owe you a birthday present, remember,?) Now, don't let me push you, it has to be YOUR choice, but find something that you like to do to get yourself moving. You could run to Long Grove daily, but would freeze your butt off and don't think it would work. LOL Anyway, just my opinion. Ya know I'll luv ya either way! God bless, Andrea