Help! Need motivation to exercise!

Happy Holidays everyone!

I had surgery over a month ago and I have only lost 21 lbs. Well I can't say "only" because that would be a hard feat to do all myself. About 3 years ago, I was a exercise freak and I knew when I had this surgery that I would love to get back into that again. But for some reason, I am just not there yet. I have lost my mojo! I need some type of other motivation techniques(other than I know I will lose weight if I exercise). I just need that push.

Oh and the reason I was so into exercising back in the day was because I didn't like my job and I could escape downstairs to the gym and stay down there for 90 minutes. My motivation then was to get some time out of the office. Plus, I didn't have to pay for the gym.

Any tips would be grateful!

I like the sign up for something approach.
When I'm feeling unmotivated, I find a running event or a something like that.
Put my money on the line and sign up for it.  Then I'm exercising and training with a purpose.
I don't like to throw my money away, and I want to see if I have improved over the last time.
It also is something that is completely 180 degrees away from what I used to be.  A fat sit on the couch do nothing.  To be out running or cycling and proving to myself that I can do it and live a healthy lifestyle is a great motivator.

At least thats the way I work it.
Plus while the actual exercise or race may be hard, may not be fun, that feeling of crossing the finish line and seeing the success you just had, is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.

Scott

That sounds like a plan. I need to put something in place to look forward to. Set milestones for myself. Thank you for responding. I truly needed this push.

Actually, 21 lb. in a month is pretty awesome for a lightweight. You can't go by absolute pounds, but by percentage of excess weight. You've lost 18% of your excess weight already!

On motivation:

When I first started running, I would picture my HS Spanish teacher (who was also the cross country coach) who went out of his way one day to tell me that he'd seen me running and it was the funniest sight he'd ever seen. I would picture him bumping into me on a training run and the look on his face when he found out I was doing triathlons. I'd pound out the miles on the treadmill and think "who's the funny runner now, you stupid bint". I found it very motivating.

But I think signing up for races probably works better in the long run. I know having a concrete goal like that has really helped me.

This is an awesome motivator. I am glad it has worked for you. I think I will find a race in the area that I can sign up for. I actually checked out the Race for the cure in DC in May. I think I will make that my motivator. Its a 5k walk.  Thanks for the tip.