Motivation

I had surgery in Jan and I am losing good I think but I am having a hard time with exercise. I can't seem to stay motivated. I hate going by myself to the gym do you think I need to invest in a trainer? what keeps you motivated??

Hey there

So a trainer is always a great option if it's in the budget. Knowing that you're going to be out ca$h is always a good motivator.

However, it's not the reason I exercise. I get out there so I can participate in races. Really! I just got back from Austin Tx where I participated in a Triathlon for the 6th time. I travel all over the place (both as close as down the road to as far as Europe) to participate. I always have lots of fun and I like to be able to see myself get better and better each time. it's as much about the race as it is about the fun weekend surrounding it.

How this also helps?....it means that the every day exercise has more of a purpose than "it's good for me and I should do this". You find that you have to train and set goals for the different distances you want to go.

A really great place to start is the Couch to 5K program http://www.c25k.com/ The program will give you a guide to teach yourself to run a 5K. It's also easy as the only thing you need is a good pair of running shoes.

One day, once you've been doing this for a while exercise will feel good and you'll WANT to exercise.

Good luck!

I had the same problem, and I'm a month earlier than you. Then I got an invitation to join Team Challenge to train for a half marathon (13.1 miles) and raise money for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. Both my sons have Crohn's. So I signed up. Now I have been heavy my entire life, and pretty much anti-exercise my whole life, and I love training with the team. It motivates me to workout during the week and I love our weekend team walks. And to do even better, I just signed with a personal trainer for twice a week weight training. I never thought I'd like to exercise, but knowing I'm going to be doing 13.1 miles is sure motivating. I'm already looking into the next race to sign up for to keep my motivation up.

Here are a few things that I do to keep me motivated: 1****ep a picture of me and my wife before we had Gastric Bypass on the front of our refrigerator. It's a reminder of what our old ways led us to become 2) I always have some event or events that I'm training for.  That gives me a goal and a reason to train.  3) When I don't feel like training I tell myself that I'll feel both mentally and physically better when I do train. 4) I remind myself of the promise that I made to myself and my surgeon that I would exercise if I had Gastric Bypass Surgery.

It also greatly helps by the fact that I actually LIKE to exercise.  I was always a jock before surgery and now I'm even more so.  Even when I was heavy I was still very physically active...until I had my second knee surgery and I couldn't do the things that I was able to do before.

Hope this helped a little.

Duane

Here are my motivators:
1. Being a little competitive with myself helps keep me motivated. I like to conquer my personal bests and feel like I'm making progress.
2. I also enjoy group fitness classes- once you go on a regular basis, you build a connection with the other students and instructor- makes me gym a big ole happy family.
3. EVENTS! Setting my sights on participating in anything from a 5K, marathon, or triathlon, means I need to be cardiovascularly prepared and strong. Plus I hate to waste money, and once I pay the registration fee, I want my t-shirt and medal! And the vibe you get from being surrounded by other athletes (of all levels, shapes, and sizes) always leaves me wanting more!

I like to have at least 2 goals at all times - first goal is a short term "within my sights" goal.  For instance, when I first started running, this goal was to finish a 5k respectably.  I signed up for a a 5k and trained for it (at Dan on this board's encouragement, I actually raced in one much sooner than I planned).  The second goal is what is called the Mount Everest goal.  Its a longer term goal that seems a bit (or a lot) crazy!   So at the same time as above goal, I also had a 13.1 half marathon I signed up for, and trained for, 5 months away.  

I also spend a lot of time reading this board - it gives me a lot of encouragement to other folks that had the same struggle as me doing incredible physical feats - like running a full iron man tri.  Its one thing to read about some guy who has always been an athlete doing it - but when we read about a dude who was 500 pounds 2 years ago doing it - wow - it makes me wanna move.   

Remembering what I was a year ago is all the motivation I need.

i can't add to what was posted before, i think it captures it for me.  as for YOU, you need to find what is important for YOU and what is fun for YOU.  when you find that, motivation takes care of itself.  best of luck.  my advice on starting out, gut it out, it will be a struggle at first, but eventually you will build good habits which will lead to actually enjoying it (trust me, it can/will happen to you if you keep up with it and make a commitment to yourself).

In the past, this has worked for me:
gym buddy
paying upfront for classes (I hate to waste money)
signing up for a challenging walk/race (trained 8 months for the Breast Cancer 3 day)
REWARDS - (ex: exercise 3X week for 1 month get new pair of shoes/manicure/whatever)
Peer pressure/accountability - I try to post on the daily workout thread here, whether I've worked out or not.

Sign up for an event - 5k, 10k, whatever and make it happen! Whether you run, walk, or both, it really helps me to stay focused on a specific event.