how to make me exercise?

Okay so here's the deal.........I hate exercise!  Nothing I do is fun and I'm tired of being fat.  I know the surgery is a tool and exercise and eating right is a big part of it but I hate it.  Some days I'd rather be fat and happy and eat my big macs and fries. I bought a 600 dollar treadmill and I've had it for two weeks.  I've used it twice!  I just can't seem to find anything I like or am good at. Just venting a little

Sex? it's a form of exercise......lol  Just a thought!  When you drop some pounds the exercise may seem easier. Or you might be able to do some things you cant when you are heavy. You will like being thin so much it will motivate you to try new things. Just dont count your self out before you get going.  Hope all goes well, Derrick

I know this is probably going to sound lame, but you may want to try some form of aquatic exercise.  It's the only kind I can do.  My local YMCA has a nice pool plus I get to use the sauna when I'm done.  I lost 20 lbs last year just walking back and forth in chest deep water.  Most pools have water dumbels that you can use under water like you would use weights on land.  You can get imaginative with what you can do in the water besides swimming.  Sometimes I just go and tread water for a half hour.  Part of the fun at the Y is talking to other people.  They usually have music piped in which also makes the exercise more enjoyable. On the other hand, when there's no music and no one else in the pool, the clock seems to grow in importance.  I try to stay in for at least a half hour and I intend to increase that time. You may want to return that treadmill if it's just going to become a coat rack.  Think of other things you might like to do.  Are there bars near you where you can dance the night away?  I kind of remember you mentioning that you are a night person.  Any continuous activity will help. If you are going to try strength training, reach out to the guys here who enjoy that.  They can give you tips on how to start out and, from then on you can periodically ask for help as you progress.  Oh, yeah, to me that seems like work.  I don't know what it might be like for you.  Just remember that building your muscles that way increases your metabolism and helps you lose weight.

James, working at the pool is a great place to start.  Get to know some of the people there.  Once again getting out there and making friends helps with the antisocial stuff that comes with being cramped up, particularly in the winter.   There will be days you want the Big Mac and Fries.  Go ahead and do that.  Seriously.  You will get so sick that it will cure you from that.  I'm part of the Stupid is as stupid does group.  That's how I learned, by doing stupid stuff and getting really sick that I had that memory.  Sort of like Tequila for me or watching a knee injury in a football game.  Can't do it because I've been through it.  Try the pizza and the big mac, this will make you sick but the tool will be that reminder and everytime you think about it your stomach will get queezy in the future and that's what will keep you from doing it in the future.  This was one of the stupidest and smartest things I did at the same time.  Do it on  a day off though.  You will be curled up in a ball in bed or on the toilet for an entire day and will gain 4-5 lbs.  But that short time sickness will help with the cravings in the future. On the exercise, quite frankly you need to stop whining about it and do it.  If you force yourself for 45 days to do it, you will begin to love the results and look forward to it because you will realize you feel much better and lose weight faster by doing it.  Keep in mind this surgery is a sprint and a marathon.  You sprint to get as close to goal as you can in the first 12 months  and in the process build the behaviors that will last for the marathon.  But the key is the sprint.  I'm convinced that people who get very close to or mke it to their goal in the first 12 months are far more likely to be successful 5 years from now.  It is just human nature.   Use fear as a motivator.  This tool is your last shot.  If you pu**** this summer you will find that you hardly even sweat doing things that would have winded you and created flop sweat.  To give you an example, when I started exercising on my elliptical, 4 minutes in I would be halfway through a tshirt with sweat. Now, 45 minutes and my shirt doesn't get wet and I feel great.  That's your future, if you will just get to it and realize that excercise is one of your top 2-3 friends in this journey.  You will not be successful without it, period.   Put some challenges and goals out there in front of you.  I challenged my 6 year old to a quarter mile race before I could even jog.  At the time I couldn't run to save him from an ongoing car because I couldn't run at all.  6 months later I beat him by 1 yard.  Those are the sort of things out there.   Excercise is your Obi-Wan in this journey, it is your only hope of getting to where you wanted to be when you had the surgery.  This is a pivitol point for you.  If you give up, you've given up.   Some ideas to help with the boredom  Put a computer on the treadmill that you can search the internet when working out.  I'm writing this while on the elliptical (I'm sure the typos demonstrate that) and my kids are watching Disney which would mke me quit in 5 minutes.  Get your mind into some sort of diversion.  When swimming, I would have a prayer list of friends, family, leaders, etc.  that I would use to pray for 1 each lap.  Exercise is 99% in the head.   Hope this helps, my friend. Greg

Hi James, What helped for me was keeping a chart and challenging myself every week. I started out 10 minutes on the eliptical. The next week it was that and 5 minutes on the stationary bike. The next week I added in some weights. I just kept up the challenge and that made it a little more fun for me. Now I'm on to triathlons and marathons. This stuff gets in your blood. Set a goal and work towards it. Did wonders for me. -Dan

Aim your treadmill at a wall and put poster(s) of semi-naked/naked chick(s) on the wall.  That will remind you what you are working for. You also need music.  Watching TV is lame. Try YOU'RE THE BEST by Joe Esposito (from Karate Kid).

Hah hah.  I wear my Cobra Kai t-shirt I got a few months ago proudly.  :)

Fear does not exist in the dojo!

Cool!  Where did you get that?

Is there anyway you could join a group and work out together? I was fortunate in that I was able to join a group of guys. It helps because if I get lazy and don't show I take so much crap that its just easier to go and get it done.  I too hated to exercise. Now after about 9 months of 3+ times a week I hate myself if I don't go. Its strange and I never would have believed if I had not experienced the feeling myself. Now I'm convinced that the mental wellnes one gets from exercise is almost more benefical than the physical. You just have to make it a part of your day. At first its a job but after awhile it truely becomes part of who you are. Like they say on this forum: IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE! If you don't include exercise in your routine you will be setting yourself up for weight gain. Get back on that treadmill. Just go 5 min. a day but do it at least 5 days a week. Good luck and get moving.