How can I change the way I feel about exercise?

I HATE physical activity of any kind. I hate being oustide most days. I hate it when it's too hot..I hate it when its too cold. My hubbie turned our garage (complete with finished drywall, rubber floors and loads of fancy equipment) into a really nice gym.. but I avoid it like its haunted. Once I bought an eliptical and put it in the downstairs playroom, but it soon became a coat hanger. People at work invite me to do the walking thing, and I hide from them. I feel guilty about this and I know I need to fit exercise into my life but I really HATE it. I hate, hate,hate it! Whew! good to get that off my chest. I wonder if a hypnotist could make me change my attitide about physical activity. Good thing my job is an office / sedentary type.

Just DO IT. Trust me, changing your thinking starts with changing your behavior. Once you see how good it makes you feel and see some results you'll start to be able to at least stay consistent. Take the first step and just do it. The time is now :)

It's like brushing your teeth or doing the weekly laundry.  It takes time, is not much fun, but is just something that needs to get done.

If you're trying to maintain a goal weight, if you excercise you get to eat more!

Change the attitude my friend. When you say you HATE exercise it just reinforces your thoughts. It's your excuse because you hate it.

Instead learn to tolerate it. You have to exercise and besides it will make you feel better.
So try putting some fun into your exercise.
Okay I love going to the gym and being around other people and taking classes lead by instructors...why? because they push me.

I too have an exercise room in the basement that my hubby put together for me. I hate exercising alone. But on days I can't go to the gym I use it....and it's boring. No other people.

So today lets just challenge you. Never turn another person down for a walk. You will find walking fun, relaxing and you can de-stress. Find several work out buddies.

Try something fun, that you would like to do. Go dancing. If you have kids or there are children in your neighborhood, start a fun walk with them at least 2 days a week. Get some cheap stuff at the dollar store and pass out "prizes" for the kids. Not only are you improving their health but your own. Plus you can mentor the kids too. A win-win!

Eventually you will find some type of activity you enjoy. Unless you truly are a couch potato and embrace that lifestyle...well let's say your body will thank you in the long run for exercising. Just Do it...treat it like a job.

Oh yeah...and I agree all those equipments for exercise turn into coat hangers. Why? Because after awhile you get bored or they don't challenge you anymore. Maybe you need to stop shying away from your potential workout buddies and join them for a walk...come on...just try it!

Been there! I have spent most of my adult life figuring out how to avoid exercise in all of its forms. So...Here are a few thoughts for you....

At-home exercise may be part of the problem. I do much better and enjoy it more when I take a class or work with a trainer. At home? I can talk myself out of it in about 2 heartbeats. Doesn't matter if it's a video identical to what I would be doing at the gym...it matters.

Consider a trainer, either at a gym or one who comes to the house. They are used to people who hate exercise and you can even hate them...look for one who just doesn't care how much you LIKE them.

Ask yourself: Who says I am supposed to LIKE everything in order to do it? Do I LIKE going to the dentist? Do I LIKE having blood drawn, or getting a shot? Do I LIKE everything about my job or daily responsibilities? NO. But I do those things. I have to do them and I do. Mostly.

It's okay to not like every kind of exercise. I don't like walking either. Once I even signed up to walk a half marathon, thinking that the training would change things....it didn't. Try some different things and change it up a bit.

Tell hubby that he has your permission to throw away any item of clothing (or whatever) ends up hanging on your exercise equipment. No exceptions, no discussion. I don't care if it's your pricey Ralph Lauren sweater or favorite pair of jeans....it's GONE. Kinda tough love, ya know?

Realize that the mental energy that you put into hating exercise and feeling guilty about not doing it is probably more thanthe physical energy  you would expend by actually doing it. I used to make all sorts of excuses, then read a piece in the Oprah magazine about Condoleeza RIce. As I read, it occured to me that even though I am busy, I was not as busy as Condoleeza Rice, and SHE found time to work out every day.

GIve it a chance and see how much more competent and confident you feel about your physical "self" and in your physical capabilities. When I started working out, my only goal was to get through the cardio part without falling down. Now I can go 90 minutes without much problem at all, and sometimes end a class wishing for a bit more. Trust me, this is freaking UNBELIEVABLE!

Some people swear by having an exercise buddy. That's not for me, but it may help you!

Have you ever been hypnotized? I have - and it may actually hold some promise. But the real solution lies in making up your own mind that you are doing this for your own well being.

It's not so much how I FEEL about exercise but how I ACT.  While I agree with everyone here about the benefits of exercise and the need to JUST DO IT! ...  and how good you feel after you do it regularly, lately I just never get going.

I go through spurts of exercising, but they run out of steam after a few short weeks and I stop.  There are lots of excuses:  too busy, too out of shape, too old, too tired, "I'll start manana"... What a mess! 

Now that I am no longer teaching, and sit in front of a computer for hours instead, there isn't even the mild exercise I used to get just circulating in the classroom.  Have gained 9 lbs since I took this new job and they are staying put... Exercise is the only answer, but how to begin???

 I'm right there with you. Well, I don't really HATE it, but I don't particularly enjoy it, and more often than not I find reasons  (excuses) to avoid it. Usually it involves being too tired or not being able to take attention off my child or pets (the dog goes a little nuts when he's kept out of the exercise room while I'm in there!). So even though we have a treadmill and an exercise bike at home, plus Netflix (with access to tons of great fitness videos), and the P90 program.... they mostly go to waste. I'll get on a kick where I exercise regularly for a few weeks, then something happens to interrupt my schedule and I go off the rails for a month or two before I guilt and shame myself back into it again. The past week or so, I have contemplated joining a gym because it does seem to be motivating for many people. I've been looking into some in my area, and I am only hesitant because I'm a cheapskate and I keep thinking, why should I pay a monthly membership fee, spend the time and gas money to go somewhere to work out, when we have all this great stuff at home? But, I know myself, and it's obviously not working out (so to speak) at home, so I think I should see if a monthly fee is more motivating for me. Anyway, sadly, I don't have any good advice other than what has been said before... you really just have to view it as a necessary chore and just DO it. I know I feel awesome every time I do work out, so I just have to remind myself of that and once I take the first few steps, it's actually hard to stop. Taking those first steps is the hardest part though... you can do it! :)

I agree with a previous poster about going to the gym, as opposed to exercising at home. For me--I go to the gym every weekday morning early. The early crowd there is committed to exercise, after a while--even though you don't necessarily speak to anyone---there comes a sense of community. You feel like part of it. When they (or you) are absent, it is noticed. It's a sense of accountability.

I run outside with a partner that I meet at the gym three days a week. The other two days, I either run on a treadmill, then do weights--or I do the stairstepper and then weights. I am up to running 3.6 miles on the days that I run. I love/hate it. I hate the actual doing of it--but I love the way it makes me feel to conquer the internal demons that try to sabatoage me everyday. I battle every single time I run, and I always win. This makes me feel strong and powerful. If anyone had told me five years ago that I'd be running 13+ miles a week--I'd have told them they were insane. I LOVE that my body is capable of running. These are the feelings and actions that keep me going. Honestly, every single day is a struggle, but I am winning every single day I do it.

BEST of luck to you!
Kim

I understand. My friend Lee says "whenever i GOT THE URGE TO EXERCIZE i SAT DOWN AND WAITED FOR IT TO PASS.  I did too.  And I agree you have to start now.  just walk out the door for 7 minutes then turn back.  Maybe you could do it every other day.  You will be happier with yourself I promise.
But the reason I am writing is to tell you that (dont hate me) I now love to exercise because i weigh 129 pounds and my body CAN do all the things our bodies were meant to do.  I had NO IDEA.  So please, this weight loss surgery IS the miracle you had hoped for but you have to want it and, literally take the first step...out the door.  I wish you all the best.