Question:
How do you motivate yourself to esercise?

So many of you seem so motivate to exercise after surgery. I have been so far out of shape for so long that the idea overwhelms me. What got you started?    — Carol M. (posted on October 26, 2002)

October 25, 2002
Watching the weight drop off is great inspiration. Knowing it will help tone up that loose skin is great inspiration. Start slow. Just go for a walk around the block. Work your way up to a little longer each time. I have grown to love it, and actually look forward to it. I started at 'Curves' one month ago. Yesterday was my first weigh & measure since I joined. Losing 13lbs. and about 10 1/2 inches the first month is inspiring. To quote Nike ... "Just do it". It's good for you. The endorphins get pumping and you feel better, for sure. I'm 5 1/2 months post op, down to 157 from 245.
   — KelBurt

October 26, 2002
I can identify with what you are saying. I don't think I've EVER been in shape, and have had so many failures at exercise programs that I started simple. I started with walking 1/4 mile outside during my recovery. I'm up to 1 mile now and I've gotten a large percentage of strength back in my right leg that I was having lots of problems with. I bought WALK AWAY THE POUNDS by Leslie Sansone and do it on cold or bad weather days. It's great. It's a low impact aerobic walking program that has lots of arm movements. The set I bought comes with a 1 mile walk, a 2 mile walk and a 3 mile walk as well as a set of weights to add some uumph to it. If I can do this program ANYBODY can!
   — Cathy S.

October 26, 2002
Like the other posters I started out slow. After I was out of the hospital I was lucky to walk 2 blocks. But I walked those two blocks 3-4 times a day. I started working my way up and when I walk outside I walk about 3 miles. I use the Body for Life plan in Bill Philips book. It is easy to fit this into my schedule and I enjoy it. It can be tailored to your needs, you don't have to be in great shape to start it. Good luck.
   — tulagirl

October 26, 2002
I got motivated when I tried on a bathing suit last spring(at 8 months out) and SAW A LOT OF LOOSE SKIN!!!! I realized I would really need to get ACTIVE if I wanted to enjoy the nice weather in shorts/bathing suit! I went to Ballys gym and hired a personal trainer, the only way to go!! She taught me how to use the machines safely. I AM ADDICTED TO THE GYM, LOL. I would have rather died than exercise before surgery, but now I LOVE it!! I actually feel deprived if I am not able to go to the gym on a regular basis. You can also get one of Leslie Sansone walking videos. They are great, and I use them to fill in on the days I can't make it to the gym. When I started, I could only make it a few minutes, but now I can finish the entire workout, and I am feeling GREAT> Best of luck to you!
   — deb_wls2001

October 26, 2002
What motivates me to exercise? Plateaus. Knowing that I could get into as smaller size with toning. And, standing in front of the mirror naked, LOL
   — Carey N.

October 26, 2002
What 'motivates' me to exercise is the same motivation that has me shower and brush my teeth. It is my commitment to personal hygiene. Just like brushing and flossing will let me have teeth when I am old, the stimulation of circulation and movement of built up toxins out of my body that exercise produces, the increased lung capacity and cleaning of my pores that sweating produces is a form of hygiene. When I finally got that, performing 20-60 minutes per day of exercise became as natural as brushing my teeth. FYI...I gave up vigorous exercise since July of this year because of the complications of my reconstructive surgery. I have spent most of the time in bed. However, as soon as allowed by my doc, I started walking and this week I am back to my Shwinn Dual Action Airdyne stationary bike. I used to do 20 miles a day. On the first day, one half of a mile kicked my butt. But today, I did two and a half miles. Tomorrow I will do three until I work my way back up to 20 miles. The key for me is I blast my favorite music and get lost in the song when I am riding to avoid the boredom. But variety, a buddy (when they are available) and whatever else I need to keep going has helped me. Good Luck and be sure to try a hot rock sauna sometime in the mix. It is great for sweating and contemplating the temple that is your body!
   — merri B.

October 26, 2002
Good question. I started exercising the last time I lost any amount of weight, and found that it helped enormously. This time, I started out with low-impact, low-intensity aerobics at the gym about a month and a half after my surgery. I was in a class with a bunch of older folks, and I was coming out of there looking like I'd run a marathon! Beet-red, sweating and panting. Within a month, though, I'd switched over to the higher-intensity classes (still low-impact though, as I like my knees just the way they are, thank you!), and then I was adding a step class here, a weights class there.... For me, I made a commitment to myself when I decided to have this surgery. In the past, I've always let other things get in the way of my own needs and wants; this time, I decided that getting fit and healthy were going to be the priorities in my life, and that was that. There are days when I don't really feel much like going to the gym, but I go, and when I get there and am halfway through a class, I feel so much better...it's a positive reinforcement system, I guess. But my best advice would be: start slow, and then challenge yourself, a little bit at a time. After that first class, I could have quit, but I'd just bought new shoes and I was damned if I was going to waste that good money! And after a few classes, I started to feel like I actually belonged there...it just gets better and better.
   — Karen I.

October 26, 2002
Carol, I can completely empathize. I didn't exercise at ALL, ever, pre-op. Thought if I did anything too strenuous I would probably keel over of a heart attack! I still struggle with it a bit. I'm only walking and trying to build up my fitness and strength to where I can do more. But since it's getting darker earlier, and since I don't have anyone to walk with I found myself making excuses. I was telling myself that it wasn't that important YET and I wasn't doing it daily. One thing that encouraged me was that last Saturday I walked with my sister on a bike path we'd walked before. I was able to go much farther before stopping to rest, and my sister commented on how much faster I was walking now. Well, nothing succeeds like success and I want to keep improving. I just bought the Leslie Sansone tapes and made a promise to myself to do it everyday if I couldn't get out to walk. I'm still not in good shape - my hip and back bothers me - and there were a few times in the tape I struggled. But knowing that I'm close to being able to do it makes me want to try that much harder to accomplish it. And since I've turned out to be a sorta slow loser, I figure I need all the help I can get! As much as I've always been "anti-exercise", I just remind myself that I had this drastic operation to get HEALTHY and that fitness requires exercise. It took a long time for me to get motivated. I'm hoping that eventually it will become just another habit. And I've also recognized that as much as I might not want to get moving, that I feel GOOD after I do. True what they say about exercise releasing endorphins!
   — sandsonik