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find a workout partner...if you plan to meet someone there you will find yourself more accountable!
Thinking about what my pictures would look like if I had fat giggly arms....
@verosara: Your wedding is close to my wedding & I'm trying to lose a little bit of weight too!! (or get toned up, anyway)
I live in PCB, spring break capital...there are beauuttiiful girls out here & I want to make sure I can go to the beach & FEEL beautiful around these ladies!! That's what gets me going..& if I just go once and have an awesome workout, I ALWAYS want more...I agree with the other ladies too...music & a workout partner always helps!!!!
Go RIGHT after work. No going home. no "i'll go after dinner". etc.
I pack a bag (like i did today) of gym crap and go RIGHT away. I am more motivated to go if i go right away then if i go home first. Then I tend to just sit on the couch....like last night.
I go BEFORE work. Our YMCA opens at 5 and I work at 7, so I get in a good 45-60 minute work out and then get ready for work. The parts I like about it are that I'm still kind of sleeping (sleep is a graet motivator...if you're sleeping, you don't know 100% what you're doing and therefore cannot talk yourself out of a work out as easily), there's LOTS of sweet older couples (if they can do it so can I, right?!), and I have the rest of the day to be lazy.
I've tried making a habit of going after work, but I'm usually so drained after work that I just want to go home and sit on my couch and never leave (hopefully that's not as pathetic as it sounds...oy.).
I like to exercise, it just has to be convenient for me. My biggest suggestion would be to go when it works best for you and doesn't interfere with other things you like to do (like I'm a TVaholic...is there a 12-step program? I could use one..). Also, try to associate working out with something you like--like music or reading--and bring that along...it helps me to stay excited about it!!
I just started going right after work, and I've kept up with it for 2 weeks now. It's much better than me sitting in traffic. I think since I have a scheduled time for it, I don't really blow it off.
Here's what has worked best for me:
First, I make sure to do the workout as soon as I wake up and and before I start the day. If I wait until later, I will definitely find some reason (too tired, too busy, too hungry, etc.) not to do it. So make it the first thing you do even before breakfast to get it out of the way.
Second, I find that if you have an "at home" option, it will make it harder for you to not do anything on those days you just don't want to go to the gym. I do have a gym that I can go to (and sometimes do) but I feel like I need to put more effort into actually waking up and looking prepared to meet the world. I prefer the On Demand exercise TV workouts that are through Verizon Fios (though I believe they can also be found on Comcast). They are free and kick your butt! I like to do Jillian Michaels' 30 Day shred and No More Trouble Zones, especially NMTZ because I feel it gives you the better overall body workout. And I can be half asleep still while I get started with her warm-up. Within 5 minutes I'm ready to go! I have to say that her programs have been more effective, at least initially, than any other workout activities I have done before. And I love to workout! I'm really big into cycling which I feel gives me a good workout, but within a week and a half of starting Jillian's program, I can actually see a significantly noticeable difference in my body. Yay!
Third, I try to keep a food/activity journal online (I'm using this free one because it has so many things I can keep track of at the same place!). This will help me stay accountable and will help me track if what I am doing activitywise and foodwise are actually helping my goal or if I am killing it with what I am eating.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
I keep my gym bag packed, schedule my gym sessions in advance and try to not even think about the gym when it's time to walk out the door. If I ask myself "do I want to go to the gym right now?" the answer is always no, so I try to just get my butt out the door without thinking about it.
I am four months away TODAY! ah!!!! And I had been slacking it on the work-out area, and yesterday I mustered up the energy! I think the first time back is the hardest, because I woke up this morning and went for a run!
I just think about my dress... that motivates me enough.
I second the journal idea - you'll love seeing those workouts add up!
also, i try to go around when a good show is on - at my gym, we have the flexability to change the tv channels if no one else is watching a particular tv, so I definitely take advantage of that!
Signing up for a class that you have to pay for. I have a gym membership, but there's something about signing up for those community recreation fitness classes that makes me feel like I have to go. Even though it's only $30 or so (same as my gym membership).
And grabbing one of the cardio machines during a SYTTD marathon so I can do the elliptical and watch wedding dress hunting to my heart's content w/o FH wanting to turn on the game 
Seeing results motivates me. If I'm putting effort in but not seeing results, it kind of gets me down & takes away my motivation. It can be a vicious cycle so the reality is that I just HAVE to go, no excuses. No way around it.
Also, music really does help to push me to the max when I'm working out. Something with a beat, turned up pretty loud. I read the other day that the reason loud music is such a workout tool is because your brain perceives the loud beat as a "threat" and ups your adrenaline. Weird huh?
So my 2 motivators: Results & music.
I bought free weights to use at home instead. If I don't have to convince myself to get out of the house, I am more inclined to workout--the biggest hurdle is already crossed!
Knowing that I have paid for my Boot Camp is my number one motivator.. Example: She moved locations and offered everyone a free month. Ask me if I have been during this free month and I will tell you no but ask when I have to pay and I will tell you every day!
ROUTINE!
Make it a necessary part of your day!
I go right after work and have a friend to work out with. Since I know someone else is counting on me I don't make excuses about not going.
It definitely gets easier the more you do it and get in a routine...I go Mon-Wed during lunch..then Friday after work..then Saturday or Sunday....I have never been to the gym this much in my life..haha...but I definitely feel healthier...also doing different things at the gym helps..1 day spin, 2 running, 2 elliptical..then working in weights at least 3 days!
I keep a gym bag ready to go and grab it in the morning before I go to work so I'm ready to go to the gym after work!
I used to keep a mini-calendar that I would put stickers on. It felt really good to watch them add up! Pretty soon the whole month was covered in stickers. It was little victories (like getting a week straight) that kept me going!
A good friend and that fact if I gain a single pound my dress won't fit!!!
i agree with ej. pack your bag and go right after work -- only way I would ever do it regularly!
i just started going in the morning instead of at night, and it's so much easier to stick into my routine! my fi leaves the apt for work at 6:45 and i leave to walk our dog at the same time, but i rarely leave for work before 8:45-9:15ish, so there's a good chunk of time there that i usually just play with the dog, catch up on emails, clean, etc. i don't usually get home until late and then i eat dinner and then i'm too tired to go...also, fi is trying to step it up too and go more, so i think we motivate each other
I like to start out small - so tell myself I'll only workout for 20 minutes - and then I usually stay once I'm there. I find that once I'm in shape, I enjoy going a lot more!
I have had a similar issue in the past (e.g. not being able to motivate myself to get to the gym). However, recently I have decided that meeting with a trainer at SNAP once a week would be a good idea because they can let you know the best exercise plan in order to lose the right amount of weight etc. etc. Actually meeting with my trainer has helped me focus even though I am currently working 32 hrs. a week, am a full time graduate student, am doing workstudy for 5 hrs. a week and am planning my wedding. The point is, you can always make time for the gym and the worst thing you can do if your stressed out is skip the gym. This isn't coming from a skinny gal either, I am currently 195 and hoping to lose 20 lb. before my wedding in August! Wish me luck!
I found that the only way for me to commit to the gym was to put it in writing on my calendar and treat it as if it's an important meeting or lunch with a friend. Something you wouldn't normally cancel. In the beginning, I didn't cancel. It stunk for awhile because I would have to say no to dinner with friends because of my gym commitment, but I got more used to going, I was able to move my gym time to another free time to accommodate my friend.
Also, back when I first started going (in 2005), I finally realized that if I switched my mentality from "I'm going to the gym because I want to lose weight" to "I need to work out my heart and lungs," it was easier to keep going. I didn't get as discouraged with the lack of visible progress of not losing weight because that was no longer my first goal. It became fun to see my progress in how much weight I could lift compared to when I started....and how long I could go on the cardio machines without getting as winded as in the beginning.
The other thing that worked for me was to go at a time where I am most awake. For me, this was at the end of a work day, and I picked a gym REALLY close to my work, so I had no excuse not to go. If I went home first, I knew there was no way I would leave again for the gym.
Best of luck! Keep us posted!
If the gym is close by, pack your gym bag and drop it off in a locker on the way to work. Put your house key in the gym bag. So if you want to get home, you have to go to the gym after work.
I like sites like fitday.com. You can enter your food and activities for the day and see how much you are burning with exercise.
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I know, it all sounds like excuses, but with the planning and work (it's been so crazy busy and looks like it will be for a couple of months at least) I find myself without energy or any motivation to hit the gym. My wedding is a bit over 2 months away, and I really need to step it up. Any tips?