Thursday, July 14, 2011

Motivation Needed - Suggestions Welcome


What motivates you to exercise and eat healthy? To just get up and run? Besides the obvious benefits, how do you muster the strength after a long day at work, caring for your kids and all of the other aspects of life that make it difficult to find time to focus on you?

A group of us at work are going to start using the livestrong.com method to track dietary and fitness endeavors, but without an actual person saying, "Get off your butt!", I'm worried that I won't keep up with recording my meals, my exercise, etc.

So, dear friends, if a regular fitness routine is part of your life, how do you fit it in? What activities do you do? Do you prefer early morning or evenings? (Sorry, I won't ask about late morning/midday, because that's just not my reality.) And, have you ever used (for a fee) an online fitness consultant, such as Beth from Shut Up and Run?

And, hey, if anyone is willing to try a "virtual" fitness motivation effort, I'd love to hear from you guys. Perhaps we could chat via email each day to discuss what we've done, what we need to do and urge each other to get moving and eat healthier. Let me know if you're up for that. Too bad so many of us are spread across the globe - I think a walking club among several of us would be such fun! Seriously, can you imagine the laughs we would have? :)

It's Thursday, friends...I'm scratching and crawling my way to Friday. It's been one of those weeks. Sigh.
Image from thefashionfrugalista.wordpress.com

9 comments:

Main Line Sportsman said...

I go to a gym near my house at about 8:30 p.m. and do cardio and wieghts...5 days a week...also mix in squash at the Club...the motivation is guilt and endorphin addiction

Tote said...

I do need motivation! I wish I could get up early and at least walk. I seem to stay up too late reading, and then I have a very hard time getting up in the morning. My husband goes to bed early because he has to get up early for work.
I think you really have to be mentaly ready to do this. I sounds like a good idea. I hope I can keep it up.

Susan

Tiffany from HOLIDAY said...

Girl, I am joinging the YMCA this weekend! It's a wonderful location w/ a splash park for Stella - so can't wait! Hopefully, that will kick me into gear. I'm looking forward to yoga and water areobics...I'm a senior citizen at heart. Good luck to you!

Mimi said...

oh gosh, i need a motivation too! i seriously cannot keep up with exercising. :(

p.s. check out my Perricone giveaway. :)

<3, Mimi
http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

Town and Country House said...

The only thing that has ever worked for me is to do it first thing in the morning, as in 5:30. Through the years I've had my phases when I went to the Y at that time or walked, but my new routine is to get up and go downstairs to our basement playroom and choose a cardio/conditioning program from Exercise TV free on demand. I'm probably not getting the strength training I need, but I'm adding weights where I can. Also I have to do it everyday except Sunday, I can't skip around or I'll just taper off and quit. As you already know, after about six weeks, whatever you decide to do will become habit and you'll feel great. Best to you as you get started!

CRICKET said...

I have been trying to figure it out myself, will be anxious to hear the feedback.

AEOT said...

I hear you! It's so hard. I have to be up by 5:40 to be to work on time and I'm not home until 5:40-6:00 p.m. Then it's dinner, bath for SYT, cleaning kitchen, chores, etc. Running (fastest workout for calorie burn) is great in the a.m. but I have to be up at 5:00 to do it. That is EARLY. I'm trying to do it at least twice a week (one weekday, one weekend). B runs T, W, Th and Sat for his marathon training, so those mornings are all out. Ugg. I have done workout videos in the past for 30-40 min downstairs in my house and I do enjoy those. I think anything that combines strenght and cardio is the best!

bellamia said...

ok, I love to exercise, but HAVE to have motivation! I love the online accountability! I am way under the weather trying to get my lungs back into shape. Going through a lot of tests and such over the next month so exercise will not be on my agenda (so doctors tell me right now) for at least another month. After that, I am all for keeping us accountable! I have an app on my droid that is fantastic reminder/motivator/calorie counter etc.(cardio trainer/noom) I absolutely have to do all my exercising before 6am or it will not get done. It was hard at first, but it quickly became MY time and it was SO worth the short sleep. I love a good cardio class, like, kick boxing, but love to run and love a body pump class. If you have body pump in your area, go sign up! ta ta for now :)

About Last Weekend said...

I know what you mean. I need that motivation too. After doing at least one hour of hip hop for eight years suddenly I stopped - i started blogging but now I want to go back. I know.... scary to think of a middle aged me hip hopping. It has to be fun. And you have to go without thinking about it. And meet people you would never meet otherwise....Hip hop was like that.