How do you exercise!

[bloodyhellKen22]

How on earth do people exercise multiple times a week?
My lifestyle is so unhealthy. I am disgusting. I don't do any exercise at all, like none, not even walking. I eat so badly. I either eat nothing all day and then eat a 900 cal meal of beige crap, or eat beige crap all day.
Long story short, I lost a lot of weight in my early 20s and went to the gym most days at university. Once I moved out into my own home, I wasn't as committed to the gym but did half marathons and did pockets of intense running. Since I got married and had my baby, I've just stopped it all. Too tried to care about what I eat and exercise but know that the terrible diet is going to kill me.
How do you get motivated to eat well/exercise? I of course want to lose weight but I'm more concerned about my health.

It’s not motivation, it’s discipline. I don’t enjoy it, I do itbecause I have to. Alarm set, get up, trainers on.

Find an exercise you enjoy. If you like doing it, then it is not a chore.

I get up 45 mins earlier, spend 15 mins having a coffee and then workout in my pj's and any old bra for 30 mins while still half asleep. 3 x a week and then once or twice at the weekends when I get get up later.

It's worked, never been fitter. And I am always pleased afterwards that I dragged my sorry reluctant arse out of bed.

A lot harder with an unpredictable baby though. Be kind to yourself. Mine are teenagers so have finally found time and energy.

∆ This. It's routine. Just do it
"The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do"

Find something you enjoy (or at least don't absolutely hate) that it's possible to get better at or set goals for. Try new things if you need to, like new classes or different locations. Set aside a certain amount per day, fit it into your routine and habit stack e.g. always after breakfast but allow yourself days off. Exercise is really about consistency more than anything, there is no point doing something so high intensity that you dread it or do it so infrequently that you get no results. Choose something you like, start easy and do it often

I got myself an online coach to hold me accountable and support with nutrition.

I have a calorie and protein goal, a step goal and aim for additional movement 3 times per week. That could be a run, swim, 10 min HIIT or yoga.

I have a 2 year old and will wake up before him, do it while DH does bedtime or on my lunch break when WFH.

I’m permanently knackered but it really does help with my energy levels and mood. It then makes me want to eat better, which in turn increases my energy and mood.

FIRSTLY, you're not disgusting. At all. Humans are hardwired to be lazy & conserve energy, it's modern life that makes us unfit. But the unfortunate truth is, if you're not happy with your fitness, only you can change it.

As @HermioneWeasley says it's just discipline that makes people exercise. Willpower runs out pretty fast. I weight train 3x and run 2x because it's just what I do. It's 30 minutes minutes out of my day that makes such a difference to my physical & mental health, I can't afford not to really.

I run when everyone's goggling at the TV. Or walk to the shop to take a parcel back or whatever. NEAT exercise is amazing & makes such a difference
When I had babies I walked a lot & found exercise classes where I could take the baby along.

You'll feel better if you just do something, anything. A walk, a you tube dance workout... Just start. Not after Christmas, just pick something to do tomorrow, or now, & begin.

I don't do anything either.

I've sporadically done it and always enjoy it once I get going but I'm someone who likes to see progress quickly and I get discouraged if I don't. It's irrational and short sighted but there we are.

I used to at least get out for walks round the local streets with a podcast but since I started working at the local secondary school, I always bump into kids so I don't even do that now.

It's a discipline. On days when I go into the office, I get up, chuck on workout clothes, cycle in, and hit the gym. On days I WFH, I lift weights or do a HIIT as soon as I'm done for the day. I am never, ever sorry that I've done it. It's simply an ironhard part of my routine, and I love the benefits and would feel crappy and sluggish if I skipped it. It's not always easy to get up at oh dark thirty and get straight into gym clothes, but I've prepped everything the night before and I never let not doing it be an option.

I think you have to feel worthy first. At all my periods that I've been unhealthy I've really been punishing myself.
As others said, routine may help but it's hard with a baby. What support do you have?

I hate exercise for the sake of it and I hate the gym. The faff of getting stuff ready, the drive there and back, the bright lights. I like to walk. It's far more accessible to just chuck some trainers on and a coat and walk out the front door.

It’s not motivation. It’s discipline. It’s making yourself go even if every part of your being doesn’t want to.
I get up at 5.30-6am to work out before work. Earlier if I have to.

Perhaps one motivation may be the relationship with food/self-worth etc you’re setting your baby up to follow…

I get up early and do it then. Once it’s done then it’s over for the day.

The only way that I can make myself do it is by having a personal trainer (once a week but go another two times alone), getting up at 5, straight into gym clothes and at the gym by 6:30.

By walking to the snack cupboards.

Like @XenoBitch and @Sera1989 said, find something you like. It took me 46 years and I only realised I enjoyed it when I got ill. REALLY ill. It helped me recover and I have never been so fit. I work out 2-3 times a week and have made some lovely friends in the group. The exercise I chose is planned differently every week, so no chance to get bored! If a fat and frumpy, middle aged, cancer surviving mother of two can do it - it can be done - good luck 💪

It's a mindset shift and realisation that working out / training is not a luxury but an essential.

Just like showering / eating / cleaning.

Make it part of your routine, realise you are worth it.

When I was a mother of a baby- I had a running buggy and did the Jillian micheals dvd

When they were toddlers I did CrossFit and they watched- then it becaime normal to watch me for 40 mins, just like I took them to their sports

Then I now train in the gym with my teens or Brazilian juijitsu with them

We are all fit and healthy and happy

We all train 5 times minimum a week (for me it's more like 8)

I work full time also - it is doable - you just have to enjoy it and set the example for your kids as there are so many unfit children

Peloton at home for me
Finish work (WFH), change, exercise and shower. It's like a separation between stopping work and "coming home"
One of the instructors said that 10% of the time she loves it, 10% she hates it and the other 80% is just habit

I tend to eat better when I exercise too so chicken and egg

When starting from scratch, most of it is to do with having something regular in the diary. Find something that happens x2 or x3 a week that is sustainable. For example a HIIT class, a step class, any group activity that someone else organises. Book it into your diary and tell your partner you need their support to help you attend the class (e.g. being back from work or child care etc). Tell yourself that you will always always do the class even when you are feeling tired. It then becomes a habit. If you can't afford a class or it is not practical to leave the house then set a regular time with a friend to do something together. I think it is very very hard to just get up and exercise on your own. Accountability much easier when you involve other people.

Start small and gradually build up a routine over time, a healthy lifestyle is basically good habits formed over time. People often make the mistake of trying to turn their life around in January, over committing to an unachievable exercise regime and moving too quickly to eating very little and its not sustainable.

If you don't do any exercise, I would first start with your diet and make 1-2 changes/additions every 4 weeks. Fad diets do not work, you didn't gain weight over night so don't expect to lose it over night. I would not recommend any well known diet programmes as they're not designed for you to keep the weight off permanently. I personally never use the term 'I'm on a diet' as that suggests this way of eating is only for the short term.

When you gradually introduce new healthier foods into your diet over time you will start to like them more and get a taste for them. I used to eat a lot of junk food but I hardly ever crave it now.

With exercise, I'd just start to make small changes, get a pedometer to see how many steps you take and try and increase it about 500-1000 per week. Whilst exercise is great for your health, you don't need to be always getting your heart rate up all the time, just moving is good for your body. When aiming to go back to the gym, start small, commit to one day a week and then again once that habit is formed add another day. I have those days when I just cba so I will do an easier alternative exercise such as walking.

Willpower alone is a good way to fail, you need to build habits and accept that long term weight loss and good health is not a linear process, there are ups and downs along the way but as long as you're heading in the right direction that's all that matters.

Like other posters have said, it’s not motivation, it’s routine and discipline. I love the discipline aspect of it and it has knock on effects on all other parts of my life.

If you want to exercise, baby steps are great, but you have to move every day.

I exercise at the gym/run before work. Saturday/Sunday I’m at the gym at 7am, home by 8:30 and spend the rest of my day with my family. I’ll often do a 10km run on Saturday/or Sunday while my 6-year old cycles alongside. I exercise on average 5 days a week and walk everyday.

We’re older parents, I’m 45, DP is 48, so it’s a priority for us to stay healthy for DS. We both work full time.

If you want to talk about “motivation”: I feel great pretty much every day, I have tons of energy, have been the same weight for 20+ years, have great muscle tone and zero health issues. That keep me motivated enough.

TBH it helped a lot that when I started exercising, my work offered membership to a nearby university gym so I could go at lunchtime, and could continue once I went back to work after my maternity leave.

These days the thing that mainly motivates me is seeing just much better my in-laws, who have always exercised, are coping with their 70s compared with my parents who aren't exercisers. Nothing to do with weight or waistline or anything like that. Honestly, if you're lucky these days you're a long time 'old' and exercising could mean you have years more before you get too tired to go out much, develop muscle/joint problems and so on.

I weight gain about 5x a week at home and walk about 10k steps a day. It’s nothing to do with motivation. I see it as essential as brushing my teeth.