To think that you're really lucky if you enjoy exercise?!

[bumblebee1987]

I will preface this by saying that I'm really fed up because I've been dieting and exercising since March and lost a very minimal amount of weight despite really trying, and have now plateaued for weeks, so this is probably more of a vent 😆

I hate exercise. I always have, every since school, I am rubbish at it, am not remotely competitive, and I just don't enjoy it. I have tried many many different types of exercise, it's all the same, I don't enjoy any of it. I don't enjoy watching sport, hearing about sport or being involved in sport in any way.

I go to the gym 3 times a week because I feel like I have to, because I am overweight and I need to sort myself out, but I hate it. I know I need to do it, but I don't enjoy it, and I think this is really unfortunate. My DH on the other hand, LOVES sport, his entire career is based in sport, he loves nothing more than going for a 5 hour bike ride or spending an hour or two in the gym, it's his happy place. Which is great because obviously it's really good for him!

I keep seeing fitness influencers saying how important it is that you find the sport that you love so that you will keep it up, but I really don't think there is one for me?! So I think I am basically stuck with forcing myself to do something I hate a few times a week, despite hating every second of it.

So am I being unreasonable to suggest that it's actually really lucky if you enjoy sport and exercise?! I am not talking about being good at it, I appreciate that being good at it takes a huge amount of dedication and not luck etc, but if you really enjoy it regardless of whether you're good at it or not, then that's really fortunate, right?!

I appreciate that this is very much a first world problem and is meant in a light-hearted way!

The medals are awesome aren’t they?! @KatnissNeverdone

I’ve read some of your responses. I think if you genuinely want to like exercise you should try something different from gum which is boring to me too! . Also are you “fixed mindset” in other parts of your life? You seem almost determined not to like it and quite black and white about it. Open your mind and try something new! Or do you want an excuse not to exercise? 😉

I agree completely. I haven't got a competitive bone in my body, it drives my husband crackers.
The only thing I enjoy is swimming, particularly outdoor swimming. Unfortunately there's nowhere near me to do it, I can walk to the local pool for an indoor swim but it's around an 80min round trip plus the extra time for showering and hair drying it ends up being a big chunk of my day so I don't go very often.

I never get the adrenaline/endorphins or whatever from exercise. I just feel tired and glad it's over, with swimming I feel tired but I do love that warm feeling you get when you get dry afterwards.

I did C25K once when a family member had recovered from Cancer. I did it, ran the 5k, raised some money and was glad I never had to do it again. I couldn't even tell you my time. DH was gutted he thought I'd get the running bug!

You do well to go to the gym though. There no way I could motivate myself, one opened near my kids school and I joined with grand ideas of dropping the kids off and heading to the gym every day. The reality was after a fortnight I went to school in gym kit, walked passed the gym and went for a coffee next door.

Is it really true enjoyment though if you have to fight that hard for it and it doesn't come naturally at all? I enjoy many things in life, but it's fairly organic, I don't have to put myself through months of misery to achieve it! I've been going to the gym since March, and I feel no different now than I do when I started 🤷🏻‍♀️

Want to lose weight? Please try cutting out Carbs (Bread, cakes, pasta, potatoes, etc) for 4 weeks and see the weight drop off.

I hate exercise as well and have never been sporty. I tried to go jogging but hated the impact with the pavement on my knees (I'm 55), so I ending up doing a brisk walk instead while playing 90s rave / techno music (Black Box - Ride on Time, Rozalla - Everybody's Free (To Feel Good), etc) which has fast beats.

My food intake consists now of mainly cooked vegetables with meat and fruit with natural yogurt for dessert. I do a 5 mile walk in 90 minutes several times a week. I've dropped almost 3 stones (38lbs) in two years. Once in a while, I'll eat an ice cream.

I don't count calories or macros or pay for a gym membership. I just weigh myself every Monday to make sure I'm still heading in the right direction.

I think minimising the carbs has really helped. I don't think I'll ever eat a carb heavy diet again (despite having been a big fan of toast!).

Weights will change your body shape and help you carry excess weight better if that makes sense.

I gym once or twice a week by myself. Mostly upper body. But I are sure I do some cardio to warm up and down. 50 calories on the machine. Weights and a final 10 mins on a machine (rower or ski erg is my go to)
I do a HIIT class once or twice a week (can be competitive) and I run once a week if I'm motivated.
I do enjoy it, but it took months of slog and achey bones to get there. I needed to find a community in which now feels like family weirdly.

I have a running buddy but prefer my music and solo runs. I need to not feel self conscious in the gym so go at quieter times with a plan in my head.
Classes are fun, because it's a real team vibe. Music helps too.

Those are my only tips OP. Keep going.
Or try running, or cycling, or swimming.
Or a team sport- netball etc. or tennis.
Being overweight is calories not execrcise (although it helps) I gym so I can eat the excess 😆

I was the same, I found trail running and LOVE it ! But I didn't always love it I used to slog away just to get to however many kms and want to die. What changed is I followed the hags (have a go's) on instagram. They are moving against exercise for weight loss and calorie counting, I found them really helpful.

There's not a lot I wouldn't do for a good medal. I'm doing a muddy assault course next weekend. It'll be horrendous but at least I'll get more bling for my collection.

@bumblebee1987 It’s true enjoyment to me - nothing that’s worth having in life is free.

But ultimately it’s up to you 🤷🏻‍♀️ You don’t need an excuse not to exercise if you don’t want to do it, that’s the beauty of free will. I was just trying to be helpful- if you try hard enough you just might find you do enjoy it.

I do not enjoy going to the gym - never have.

I walk (which I enjoy) and I do intermittent fasting, sticking to around 1500 calories a day. This keeps me at a size 10. I am so thankful that what you eat contributes to 80% of your weight.

I need a shelf! @KatnissNeverdone 🤣

I've barely touched carbs since March, and the weight goes nowhere 😡 It's soul destroying because I love bread and pasta!

What about finding ways to incorporate exercise into your life rather than viewing it as a stand alone activity?

eg; walk, cycle to work or meet a friend for a walk? Offer to clean an elderly neighbour’s house? Or join a volunteer dog walking scheme where you can help unwell or elderly dog owners? Gardening?
There are other volunteer roles you might enjoy; litter picking on beaches, delivering leaflets or charity envelopes..that sort of thing.

Very true @ElspethTascioni

What do you want from this thread OP? I’m feeling that you don’t want advice?

I appreciate your comments. I just don't really know how much harder I have to try? This doesn't feel akin to enjoyment to me. 3 times a week for a minimum of an hour is me trying, I can't really give it more than that! Also, I see no results, which is pretty soul destroying!

I spent 20 years going to the gym but never really enjoyed it and in the end it was just exhausting me and I couldn't lose any weight that was constantly creeping on. Four months ago I started intermittent fasting following Gin Stephen's clean fasting and I've seen better results than when I was in the gym 5 days a week and starving myself. Now I walk/stroll an hour a day and my mood is so much better, as I'm not constantly on a glucose rollercoaster. My brain fog is gone too. It's not for everyone but I love it and it has really taught me to listen to my own body and most surprisingly of all is how much I crave healthy food!

Try something else? I hate the gym too,
but running outside is something else. Wind and rain make you feel alive!

I mean, I am generally pretty stubborn, but I feel like I'm not really being particularly fixed mindset here? I've tried a variety of different activities, and I don't get a kick from any of them. I am not looking for an excuse not to exercise, because otherwise I wouldn't exercise! I am just feeling hard done by because it doesn't come naturally to me at all, I don't enjoy it, and I don't see any physical results from the 3-4 hours a week that I am pouring into it!

I hate exercise, but I do like listening to audiobooks. My tip is to start a really good audiobook but only allow yourself to listen to it when running. That way, you're keen to go on your next run because you want to find out what happens next.

I started doing you tube workouts at home (Lucy Wyndham Read ) last June and basically just shove my air pods in and do about 35 min of different videos and I’ve lost two dress sizes since then just by doing those . Chloe Tings workouts are good because they’re split into 30 seconds bursts so by the time you realise you don’t like one move you are onto the next . I despise exercising but it’s so much less stressful doing it at home than in a room with other people . I know it’s hard to get motivated and I do have weeks where I barely do anything but it beats going to the gym for me and at least it’s something rather than me sitting on my bum doom scrolling all night .

Ok, so I completely understand you- I find weight loss very difficult as I have an underactive thyroid and although it's managed with medication it still has an impact.

CICO works. It does. It's simple maths, even for people like me it just takes longer than it often does for others. If you have supposedly been eating 1200 a day for weeks and had no results you were not eating 1200 a day. Calories hide everywhere! Most people have no idea how much they're really eating and where the secret calories are. You have to be absolutely religious with it, weigh every grain of rice. (At least until you get the hang of it and then you can usually estimate things easily)

That aside, a great tip I heard that genuinely works for me is if you're not eager to exercise find something to add to your exercise that you are eager for. Maybe it's an audiobook or TV show that you ONLY watch when exercising. So if you are desperate to know what happens next you are forced to exercise. You don't get to watch it outside of working out. That way you technically are motivated!

Good luck 😊

There are so many sports out there, I find it hard to believe that people can not enjoy any of them. Sure, not all of them are great for weight loss, but most of them will develop some muscle groups and give you some incentive for other exercise to improve your performance in that sport.

I do some seriously wacky sports, because running, gym stuff and normal team sports don't do it for me. But I do find pleasure in the more niche things I do. Maybe try some "off the wall" sports and physical activities and see if you can find one that you take more pleasure in?

Solidarity mainly, that I'm not the only one who feels like this and finds it hard?

I am very grateful for advice, but many of the suggestions are things I have tried and haven't made a difference.

I used to play team sport up to a reasonable level. I loved the skill and the competition of it. As I got older and lost contact with the sport I focused on exercise in gym etc.. and found I didn't enjoy it at all. How did I go from exercising 15 to 20 hours a week to struggling to exercise 3 hours a week. Cos it's boring!!!!

I luckily love swimming which I do every week but I do tell myself to focus on how I feel mentally after I swim. I think the relentless focus on fitness turns people off.

I use to love skating as a kid but now worry I am too old and worry about what happens if I fall - I do have arthritis so it is a real worry..