Hello, I'm new to this forum and I am a 32 yr. old mother of three small children. Over the past 6 months I've lost 20 lb.s (from 164
down to 144) We moved and since the move I've gained 5 lb.s back!
It seems that I get re-motivated everyday but lose it somewhere
along the way. I am a stay-at-home mom which makes it a bit harder.
I know my expectations are not too high, my goal weight is 130 and
now I weigh 150 and am 5'10" . I have been purchasing fitness mag.s
and reading them helps motivate me but I just can't keep the motivation this time around?!?!? I don't currently have a gym membership so any exercises I do are at home. I have a swiss ex. ball
and love it but getting a little bored. Need more cardio too...
Anyways, Any tips or hints on how you stay motivated may help!

well, actively seeking out forums like this and other ways to get motived means that it's on your mind and that's a good step.
Do you have friends or neighbors that do any kind of running/biking/etc that you could get involved with ... having a partner to give yourselves that extra little push can help. Try signing up for things like 'run for cancer' ... by committing yourself to something like that, you are less likely to cancel. Sometimes 'forcing' yourself is your only motivation ... it's hard to stay motivated 100% of the time, so every little bit helps.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. You are definitely right about forcing yourself
to excercise. That's all I do lately. Although every night I love to turn on some music and shake it with my kids.
It's also hard being married to the ANTI-DIET! "Let's order pizza, let's go get ice cream, how about chinese tonight?"
That is what I hear every other day!!! I am trying to keep up the
healthy lifestyle but my husband is Italian and LOVES to eat...
and usually drags me under with him! Anyways..thanks for the advice!

hi there,

I agree with AllCdnBoy...find someone to do the activity with. Make walking or jogging dates with friends and/or neighbors. Friend of mine started on a program like this with a neighbor and they diligently go three times a week, cause no one wants to let the other one down and skip...so it really works. Best to make those dates when your husband wants Pizza or Icecream ... I know that that probably won't work - if I get an idea how you might be able to avoid these traps, I'll let you know.

Thank you for the response, I have tried to hook-up with friends and get together for roller blading or walking but our schedules just don't match up. Anyways... I just bought a treadmill and that is my favorite way to exercise! I feel very motivated and I will most definitely use the treadmill at least 30 min. everyday. I'm just not sure if that's enough to lose weight? Of course along with healthy eating. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

If you aren't doing much right now, 30 minutes is great and you will see results. However, the results you see will also depend on how hard you push yourself on the treadmill, as walking 30 min is a far cry from running full speed from 30 min ... of course, I'm just using that as an example because running full out for 30 minutes isn't recommended.

30 minutes on the treadmill everyday - congratulations from me....master in exercise avoidance

Thanks...I've actually been keeping my motivation and doing at
least 30 - 40 minutes a day on the treadmill!
I'm very excited about my new outlook and am eagerly looking
forward to stepping on the scale friday morning.
I know there will be a loss and that will help keep my
motivation going as well.
Although I feel as though I'm forgetting something...
I've been drinking plenty of water, exercising and taking
my vitamins, am I overlooking something?

Well....you haven't mentioned your diet...Is your husband still tempting you with pizza and icecream*????

Just kidding - I think you are doing great...keep it up and you will be rewarded by the numbers on the scale and the fit of your clothes.

*actually if he does...i found one kind of pizza in the frozen food section of my grocerie store where the nutritional values are really good - it's woodstove pizza with roasted chicken & red pepper (now high rise or cheese filled crust). And when you go out for icecream, you can always choose sherbet or frozen yoghurt.

Yes...You are right about those choices of pizza and ice cream!
I used to be extremely tempted by the thought of dominoe's pizza
or Ritter's frozen custard, But now that I have the right mind-set
and I'm motivated - it's not easy to tempt me. I think about the pleasure of the food for what? A few moments of enjoyment and then
a week of guilt... Not worth it. Besides I have been eating better
and exercising and I feel great. And thanks for the pizza idea,
I will look for it next time I'm at the grocery store.

Great that you can't be tempted anymore... Keep up the good work!

How you doin!?
I also love the treadmill!! BUT.....yah gotta change up your routine every now and then or you could hit a plateau.
What I've started doing is walking briskly for 5 minutes, then start alternating walking and jogging.
To start, walk briskly 5 minutes, then jog for 1 minute, walk briskly 2 minutes, jog 1 minute, walk 2 minutes, jog 1 minute....and so on. Alternate for 20 minutes, and then do about 5 minutes at a slow pace to cool down.
I got this from the "Couch to 5-K" running plan. I think the website is www.coolrunning.com.
This is supposed to be very good for weight loss.
Anyone agree or disagree? I'd love to hear someone else's input on this routine (which by the way changes every week, and should only be done 3 times a week) Check out the web site for the weekly plan.....but what I wrote earlier is correct for the first week, I think.

Thanks for the info! I actually have been rotating the walking and jogging just to beat the boredom. I love the treadmill but sometimes
my kids are watching tv and with no music and the rugrats on tv
I tend to get bored.
I am going to check out that web-site you mentioned, sounds good.
I've been doing 15-30 min. in the am and 15-20 min. in the pm.
I am also looking for a few other exercises to throw into my
routine? I have a swiss ball and I do need to tone and tighten
my abs..(my thighs, my arms)..any other advice?

Thanks, Tina