I am having some serious motivational issues. The weight I have lost so far has all been by cutting portion sizes and laying off Junk food that is great. I have got my eating habits down pact and dont have any insecurities about them.

However, for the last year I have plateaued and I know I need to start exercising to get the remaining weight off that I would like to loose.

I am a full time student and work all the days that I am not in school, so I dont have much free time. I also have a gym membership that is not getting the use that it should.

I was just wondering if anyone out there has any tips to help get me motivated or some baby steps to help get me where I would like to be. I know that on my part, it is partly being lazy but I am just so busy when I have free time I dont want to spend an hour or so at the gym.

walking is a great baby step to get you moving...

what are the hours of your gym - go in before yu go to work - take a shower at the gym then head to work - or go after work - it's not like you've got to spend 4 hours there for it to be effective- 1 hour should give youo plenty of time to get done what you need to get done.

Start by saying you're going to go to the gym 5 x a week - that way if you actually get there 3x a week you're ahead of the game...

I've said this before here, in other threads, I'll say it again.. Motivation comes from within you - other people can't give you motivation - you have to do this for you - we can't do it for you... Other's can inspire you.. but you have yo dig deep within yourself to fiind the reason why you want to do it... and it can be any reason that keeps you going... there's a bunch of threads on motivation here..

If you find an activity you like doing at the gym - or even outside - then you'll make the time -the trick is to find what you like and make the gym time you're time and it's not a hardship

get yourself in a routine too, i know it sounds daft but purposely leave stuff upstairs so you have to go up again to fetch it do small bursts of exercise, first thing you do when you get out of bed do 20 sit ups .. only takes 2 minutes do the same when you go to bed too it'll soon show if you increase the amount you are doing...

And the best exercise possible .... housework it is amazing how many calories you can burn from cleaning, ironing and doing normal day to day routines... i mowed the lawns the other day i was knackered LOL!!

Hi,

I recently had the same problem. I plateaued big time after I lost 50 pounds. I lost it through diet change mostly. My weight didn't move for well over a year and I finally decided a couple of months ago to do something about it. I absolutely love to dance. So ever morning I just put on a funky hip hop or disco CD and danced for half an hour. After doing this for awhile I decided to start using my rowing machine that was gathering dust.
Just find something that you really enjoy doing that takes a bit of effort and do it eveyday. Once you get into the habit of exercising everyday it gets easier and easier. At least it was for me. I just bought an exercise bike last week. Now I do that for half an hour while watching TV at night too. That has really helped. Good luck. I promise that once you get into doing exercise as part of your daily plan just like getting dressed and brushing your teeth you will feel a lot better and the pounds will start to come off again.

Thanks for all your tips! There are a lot of litte things that I can do to get there, and taking baby steps is what I need to do. I felt like I just had to start this huge routine or it wouldnt work or happen. I will start to aim for 5 times a week at the gym and start doing little things here and there at home while I am getting ready every morning and before I go to bed.

Thank you so much!