Exercise for exercise haters?

[Serani]

I hate exercise. I've never found a time of day or a length of time that I could keep it up and not feel like total crap for it.

I've done the morning thing. I've done afternoon. Evening, night time. I had one attempt where I managed to force (yes, force) myself to drink 10 glasses of water a day, was EXTREMELY careful on my diet (that ended up failing, more about that in a bit) and followed 3 cario days interspersed with 3 toning days for something like 3 months. I NEVER got to the point of feeling good about it.

So, what I"m looking for (besides "Stick it out, it'll get better!) are some real suggestions for increasing activity. I already don't bring the 2-liter of drink to my desk so I get up and get more. We live on the 3rd floor, so I DO have to do steps at least twice a day, I get up to change the channel (when I watch TV, which isn't that often anymore), and I"m constantly getting up to get rid of the water I'm trying valiantly to keep up with (I have NO bladder capacity. :( ). However, I'm well aware that this, simply, isn't enough.

I've always hated exercise. I've never felt good after it and never did get this "energy" that everyone claims you get if you do.

As for my diet, I tried once cutting out all fat and/or sugar. I ended up binging. I DO like fruit (apple slices, orange slices, bananas, beachers, plums, you name it) and I can eat carrot sticks until I'm orange (among other things). I've learned I can't stand salad without something, so I generally go for the low-calorie, low-fat dressings. I also am very sparing with the dressings I use. The one time I tred getting much more restrictive than all this, just didn't work. I ended up bingeing so that I ended up eating MUCH more, in the end. On this diet, I HAVE managed to lose over 40 pounds. But I've got 15 stubborn pounds left and I suspect those 15 have more to do with my exercise routine (or, rather, lack thereof) than my diet.

So, any suggestions? I'm thinking about Raveneye's suggestion of walking. I think Rubi and I are going to start that, but that's not going to do everything.

So, what do you think?

[Draknor]

Walking will do more than you think, and can lead to more. It's something, at least.

I'm not convinced on the "drink water til you burst" idea anymore. Not that news magazine shows are gospel, but I did see one that had a story about that. Several fitness experts/scientists were trying to debunk that idea, stating that you get enough water in the foods you eat and you really don't need to overwater. Drink when you're thirsty. Your body will tell you when it needs something.

No more words of wisdom from me. I really don't like exercising, either. :|

[EricStratton]

In my experience when your body tells you to drink you're already too late. At least if you plan on doing any exercise. Maybe for sitting around on couch you're ok.

[Tasiana]

I agree walking will do more than you think. And especially doing it with a partner will help you stick to it more. :smile: With walking try also going to parks with hiking trails, the incline will give you more intensity. Maybe try biking? Also good for exercise. :cool: Sounds like you have a good plan going there Serani. Perhaps brainstorm what kind of activities you are interested in...maybe take up a karate class, kick boxing, wall climbing, etc...

[SparrowHawk]

The key for me at least was finding something excercise related that I enjoyed as well. I never was able to keep going on anytype of excercise program until I started doing TaeKwonDo. Of course at the moment I have scaled back a bit because of baby no sleep mode, but at a minimum I still get a workout during the classes I go to. Paying money for the classes is also a good incentive to go ;)

[Sylvene]

I've found that the buddy system works the best for me nowadays. I used to meet up with a girlfriend after work and we power walked around the neighborhood. We catch up with each other and that sort of thing. On nasty days, we walked in a mall on nasty days.

I haven't done squat since I moved to the North West and I have 10 pounds to lose too!

Serani, don't cut out ALL fat and sugar. You'll drive yourself nuts. :P Cut it by a major amount though. :)

[Erudite]

Exercise sucks. It's hard. It's uncomfortable. It's supposed to be.

Sorry - I know that's probably not very constructive to you. If you're looking for something you entirely enjoy doing and can do so while maintaining an acceptable level of comfort, you're in for a lot of disappointment. I like running. I feel good about doing it. Never, in my entire life (and I was pretty respectable at it when I was younger), have I finished a ten or fifteen-mile run and said, "Yeah! I feel GREAT!"

If you aren't willing to endure some suffering, you're going to make minimal gains (if any). If you aren't willing to commit to changing your lifestyle, any gains you do make will be temporary.

[Raveneye]

I've found that the buddy system works the best for me nowadays. I used to meet up with a girlfriend after work ...

Now THAT'S a great idea! If I could meet up with a girlfreind after work I could be sweating the pounds off in no time. Of course, my wife may not be so keen on the idea...
:wink:

[Sylvene]

Now THAT'S a great idea! If I could meet up with a girlfreind after work I could be sweating the pounds off in no time. Of course, my wife may not be so keen on the idea...
:wink:

Depends on what you are doing to sweat off those pounds. :twisted: