The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[lifelovinaries]

Well i titled it Inner Couch Potato but my couch potato seems to be internal and external. I guess the question is, there are quite a few on here that just "can't go" without exercising daily. If you miss some time, you feel terrible. WHAT??? <img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_34_2.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D23%252F23_34_2/image.gif"> I have yet to get to the point of exercising on a regular basis and today starts my 8th week on program. This summer, a friend and i walked 2mi every evening (i know many of you laugh at that). We walked at a good pace, it would take about 32 minutes to complete (someone else can do the math). I really enjoyed the exercise, it made me feel good, like i was accomplishing something but NEVER, EVER, AT ANY TIME, did i get to a point where i felt bad if for whatever reason we didn't get to go. I would push her on days that she didn't feel like it and vice versa. If neither of us felt like it, one would always be the bigger person to say "No dammit, we are going anyway!" But i just wonder if that feeling of "I HAVE TO EXERCISE" eventually hits everyone that makes the change, or does exercise always remain a chore to some? I know they say that you should make it part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth but i just struggle. I can't say that i am too tired, i will honestly say i am probably too lazy. Maybe not even that...i don't really like to exercise alone and it's hard to find someone that will be committed like i will. I don't mind the occasional nudge but i don't want to have to PUSH someone every day. So with all of that said, my inner couch potato takes over and i remain the un-oiled machine that i have been for years. I try to live off of my natural muscle tone which as i get older, wanes. It's not a pretty sight to see my flappy arms or to watch as my booty begins to slide down the back of my thighs. I know i will need more muscle to help burn this fat away. I'm not whining here, it is my journey but i am just wondering how some of you got be the exercise-istas that you are today? Do you REALLY enjoy it or does it still remain a chore for some of you but you do it anyway?

[Out*With*The*Old]

YEAH! What Crazy Ovary Chicky said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd go with you COC, if I was closer! Maybe we can find a way to challenge each other?! I *think* I need to get up and move but I can find 15 reasons why I won't. I'm with you, it ALWAYS felt like a chore and I have NEVER liked it. How oh how do I get past that???

[bikipatra]

I HAVE to do it. Even if it is just running up the stairs in my building. But remember I have an addictive personality and also some mood disorders and if I don't decompress by walking, jogging or climbing stairs I feel like I am going to explode. I crave it.

[DogMa]

I feel horrible if I don't do it, and I've been a couch potato my whole life. I think the one difference now is I do it first thing in the morning (well, after pottying and feeding the dogs). My day just doesn't feel started if I don't work up a good sweat before breakfast (or at least my shower; occasionally on the weekend I'll have breakfast and hang out awhile before my workout).

If I wait till later in the day, though, then forget it. I'm perfectly happy to lie on the couch and watch TV or read in the evenings, with no exercise whatsoever other than pushing the buttons on the remote. Maybe the key is that my inner couch potato likes to sleep later than I do; gotta hit the treadmill before she wakes up.

[CGal67]

Personally I love speed walking and could do it every day. I guess it's the competitor in me because most of the time I do it to see if I can beat my last time...and the cycle never ends.

I like doing lunges just because it's the easiest and most effective way to shape up your legs.

The rest of the stuff I do I MAKE myself do and really don't enjoy it all that much.

When the summer comes I do enjoy roller skating and on occasion I go roller skating at the rink indoors. The last time I rode a bike I thought I was going to DIE...we have too many hills for a novice to ride a bike!

I like to MOVE...but it's not always real exercise.

[rodeomom]

Because of my fibro, if I don't move I hurt. The best way for me to battle the pain of the fibro is to get exercise in some way. Since I actually enjoy my time in the barn (being stuck in the loft aside) I have found a way of "moving" that I enjoy. Will I ever get "in" to one of those exercise videos? NO! The key is finding something you enjoy that makes you move. I would love to take ballroom dancing classes some day - talk about a work out. I am sure there is something that you are at least a little interested in that involves movement. It doesn't have to look like exercise to be a work out. I do believe you were one of the folks who pounced on me for not considering my barn chores as a work out.

[DogMa]

Oh, but to answer the question of whether I actually ENJOY it ... it's more that I enjoy the feeling I get from having done it and the feeling of having a fit body and a healthy heart and strong muscles. But do I enjoy the actual working out? Not really, no. But I LOVE the feeling of accomplishment I have when I'm done, and the feeling I get when I beat my old time, and things like that. And I HATE how I feel when I skip a workout (even when I've planned it). So most days it's automatic, but on days I don't feel like it, I make myself do it anyway. And I'm always glad I did afterward.