Help Please

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11/28/12 9:23 A

How about setting up an exercise goal and a reward for reaching that goal? You could challenge yourself to do 10 minutes of fitness a day for a week. At the end of the week, if you have completed the goal you get that reward that you set up for yourself. I prefer to pick rewards that are not food because that is counterproductive.

Have you thought about doing one of the Spark challenged? You could do the 4 week bootcamp program. That would get you exercising every day plus you would be held accountable by other Sparkers doing the same challenge.

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11/28/12 8:10 A

I would alternate the 30DS with the Leslie Sansone videos because Jillian's frontside/backside videos will work a lot of the same things that the shred video works and you won't have appropriate recovery. Then maybe alternate the other Jillian videos in place of 30DS to mix it up.

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11/28/12 8:04 A

Well I am starting 30DS again today. Will take it easy esp. with the jumping jacks and walk in place if I need to. Not in great shape...lol My question is, how often should I do it? I don't want to over do my muscles etc. I was thinking 3 days a week? I know I can't do it everyday. I did this over the summer for about a month and liked it, but went on vacation and never got back to it. Thanks.

I also have the JM frontside/backside video and Leslie Sansone walking...can I do those in between the 30DS or should I take a break?

Kelly

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11/27/12 8:21 P

Thank you everyone. I have Jillian michaels beginners upper and lower body and can get 30 day shred online, so might start with those. I have my bp under control with my dr. I did like the the 30 day shred when I did it for about 3 weeks over the summer. Another thing that happens is that I get into a grove, then something happens ..vacation sick etc and can't get back on track, I appreciate all your advice and help.

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11/27/12 6:05 P

A friend used to say that exercise equipment that was kept under the bed wasn't going to help me lose weight... so true. Start small, start slow, just start!

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11/27/12 5:27 P

Hello POOFERSGRL!
You are definitely not alone in your quest for motivation! Now, you said you have a set 'schedule'....well if that schedule isn't working for you, then maybe you should try to change it? As a full-time college student, I definitely understand a busy schedule.

One thing though...if you're looking for a quick-fix (in your case, just to feel great on a cruise), it's likely that once you have your vacation, you'll slip back into old habits.
Unfortunately, unless you're exercising much more than those games, you're probably also not going to burn enough calories to lose weight without 'dieting'...but then again, we're not about 'diets' we're about lifestyle changes.

If you haven't already, start with your doctor regarding your high blood pressure.

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11/27/12 5:17 P

I don't do excuses. Excuses is not going to help me see my nephews and nieces grow up. Excuses are not going to get the extra pounds off me. So like RAINBOWCHARMER, the excuses don't outweigh the benefits. I know my big why. I see the picture of my Big Whys all over my house and on my computer screen.
You have to decide how important is your reason to get healthy and fit. When you answer that question then you won't be able to find an excuse not to exercise or eat healthy.

Personally I am not here to lose weight or get fit. Yes they are part of the plan, but they are not the only plan. I want to accomplish 100% health which means to me 100% function of body, mind, and spirit with no evidence of disease.

All the SP's on this site can offer you advice and most of it will be awesome, but IF you are NOT ready and haven't determined your own reasons for wanting health, then every suggestion that is made will fall of deaf ears.

As the PP said, this is your journey and only you have the ability to succeed or fail..

Good Luck. hopefully you find your motivation and inspiration once you decide WHY.

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11/27/12 12:38 P

Motivation comes in different forms for everyone, but what I learned when I finally got my act together was that my motivation to work out had to be WAY better than my excuses.

When I read what you wrote, you have a lot of "reasons" to not work out - don't want to change your morning routine, don't want to "diet", no time for the gym, etc.

So I guess my first question to you would be... is putting your health up there on the priority list more important than some of the other things you don't want to do or at this point cannot do? Because for me I never made progress until my reasons for getting healthy outweighed (pun intended) my desire to not make hard changes. Maybe you're not in that place yet. Or maybe you are - only you can answer that question.

There is no magic workout video that will make you WANT to workout instead of doing other things you currently are used to. Only YOU can WANT it.

The workout videos that I mainly used to lose the weight collected dust on my DVD shelf for YEARS before I actually made an effort and used them. I probably had them 3 or 4 years before I started working out with them.

And there are STILL plenty of mornings when I do not want to get up and work out - but I have more motivation to do that than I do to stay in bed and gain the weight back. So I push through that desire to sleep in and get moving. By the time I'm done, I'm VERY glad I got up. I feel awesome. But those first few minutes are sometimes torture.

Based on your schedule - what are the odds you could workout WHILE watching TV? For instance, on days that I need to squeeze a workout into the afternoon and would rather watch Ellen, I get my step aerobics step out and do step-ups while watching TV. I get 45 min of cardio in and still watch what I wanted to watch. Just a thought.

But again - this is your journey. You have to figure out what your priorities are and what you're willing to do to get there.

As for the "diet" - losing weight is 80% nutrition, 20% exercise. The exercise part is really to improve your health (cardiovascular, etc), and to minimize muscle loss. You can exercise all you want, but if you don't eat healthy, and stay within your calorie range, you will not lose weight. That was also a hard lesson for me because I really thought I could out-exercise my bad diet. But it wasn't possible.

Good luck on your journey. It does take sacrifice. But it's totally worth it.

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11/27/12 12:31 P

You don't have a lot to lose, it sounds like. If you want to see results with just exercise, do exercises to tone up. That is probably the best thing you can do. If you watch tv in the mornings, do sit-ups, push-ups, squats or other toning exercises every time a commercial comes on. I have 30 day shred and ripped in 30 with Jillian MIchaels, 30 day shred is only 20 minutes and it will tone you up! 20 minutes is not a lot of commitment to your life, in fact, some days I put more thought into exercising when I could have had it done already! Make it more exciting by challenging yourself, see how much more you can do every week. If you can only do 5 push ups today, then maybe next week you can do 8! There are tons of videos on here you could do at home, even 10 minute ones! Take pictures of yourself to see how much your body is changing, it's great motivation! Good luck and have fun on your vacation!!!!

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11/27/12 11:26 A

Hi Everyone,

I have been lurking here for a while now. Love the site. My problem is this....I need motivation to workout and stick with it. I have several wii games and dvd's but have a hard time sticking with them. Not for lack of not liking them, just can't stick to it. Have Leslie Sansone, Biggest Loser wii, just dance 3, exerbeat, yoga pilates, pilates, and wii fit. I would like to get fit cause I need to for me, and would like to lose 10 pounds without dieting. (weigh 140)

I am also the type that if I don't see or feel like I am getting results right away, I feel it's a waste of time. I also don't have time/money for a gym.


I also have a "schedule" I like to keep by. I wake up in the morning, feed my cat, get my coffee and then wake up hubby and watch tv. So trying to fit my workout in early is hard...then I also like to workout by or around 9am...if I don't do that, I don't work out at all. Because I have other things to do, errands, chores etc.

I leave on a cruise in a month and would love to look better and feel better, but I don't know where or what to do or begin. Also, I have High BP. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Kelly

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