Let me be clear that I have always hated exercising, even when I was on active duty. Cardio is the worst!

How do I get started without loathing it? What should I do? Nobody in my healthcare group has really discussed with me where to start and how to stick with it. HELP!

I wasn't crazy about the idea of "exercise" either, I didn't like sweating, hurting, or feeling exhausted from the effort it would take. So, I only did a couple of things that I felt comfortable with. Walking and a swim fitness class, both 2 -3 x a week. I loved the fresh air and feeling of accomplishment of a good walk, and then on other days the warm water and the hot tub afterwards. Both were a huge factor in my weight loss success. Later I tried other things as lost weight, but only as long as my body was ok with it. For a time, I ran, now its Pilates, swim class, walking , and golf. So start off on some things easy, and see where you go !! Good luck !

I too am not a exerciser. my doctor who is aware that I have many ortho problems told me it wasn't necessary to lose the wt. but he would like me to be active during the day. so I walk my 2 acres sometimes a couple of times even 4 times once when I had a stuck issue. lol and I do housework, cooking, gardening just about anything to keep on my feet and be active. I just dusted off my treadmill and have been just doing a quarter of a mile a couple times a day. anymore and my knees are grinding. as soon as I get to below 200 lbs I will be having a knee replacement on one side and the other a bit later. I hope this helps in my walking therapy.

It is important to get a fair amount of physical activity daily. Physical activity is a combination of exercise and physical labor. I am not big on exercise. To me it is more like wasted effort. I drive for a half an hour to go to the YMCA to swim for 30 minutes and then spend another half an hour driving back home. But I am big on manual labor. So I consider work, manual labor, as a good alternative to exercise. Last year I moved by hand over 100,000 pounds of gravel and 50,000 pounds of concrete blocks. This year I did about the same. I am 28 months post-op RNY and am 66 years old. The surgery restored my stamina (ability to perform physical labor) so I can do what I did when I was a 30 year old.

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Edited September 7, 201511 yr by caligul

Thank you for all the responses and ideas!

My husband and I went on a hike on trails through the woods yesterday. I really enjoyed that! There are few trails like that, so for now we'll stick to that one until we find other trails.

Great job @Sunshine3073. I love my walks/hikes with my husband - it's a great time to reconnect. We also have times where we don't say anything at all, we just walk.

Keep up the great work!

I hate exercise. And as an awkward white girl with ZERO rhythm or coordination, I don't want to join any aerobic/dance groups at a gym. So I found "fat girl zumba" videos and different 10 minute dance workouts I can do in the privacy of my own home where only my dogs judge me. They get me sweating, and they don't kill me. If it gets boring, I can switch to another video/style.

I'm completely with you! I hate exercise too. Plain and simple. My beautiful and smart daughter told me something though that has stuck in my head since surgery... she said "dieting makes you look good with your clothes on, exercise makes you look good with your clothes off." And unfortunately, she is right. It is the exercise that does the toning and firming. What I discovered is that I like yoga, I enjoy walking my dogs, I like dancing around my living room with my grand kids to old Michael Jackson music, and I really like hiking to beautiful places in nature. Those things don't seem so much like exercise to me. Not like mindlessly clicking off minutes on an elliptical trainer or treadmill while staring at a wall. So I can do those without hating them and I find that I've made them part of my life. Also, to tone up, I set my weight bar next to the back door and every time I take the dogs out, I do a few weight moves while they potty. I simply can't tolerate a long weight workout routine. haha! Seems to be working.

I have never been a big exercise fan, although I used to do some run/ walking before my knees started to give me trouble. The funny thing is, the more weight I lose, the easier it is, and the more motivated I've become. I am fortunate to live in the southwest and we have a pool, so I began to do water aerobics ( I have my own routine from some classes I took) and pretty soon, I started to feel so much better, it wasn't such a big deal. It has helped me get leaner, faster. Since muscle is necessary to efficiently burn fat, you'll do great if you just do strength training combined with some walking.

Just bought a total gym, since it's fall and soon will be too cool to swim. I'm going to begin to use it next week to make the transition easier. If I listen to music or audiobook, I'm counting on that distracting me enough to get a 30 minute workout.

Find some activity you love, because anything you'll actually do is better than " making yourself" exercise????????????????

You have to sort of "get over" not liking it. I used to hate it years and years ago. You have to find what you love to do. I found biking and cycling.. crossfit.. hiking.. kayaking.. there are SO many ways to get in some movement and cardio.. what is it that you don't like?

@@Sunshine3073 I'm with you on this. I hate exercise and I keep telling myself I need to start yet I can't get motivated to do it.

I've never been a gym rat but now that I'm down 40 pounds since my surgery, I'm feeling more confident about working out...and the trick for me was I found something I LOVE. I do a circuit training kickboxing workout twice a week that I sincerely look forward to. The other days, I hop on my treadmill or my elliptical for 45 minutes to an hour and watch something on tV at the same time. Do I love that?? Not so much...but I can do it without pain and I feel amazing afterwards.

Find something you love. Do some research - try different things - our Community Education offers a ton of recreation for kids and adults...that's an inexpensive way to try out some activities.

I'm in the same boat. I HATE exercise! I'm also not an "outdoors" person. I will walk my dog. I have a gym membership that I will use after surgery (Sept 16th) when the doc ok's it.

My biggest problem is I am a quilter. I can get involved and not move from my quilt machine for 2-3 hours. I am going to HAVE to set an alarm to tell me to get up and move.

Weather wise, I'm glad my surgery is when it is, and by the time I get the ok for exercise, it will have cooled down. I cannot stand the heat. I'm in southern Arizona, and it gets HOT here.

Just walking is good.

I find that making an appt w/ someone I want to see and walking with them and catching up works lots of times. This Especially works well if we meet at the gym

If it is at our houses in the afternoon....

Uh. ...sometimes it's just a cocktail and no walk????

I am not a fan of exercise either, but at 6 weeks postop I rejoined the gym. I do cardio hip hop 2x weekly. Also have a trainer twice weekly since I am intimidated by all the muscular/fit people in the weight area. She has done a lot to allay my feelings of self consciousness by basically telling me that no one is looking at me because they are too busy with their own routines. I climb the damn escalator climber thingy on days I don't do Zumba/hip hop. It's not my favorite activity, but to be honest I feel better/less sluggish when I exercise. Also hoping it helps with overall toning as I lose!