Prior to my WLS I remember having this overwhelming feeling of pressure & guilt all mixed into one, because I felt lazy - why couldn't I just go to the gym and make a change for myself? And that feeling of pressure and negativity just stunned me into doing nothing.

I swore that post-WLS I would do my everything to never be like that, yet here I am - yes I am losing weight, I am eating better, but I have been to the gym like 5 times in 2 months...why can't I just do it?

I feel like I am really just putting a lot of pressure on myself right now, but I just think I need to make a change and get into better habits.

Sorry guys - just needed to vent! Anyone else struggle with this kind of thing?

1 hour ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

Sorry guys - just needed to vent! Anyone else struggle with this kind of thing?

YES

I was convinced that once I lost weight and felt better about myself I would be like a gym bunny but it still the same old (skinnier) me who likes to sit on the sofa with a book or binge Celebrity Masterchef, The Good Doctor or some other TV program rather than move.

Hence I am going to buy an expensive gym membership as hoping that will make me go, not wasting money for nothing. Also I don't like heat and last few weeks have been too warm and energy sapping for me so I am hoping cooler autumn weather will get me out more.

It is all down to me, I am the lazy one and I know I enjoy myself and feel better once I do exercise it is just the doing it that is the struggle.

4 minutes ago, FifiLux said:

YES

I was convinced that once I lost weight and felt better about myself I would be like a gym bunny but it still the same old (skinnier) me who likes to sit on the sofa with a book or binge Celebrity Masterchef, The Good Doctor or some other TV program rather than move.

Hence I am going to buy an expensive gym membership as hoping that will make me go, not wasting money for nothing. Also I don't like heat and last few weeks have been too warm and energy sapping for me so I am hoping cooler autumn weather will get me out more.

It is all down to me, I am the lazy one and I know I enjoy myself and feel better once I do exercise it is just the doing it that is the struggle.

I am fully the same!

I have said expensive gym membership and it is currently burning a hole in my pocket ? I think I need to change up my routine. If I go in the evening I find so many excuses not to do it, I'm tired, exhausted, I want my evening to myself etc...so I think the only way is gonna be to go EARLY. Like, up at 5am, at the gym for 6am, and then to work for 7:30...I may die, but I think it'll work better ? I shall trial it.

I feel you on the heat - it has sapped my energy too and I really can't wait for it to be cooler!

You got this ❤️

1 hour ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

Prior to my WLS I remember having this overwhelming feeling of pressure & guilt all mixed into one, because I felt lazy - why couldn't I just go to the gym and make a change for myself? And that feeling of pressure and negativity just stunned me into doing nothing.

I swore that post-WLS I would do my everything to never be like that, yet here I am - yes I am losing weight, I am eating better, but I have been to the gym like 5 times in 2 months...why can't I just do it?

I feel like I am really just putting a lot of pressure on myself right now, but I just think I need to make a change and get into better habits.

Sorry guys - just needed to vent! Anyone else struggle with this kind of thing?

Maybe the gym isn’t *your thing* and that’s why you’re finding it such a struggle to commit to it? Maybe a personal trainer isn’t for you but you would be happy to work out on your own? Is there anything else that piques your interest fitness-wise? I love the gym but actual fitness classes bore me rigid! Maybe being out in nature (with your beloved even) would interest you more? Or rock climbing, canoeing, running (or walking) around a track, go carting, swimming blah, blah, blah. For a fitness regime to stick, you have to find something you love.

If you’ve paid for a gym membership and want to get your monies worth until it runs out then I’m more than happy to be your virtual gym buddy. Please don’t think you’ve failed or that you HAVE to put additional pressure on yourself to get fit. Do whatever you feel happy and comfortable with. It’s just baby steps to begin with, dipping in to things to see what works for you. Also have a think about what you’re doing in the gym as it could be the workout that isn’t floating your boat. I do a bit of cardio to warm up/cool down and then I’m on the resistance machines. Could I do a cardio-heavy workout? Nah! It’s all personal choice ?

Celebrate your successes so far, because (in the words of a cheesy ad) YOU’RE WORTH IT!

We got this ⭐

We just needed the time so far to adjust to what has been happening and accept our new reality, at least that is what I am telling myself.

The gym I am joining next month doesn't open until 7am which is too late for me, I get the bus to work at 6am but it means I can get there for 4pm and get my 30/40 minutes in before the work time rush from 5pm, at least that is my plan.

I figure I will be getting my steps in from this weekend as going to 4 day conference thing running (well walking briskly) between meetings and then in two weeks will be going to D.C. for a week. I got steroid injections in each knee today so I am ready to get walking and hopefully shift my last 2kg.

1 minute ago, MrsFitz said:

Maybe the gym isn’t *your thing* and that’s why you’re finding it such a struggle to commit to it? Maybe a personal trainer isn’t for you but you would be happy to work out on your own? Is there anything else that piques your interest fitness-wise? I love the gym but actual fitness classes bore me rigid! Maybe being out in nature (with your beloved even) would interest you more? Or rock climbing, canoeing, running (or walking) around a track, go carting, swimming blah, blah, blah. For a fitness regime to stick, you have to find something you love.

If you’ve paid for a gym membership and want to get your monies worth until it runs out then I’m more than happy to be your virtual gym buddy. Please don’t think you’ve failed or that you HAVE to put additional pressure on yourself to get fit. Do whatever you feel happy and comfortable with. It’s just baby steps to begin with, dipping in to things to see what works for you. Also have a think about what you’re doing in the gym as it could be the workout that isn’t floating your boat. I do a bit of cardio to warm up/cool down and then I’m on the resistance machines. Could I do a cardio-heavy workout? Nah! It’s all personal choice ?

Celebrate your successes so far, because (in the words of a cheesy ad) YOU’RE WORTH IT!

I was thinking that...I think I am just reminiscing too much on my past where the gym really was my thing, and I just haven't ever felt confident enough to try anything else!

I know I like walking, especially now, I can just put my earphones in and go...so maybe I need to try and do more of that.

I have paid for my gym membership, and it is like a 12 month contract so I will have to keep paying, so I'd love to be your virtual gym buddy! ❤️ I just need to realise I don't need to go to the gym and do a whole workout, I can do what I feel comfortable with. So I will start with that!

Thank you lovely ❤️

1 minute ago, FifiLux said:

We got this ⭐

We just needed the time so far to adjust to what has been happening and accept our new reality, at least that is what I am telling myself.

The gym I am joining next month doesn't open until 7am which is too late for me, I get the bus to work at 6am but it means I can get there for 4pm and get my 30/40 minutes in before the work time rush from 5pm, at least that is my plan.

I figure I will be getting my steps in from this weekend as going to 4 day conference thing running (well walking briskly) between meetings and then in two weeks will be going to D.C. for a week. I got steroid injections in each knee today so I am ready to get walking and hopefully shift my last 2kg.

It is true, I think mentally adjusting to everything is so massive, and I am noticing how my body feels at the moment almost 4 months out where I am just a bit dizzy and struggling to get food in, I am not gonna perform well at the gym like I used to!

Sounds like a good plan to me!

Definitely will get your steps in doing that! Eeee good luck with the injections!

Starting small really helps!!! walking on your lunch break no matter how fast or slow but not stopping for a 20-30min, you build up from there, I was the same until I started seeing results then I became obsessed with the results! Then I got really into it

Weight loss success is roughly 80% or more about your nutrition and 20% or less about exercise. No gym required! So if you don't like the gym or can't fit it into your schedule, really hone in on the nutrition for now and add whatever body movement you CAN manage every day. Meet yourself where you are, not where you think you should be. If you only walk 1500 steps a day, set a goal for 5,000 a day and don't expect yourself to be running a marathon next month. If you're already good about walking, kick it up by putting on some ankle and wrist weights while you do a 15 minute dance video on YouTube to get your heart rate up and build some strength. Or buy a set of resistance bands and do those a few times per week. Culturally, I think we've become convinced you have to "go to the gym" to see results, and it's really not true. And if you only have the energy to focus on one thing in these early days, start with nutrition because that's where you will see the most lasting results. You're still healing right now and your body is not ready for grueling workouts at this stage.

2 hours ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

I am fully the same!

I have said expensive gym membership and it is currently burning a hole in my pocket ? I think I need to change up my routine. If I go in the evening I find so many excuses not to do it, I'm tired, exhausted, I want my evening to myself etc...so I think the only way is gonna be to go EARLY. Like, up at 5am, at the gym for 6am, and then to work for 7:30...I may die, but I think it'll work better ? I shall trial it.

I feel you on the heat - it has sapped my energy too and I really can't wait for it to be cooler!

You got this ❤️

I found going before work helps me. Since I have to be up anyway, I might as well go to the gym is my reasoning.

Also, when I go in the evenings after work, I find that it makes me absolutely ravenous with hunger where as in the morning, I can have my usual breakfast right after and I'm fine.

2 hours ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

I was thinking that...I think I am just reminiscing too much on my past where the gym really was my thing, and I just haven't ever felt confident enough to try anything else!

I know I like walking, especially now, I can just put my earphones in and go...so maybe I need to try and do more of that.

I have paid for my gym membership, and it is like a 12 month contract so I will have to keep paying, so I'd love to be your virtual gym buddy! ❤️ I just need to realise I don't need to go to the gym and do a whole workout, I can do what I feel comfortable with. So I will start with that!

Thank you lovely ❤️

Let me know what you want from me as your virtual gym buddy and I will be there with bells on! Walking sounds like a good start for you and definitely something to build on. Just think about if challenging yourself would work for you because beating your own personal bests and targets can be quite an incentive ? Or is it just doing something for the pure enjoyment and pleasure of it? Whatever you do, make it FUN!!

Adding another voice to the chorus that you don’t have to go to the gym if it’s not your thing…

Diet plays a much bigger role in weight loss than exercise, so that should be your focus. Depending on where you are with your diet progression, this may not be the time to be doing intense workouts, anyway, since you may not be able to eat enough to fuel a serious gym session.

Exercise is definitely beneficial to your health and important for maintaining weight loss, so the instinct to start now is a good one, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. Try to find something you don’t hate. Just walking is great exercise. Start an episode of your favorite podcast and walk until it’s over. Check out some YouTube videos that you can do for free in the privacy of your home. Someone on this very forum recommended Leslie Sansone videos and now I pass that recommendation along to anyone who hates “going to the gym” and/or doesn’t know where to start.

FWIW, I didn’t go to the gym even once for over 3 years after my surgery. I lost the weight working out at home, walking and doing free workout videos. It’s only been in the past year that I started taking fitness classes, and although I am a self-proclaimed exercise hater, I must admit that I’ve come around. By the way, although I’ve discovered that a lot of stereotypes about gym members being mean to people who are overweight and/or out of shape are wrong, it is a heck of a lot easier to work up the will to go to the gym when you are already in decent shape from, say, home workouts, so maybe put the idea of going to the gym on hold for a while and see how you feel once you’ve gotten some results from working out at home.

OMG our flipping brains! Sorting out the anatomy and engineering weight loss is only a quarter of the struggle.

I hope you can silence that voice in your head @Bypass2Freedom while you're doing so well.

No, actually - acknowledge it, feel what your brain wants you to feel and then try to address it by doing some exercise that you actually enjoy and that makes you feel good. Take that, brain!

It's a long road. I know I'm talking from a place of little knowledge about your particular struggles - the best advice is usually to think about talking to a therapist but they don't grow on trees. You are doing brilliantly - I hope you can allow yourself to really feel that.

Echo all the comments so far. You are doing so well in spite of the gym, put it that way! You are absolutely killing it so far regardless, and you aren’t even 6 months in! You got this and we are all here to support each other and all on similar journeys so you’ve done the right thing in posting your feelings (and thanks for doing so). Hope you feel better about it all soon

I did not exercise while I was losing. No gym membership. No walking miles. No cycling. Nothing. Didn’t hinder my weight loss. However I did up my everyday activity. Parked further away from where I was going. Walked up escalators. Made multiple trips up & down my stairs instead of making one or two trips to bring up the groceries, etc. Or go down to take or the rubbish and then go back down to get the mail instead of doing it in one trip.

Saw a program by the late Dr Michael Mosley that compared the benefits of doing a block of 30 mins of exercise a day vs doing 3 or 4 bursts of 5 -10 minutes totalling 30mins of exercise a day. The difference was minimal. They called it exercise snacking and it’s what I started doing about 20months ago. I incorporate a number of yoga based stretches, resistance band exercises and exercises to improve flexibility across my day. Honestly I wouldn’t burn 30 calories but I have more defined & toned muscles in my arms and legs and my flexibility has improved which is what I wanted. I don’t find it a chore and I sort of enjoy it (something I never really down with any other exercise except yoga). I do it, or a modified version if I’m away, every day bar the odd day once or twice a month.

Exercise contributes only about 10% of any weight you’re to lose. However, there are other benefits to your health and well being. You just have to find something you enjoy doing & doesn’t feel like a chore or a punishment.

I’ve tried various things through the 5 years since my surgery. Regular gyms, kickboxing gyms, walking, running, yoga. What I’ve found works for me is just doing activities I enjoy. I discovered (once my butt was small enough to fit in one) that I love kayaking. And in the last year or so I’ve been getting in to cycling. I don’t walk a ton for exercise anymore, but have found I love to walk around cities I visit when traveling, and walk my dog several times a day. Once the weight came off all of these things became easier and more enjoyable.