Hi firespirit!
Hey, it's a lot better to do exercise voluntarily, rather than be forced into in like I am. *LOL* As part of my recovery from a herniated disk this summer, I am now using the employee's fitness centre ~ my office to strengthen my back & ab muscles.
I purposely do my workouts alone, because it would be too easy for me to "jam out" if my buddy wasn't there. This has been a problem in the past for me. To me, making the decision to exercise is similar to choosing to change your way of eating. As noted above, this decision was made for me
Both are lifestyle changes that only you can control and be responsible for. I'd already lost 40 lbs b4 I started my workouts and that has made it easier.
Confession: There was no exercise program during my first 5 months of LC and first 40 lbs. I don't think my feet & joints could have stood the stress at 285. That's my excuse & I'm sticking to it! I told friends that I'd start exercising after I lost some weight, then the disk thing happened & my physiotherapist & Dr have got me going. I don't ever want to go back to the physical state I was in this summer, so I may *LOL* have a wee bit more motivation than most others to be faithful to my new regime.
Fiona has some great ideas. Read her journal and exercise log to find out some of the things she did (different, I think, but effective). I'm very fortunate in that every time I've joined the fitness centre, the regulars there are very encouraging (and I'm twice the size of most of them). Nobody puts me down for my size. So I'm very lucky.
Last minute thought: 2 yrs ago I tried to walk regularly, but wasn't successful until I decided to get my walks in as part of getting home from work. There is an excellent strip of shops (especially fresh, cheap produce) about 1 km from my home. Since I was using the bus to & from work, I'd just go shopping for veggies etc on my way home & was guaranteed a 1 km walk. Taking the bus home was optional but I could often get home faster walking than waiting for the bus.
Hope some of my ramblings help,
Ruth