I've tried starting several different exercise regimens several different times during the past year. I'd start out really positive and gung-ho and I'd work to get a bit better--go a bit farther or longer--each day, and then "fall off the wagon" and end up feeling guilty and giving up on the whole thing.
I'd thought it was just because I hated exercise. Well, then one of my friends bought me the Body-for-Life book and I discovered two things there: 1.) It wasn't exercise that I didn't like, it was the "more time spent exercising is better" concept that didn't work for me; 2.) I actually REALLY like exercise, I just hadn't ever worked out intensely enough before to produce the endorphin rush. Seriously, I'd thought the endorphin "rush" was a myth.
Anywho, I'm now on Week 5/Day 4 of my new excercise program and I haven't missed a single day (except for every Sunday, which is my "official" day off) and, the surprising part is, I haven't WANTED TO miss a day of exercise. I look forward to getting up in the morning and working out and I feel an awesome rush afterwards! I have NEVER felt this way before. I mean, I was the only kid in Grade 4 who dreaded Dodge Ball...
I'm not saying Body-for-Life is, necessarily, the program for you. I'm just saying that having a set time limit (for me, it's 20 minutes on cardio days, 45 minutes on weight-training days) has made it more manageable and less of an emotional roller-coaster. Now I push the intensity, not the duration, and it's really working out great.
I'm only half-way through Week 5, just a bit longer than a month (start / current):
Hips - 47" / 45.5"
Waist - 36" / 35.75"
Thighs - 32.5" / 30"
Weight - 210.5lb / 206.5lb
Body Fat - 47% / 44%
Body Fat - 96lb / 91lb
LBM - 112lb / 115.5lb
These physical changes are not super-dramatic. My mental state has experienced the most dramatic shift. I LOVE WORKING OUT! It actually FEELS good. When I was trying to go a little bit longer each day and a little bit farther, there wasn't a clear-cut "end" in sight and that kinda worked against my emotional motivation. Somedays I'd have more energy and I'd go farther and I'd be really proud of myself and happy. Yet, on other days, I'd be a bit more low-energy and I just couldn't go as far or as long and I'd end up being disappointed and sad and that would make me dread getting back out there the next day. Now that I'm pushing the intensity, my maximum effort varies from day to day, depending on my energy level, but it's the fact that it's my maximum effort that counts--I'm not comparing it to some other day when a whole different set of factors was at work.
Anyway, that's just my $0.02. Exercise is very personal and very individual experience. Just keep going--keep moving! Because, once you find the right "groove" it feels AWESOME!
Trilbe