Well number one is the find a healthy permanent diet as that is what more than 80% of your weight is based on. Then don't bother to do tons of heavy cardio. Its overrated and will prevent you from even wanting to move. It doesn't make you lose weight and makes you hungrier, its stressful and bad for your joints. Again its all about the diet.

Just find something you enjoy to do to keep active and healthy and work on toning which is far more important. If you walk at least 5 miles everyday, that is the most cardio you need to be healthy and maintain weight if your diet is decent. You can easily motivate yourself to take a long walk or to take mini walks throughout the day. Go and listen to music. Go with a friend or loved one and talk. Take a dog which will only love to take long walks and motivate you.

If you really insist on more cardio, do something fun. Go swimming, do dance videos or go out dancing, go on a hike if you enjoy hiking, play a sport you enjoy, etc so it doesn't feel like a workout but feels like a lot of fun.

However, focus on toning. 3-4 sessions a week. Even 20 minutes at a time will do. This will have you burning more fat in the long run even when you're sitting around. Muscle eats fat and you will be developing lean muscle. Just tell yourself its a short workout and worth it. I recommend pilates, yoga, barre, bodyweight exercises all with little to no equipment... lots of free videos online or programs to subscribe to. Just keep telling yourself this is not a lot of my time, it'll be over before I know it, after all its not even half an hour.

I can't exercise. I am disabled, some of my disabilities you can't see. Fibromyalgia, RLS, Lymphedema, back problems from my neck to my lower back. Surgery? NO WAY. You can tell by watching me walk. It's rare that some people just look at my face and know there's something wrong, I love those people dearly because they will help me in a store...if I can go. I still feel blessed & think the glass is half full. I'm in pain all the time. I know there are others worse off than I. I turn to my music, I do what I call " Chair Dancing." I wonder if taking 46 pills a day is considered a form of exercise. LOL

Then don't. It's your life and you choose not to motivate yourself. You are a hard worker and just want to relax instead of motivating yourself. Even motivation is an effort unless your are getting paid for it or being pushed by your friend, spouse, or parent. Seems you have not learned about pushing yourself. Waiting on someone else to motivate you? You have not had to do anything unless you wanted to, right? You and you are your teacher, your mover and shaker, you are in the couch seat and feel no need, right? Why do today when it can wait. Wait you are a motivator to do your own thing when you want and that's that, right? You can motivate yourself when you are ready, especially if your health is in dire need. Why not THINK OF A PLAN TO HAVE FUN. Think dancing by yourself or out in public. Think I can park the car further away from the entrance and have to walk further. You could get a dog and walk the little critter twice a day and let them pull you along. You can go to a national park and try the easy trails. You can finally buy that bike and ride around just for fun of course, not exercise, of course... You can walk the Mall and go in every store that interests you but try to keep walking. You can push a cart loaded with food around Wal Mart or Costco for one hour. You can baby sit a friends toddler and walk everywhere they go and keep them from destroying the house. You can do all sorts of exercise in bed, yes, that too. Rent a hotel with a pool and swim and meet people. You can get better ideals than I have by motivating yourself and those ideals into a plan or spontaneously just doing something outside your comfort zone. It is not hard to motivate yourself to just move.

You’ve probably noticed that it’s hard to be motivated all the time.

No matter what you are working on, there are bound to be days when you don’t feel like showing up. There will be workouts that you don’t feel like starting. There will be reports that you don’t feel like writing. There will be responsibilities that you don’t feel like handling. And there will be “off days” when your energy and emotions are in the gutter.

These fluctuations are part of life, and I face these motivational challenges just as much as the next person. However, for the important things in my life, I’ve also developed a system for dealing with these “off days.”

Let’s talk about that system and how it can help you perform well even when you’re not feeling motivated.

First of all, we should know the importance of exercise. Exercise can make our body strong and healthy which we will benefit from it a lot. After realizing the big influence a healthy body can do, i think we definitely have the reason to do exercise. When i don't feel like it, i will imagine the consequence if i don't exercise. Just like... i will overweight and be fat. i can never allow myself to be fat and ponderous, then i will stand up and exercise. This method that using pressure is effective. Besides it, we can let exercise become an interesting things. We all know the feeling that sitting in sofa, eating chips is good. But if we make exercise as a hobby rather then a task. we will surpisely find the feeling that exhausting and challenging our limit is even better. After exercise, we will feel rich and happy. Last but not least, we can set a goal, and stive to achieve it. We can also compete with our friends, it will help to breakthrough your limit and add fun. Since exercise can bring us so many benefit, we have no reason to be lazy.

My suggestion won't be like popular recommendations. I infact think you should NOT think if your goals.

Everyone works in a different way, this strategy worked for me and perhaps you're among those like me as well.

Basically, thinking about exercising and imagining it in your head will only add stress and induces that feeling of discomfort, because you tell yourself it's such a big transition from your current lifestyle.

So, to get motivation, you can't. And you won't need a motive either to get started. You will need to simply jump into it. Do NOT think about it otherwise you will fear the concept. Pretend you're a worthless entity in this universe on planet earth functioning with cogs, nothing you do matters. If you can pretend, you will fulfill your weekly exercise and you'll start to realize, everything you did in the past is something you can reflect on, and be proud of.

Also, I would like to add a boost of confidence. Be aware that a week into your new lifestyle, you'll start getting used to it, very fast. It's like going back to school after a long fun summer, it's always the hardest at the beginning, but it gets easier from there :)

Sorry for the long post, I'm sitting at university bored on my break.

Maybe you SHOULD rest!!!!! Listen to your body. Um, I don't know how to motivate myself to exercise because I usually have to 'exercise'. It's just a drive I happen to have that is there. :-) Thankfully! Because, if, on occasion I'm not wanting to exercise, that means I'm probably pooped out. So, I rest, and that's it.

The funny thing is that sitting too much really will make you stiff and lethargic. So, move around intermittently throughout the day. Mimic a hunter gatherer. If you must, get naked, put the loincloth on, the warpaint, get the bongos, and some kind of bow and arrow. Go get tribal.

Um, stash your food in secret locations? That way you have to go out and gather it.

Devise a plan that forces you to 'hunt' your food before you can eat it, lol! That will make you exercise. Ha ha.

Set up marshmallows along a seven mile trail. Ha ha. Self reward the behavior, lol.

Attach the fridge to a pedometer. It doesn't open until you've done a certain number of steps?

Hire a dominatrix kind of trainer?

A dog that demands you go out is effective.

Pictures of unfit vs fit people?

Dirty rotten competition is motivating. Set up a monetarily-motivated bet with someone. Start training.

Lay there and dream of exercising? Ha ha!

Think about your arteries, liver, bones, and muscles that will atrophy if you don't get up and move. I mean, astronauts have to do resistance exercises for 2hrs/day in order to stay healthy in a weightless environment so they can tolerate re-entry back to Earth later.

Exercise is easy these days. Just do it.

I have a photo of myself in tip-top shape that I look at for inspiration. Some people suggest using the photo of a celebrity or model but personally I don't recommend that since a) it reminds you constantly of how someone ELSE looks and b) it's probably photo-shopped!

Speaking of, you could photo-shop a pic of yourself to be whatever your goal weight and appearance is.

It's convenient that I have a gym in my building also otherwise that would be a detriment trying to get over to the gym in the rain or cold.

I also go early, early in the morning. That way I'm awake and fresh and there's barely anyone there except the hot guys with jobs! Later in the day and I am just too tired to go. I don't go on the weekend since the 'weekenders' as I call them (the people who only go on Saturday and Sunday then claim they 'work out') hog up all the machines at a really slow and painful pace.

Don't let anyone like a boyfriend, friend or family member distract you from going to the gym. A lot of the time relatives who aren't as motivated to get healthier will sabotage your efforts either consciously or unconsciously.

I make sure I wash my gym clothes and the ready the night before.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

The bottom line is you really can't motivate yourself unless you make preparations for it the night before.

The best routine, at least for me is--

1. Sleep the night before with your workout clothes.

2. set your alarm for a ridiculously early time like 4:30 am. Why? because you can't think at that time. You just end up waking up... half asleep.. but it's grilled in your head that you have to get to the gym.

3. by the time you get to the gym.. you have no desire to workout... and usually when you have no desire to workout.. everyone aims for the treadmill or the elliptical machine.

4. Put on your music,

5. i promise you 10 minutes walking like a zombie on a treadmill WILL WAKE YOU THE HELL UP. and that's when you get motivated.

You can EASILY workout for an hour a day.

This will energize you throughout the day, until maybe around 6 pm.. is when you start feeling tired.. the good part is.. 6 pm is the best time to have your dinner... and you'll be hitting the sack by 9 pm.

Just remember to sleep in your gym clothes.. that will motivate you..

You guys truly are a strange bunch... As if exercise ever needed motivation or "sacrifice." Physical activity is the easiest and most natural thing in the world, and a day without exercise is a day without purpose, a day without meaning. Our bodies are *made* for activity and it needs that basic stimulation. How else to be happy? How else to thrive? Nothing is more natural. I don't get people who just wanna come home from School or work every day just to always sink down in that sad couch watching TV or whatnot. It is basically a non-existing lifestyle, why even get up in the morning?

It has much to do with how you are raised, I suppose. You live an active childood in an active household with parents who set a good example, then you will grow up to become the same, and activity will be the most natural thing in the world to you, and this mentality will follow you into adulthood.