First... Good job on starting... the hardest step has been initiated!

Second, I'd ask a favor of you... when you get into work and log on please tell all of us how you felt before, during and after your morning exercises... The reason I ask this of you is because a lot of people struggle with starting a workout routine... it is a struggle in the beginning... I want you to be honest. I know there will be struggles, I want you to chronicle the struggles to inspire other people as you make it through them and come out on the other side. I know in the beginning I hated working out... I know... shhhh... but now I love the feelings I get after a good workout. If it is hard and it hurts... if you don't want to do it from boredom or laziness, let us know. Let us also know how you are overcoming these obstacles. You have the chance to help yourself and inspire others.

No pressure... just a little extra accountability... that is what helped me... but you aren't teaching a YMCA class... yet! What do you think?!? Are you up to it?

I can do that!! Do you want me to keep doing it on here, or put it on my 12 week post or what?

Thanks for taking the time to share with us how your workouts make you feel! Either place you want to talk about it is fine . It might make more sense to talk about it with your workout logs though, maybe? What do you think?

That's what I thought too. I posted the beginning of what I've done, so I'll just edit that post as I have more to update for the week.

That sounds great!

So you are doing a great job so far... I was reading back on some of your earlier goals and you said you and your husband are trying to lose a little bit... How is he doing and how is his motivation going?

He's pretty much the same. He's not really that motivated. He keeps saying that he needs to lose weight (which he does), but then he doesn't really do anything about it. I know he'll lose some now, because it's getting to be summer weather here, and he'll sweat off a lot, but still. I try to talk to him and motivate him, but it does no good. Maybe if he sees that I'm doing some good it'll motivate him? I don't know...

One of the hardest things to do in a workout is staying motivated while trying to motivate a loved one who is just interested. I have parents who would not exercise to literally save their lives. Everything I tried to do just frustrated me and in turn I quit focusing on myself and became unmotivated. When I quit trying to motivate them and did it myself that planted the seed in their minds that they could do it too. For them it just wasn't their time when I was starting my workouts, but now they are motivated and I am there to help them in any way I can... but I had to find out the hard way that sometimes all you can do is plant the seed, no matter how much you want them to do it... if they're not ready, they're just not ready. I think you're on to something that by your success you might inspire and empower your husband to take the next step. Good luck!

Hi Rebecca... Michele here.

Congrats! First couple steps accomplished! You are on your way! I started (some time ago) with just 10 minutes at a time. Just be happy and proud of yourself for that for the first week or so, then just add 5 minutes per workout for the next week or so, and continue like that. Once you bump into the issue of "can't add ANY more minutes!" due to lack of time (which I totally understand being a single mom of two teenagers and working full time), then you can bump up your workouts with intensity. Maybe you walk five minutes, run two, or add some hills or something like that. Before you know it, you'll feel like superwoman (which you are)!!

Enjoy the journey and really notice how much better you feel after your workouts. I really had to pay attention to that. I'd be so fatigued I wouldn't want to go workout, but I promised myself that I'd try at least five minutes and if I wasn't feeling at least a little bit better, I gave myself permission to stop for that day (because you never know if you are fighting a bug or sick or whatever). I find that at least 90% of the time I feel much better after a few minutes of activity, and really feel awesome after about 30 minutes of heart pumping activity. If I didn't pay attention and make sure I remember that, I'd probably just give up when I felt exhausted. So, just my tip... notice all the wonderful rewards of what you are doing.

Plus one more tip... I've also lost weight (33 lbs and maintained for a couple years) - make sure you are not just measuring your success with a scale. Take your measurements. Notice the tone of your muscles. As you add activity you build muscle. Muscle does not weigh more than fat (a pound is a pound no matter what!), but muscle takes up a lot less room. So, you may have success with the tape measure even when you see nothing on the scale.

You're right. I should have taken my measurements when I first started, because the scale isn't showing very many changes for me. I mean, I feel better inside, but I still look the same on the outside (at least to me). And that can sometimes be discouraging...but measurement changes. That could help. Maybe I can get that done this weekend.

Don't get down on yourself Rebecca! A little known fact about discouragement and perceived stagnance in results is that you will not see a difference in the mirror... at least not for a long time. I still don't see that much of a difference when I look in the mirror because we as humans can only look in the mirror and see the difference from yesterday to today... not from last week... and certainly not from last month to today! Now I know I have lost a lot of weight but to look in the mirror, honestly I could tell you I see better definition from the weight training but not much from the weight loss side of things. I can tell a huge difference when I start looking at old pictures... pictures will keep you honest with yourself and let you only see the difference from yesterday to today. Take a picture along with your measurements and compare them in two weeks... take a front, a side and a back shot in as skimpy of clothes showing as much skin as you feel comfortable with for comparisons... take the same shots in the same clothing 2 weeks from now and see if you see any difference... you might be surprised!