Exercise and Fun...Do They Even Go Together?

When I was growing up, I was a typical kid. I rode my bike all over the neighborhood for hours in the summer, meeting up with friends, playing hopscotch and jump rope, and staying out till my mom forced me inside at dark.

At that young age, I was oblivious to how many miles I rode, calories I burned or hours I spent pedaling around the neighborhood. I just knew I was having fun--and that's all that mattered. Now I'm a typical couch potato who hates anything that requires me to sweat.

Case in point: I went to Walmart today to pick up a few essentials, and by the time I dragged myself into the store through the 90 degree heat, got what I needed (along with what seemed like hundreds of other people), then drove home and put it all away, I felt like I'd run a marathon. Sweat was pouring down my face and I got so overheated I fell on the floor in front of a fan in total exhaustion!

So tell me, was that exercise? After all, what's the difference between Sweatin' to the Oldies and sweatin' to the beat of my own drum as I navigate the aisles at Walmart, then climb the steps at home over and over to put my wares away?

Maybe I've lost sight of the real problem. As a kid, I used to have fun; maybe I've forgotten how to do that as an adult. When I was young, it came naturally. Now, living the life of an overweight adult, everything that used to be fun seems so much harder now--especially exercise.

Do you enjoy exercising to burn those calories...or do you do it just because you "have to?" If you've found ways to exercise and have fun at the same time, I'd love to hear about them. I think if I could make simple movement fun again, I might have more success at losing the weight--and keeping it off this time.