Good for you, taking charge of your health!

I am very proud of you! I think the thing to focus on here is not the weight, per se but on health. I am also overweight, and for years and years and years I tried every d*mn diet out there so I would "look good." I finally gave up on all of 'em and decided not to worry about my looks but about my health. From now on, everything is about my health. Perhaps this focus can help you, too? One thing that really focused me on this was a book called "Body Intelligence" which makes the point that most diets create an artificial system of eating: you eat as much, and what, your current diet guru says. This circumvents the whole appetite-response thing. The book helped me TREMENDOUSLY with my emotional overeating--eating from stress, eating "because I deserve it," eating out of boredom. I found it in the library, it seemed fairly current, but I'm not sure if it's still in print.

Some things that help me with the exercising in general include:

1. "It's about my health. 'Cheating' is stupid because I'm getting healthier every time I get out there and move."
2. "I'll do this for 10 minutes. If I'm miserable, I'll come in." (heh heh, this always works. By the time 10 minutes is up, I'm either feeling pretty good or resigned to my fate...'what the heck, I'm already out here peddling..."
3. Backup plan! I love riding my bike but some days it's better to do something else. I ride in the early morning but this morning we had a thunderstorm at 7 a.m. Yeesh! That happens MAYBE once every summer! I went to the gym instead and peddled in the cool a.c. because even after the rain came through it was 86 degrees and felt like a wet blanket.
4. Don't overdo it! It should feel like some exertion and you should have a sense of "yay! I did it!" at the end, but if you are working too hard you will have a difficult time getting out on the road.

Fourteen miles with hills!! Wow! You are my new hero!

You're a strong woman and you need the peace and quiet of your bike time. Let that stupid chorus to the Barry Manilow song flow through your mind while you ride. Watch the critters you see, domestic and otherwise. You deserve it!

Best wishes,
Nancy in (steamy hot rainy) Central FL