Even though I’m lazy and I don’t particularly like it, I have exercised mostly regularly for years. I’ve worn out treadmills. I’ve gone years at a time alternating between strength training and cardio. I’ve done boot camps. I’ve hired personal trainers. I’ve allowed Bob and Jillian to yell at me on my Biggest Loser workout DVDs.

But I quit when I just kept getting bigger, despite my good habits. It’s annoying to work that hard and see no results. I can think of many better ways to spend my time. Pulling off my fingernails. Cleaning the dead snakes out of the crawl space. Memorizing the periodic tables. The list is endless.

Now that I’ve lost some weight, I’ve started getting active again. But I only do fun things.

I created a playlist on my iTunes … Becky’s Dance Party. Every hour or so I stop what I’m doing and dance to a couple of songs.

I hula hoop. I use a kid hula hoop I bought at Target, but have since found http://www.hooping.org – a very fun site with videos and tutorials and directions on making your own hula hoops.

I still work out with my Biggest Loser DVDs, but I don’t wear my glasses anymore. That fuzzy girl in the mirror? She’s hot!

I lift weights, trying to best myself each time, either with more reps or heavier weight.

I hop on the elliptical while I watch tv in the evening. It makes me feel virtuous when I’m watching some less-than-redeeming sitcom. Plus, how ironic is it to be sitting on the couch watching The Biggest Loser on tv? (Worse, I suppose, if I were also shoveling Cherry Garcia in my face.)

I’ve found it works to tell myself I only have to do ten minutes on the elliptical. “Hmm … that wasn’t so bad, maybe I’ll just go ten more.” Soon I’ve done an hour. But if I start out by saying I have to go for an hour, I won’t even put my shoes on because it’s too big a task. I know I’ll fail. I have enough failure in my life. I don’t need to seek it out!

So, those are some of my strategies to keep active in my constant quest for middle-aged fitness.

What are some things you could do? What types of exercise do you like?