Exercise

I'm 39 years old, I had a baby six months ago, I'm breast-feeding, I had another kid nearly four years ago, and I've never exercised. Considering those facts, I think my body is looking pretty good.

However, earlier this year I decided that I would like to be in better shape by the time I turn 40. I'd also like to enter my forties with a reliable exercise habit. I'm not just concerned about my looks -- this is my best chance to get strong and healthy enough to keep up with these kids for the next few decades!

I gained more than 45 pounds with each of my pregnancies. With Isaac I started at 115 pounds, went up over 160 pounds, and lost the weight slowly after he was born. I was hungry all the time, perhaps because he was an around-the-clock nurser. I kept snacks on my nightstand because I would be ravenous when he woke me up in the middle of the night. The pants I bought two months after Isaac was born were size 10; it took until 18 months postpartum before I could buy a size four. (I don't anticipate ever returning to a size two, and that's okay.)

By the time I got pregnant with Laurel I weighed 120 pounds. At the end I weighed more than 165 pounds, but postpartum this time I have steadily lost weight. Recently I weighed myself and the scale said 128 pounds! This complicates matters because it gives me much less incentive to exercise -- I'm soft and flabby, but I can fit into size six pants already, something I certainly couldn't do when Isaac was just six months old.

Anyway, my fortieth birthday is five months away. What are my chances of developing an exercise routine by then? Any advice or words of motivation?