Weight Loss Support - why did/do you want to lose weight?

and what problems did you stumble along the way?

please share with me your feelings and thoughts
it will really help me out before i will get started

thanks guys

I just wanted to look better.
But a snowball thing sort of started happening when I lost a little weight I got a little more active, and as a result I wanted to become healthier to start playing soccer and running as best I could.
The things I do now are definitely more to help in my quest for fitness.

My job involves 1 or 2 days a week of very strenuous physical work, and 3 or 4 days a week of sitting on my butt in front of a computer. I realized a couple of years ago that I was coming home from my 1 or 2 days of work and feeling like I got hit by a truck. Some weekends it would mean spending a day in bed recovering before I could get back to the office part of my work. Some days I'd come home crying because my feet, legs, and back hurt so much.

And I realized that I'm only 40 - if I want to keep doing what I'm doing for another 20 or 30 years, then I'd better get my a$$ in gear.

That really was my *primary* motivation. Yeah, I wanted to lose weight to look better - we all do and anyone who says that's not some kind of consideration is fooling themselves. :) But primarily I realized that I wasn't going to get to keep doing what I love if I didn't get it together.

So I joined a gym and hired a personal trainer. I actually didn't change my diet all that much. And at first I was actually more concerned with building up my stamina and my upper body strength (I had a really wimpy upper body). It wasn't until I'd been working out with my trainer a couple of months (and he'd been dropping diet and nutrition hints for the whole time) that I realized that ... wow. I was losing weight.

The first time someone in my office building came up to me and said "are you losing weight or something? those pants look really loose!" I flipped. I realized at that point that I was still wearing my size 24 pants - and when I went to Target to buy a new pair, I was trying on 18s!!!

After that I really started thinking about what I was eating, started hardcore counting calories, and started watching my macros. And since then I've dropped to a size 12. My ultimate goal will probably put me into a size 6 or thereabouts ... and at this point I feel strong and healthy and I'm all about looking good in my clothes (and out of them! :) ).

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Whoops. Server glitch! Sorry! :)

And again. Oops! :)

I want to live a long, healthy life with my husband. I don't EVER want my body to stop me from doing or trying something I'm interested in. I want to be fit! I want to be strong!

Sure, I want to lose weight and look good too, but I'm much more motivated these days by the fitness and health aspects of my lifestyle. For example, I could get down to 130 lbs and be very small, but if I had 35% body fat and was weak I would not be happy. It's not just about the pounds.

Plus, I'll look much hotter in my race leathers if I'm slim AND fit!

PhotoChick: Wow those are some amazing results !!
you think you could do it without the personal trainer??

Today I do workout without a trainer and have for most of this year. I do find that I am not as .. um ... driven :) without him to push me along. Don't get me wrong - I'm able to motivate myself, but when he's giving me grief about being "girly" and "wimpy" (all in good fun), it really makes me push myself harder. :)

I don't think I could have gotten to where I am today w/out him in the beginning. He was the one who taught me that girls COULD and SHOULD lift free weights and that walking around with a 5lb "barbie weight" wasn't going to get me the results I wanted. He's the one who got me off of the 1 hour of ss-cardio and into HIIT. And it wasn't until I was working out with him that I saw the results that really REALLY motivated me and made me realize "holy crap - I CAN do this!"

I know that's different for everyone and not everyone is lucky enough to have a GREAT trainer like I did. He was amazing and really changed my life and every day I'll be thankful that I lucked out into being able to work with him.

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I've posted this before, and it sounds extremely morbid, but very much the truth.

It my highest weight, I felt as though death was very near. I couldn't breath, I became a hermit. I could barely get my weekly shopping done. Bathing was hard, personal hygiene was difficult. I had massive heartburn, sleep apnea, and I felt horrible ALL OF THE TIME. In a few years I went from 190 pounds to 330 because of major depression and self medicating with food and alcohol. Besides not being a proper mother for my wonderful children, the second most powerful reason for change happened one day when I felt like I was having a stroke. I visualized myself dead and how my body was treated at the mortuary. After I realized I was just having a massive panic attack and not a stoke I though about how (even dead) I would be humiliated at the mortician. I knew they would make fun of me behind closed doors and have to call in extra help to embalm me and place my body in a coffin. I was mortified that my husband would have to buy me a double wide casket and he'd have to ask extra men to be my pallbearers to carry me. I felt guilty for his humiliation. That vision changed my life.

Okay I'll be honest, a big part was to look better and look sexy for my boyfriend but, I also wanted to lose the weight to feel better, health wise and self confidence. I wanted to be able to run three miles without passing out. I wanted to be able to climb ten flights of stairs without being sweaty and exhausted- the fire alarm went off once at a hotel I was staying at and when they let us back in they said we had to take the stairs, most others raced to the top and where back in their rooms before I had even got half way up, I was mortified! I can now run more than three miles easily *go me!* :P I wanted to be able to run a half marathon, which I plan on doing next year. I wanted to live longer and be in good shape for when I have children and for the pregnancy, I want my child to grow in a healthy environment.

I visualized myself dead and how my body was treated at the mortuary. After I realized I was just having a massive panic attack and not a stoke I though about how (even dead) I would be humiliated at the mortician. I knew they would make fun of me behind closed doors and have to call in extra help to embalm me and place my body in a coffin. I was mortified that my husband would have to buy me a double wide casket and he'd have to ask extra men to be my pallbearers to carry me. I felt guilty for his humiliation. That vision changed my life.

Lori, that really touched me. That was deep. I love your honesty. Best mental vision you ever had I bet, I mean as far as it being one that will help you live a longer happier existence.

I wanted to do it for a lot of reasons: better health, to look better, and to be able to do things without fear of failure.

I poked around trying different programs and the like until I finally formulated what works best for me. I can't really afford a gym, and don't like spending the gas to drive to one, so I realized that I need an alternative at home. We have a bowflex, and I have free weights. So, reading up on training book at the library (Brad Schoenfeld is my fave) and online - I developed my own strength program. I love the results.

I have had some pitfalls along the way. I just love food, and sometimes I let that urge get the better of me. Not so much now as in the past. Now I seem to be able to get control back easier. I think that is just by practice. Just knowing that if I go off plan, it doesn't mean I am a failure. It just means I have to start right back up at the next meal.

I wanted to lose weight because I want to be SEXY AGAIN! Purely selfish reason I guess....

I wanted to lose weight because I want to be SEXY AGAIN! Purely selfish reason I guess....

Ditto! ...and be able to wear a bikini on my upcoming vacation.

Some weekends it would mean spending a day in bed recovering before I could get back to the office part of my work. Some days I'd come home crying because my feet, legs, and back hurt so much.

Oh Photo, I was just reflecting on that yesterday. How I would literally sleep and spend Sundays in pain after a crazy wedding on Saturday. I was immobilized some days.

I can't remember all the whys of why I started losing weight, except for making my son sad when I couldn't wear a jacket he gave me.

I remember having a zillion reasons, making a list to motivate myself. I mean, it wasn't hard to have 1001 reasons at the time, facing losing so much weight. I needed whatever reason I could cling to in order to continue. In such a very short time the reasons faded away, it now seems like a million years ago - my concerns then. It's amazing really. It's amazing how 'coming back to life' can fog your memory of the... fog.

Anyhow, the reason I continue doing this is how freaking amazing, healthy and alive I feel now, compared to then. The old concerns of clothes, beauty and people pale in comparison to how good this feels. I had NO clue!

Oh Photo, I was just reflecting on that yesterday. How I would literally sleep and spend Sundays in pain after a crazy wedding on Saturday. I was immobilized some days.No kidding! I can remember mornings I'd hobble down the stairs on Sunday, hanging on to the railing. My husband would be downstairs teasing me about looking like I was 80. He always rubbed my feet for me and was really sympathetic - especially because he's really tall and has always had knee and joint problems, so he knew exactly what I was feeling. But there were some nights that I'd gladly have slept on the sofa to avoid having to climb the stairs.

Anyhow, the reason I continue doing this is how freaking amazing, healthy and alive I feel now, compared to then. The old concerns of clothes, beauty and people pale in comparison to how good this feels. I had NO clue!No kidding!!!!! I can jog up the stairs now rather than having to gasp for breath at the top. I can carry my gear from one end of a reception hall to the other w/out panting. It's such an amazing feeling to actually LIKE to move and want to move and enjoy how my body feels. :)

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But there were some nights that I'd gladly have slept on the sofa to avoid having to climb the stairs.
Confession - I DID. I slept on the couch all day Sundays just waking up occasionally and watching crime shows. Blah!

I can carry my gear from one end of a reception hall to the other w/out panting.
Same here. My assistant is so relieved. Poor thing always ended up lugging the equipment everywhere and still gets pretty confused when I load myself up now! She had such an unfair burden, it was really criminal. I'm lucky to have her.

Hey people! Hope everyone is good! I'm new here, so I'm trying to read up on all the threads. Anyway, I want to loose weight to look better and feel better! I want to look "damn good" I want to feel like someone just checked me out! Been a while since I felt that way. I'd love my husband to feel like someone else thought I was nice to look at. I don't think he worried too much, know what I mean?

I never had an ah-ha moment. I had been heavy my entire life, and it was something that was always in the back (and often in the front) of my mind. I spent so much time feel bad and yucky and self-conscious... eventually I just sort of realized that if I instead of thinking negative thoughts, grabbing my flab in front of a mirror and staring longingly at clothes that would look horrible on me I could use that chunk of time to do a little exercise or lay out an eating plan.

I have a super hectic life but even when I feel overwhelmed, I remember that I always had the time to make negative remarks and stop to criticize myself in the bathroom mirror. If I had time to do that, I have time to go a quick job.

Hey people! Hope everyone is good! I'm new here, so I'm trying to read up on all the threads. Anyway, I want to lose weight to look better and feel better! I want to look "damn good" I want to feel like someone just checked me out! Been a while since I felt that way. I'd love my husband to feel like someone else thought I was nice to look at. I don't think he worried too much, know what I mean?

haha, honestly that was one of my reasons when I started too! I wanted my boyfriend to get a little jealous sometimes. We women can be devilish :devil:

It's really great that your doing research and looking around so you get off to a good start! So many people try to start losing weight but have no idea what theyre doing and then get discouraged. This is a great place to learn, vent, and find people that know exactly what youre going through. WELCOME WELCOME!

My main reason for wanting to lose weight is my self esteem. I've never been confident about the way I look at all. Every time I go somewhere, for some reason, I have it in the back of my head that everyone is staring at me and thinking how fat I am. I'm not sure why I always thought that. When I was younger, like high school, my one friend who I've known since kindergarten would call me fat, fatass, fat b**** whenever she got mad at me. Till this day it sticks in my head. Now that I'm away from the negative influences, I realized that it is time for me to take care of myself and not worry so much about what others feel. Ever since I started eating better and exercising, I feel SO much better and it has only been a month since I started my diet.

My health is also another reason why I wanted to get into shape. I don't want to grow older and have health problems because of something I could have fixed a long time ago. I want to have kids and be able to run around with them without losing my breath after 10 minutes. I think just overall it's the way I feel about myself and being comfortable with who I am. I barely have ANY pictures of myself because I hate the way I look in them. I'm the person who never wants to take pictures at family parties or when I go out with friends.

I figured it's time for a change, and that was last month. For the past few weeks I feel better than I ever have in the past three years. This time I am really sticking to it and I want to be in shape by June. I'm going to Las Vegas in the summer and want to be able to go swimming without the fear of thinking that people are going look at me like I'm a whale in a bathing suit.