Why are you losing weight?
 

Everyone has their own reasons and I'm interested to hear yours.

I'm losing weight because I want to prove to myself that I'm not fated to weigh more than I want to weigh.

I'm losing weight because I am working like heck to lose it.

Seriously though, my reason is simple. I just finally got so sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I wanted to be able to sit down and see my lap without having to move my stomach to the side. I wanted to get up out of the chair without making that grunting noise. AND a thousand other little things. I finally got so sick of the weight.....getting in the way of life.

I want to lose weight because I'm not happy with how I look and how I feel. It definitely doesn't help when the "nice grandma" finally decides to tell me I need to lose weight.

It's mainly because I'm unhappy with myself though. The comments from my family just help me to stay motivated.

I'm losing weight because I've never been happy with being overweight. I was content for so long to put up with it, but not happy. I just thought maybe I was destined to be that way since my immediate family (and a lot of the rest of my family) are overweight. Then my Dad got late onset type 1 Diabetes and lost a whole lot of weight because he was sick and because they put him on the wrong medication. But now he's keeping it off as a result of simply eating healthier. So I realised it was possible. Maybe not just possible, but even necessary if I want to avoid health problems later in life. I also really want to be fitter. I hate huffing and puffing after walking up a hill (that is definitely improving!). I hate that I can't do some of the things my boyfriend likes to do because I'm nowhere near his fitness level - he loves to do things outdoors and I'd love to be able to do them too.
It's also vanity reasons. I don't think I'm unattractive, but I think I'd be a whole lot more attractive in a smaller body. I'd also have a lot more confidence. I want more choice in the clothes I can wear, and I want to feel less self-conscious with anything I may choose to wear.

So I guess...it's health reasons, proving to myself I can do it, and becoming fitter and healthier for myself. I just want to feel more comfortable in my own body.

I'm losing weight because I don't want to be fodder for jokes any more, or feel self-conscious when I step outside of my house. I also want to be comparably attractive next to my husband, and I want to be able to walk around in my underwear in front of him, and not in oversized PJ pants.

i'm losing weight cuz i'm fat. anybody else got another excuse, really?

I'm losing weight because people were starting to make comments to my face that I needed to lose weight, and it was devastating to me. Friends and close family members would tease me, and I would cry when nobody was around. That's when I knew something had to change...and now I'm doing it to prove to myself [and I guess to them, kind of] that I can do this and I WILL.

I'm also going to Australia for a semester abroad in February, and I want to look amazing in my photos! I also want to have the energy to do all the exciting things I have planned, and not be self conscious when I do them. I want to look good in a bikini while taking surfing lessons, scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, or just laying out getting a tan!!

I'm losing because I'm not happy with the way I look. I've been overweight for years, but I've gained nearly 100 lbs just since starting college 5 years ago. It's really do or die time. I'm only 22, if I do it now, it will be easy, if I wait until I'm 30 or 40 it will be 10x harder.

I want to be able to be active, walk a flight of stairs without feeling winded, be able to play a sport, etc.

And lastly, I want to stick it to everyone who ever made an insensitve comment about my weight.

I'm doing it because a) I can feel how unhealthy I am and b) I'm incredibly uncomfortable in my own skin. Part a is obvious and should be the driving force, but b is the bigger motivator for me. I want to be able to leave the house without feeling self conscious. I don't even go a lot of places that I used to because I just feel too uncomfortable.

First of all I got to say Krampus, awesome post :) I love hearing peoples stories as well, it really helps me stay motivated.

I've always been over-weight and ridiculed for it. Every since I was 4 I have had big dreams of a music career but was always pushed to the side because of my weight... the reason was always "She needs to lose a couple pounds" or "I just dont think she is really serious about this". Of course I still get the serious thing because people always say "She's lost weight before, how do I know she isn't just going to gain it all back?". It really just sucked... to be completely honest.. I started to convince myself that music wasn't for me and I should go to school and be a nurse or a beautician like so many girls from my highschool have done.. but that's just not me... I mean, it's not a bad thing, not me.

The funny thing is though the thing that pushed me over the edge was a visit to my home state last January.. I was there for a little over a month and a half and in that period of time I managed to gain 20 pounds. I was so shocked and devastated when I stepped on the scale... I never really "felt" fat... I always looked at other people and said "they are bigger than me" or "I don't look that bad"... as terrible as that is... Something just sort of clicked in me though, I finally admitted I was unhappy and to put things simply, got my butt in gear.

I am sorry for the novel... lol... but I can't really help but toot my own horn sometimes... I never thought I would see 170 again.. It's an amazing feeling and I wish everyone all the luck on their journeys :)

The breaking point was when a new doctor (who I never went back to) was extremely rude to me and kept making comments about my weight. I'm a nice person with a lot to offer, and I've always thought I was pretty, even at my highest weight, and I just really wanted people to finally be able to see that. So I guess it's a lot about the vanity haha. I want to look as good on the outside as I feel I am on the inside.

I also really wanted to stop having that one thing to blame everything on-- I spent years blaming everything on my weight. I'm unhappy because I'm fat. That person doesn't like me because I'm fat. If I weren't fat I'd do this, if I weren't fat I'd do that. And it just got so old after awhile. Now that I've lost some weight I really feel so much better, physically, and I've also been able to realise some of the reasons I'm unhappy outside of my weight and deal with them properly, instead of just saying, "Oh well, if I were thin, I'd be happy."

I want to lose weight because being overweight is putting my health at risk.

For me, that is the primary reason for wanting to lose weight. When I was at my heaviest, at around 20, 21 years old, I went to the doctor's for a routine visit - a repeat prescription for the combined contraceptive pill. As usual, they weigh you and take your blood pressure. My blood pressure was high and they couldn't give me the pill. I was absolutely mortified. Twenty years old with hypertension. It just shouldn't happen. When you are young, you should be in your peak with regards to fitness and health. It was just so crushing to realise that when I was in that state, the risk to health from my weight wasn't just an abstract thing to be worried about in the future, it was something that was putting me at risk there and then. It was horrible to think that I was experiencing a medical problem that I had always associated with older, really unhealthy people... and then to come to the realisation that I was probably experiencing that problem because I was really unhealthy.

Before that point, I hated being fat for all of the "usual" reasons. I had low self-esteem, felt ugly, felt embarrassed, was never looked at by boys when I was younger, and so on. I know being thin in itself doesn't make people happy, but my weight provided a real mental barrier to a lot of enjoyment that I could have had as a teenager, and I spent a lot of time feeling ashamed and down about it. But when I realised that what I saw in the mirror was seriously threatening my health, that's when I had to do something serious about it. By all means, other than health, wanting to look better is a big part of why I want to lose weight. I don't think that's being excessively vain, but deep down, I think I'm quite an attractive young woman, and being obese was really spoling that, if that makes any sense. I just don't want to age and then look back and think, wow, I could have spent my youth enjoying my appearance and feeling young, healthy and pretty, if I had just taken care of my weight problem.

I'm 25 now and even though I'm not at my goal, I feel so much better already. I already feel healthier, happier, more confident, and like I can actually enjoy my appearance and getting dressed up. It's brilliant! And knowing that I'm keeping up a healthy lifestyle, by eating well and exercising regularly, I no longer fear going to the doctor, because I know I'm making good choices for myself.

I want to lose weight because I want men to find me attractive and to be able to wear cute clothes. Stupid reasons, but it works.

What pushed me over the edge is I stopped being able to physically do things that I wanted to. When my friends were walking, I could barely keep up. We went to the beach and I could barely walk to where we were hanging out.

I want to be healthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy and not all thin people are healthy, but I, personally, am working on health issues.

I want to wear size 12/14 again. I'm sick of finding attractive clothes being such a big effort.

I think the weight is holding me back in the work place.

I think spending time thinking about the specific benefits of losing weight instead of thinking about it in the abstract can be helpful, so thanks for starting this thread.

I'm losing weight because I want to feel better, physically and mentally. I love a good challenge! :) Thank you for asking! Love reading yalls stories.

I am loosing weight for myself. I want to look into the mirror and see beauty not fat, I want to go to the dr and not hear the word "obese". I want to be here for my kids and grandkids.

I'm losing weight because it's the one dream i really want to come true.
Whenever someone would say "make a wish" or "if you could have 3 wishes..." My answer (in my head) was always "be a normal weight". The other 2 wishes I could throw away.

Why? Well first of all I always blamed my weight for the things I couldn't do/get. I also feel that being overweight makes me feels that i'm just not in control.

i'm also planning a major backpacking tour at the end of next year and it would be great to be able to pack more into a backpack (big granny knickers can take up alot of space!)

I just want to :).

Part of it is vanity... but...

I've always always always been overweight. My mom was overweight. I remember being a kid and watching her watch things from the sidelines because she was too big or out of shape or embarrassed to participate. It really had a huge impact on me. I don't want that for my kids.

This? Made me LOL.

My reasons:

Health. My Mom was very ill. She had several things wrong with her and I'm terrified I'll end up that way too. She passed away at 59. She had lupus, diabetes, scleroderma, congestive heart failure, raynaud's disease, fibromyalgia.. the list goes on. No one knows why, or where any of these diseases came from - no one in our family has any of them, ever. As far back as I could find, and I looked back to the 1600's, in Italy, lol. Most people in my family die of old age, nothing more. It terrifies me that I was "baked" in her womb, while she was undiagnosed with some of these things. I wouldn't change a thing about growing up with a terminally ill parent, but I do NOT want to end up that way for my own kids. (Which, while were at it, I'm SUPER afraid of getting prego - my mom was diagnosed when I was 18 months old, and if my birth didn't cause it, they think the baby she lost in '79 did.)

YEY! /sarcasm. LOL.


And, this:

Screw all my thin cousins that didn't play with me because of it! My cousins are the only ones I can recall, even in high school, that EVER made fun of me for my weight. EVER. I was class clown, I didn't ever have a problem making friends. Heck, I was friends with my whole class... I never felt any bad 'youre fat!' vibes in school, or in social circles, or at work... NOTHING. Just my stupid cousins and their tiny tan bodies with blonde hair... Grr.

Anywho, that's why. :rofl:

I think I'm doing it just to get acquainted with my gender. I have no idea what its like to be treated and regarded as a female. Seems the bigger I am, the more sexless I am treated.

Which is saying something as the last time I was thin was childhood. which, yes; also the last time I think people regarded me as a female and not some unsightly blob.

If that didnt make sense, my bad. But there you have it!

Many things.
One is that both my sibling had knee surgery... I don't want to go there!

Another is that I want to know that I can do this. I want to know that I'm not a slave to food and to an unhealthy life style. I need to know I can change this and have a better life for myself!

The third is the vanity thing. Really, I just want to be able to go into any shop I choose and buy what I want (and not what they have in my size!)

and last, I'm going to quote 'cause I couldn't have said it better myself!!

I'm loosing weight because I am, well....vain. I want to be a better version of myself. Also, I don't want to be heavier than my husband. Currently I am 20 pounds more than he is. Eeekk! (Trying to fatten him up but damn his metabolism burns everything I feed him)

I am losing weight for a few different reasons...1) Being I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have joint problems as it is and I know the extra weight isn't helping. I'm sick of having no energy and not being able to keep up with my very active husband. 2) I want to get healthy, I don't want high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, etc. I also want to be healthy for my future babies! ;) 3) I'm SICK of going into a store, finding the cutest outfit and it looking like crap on me or not fitting at all. I'm sick of being on the verge of tears in the dressing room! I'm sick of people asking if I'm pregnant or when I'm due, because I'm so very lucky I carry 90% of my weight in my belly & chest. :( 4) I'm just over being overweight!!!!!! I want to feel HOT again! ;)

I am losing weight for me. Plain and simple. I want to look good and I want to feel good. Not to mention the health issues that run on my Dad's side of the family. Heart Attacks, High Blood Pressure, High Choloesterol, and Diabetes. Which all of the above things my own father has, and I should mention that I take after him. My mom was always a skinny minny and my 3 older brothers took after her and her side of the family. While I got the slow metabolism, the big butt and belly, and the high blood pressure of my Dad. I used to have a fairly good control on this in high school and even a little after, but then all of a sudden I put on 60lbs. And I have been fighting like mad to get it off for a while. I would try all these silly yo yo diets only to end up gaining more in the end. This time I am changing my lifestyle, because I want to be healthy, I want to be able to enjoy my life all the way up into my old age, and I want to have the self confidence that I know I should have.

I want to lose weight because I need to. I'm fat! I have been overweight for 7 years and that has been 7 years too long. Also the other day I overheard someone say to my husband that he didn't know I was pregnant. I felt like crying because I am sooo not preggers and I'm so mad at myself for getting this large. :cry:

My reason is nothing like anyone else. I'm loosing weight exclusively to make fun of a colleague harder. We always tease one another, he makes fun of me for being fat, I make fun of him for being too skinny. I told him I'd lose weight and he'd gain it for the next season. we have 6 months between episodes (I'm an animator) so when I get back after the 6 months I want to say "I lost all the weight- why are you still so damn skinny!"
So it's basically a 50 Lb I told you so!

I am losing weight because i am tire of being overweight and so unhappy in my body. i would just love to be happy with the way i look and feel overall.

The main reason is for health and to look better. But, my boyfriend of almost a year is unhappy with my stomach. He tries to deny it, but I know he is. Thus, I want to be healthier, and I want to look better for myself and my boyfriend.

hahaha! that is awesome!!!! goood luck!!!!!!!!!

I want to feel like i belong in this body, see past the fat person in the mirror and just make myself happy!!!! I am content with myself but i want to be flipping happy!!!!

Put on all those wonderful cute cloths that i know will look killer on me!!! =)

I am losing weight for both health and vanity reasons. More than anything, though, it's for my health. High blood pressure, heart failure, strokes, and diabetes have all occurred within my immediate/close family. My older sister died in 2001, when she was 23, of heart failure and my mother's brother died in his early 30's of a heart attack (neither one of them were anywhere near overweight). Plus, my grandfather died of diabetes, my grandmother has high blood pressure, my father has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and has had two heart attacks and a massive stroke that has left him disabled, and my mother has high blood pressure and sleep apnea. All of these are chronic/deadly conditions, and, the fact is, I will end up like the rest of my family if I don't lose the weight. I've spent so much energy in the past on being so afraid of losing more of my family before their times to these diseases that it wasn't until recently that I realized that I should also be afraid for myself!

I guess the main motivating factor as far as health is concerned is my father. The funny thing about that is that we don't even get along and I've never, ever wanted to take his advice about anything, including weight loss because he never practiced what he preached and is the reason I ever became overweight in the first place, but I look at him now - unable to move his right side, always either in bed or in his wheel chair, having to be cleaned and changed, and taking nearly 20 pills a day - and know that I just can't end up like that.

As for vanity, I just can't stand the way I've been looking in my clothes recently. I've been overweight since I was a child, but when I was 170-180 lbs, I liked the way I looked: no rolls, mostly flat tummy, and I was confident in my clothes. Now that I've gained about 40 lbs, I have the back fat and rolls and it absolutely disgusts me! I also used to have a very distinguishable waist and now, because of the rolls, it isn't as visible. I considered wearing SPANX to smooth all of it out, but I came to the conclusion that I don't want to try to look great in this body because I don't want to become content with it; like "oh, I'll just wear these from now on and I'll look great!". I want to look great and feel comfortable in my body and clothes without help. Another factor in the vanity aspect of my desire to lose weight is the fact that I don't get near as many looks from guys as I used to. All of the attention I used to get used to make me somewhat uncomfortable, but it was nice to know that people thought I looked great, nonetheless :^:. I still get some attention, but nowhere near as much as I used to, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I want that back! :D

I'm losing weight to extend my life. I have a family history of heart disease, bowel cancer and stroke and I want to live.

I love the way I feel when I am thin. Yeah so I let things slip while pregnant two out of the three times, but hey, I've always gone back to my healthy weight. I love feeling confident and sexy. I NEVER want to feel the way I did growing up. All the mean things people/kids would say to me definitely scared for life, but it's like a pie in the face to them now and it just tickles me pink! ;o)

So, I'm doing it for me. Because I deserve the best.

Because I don't want to die and I want to live, really live. My extended family has a lot of heavier people with health ailments - mostly avoidable.

Because I was tired of being heavier than my boyfriend. It is a sense of shame for me. Also he has gained weight recently, not too much but it's all in the worsst place (stomach) and I wanted to be an example for him before 20 pounds became 50.

Because I was tired of being known as the girl who eats everything put in front of her.

Because I needed to face the numbers. I gained 30 pounds without really noticing, I reached a point where I could no longer lie to myself that I was just overweight, I am obese.

I am losing weight because I am tired of packing this extra person around with me !I am tired of my joints hurting and my clothes not fitting properly . Life is starting to pass me by and I want to get out and enjoy the next half on my feet in shoes that don't look like boxes and moving gracefully ! ( Not that I have ever been graceful but maybe THIS time I can surprize everybody ! LOL )
I think I posted in the wrong group but I love the question ! thanks for asking it !

I am losing weight because I know that underneath all my weight is a confident happy person. I see flashes of her sometimes in the mirror if I turn the right angle. I also blame all of my problems on my weight...I am afraid to meet people because of it. I think my weight has been a huge factor in my social anxiety that I've developed the past couple years. Hopefully when the weight goes, so will the fear.

I am losing weight for two reasons:

1. The weight is a mask. People see it first, and then i feel like they see me. I would love to not have to worry about whether or not people are going to just see me as the "big girl". Would love for them to see me for me, my talents and what I can offer.
2. At the age of 18 i was diagnosed with diabetes. I am now 29. It's time to get rid of the last of the extra weight, because that will help me manage my disease, and not be so hard on my body. I do not want to die young, I love life!

I gained 30 lbs in college and NOW is the time to get it gone for good! I have 18lbs left to go until goal...I'm 25, my goal is to have it off by 26.

All such good reasons, Including the 'vain' ones haha. I mean who doesnt want to be "hot".

When I first started I just wanted to be a good role model for my daughter, and make sure that i can alway keep up with, and do things with her. Without feeling self concsious.

But now I just really want to look Smokin on my wedding day :D

I am losing weight to keep myself from developing diabetes, feel better about myself, be able to wear most of my clothes and actually feel 28 instead of 50.