[Beverlyjoy]

I often remind myself of the advantages of losing weight and why I need to push through and carry on with my food plan the best I can.

Here are some of my reasons. What about you?

- I will feel better physically.
- I'll be able to get up and down off the floor more easily.
- I will be able to wear a smaller size.
- I will be much happier when I look in the mirror.
- I will be in better health.
- My pieces & parts (back, knee, foot, shoulder, etc) & those pains will improve.
- I won't be embarrassed to eat around other people.
- I will feel that I have really accomplished something important.
- My family will be proud/happy for me.
- I will feel less self conscious when I perform.
- I will do more things.
- I will feel more in control of this aspect of my life.
- My lab numbers will be in a normal range.
- I can avoid becoming a diabetic.
- I will have food sanity - which I have wanted for a long time.
- I will be able to look at myself in a photograph and smile.
- I will be more active with my grandson.

I am sure we all share many of these. How about you. What are the advantages of losing weight and being healthy for you?

[ubergirl]

Because I know how terrific it feels not to worry about:

1. Taking up too much space in the movie theater.
2. Awkwardly pulling down my sweater during meetings because I'm thinking about my tummy.
3. Always having to worry about what I'm going to wear.

Here are a few things that felt really terrific during the year I spent at a normal weight:

1. Clothes were not a problem. I had a bunch of stuff in my closet and it all looked fine on me. Getting dressed was a cinch.
2. I loved my gym routine. My body always felt well-tuned.
3. I saved money. Binging is expensive
4. Almost no headaches. I have chronic severe migraines, but they were MUCH better when I was exercising and 100% on plan.
5. Knowing that I could easily walk up six flights of stairs at my parking garage if I happened to be talking to someone, or down 12 during a fire drill.
6. I liked myself because I knew that I was on top of a problem that has caused me so much unhappiness in my life.

The list goes on.

[linJber]

This is making me think, because I really don't think past this:

Better health
Looking better

But these reasons can be broken down into so many sub-catagories, as you have already stated. I feel the same so I won't list them again. But here are a couple observations that have come to me over the past year.

Under "better health" I can list these:
* I haven't had to take a single Tums or Rolaids since last January 13th! I noticed that I never get acid indigestion anymore about 3 months into this journey.
* I often have to meet with contractors on job sites. I can now walk between the open studs of the unfinished interior walls without squeezing sideways or working my way around to the actual door openings when everyone else is taking a "shortcut."
* If I have to get down on the floor to draw something on a job site, I just get down and get up. I lived in fear of having to sketch something on a blueprint laying on the floor in a new building with nothing in the space to use to hoist yourself up. No more.
* The list of what I do easily now compared to doing with great difficulty a year ago goes on and on. You all know most of them These are pretty specific to me.

Under "looking better" I can list these:
* Not caring so much if I'm "put together" if I have to stop quickly at the store after the gym. I assume people will think I've been to the gym rather than "she's a lazy slob." (Who knows what anyone really thought / thinks when they see me - heavy or thin! LOL)
* I can buy clothes just about anywhere for less money. With a larger selection in general and usually more items available when the "clearance" signs go up!

One thing BeverlyJoy stated was not being embarrassed to eat with other people. It was always in the back of my mind what the waitress or other dining patrons thought about what I ordered or if I ate everything on my plate. Or if someone at a stop light saw me eating something in the car. Or at a fair or carnival. Like we are judged on what some stranger sees us eat that one time. That no longer carries any concern for me and I love it.

BeverlyJoy - you always post such uplifting thoughts. Thanks for making me stop and think about all the reasons beyond "Better Health" and "Looking Better." The small things really do keep me going. I hope I can keep the last 12 months in mind for the rest of my life and never revert back to old behavior. I will constantly remind myself that when people asked me if it was hard to lose 90 pounds, my answer was always, "It was easier than I thought it would be." If that's was the answer to losing, it should be the same with maintaining.

Lin

[Glory87]

Some of the things I like about being at goal weight and why I want to STAY here

* It's easy to cut my own toenails
* When I get out of the shower, the towel wraps around me completely
* I love it when people tag me in photos on Facebook
* Would agree with the previous poster about the greatly reduced heartburn

[Bellasmommy924]

Reasons why I would like to lose weight.

1. I'd like to be able to keep up with my little girl
2. I'd like to be able to participate in fun activities and keep up!
3. I'd like to be able to go shopping and not have to worry about the plus size selection.
4. I want to look better and feel sexy
5. I want to feel better
6. I want to prove to myself I CAN do this
7. I want to do something that no one else thinks I can
8. I want a regular size bath towel to fit
9. I don't want to have to buy big granny undies anymore
10. I want to be able to live longer
11. I want to improve my stamina
12. I want my confidence back!

[Goddess Jessica]

I don't want this conversation to happen anymore:

Person 1: Did you meet Jessica at the party?
Person 2: Jessica, Jessica... hmm... can you describe her?
Person 1: You know, (pause) red-haired heavy girl?
Person 2: Oh yeah!

I don't even care if it's the "obnoxious, loud red-head." Just quit describing me by my darn weight!

[aliasihaya]

Yep, I agree with all of the above. My official excuse is better health. And that is totally true. I have health issues that can only be fully dealt with by losing weight. On top of that:
1. I can't spend a lot of time on my feet
2. I get nervous when my coworkers take the stairs because I know that I'll be trying to catch my breath at the top
3. I hate asking people in conference room to squeeze their chair closer to the table so that I can get by.
4. I hate feeling uncomfortable that I'm going to encroach in the seat next to me on an airplane...and subsequently be told that I'm too fat to fly in one seat. And I travel for work, so my anxiety happens a lot. I always have a speech prepared in my head that states something like 'but I don't need a seat belt extender so why do you think I don't fit into this seat?'
5. I HATE not being able to shop in every day stores. I'm so tired of Lane Bryant. It would be nice to go out with girlfriends, see a cute top in the window, and say that I want to try it on.
6. I'm tired of feeling self-conscious about what I eat in a restaurant especially with coworkers.
7. I once had to get out of the car because my coworker got their door caught on the curb because I made the car that much lower on the side for them to unstick it.
8. I hate getting glares or cringing stares when someone has to sit next to me in close quarters. Conversely I hate cringing when another overweight person sits next to me because I know we won't fit very well together.

....I could go on and on. In the end, I just want all of this to go away. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen without work. Where's the magic pill that tv keeps talking about? ;-)

[baker23]

1) Tired of being sumed up as "The Heavy Girl"
2) Don't want to ask for airplane seat extenders EVER again
3) I want to be physcially able to do all the outdoor stuff I love, like hiking and jogging
4) I don't want to be embarassed at the doctors when they take my weight
5) I want to feel beautiful
6) I want to be able to anything I want to without fear
7) I don't want to feel like i'm being judged badly based on my appearence
8) I never want to deal with guys shouting rude comments as I walk by
9) I want to be comfortable with myself
10) I never again want to be turned away from someone i'm interested in because of my weight
11) I want to prove this point "I may be fat but I can lose weight, where you can't fix ugly(inside and out)" to people who have made fun of me in the past
12) I want to prove that i'm strong enough to lose this weight

[astrophe]

I miss seeing my muscle "lines."
I want to better manage the PCOS/IR thing.
Want to keep up with my kid.
Want better mobility/energy.
I miss mountain biking.

A.

[thistoo]

I just want to feel better again. Better physically, yes, but also better about myself. I had so much confidence when I was fit and healthy, and I want to get back there. I don't want to have to worry about who's looking at me and judging me for my weight. Also I want to be able to run up the stairs at work without getting winded. I climb those things at least five times a day; it shouldn't be as painful as it is.

[goal4agirl]

I agree with everyone And it is so nice at the end of the day after I have stayed on my plan to not feel self loathing the way I did in the past.
Even when everything around me seems out of control sometimes it's nice to know at least I have my eating under control!

[Steph7409]

Originally Posted by goal4agirl

I agree with everyone And it is so nice at the end of the day after I have stayed on my plan to not feel self loathing the way I did in the past.

This. As happy as I am to feel better physically, the biggest benefit of the last 6+ months has been not hating myself for my crazy eating. I'd really like to leave that behind.

[Beverlyjoy]

Reading all these reasons help me to be reminded of many more reasons why I need/want to eat healthfully and lose weight.

Thanks, folks, for sharing your thoughts.