Besides the obvious reason of being healthy, what are your reasons for losing weight? Do you want to fit into an old dress? Look better at class reunion? Wedding coming up?
For me it started out as wanting to be able to wear my bikini comfortably again, since we go to the beach a lot, as well as most of my jeans I'm "busting" out of. Now it's turned into wanting to look better in professional pictures I want to take before we move out of Hawaii along with being able to set a healthy example for when we start having kids.
Honestly, mine's completely and totally for vanity. I'm in a healthy body fat range, almost healthy weight range, and I've been fit for ages. That being said, though I could run an 8 minute mile at 226, that weight was not healthy and I felt so unattractive. I still do but to a much lesser degree. I'm looking forward to being "normal" [in terms of weight not bf] because I never have been. I'm not sure if 169 will be the stopping point. We'll see. I'm just looking forward to a day when someone mentions something having to do with weight, junkfood, being fat, etc I don't squirm internally and feel like the entire room is looking at me, the fat girl, as this has been my response since I was 8 years old.
I have a couple of reasons for wanting to lose weight. The one that I try to make the most important is that I want to live my life as a healthy person, exercising and eating right, because that's when I feel my absolute best. When I'm treating myself well, I feel better from the inside out.
Vanity also plays into for me too! I definitely love the thrill of droping a size or those hidden treasures that people who have never struggled with weight don't understand, like finding my collar bones or exposing new muscles.
Finally I want to do it for my future. I take more risks when I feel good, like going for a job/scholarship/opportunity that I might not get or even starting new relationships. When I'm heavier and not exercising I don't do these things, because my confidence drops and I use my extra fat as a protective brick wall that keeps the bad things out, but doesn't let the good things in. In my opinion, that's no way to live.
I have several reasons as well. The main one is that I want to look better and have that appearance of being healthy. Other ones are that I want to eventually look good in a bathing suit/bikini, look fantastic at my 10 year reunion in 2011, and be healthy when I start trying to conceive in a year or two. Right now I'm not happy with my body; I feel like a blob, and I'm tired of feeling this way so I definitely need to put in some effort.
Originally it was for my health, but now I'm feeling so great about how I look that I'm working out more to tone up as well, instead of just lose weight.
It also feels real good walking around with less weight!
I started out losing weight for vanity reasons ONLY the the more important I became active and eating healthy the more I loved it. I felt great and now i continue to maintain while encouraging others to lose weight and get healthy as well...though I could stand to lose 5 or 6. lol
Besides getting healthy, I wanted to try and have a positive body image. I had zero at my heaviest, but now that I've lost a lot of weight, it's still not very good.
I have a couple of reasons for wanting to lose weight. The one that I try to make the most important is that I want to live my life as a healthy person, exercising and eating right, because that's when I feel my absolute best. When I'm treating myself well, I feel better from the inside out.
Vanity also plays into for me too! I definitely love the thrill of droping a size or those hidden treasures that people who have never struggled with weight don't understand, like finding my collar bones or exposing new muscles.
Finally I want to do it for my future. I take more risks when I feel good, like going for a job/scholarship/opportunity that I might not get or even starting new relationships. When I'm heavier and not exercising I don't do these things, because my confidence drops and I use my extra fat as a protective brick wall that keeps the bad things out, but doesn't let the good things in. In my opinion, that's no way to live.
Finding my collar bones was one of the highlights I have had on this journey. I still feel them several times a day cause I think they are just so amazing.
I started trying to lose weight because my sister was joining Weight Watchers and wanted someone to go to the meetings with her. So in the beginning, I was almost entirely motivated by trying to do better than my sister.
Then, about a month later I broke up with my long term boyfriend. I'm in very different (i.e. way less drunk) place than the last time I was dating, and wanted to have more confidence in my appearance when I was ready to try meeting new people.
Now, for the first time in my adult life I'm inside the normal weight range for my height, and I'm mostly just motivated by curiosity for how my body will look and feel as I get smaller. I love that I can see my collarbones, and that I don't have the fat bulges above my knees, and that I'm having fewer podiatric issues when I exercise, and I'm just excited to see what happens next.
I was tired of gaining weight, and then losing it through weight loss camp or weight watchers. I never learned anything from that, and I wanted to actually do this on my own this time. I feel so much better about myself now that I've lost weight my own way, it's an actual lifestyle change.
My family has always been over weight too, so I wanted to break the cycle. I want to be healthy. I don't want to have type II diabetes when I'm older.
The main reason I started on my weight loss journey was for vanity, I wanted to like what I saw in the mirror. Although that it still something I strive for I feel like my reason has morphed into more that that. I feel better eating better. I want to feel confident and proud.
For me its getting back to the real/old me.... when I met my bf 3 years ago it was amazing he loved all the things I did, running, horseback riding, skating, snowboarding , surfing, hiking.....everything I was passionate about. Then I gained 50 pounds. Now Im not that person my weight holds me back from everything I once loved. But he hasnt changed. So now Im not only holding myself back but him too. Our wonderful relationship is suffering because of my weight. I dont want to be this lazy boring, grumpy person, I dont even know her. Plus Im going back home with him in december to Hawaii, and although I wish that his family hadn't met me already so I could meet them for the first time looking healthy. but they have already sooooooo now I just want to go back and be better and different, and really enjoy Hawaii you should without any insecurities. Thats why im trying AGAIN to get in shape. I want us to be happy and as long as im miserable in this body im probably going to keep being this crappy person and keep making him miserable too.