Why are you doing it?
 

I want to know, Why are you wanting to shed the pounds? What is motivating you? What kept you initially from doing it before?

What's motivating me is, Cloths and a trying to not be like my mom. I'm so fed up with not finding size 17 jeans, and when i do they end up being skinny jeans. And i don't want to be like my mom she was so thin when she was young she really let herself go,She has tried every single diet that didn't require exercising (And failed). How silly! I used to be really slim until my parents started fighting, so i binged. Then after the divorce i ended up eating a whole cake. Not even joking because the divorce was on my birthday and my dad got a cake for me after i came back from the hospital, and i ate the whole thing in two nights. My mom tells me she lost a lot of weight (60) which is giving me hope that i can to. Though i haven't seen her in almost a year.

Sounds like you are taking some difficult times and areas of your life and turning them into great motivators. So good for you. And I completely hear you on the clothes thing!


Mine is I want to get married. And have babies! And my appearance does not match the kind of person I am on the inside. I am happy, and positive, social and energetic. But I doubt someone would think that looking at me. So unfortunately I attract the WRONG kind of guy like this. I am not saying I want someone shallow. But I don't want anyone like my past several boyfriends - negative, grumpy and lazy. Their idea of a friday night was sitting home watching a movie. Mine is going out, being around friends and having fun. I also have to say I am very close to my mom. And I know how much she worries about me, and my health and happiness. I have far too much control over this weight thing to let it continue to worry her and mess up plans for my life.
SO there ya go. And I am turning twenty-ten (aka 30) in December. That crept up on me quick, so I need to get things done ;)

Every piece of clothing I donate because it is too big.. or piece of clothing that I can wear that used to be too small... those are my motivators :carrot:

Best of luck to you !

I like how you take the negativity in your life and are turning it positive! :)

I have decided to lose weight because Im only 21 and i found myself doing hardly anything and out of breath. :\ and simply bc im unhappy with myself

Because if my body is the vehicle I'm going to be driving for the rest of my life, I want it to be a snazzy red corvette, that can really move down the street. Vroom! Vroom!

I am doing it because my weight is very much tied to my mood/disposition. At my heaviest, I am also at my worst. Depressed, angry, miserable. I don't want to be that person - not for my son, my husband, myself, or anyone else. Life it too short.

Beautifully explained.

Okay, for me I want this for a couple of reasons. I was tired of being FAT! I was tired of being the fattest woman everywhere I went. I was tired of not feeling pretty. I was tired of my legs looking like stumps and tired of looking like a linebacker in a dress. I was tired of puffy ankles and aching legs when I got out of bed in the morning. I was tired of having a round face. I was tired of huffing and puffing going up the stairs in my house.

I deserve better than that. That's why I am here.

I never expected to be the weight I am. I've gone up and down, but after two full-term pregnancies and a major depression, I found myself at the heaviest I never expected to be.

I love clothes and am tired of not wearing what I want and not liking what I see in the mirror. I'm tired of hiding and hating summer, because I can't (or won't) wear things I can't layer.

And I want to be able to keep up with my toddler. I'm already an older mom -- I don't want to look and move like one.

My work is physically and mentally demanding and I perform better when I'm thinner and feeling better about myself.

So, that's why I'm doing this. I want to feel and look better. I want the weight issue to be off the table (so to speak), so I can do more.

I am tired of food being my comfort, my friend, etc. I am tired of avoiding mirrors (though 30lbs later I still do!), I want to fit back into my smallest size clothes, I want to re-gain confidence, I don't want to hide behind my weight.

Because my first thought at every ache, pain, eye problem, twinge, or bad feeling shouldn't be, "oh crap, have I given myself joint problems/diabetes/heart disease?" Especially when I'm under thirty.

Because I want to shop at American Eagle. At the store.

Because I have a reputation as a heartbreaker, and I really think I should physically live up to the part.

Because I should be kicking the stairs' butt, and not the other way around.

Because I don't want to be that guy on airplanes.

Because the Appalachian Trail looks really awesome, and I'd like to be able to travel it without the help of either a golf cart or a defibrillator.

Because I once had a doctor insist that I couldn't lose the weight with diet and exercise, and I'm determined to prove him wrong.

Because I was ridiculously lucky in not giving myself health problems, and I'd like to quit while I'm ahead.

Because I want to have a picture on my Facebook that isn't a MySpace angle. That's so 2006.

And because I'm scared to death of dying.

I finally caved and set my goal to lose 140lbs when I got serious with someone I had met online. He saw pictures of me, and knew I was overweight, but I really thought I never had a real chance unless I got to a reasonable size.

94lbs later, we are happy, and plan to marry.

But I will say, I picked up so many better reasons along the way.
-stop the blood sugar lows and bad feelings associated with IR
-stop feeling like crap all the time, being the big girl
-to be able to look in a mirror and not cringe
-fit better in clothes
-take control of my life
-feel sexy for once

I have so many reasons, some are more important than others:

I started this journey because I was diagnosed with diabetes and I don't want to die young, lose my sight, have parts amputated, etc. (I am now off all meds for it, :woohoo:).

My husband and I are adopting children from foster care. The kids have been through enough in their little lives, they deserve a mom who can keep up with them, is a good role model, and who is doing her best to not die while they are still young.

I would like to maybe have 1 pregnancy while I am still young enough and I want to be healthy for that.

I don't want my father who will be 8- in January to have to worry about his child's health.

I want to be here to grow old with my husband.

I want to hike and climb mountains and that is tough to do when you are more than 100 pounds overweight.

I would like to enjoy looking at pictures of myself.

I want to weigh less than my hubby.

I don't want to be afraid of letting my hubby pick me up.

When hubby and I move back home to my hometown of Panama City, Florida, I want to finally be comfortable on the beach.

I'm tired of being too scared of hurting myself to wear heels.

I want my ex to be sorry and my hubby's ex to be jealous.

I want to be the hot chick driver that my car deserves.

There's this skirt ...

There is someone in my family that I am hoping will be inspired to make some healthy changes too.

I want to be able to shop wherever I darn well please!

There is someone who actually had the nerve to tell me I couldn't do it.

I've discovered that I like the look of muscle on me.


As for why I never did it before, I was a lazy, self-indulgent, spoiled brat.

I started because I work in a skilled nursing facility and see older adults who have a wide variety of health problems. I want to take the weight off while I still can.
Along the journey, I have come to realize that I am doing it for myself and because I am worth it and I am worth taking care of.

So that I never have to wonder what if....

I use my weight as an excuse not to live my life, and frankly I'm tired of it. I'm doing it in part for health, in part for vanity, and in part to be able to perform physical activity- but mostly to regain my life and my willingness to interact with the world.

OnaMission29, I totally relate to this sentence: My appearance does not match the kind of person I am on the inside.

I think that's a common thought that overweight people have, and that I have. I want to look as happy and healthy as I feel inside, and I want to BE that happy and healthy person physically outside and in. I don't want my weight to get in the way of what I want to do or who I want to do (and however these two tie together.)

And although I know this is shallow and that it really only matters what I feel about myself, I want to visit my old high school. I want the teachers who helped me along to see how great I'm doing, and how I've flourished in my new college environment.

Everyone's covered why I'm doing this, so I decided to reply with why I never did it before.

I was scared. Plain and simple. I was scared I wouldn't be able to keep up with any kind of lifestyle change and I was scared to make a big change that might blow up in my face. Ultimately, I was scared I would fail.

But now that I've stayed on plan for over 3 months now, and have made changes in my eating and exercise that make me looking in the mirror a bit happier, I could never regret starting this journey.. and that gives me the motivation to see it through to the end. :)

My exact feelings summed up right here. I'm tired of this oh-so-convenient excuse to put off really living my life.

Why did I never do it before? I never saw it as possible. I couldn't imagine a future where I wasn't fat. I started out thinking that I'd just try to be less fat than I was at the moment. Eventually, I started to see that I didn't have to be fat forever and I started to believe in the possibilities.

I'm doing it now because I have big plans to live my life and see the world and I want to be as healthy as possible for it! I'm joining the Peace Corps and my program leaves in February and I want to be healthy, strong and fit so I can give this experience everything I've got! For me, being strong physically gives me a huge boost when it comes to being strong mentally. Also, in my experience, living in developing countries is significantly more physical than day-to-day life in the US and I don't want any of this stuff to get in my way.

For me, health, weightloss and fitness are closely tied to my sense of self-efficacy. This journey has really taught me how capable I am and how much I can achieve when I am willing to work for something.

I always feel a bit silly posting when I really wasn't that big, so I shouldn't "complain". But I know you guys are always supportive, so:

Main reason was thinking "if I keep slowly getting bigger, where am I gonna end up after I am 30?". The second reason is that most of my friends are skinny, all the succesful people around me are in better shape than me. I am succesful already, but I could enjoy things more if i'd not be uncomfortable about my body. If I could wear clothes I like. If I can take pride in how I look. I could work really hard at accepting the way I look - or I could try and change the way I look to fit with what I think looks good. Both is hard work, but the latter also means improving my overall health and fitness level. And it's nice to test myself, see if when resolved about something I can actually do it. So far, I am pleased with how it's going.

I want to be good at all the things i try to do! I play softball and can hit good but its so embarrassing getting out everytime because i cant make it to first base fast enough. I want to go shopping at whatever store i want. I also want to find the man of my dreams. I want to be a normal 21yr old!!!! Oh and to wear shorts for the first time in my life :) lol Im tired of thinking if everyones looking at how fat i am i want to be how i wish i was!

Ah, the why!

I want to be able to ride again, I could probably ride now, I don't exactly have dainty little ponies, but I don't want to put them through it. I'm an out of shape lump, why would I willingly put myself on the back of animals I care about?

I also want to be more than the fat friend, i'm fed up of being the fat friend, i'm fed up of being dragged around shops with clothes I adore but not being able to fit into any of them. I'm fed up of friends saying "you're not that big" and you know, really know, that they're saying it because they're your friends and feel saying that you are in fact quite fat is an insult.

I don't want my partner to be embarrassed of me. I know he's not, but i've heard some of the things co-workers say, heck, that his family say. "She's a nice girl, but the size of a whale, he could do better". He could do better. That hurts. I know it shouldn't effect me, I know he loves me, but knowing his family, the ones who like you, who smile and say how lovely it is you two got together, think he could do better?

He's such a fitness freak (in the nicest possible way), I can't see what he sees in me. I want to see the person he sees, I want to be able to go running with him, I don't want to feel like he's having to slow down because i'm so unfit, I want us to be able to go biking together. Heck I want to be able to get on the back of his motorcycle without being paranoid about the extra weight i'm adding.

I don't want to feel paranoid that i'm taking up two, even three seats on public transport. I don't want to get a sudden jolt of fear when there's a very narrow passage everyone else is gliding through and i'm just there, convinced i'm going to get stuck (although this is, in part, due to a childhood experience where I managed to get stuck behind a drain pipe ...).

Because i've seen my aunties, my mother, and I don't want to be like that. I don't want to be pushing 50, fat and miserable, making excuses for why i'm fat and letting myself get fatter. If i'm 210 now, how fat could I get in 5 years? Too fat.

Plus I really, really, really hate being fat. I hate it. I hate the stomach, I hate the bingo wings, I hate feeling squidgy, I hate everything about it. The folds, the fact I can't wear the clothes I adore, the fact I don't gain weight in a very flattering style, everything.

I'm also fed up of using fat as a safety blanket, I need to face my fears and shed the pounds, start taking my life back so to speak.


I've loved reading everyone's reasons for losing weight :)

lifeisbeautiful - so awesome. everything you said. everyone has such good reasons. I can relate to SO many.

Who else is tired of hearing - "you have such a pretty face" ?!?!?!?!?
I WANT THE REST OF ME TO MATCH!

For me to be healthy...I want to live to a ripe old age and be healthy and not a sickly old bag taking tons of meds to just stay alive.

Those are three awesome reasons that I'm totally stealing. The second one is especially true - my old doctor told me I'd never lose any "significant amount of weight" without gastric bypass and between that and my spouse asking for a divorce 8 days prior 'cause he was a cheating SOB, something just clicked. I realized that body deserved better treatment than what I had been giving it for the past 27 years.

Sex without having to obsess over lighting, pillow/sheet placement, what position makes you jiggle the least, etc.... etc.... would be another big one, IMHO.

My last straw was bridesmaid dress shopping. I was wearing size 20-22 jeans, but the shop said they'd have to order a size 28 dress (the largest!) and then alter it to make it drape properly over my big belly. I met with the seamstress last week, and she's going to cut about 4 inches out of that dress. YES!!!! :yay::yay::yay:

There are lots of other reasons, though.

Type 2 diabetes runs in my family, and I don't want it.

I'm tired of my knees and feet hurting.

I'm sick of being the fat friend.

I want to buy clothes in a regular size store, and not have a "W" or an "X" after the size.

I never, EVER, want to hear "You have such a pretty face......" again. "It's too bad you're a fat slob" is silent, but implied. :mad:

I'm hypoglycemic, and I feel better when I eat better.

This is the most weight I've ever lost, and now I believe I really can do it. I CAN be a normal healthy weight!

Heh, based on your location and your story, we might have the same doctor. Mine did the same--during the usual "your weight is a problem" spiel, he asked if I'd ever considered gastric bypass surgery. I told him that I thought I'd try eating less and exercising more first; I told him about my plans to embark on my vanishing act. He scoffed.

I can't wait until my next check up. He's getting a heaping helping of "I told you so!".

I want my physical self to more closely resemble my ideal self. I want to feel as well as I can. I want to have more adventures. I want to maximize my career/earnings prospects. I don't want to put myself through any of the potentially debilitating and expensive diseases that obesity can contribute to. I'm tired of feeling like people make untrue assumptions about me because of my weight.

The main reason that my previous attempts to lose weight weren't tremendously successful was that I hadn't been diagnosed or treated for ADHD - it was hard to lose weight and keep it off when I lacked self-awareness and I always felt so tired, put-upon, overwhelmed, and anxious that I could barely function. Large quantities of "bad" foods provided stimulation and short-term relief from the stress of trying to cope and compensate. Secondary reasons that previous attempts weren't so successful were a lack of knowledge and a lack of experience in practicing healthy habits.

I was never truly motivated until I went to the OB/GYN for my annual checkup in June.

My OB/GYN is a no-BS, tell-it-like-it-is, no-sugarcoating type ... and she bluntly pointed out that my blood pressure has spiked hugely in the last two years. If it's not normal by next year, I go on meds. I don't want to do that at 30.

Granted, if I get down to a healthy weight for my height and it's still high ... there's nothing I can do but medicate. But she thinks weight loss will correct the issue, and I want to be able to look my husband in the eye and say I did all I could to make myself as healthy as possible.

I also want to see my OB/GYN fall all over herself after I walk in next year at a healthy weight. *evil cackle* That's the beauty of straight shooters -- when you do something well, they don't hold back the praise.

I'd love to hike that trail, I've had that goal for a couple of years. I'm in decent shape, but I don't know if at this weight I wouldn't have too hard a time. That IS great incentive for me to buckle down.

dying is scary, but other scenarios are scary too, maybe scarier for me, like serious health problems

Something just clicked with me. My 18 year marriage recently (7 months ago) ended and though my weight had yo-yo'd during the course of my marriage, I was heavier more than not. I was thin when I got married. So why did I gain so much weight if I was happily married I wondered? I wasn't, that's why. Now that I have had some distance from the marriage, and from the divorce process and have been able to think I have realized several things. My ex was verbally abusive and I believe I put on weight to shield myself, like a protective barrier. He was my enemy and food was my friend.

I always thought I was a bad person and deserved to be big. I realize now that I am, in fact, a terrific person and deserve to look that way as well. I deserve to attract the kind of guy who will respect me, because I respect myself. Who will boost my self confidence because for the first time I have found some.

I was sick of feeling 'blah' and 'bloated' all the time.

Along the way I've discovered the fitter and healthier I am, the happier it makes me, the more energy I have, and with that comes a better quality of life in general.

It's also much easier to appreciate and look after myself if I feel good about me and where I'm at.

Plus I want to be 'fierce' not 'just fine'. :)

I want to feel healthy as well as look healthy. I want to live a long and prosperous life. I feel that if I continued on the path I was that it was imminent I would end up with heart disease, diabetes, or in worse case death.