i have myriad reasons for wanting to lose this weight, but the biggest one is the way it has been affecting my self-esteem, which in turn has been affecting my relationships, both with my boyfriend and with my friends and family. i miss the confidence i had when i first slimmed down! oh man, i was a force to be reckoned with when i was 22, hehe
but then, with the stable relationship and the desk job and all the rest, the weight just creeped up and i gained back almost 50 of the 95 pounds i had lost in college! i no longer felt healthy and more importantly i felt ashamed of myself, and embarrassed to be around people who would surely notice that i was nowhere near as skinny as i was at the end of college. it felt like the elephant in the room whenever i met up with friends i hadn't seen in a while. and i know so much of that was (and is) in my head, but it's hard to get over the shame of "letting myself go." i already feel so much better to at least be working toward a solution! even if it doesn't seem to be moving as fast as i want it to, i'm at least pointed in the right direction, and that's really more than a lot of people can say, isn't it?
anyway:
#1 is certainly my self-esteem. i want to feel good about myself! and while i know weight/appearance is only a piece of the self-esteem pie, it's definitely a big piece. weight loss will make me feel more empowered and more like myself finally.
#2 is kind of silly... josh and i have been together for four years now, and i can only assume that a proposal will happen soon, so i want to be in wedding-dress shape
i want to walk into any bridal boutique and try on whatever grabs my fancy.
#3 is definitely to be able to wear all kinds of cute things, especially now that i'm in a salaried position in which i can afford to splurge on clothes (which was definitely NOT the case in college, ha).
#4 is a very strong desire to be as physically fit as i can possibly be. after a scare with high cholesterol this year, i'm happy that my eating is now finally in a healthy place, so next on my list is to get FIT! i work out a lot at my gym and have come to love the girls who teach classes, and they recognize my fighter spirit and challenge me to push myself more and more each week. (lincolnites: i can't recommend five willows enough if you're looking for a gym!)
#5 is to finally have control over food, not the other way around. to know that i CAN in fact say no to brownies or cake or whatever we're having for an office bday, or that i don't have to have seconds! or even that i can indulge cravings with a small bite of something without going overboard.
#6 is to break up the close, intimate relationship my thighs have developed with each other, lol. NO MORE RUBBING TOGETHER, and i mean it.
#7 is to go on an all-day excursion--shopping, a walking tour of a city, etc--and not have my feet kill me from being on them all day.
#8 is to climb more mountains!
#9 is to not feel like my legs and gut are being strangled to death by the pantyhose i'm required to wear at work.
#10 is to be able to fit in tight spaces--sharing a backseat, a carnival ride, and airplane, etc--without having to squish or make others uncomfortable.
#11 is to TURN HEADS! like i said, i used to be quite the spitfire in college, and i know that i have a boyfriend so i'm definitely not on the market, but it's nice to be admired.
#12 is along the same lines as #11, and it is to not be a shrinking violet in social situations. when you're uncomfortable with yourself, you hide in the background and don't jump into conversations or get to know people you're meeting for the first time.
#13 is to SWIM WITHOUT SHAME
i haven't been swimming in years...
#14 is to get back into the picture, literally. i'm with a lot of the rest of you in that there has been a real dearth of pictures of myself since i put on weight. i'd like to change that!
#15 is to put the va-va-voom back into my wonderful relationship with this wonderful man who i love.
phew, i should probably stop. there are just SO MANY REASONS, though! and i'm really excited that i started MRC when i did, because i will (hopefully) be at goal before my 26th birthday.
My 5 Reasons
