I'm declaring peace with my body-no more war. I've decided I want to lose weight, but no longer do I want to lose it to look good. I've decided to love the way I look no matter what. So this is my new list of reasons to lose weight:

1. Issues with sweating! It doesn't take too much to get my moist these days...I'd like to be in-shape enough not to be dripping from everyday activities!
2. I want to be able to run further and longer with less pressure on my joints
3. I want to join some sports teams and actually be able to keep up
4. Wearing cute high heels (I've got probably 30 pairs!) without feeling like it's a workout and ruining all my nice make-up (See #1)
5. To prove to myself that I can push myself; to go all the way without getting too complacent


What are your reasons?

I want to make a good example for my 5-year old being healthy and fit.

I want to make my family proud that I can lose the weight without having surgery like they had to have. Also that I am responsible enough to take care of myself and respect my body.

I don't want to have the health issues my Mother has from a lifetime of being overweight.

Non insulin dependent diabetic, 3 stints in her heart due to cholesterol, gall bladder removed, full of boulders, those nasty feet, ankles and legs that are red and will never get better, due to crappy circulation, fear of being more than 10 feet from any bathroom at any time, cuz since you had to have your gall bladder out, you might need to poo with a seconds notice.

Don't stub your toe, cuz it may never heal, don't trim you toenails, (it would take a farrier now), might cause an infection, hence amputation, no closed toe shoes, cuz you might irritate the toenail, infection, amputation.

And on and on.

And the worst was the cellulitis she had last year. EWW! I figured she was gonna lose her leg. Have no idea how she dodged that one.

I will take the sweat, wrinkles, sagging, flapping, huffing, puffing or what ever it takes, to not be trapped at home because health issues I can control.

My current weight is good, last months total check up, except for my bone scan next week is good.

I'm active, eat good, sleep, work, have a little fun. I'm 52, and yes some body parts have headed south, and I literally have no Butt.

But, I'm good with it. I'd rather live longer and enjoy what I have than any alternative!

My main motivation is to delay the onset of diabetes or possibly prevent it. I'm at high-risk because it runs on both sides of my family. If I watch my weight, hopefully I can prevent it altogether :s

I have to be honest. The cursor in my reply has been blinking for a while because I couldn't think of one single non-vanity reason why I want to lose weight. But that stems from my ignorance to how it affects my health. When it comes to diabetes, heart disease, etc, I have always buried my head in the sand. But I do remember one of the reasons I wanted to lose weight was because it made me a B**CH on wheels. I was a miserable person trapped in a miserable body and my attitude was horrible. I was depressed, cynical and nasty. I didn't want to go out with friends or be with family. But now, 50 pounds later, I can't stand being home. I love going out, getting dressed, doing my hair and make up. I smile more! I have become such a happier person to be around.

Bottom line --- I lost weight to be kind. To others and to myself.

1. to help my joints so they don't hurt as much
2. to prevent ovarian cysts
3. to do everything in my power to make future pregnancy(ies) successful
4. to be able to live a long happy life and see my kid(s) grow up
5. To cut down on costs with clothes
6. to be able to active with my kid(s)
7. be comfortable when I travel
8. avoid high blood pressure etc
9. deal with my unhealthy eating habits now before they wear off on my kid(s)
10. learn to deal with stress/issues on my own with out using some sort of food comforting technique

To be happy. To make it easier to have children with my fiance. To gain more confidence.

To be a good, healthy mother starting with a healthy pregnancy and encouraging my children through modeling proper nutrition and exercise.

Also, to bring pressure off of my knees and to be happy with myself.

1) To set a good example for my children (currently 2.5 and 9 months)
2) To enjoy life without feeling uncomfortable in my own skin
3) To feel stronger, faster, empowered, confident
4) To avoid diabetes and other issues related to being overweight

I hope you don't mind if I use this thread to admit, once again, that I really don't have any reason other than vanity.

I don't really give a flying fig about my health. It's not that I'd like to get sick, but the remote possibility of maybe getting sick some day is just simply not enough to light a fire under my rear and get me to do the very hard work of losing weight. It is just too vague, too amorphous, too potential a reward to have any effect on me. I don't have kids, and I don't want kids, so being there for my kids or being a role model for them isn't going to do it either.

So, vanity it is. I admit it. Vanity is the only thing that was powerful enough to make me do the hard work. For folks who have motivations that might seem more noble or less shallow, go for it - that's great. For me, though, all I've got is the powerful desire to be the lean, strong woman I see in my head.

There have been other benefits that have come with losing weight, besides being happier with the way I look. I'm glad not to have as much pain in my knees. I'm glad to have more energy, to be able to do more and enjoy an active life more. But none of these motivated me. None of these were the reason I wanted to lose weight, or the reason I want to keep losing now. It's just plain vanity. I'm not ashamed of it, either!

I'm happy to admit that vanity is my number one reason for wanting to lose weight, but there were other factors as well, they just weren't as important to me.

Type 2 Diabetes - both my parents have it because they're obese and aren't in great shape. There is also a history of high blood pressure and high cholesterol in my family, so I'd like to avoid any part of that if at all possible. (This is probably my biggest reason)

My other big reason is wanting to be able to go up a few flights of stairs or walk a few miles without easily getting winded. That could be seen a slightly vain (I'm tired of looking like a eejit at the top of the stairs!) but is more about being healthy/fit. I want to be able to go for long walks in the country again and bike rides exploring the countryside.

This pretty much encapsulates how I feel exactly!

When I went to the gyno back in February, I weighed 222. It was affecting my periods, (hadn't had one in 6 months) my mood, (always depressed) and my joint health. (everytime i moved i heard cracking and it felt like my knees were about to give out.) I come from a large family, both tall and round. All of them have something wrong. Be it diabetes, high blood pressure, short of breath, bad ankles, bad backs.... You name it they got it! I'm literally the baby in the family. (born last and smallest) I'm 5 foot 5. My sister is 6'1 and 250lbs+. (I promised her when I move to Olney (where she lives now) I will help her lose weight) For some reason, all of the men in our family are rather skinny and all the women are large. So I made a promise to myself to get better and here I am almost 50 lbs lighter then I was in December of '10 and I feel great! I plan on losing 50 more lbs after this so i can feel better in my own skin. Also, I want to be smaller than my husband LOL He's 148 lbs atm.....

I want to be able to play more with my daughter. She's 5 and I haven't been as active with her as I wish.

I want to be more fit for my husband. I don't feel like I owe it to him, or that he loves me any less for being bigger. He's in really good shape though, more so since he joined the army, and I want us to match better. Plus he likes active stuff and I'd like to be able to do things with him.

To avoid health issues. I've been overweight most of my life, but I've never had any serious healthy problems. The only thing I've ever been in the hospital for besides giving birth was getting my appendix out. Last year I thought I was starting to show some early signs of Diabetes and it was a wake up call for me.

We might have another baby. I was around 250 when I got pregnant the first time. I didn't have any serious issues or anything (other than horrible all day sickness), but if I'm going to do it again I'd like to do it at a lower weight to help avoid the possibility of any issues arising.