After being away for a bit, I'm back. I'm struggling to find my motivation though. I've started diets so many times and failed at them. Sometimes I feel I'll never lose the weight.

I was at a wedding this weekend. Found a cute outfit, wore it, but was so horribly uncomfortable all night when I sat down, my stomach pushed out on the shirt. Not to mention how hard it is to find clothes when you are short and fluffy. I keep telling myself, skinny would be great, but just being able to shop again in the petite section would be wonderful.

I got the makings for my egg white omelets today when I went grocery shopping. That's my first step!

My motivation is being able to walk side by side with my husband while he is in his uniform looking all buffy and studly and knowing that I am making him look better.

I think that it is important to renew our motivation during this journey. I too have recently gotten back on track. I have a long goal motivation and that is to feel good and live with vitality as I age. I'm 42 and I want to be like Oprah when I turn 50--I'm working now to ensure that then.

My short-term motivation is that a friend of mine is getting married in the OuterBanks (NC) in June 2008. I have a vision of me arriving at the wedding in a totaly hot looking halter dress and having everyone who hasn't seen me for 10 months be amazed at how much weight I have lost and how great I look and then putting on my swimsuit (without a skirt!) and hitting the beach with those that will be staying on for a couple of days after the wedding.

This is a great question--thanks for asking it!

I can sooo remember in high school wearing trendy clothes I can't do that now it is hard to find cute or trendy things in a 16 w or an 18 w that is trendy .Also I want to be healthy I have two grand babies and two on the way and want to set an example for them. I did buy a cute pair of jeans this past Monday and I could not get them button today I got them buttoned but not zipped one accomplishment at a time.

My overall motivation is usually to feel confident and comfortable in my own skin, which is something I've struggled with since junior high. I know I'm smart and capable and worth knowing, but my weight holds me back and I hate that.

My current motivation, however, is frustration. My body is fighting me for every ounce and after working hard for over a year already with not that much to show for it, I am not backing down.

I have so many goals. Being able to wear cute clothes, being able to run with my husband, not having to look in the mirror at ALL of me anymore, looking and more importantly feeling good when I go places, not being winded at the zoo or the aquarium. I could go on. Basically one day I looked at me and said, "No more!" I've been pretty darn dedicated ever since.

my goals are simple : To stay alive! LOL, sounds trite but it's so true. Not just "alive" but "living". Maybe being thinner will only add 5 or 6 years of life, but that's not the point ~ it's the quality of life leading up to that point.

It's weird, but I was always fat and felt fine ~ i felt strong and energetic and could do what i wanted, but literally 2 weeks after turning 40 it all went to **** LOL, now my knees are aching, my back is OUT more than it's IN (ha!) i'm tired, sluggish, feeling weak....yah, that's not going to work for me hhehehehe Strong, here i come!

I have lots of different motivations. Number one for me is taking care of what God gave me. My body is a tool and I've seriously misused it. Aside from that, I'd like to have kids healthily and be a great example of a healthy parent to them.

My motivation I've found since starting: I love the way it feels to be able to run and hike and climb, to put on a smaller pair of pants and realize they fit. I love being able to dry my jeans (I know that's a weird one, but they always shrunk too much if I dried them), I love being able to shop in normal stores instead of plus size stores. I love not feeling so much like the fat girl anymore. I love not worrying about fitting into places, particularly folding chairs and chairs with arms. I love that I've actually become a halfway decent cook since I started this.... the list goes on and on.

I absolutely adore this new life I'm leading. I never want to go back to the way I was.

Hi,
My motivation began with feeling horrible, about myself in every way. I had swollen feet that made it difficult to walk, back pain, and when I had to walk I was out of breathe fast. Plus when I had to wear a size 26( snuggly) , that was it. I felt horrible. What has kept me motivated now, is having energy to do things, my feet are almost normal. I don't have pains and shortness of breathe anymore. Plus I am in a size 18 pants so I feel great. I think everyday if I stop I will go back to what I hated a few months ago.
cheryl

the ultimate motivation for me is employment. although people dismiss it fatism i believe is a major casue of not getting jobs. and next summer i leave college and try to find a job. i'm working hard for my degree and i don't want my weight to hold me back at interviews.

the second motivation is my sports. i love my rugby and at this weight its great to break a few tackles but there is no speed people run around me and i'm shattered after 5 mins.

Third one this is the best feeling in the world. i lost the weight before from 322 down to 226. and the best feeling ever is meeting someone in the street that you haven't seen in ages and them just staring at you with their jaw dropped. or the best comment ever where has the other half of you gone

Some of my motivations have changed throughout my journey. At first it was to feel better, I'm sure that will continue to improve but I do feel so much better than I did when I was 80 pounds heavier. I too am "short and fluffy" and getting into petite size clothing is a huge motivation for me. (It amazes me that you can buy Womens Petite clothing but there are no regular 16 or 18 petite clothes, in regular size clothing petites stop at size 14 ???). Looking better, living longer and being able to enjoy my grandchildren has been a constant motivation. I lost my parents both in their 50's, they did not live long enough to even meet some of their grandkids. Turning 50 was a big turning point for me, I knew I had to loose weight to become healthier. Getting off my blood pressure medicine is another motivation. My Dr's has reduced my meds 3 times and at my last visit, he said he thinks he will be able to take me off completely at my next visit if I continue to loose weight and exercise.

I too have started and stopped more diets than I care to remember. This time was different. I think the light bulb finally went off in my head. My motivation is ME! Just me and nobody else. I want to be happy with myself, I want to love myself and like Trazey said - I want to LIVE! I don't want life to pass me by while I just sit on the sidelines because I'm too fat to join in. Although I still have more weight to lose I finally feel like I'm a normal size. I actually heard someone describing me to another person and they didn't use the word heavy or a little overweight. That is HUGE! They did say I was kind of short - but that's the truth

Well, I have a few simple motivations and also a deeper motivation. My simpler motivations are to look good and be happy with my body, to impress family and friends who haven't seen me in a while, to make myself proud, to make the men-folk drool, lol!

My deeper motivation has to do with a personal commitment I made to myself. I've been in a bit of a malaise for a while and I decided that the only person who could make my life better was myself, so I decided to get healthy, go back to college, get out on my own and be independent and make the kind of life for myself that I want to live.

My motivation is the fact that I am almost 31 and my mother died at 38 of breast cancer. She was, at the time, only slightly over weight and I am morbidly obese. I want to be there for my daughters. It just struck me and struck me hard.

I don't want ONE MORE DAY to go by feeling so exhausted, drained, and in pain that I cannot enjoy my life. I do not want my children to grow up never knowing what it is like to play with their mom. I do not want them to be ashamed of me. I want my body back.

Lyn
FIFTEEN pounds gone!
My Blog:
www.escapefromobesity.blogspot.com