I guess I am inspired by really thin people, people that look good, people that appear to be able to eat what they want and not exercise and still remain the same size/shape.

I want to become 'normal size' for myself, not for anybody else. At the moment I am lacking the motivation I had last year. Last year I as depressed, unhappy and just wanted to punish myself I guess. This year I'm not depressed, just trapped and I cant seem to find a motivational strategy.

Plus I love it when people say 'god youve lost loads of weight'.

Whats yours?

i agree with the ' youve lost loads thing' but no one really says that to me, one girl i know said' i looked good' after not seeing her for 2 months, im guessing that means the same??

all my 'friends' in college are my size or a bit smaller and they know how well i have been doing, yet they all eat like pigs and try and fill me full of it too. its not support at all, but it is motivation, to become better then them, and to not let them drag me down because i can do well.

also summer is coming and im such a summer person, i love sun beaches anything to do with summer, so to feel more confident to ware more revealing clothes will be nice. i also wanna weigh less then my boyfriend.

Those people don't inspire me at all. I'm far more inspired by the people who do something about their health and fitness, whatever their size. I get more of a buzz out of seeing an overweight person joining a gym than a thin person eating McDonalds.

Absolutely! I'm not really inspired by really thin people at all. I'm more inspired by someone with a positive attitude and a committment to their health and weight loss efforts. Sure, it's GREAT when someone says something like "wow, you've lost weight!" but I'd rather people be more impressed by my attitude and committment more than how I look.

Someone who is lean (but not really thin) that I'm impressed by: Madonna! Of course if I had a personal trainer and had the time to workout 3 hours every day I'd have her sculpted body too!

I also am impressed by Oprah - that she finally is in a really healthy place in her life, no more crash diets, just being healthy and committed

I'm more inspired by athletic people. I think it is amazing all of the fantastic things that they are able to do with their bodies. Marathon runners, gymnasts -- people that use their bodies and are strong and flexible. I want to be able to run and catch the bus without being SO out of breathe. I want to be able to do intricate yoga poses because I am really flexible. Those are the things that inspire me.

Why would you ever want to NOT EXERCISE I can't imagine sitting on the couch all day. Urgh! I have legs for a reason - I should blo*dy well use them! I see so many people who don't have legs, or can't use their bodies for one reason or another, that I feel that if I were to sit in a chair all day then I would be doing them a dis-service. The body is here to be used, and it works better when we do use it and it thanks us for it. [/RANT]

Who/what inspires me. Helen inspires me, with her 20 mile run, then a cross country the next day

Also this dude who's book I've got out of the library. He was born affected by thalidomide and he is now a bodybuilder/black belt martial artist.

People who inspire me to lose weight... Well.... I don't think I have any of those any more. I think of that more of a by-product of having a fit and healthy lifestyle. Skwigg (www.skwigg.com) inspires me a LOT for that.

I also really admire ballet dancers. I know they have to be very strong and athletic to do what they do day in day out, however I'm not 100% sure that I'd ever like to do what they do, but I admire their discipline and athleticism. I think they way they shape their body is suitable for their sport. Like a sprinter is muscley and a marathon runner not so much. I also love their flexibility and strive to be as flexible as them.

Also... http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106099 from maintainers

Frus I know what you mean, yesterday when I was running I thought about the people I was running by. Like I used to look at runners and wonder how they could do it, now I wonder if people think that of me....

Oh and Helen inspires me too, in my last 10K I wanted to walk up a hill but I thought about Helen's determination and ran it!!!

I'm blushing now...

But seriously, without this sounding like a cheesy award acceptance speech, it works both ways. The fact that I'm in a position to inspire people spurs me on to achieve more. When I'm running I sometimes think about all the people who have cheered me on virtually over the past few years, and how I want to do it to prove that it is possible, and that if I can inspire just one person to change their lives for the better then I've one a good thing.

Going back to the original question, I've been pondering a bit more and most of my inspirations are fitness based rather than weight loss based. Locally, people like Jane Tomlinson and Tracey Morris, and another good example which does also have the weight loss aspect but also the extreme sports side is Jack Osborne.