[city_southernbelle]

I am from South Carolina and many of South Carolinian people believe in eating country cooked food including my family and using a lot of unhealthy additives such as fatty oils and grease, hot sauce, fatback, Crisco, and butter.

The men (I should say the few decent men anyways) also love a thick woman. Here you can't be too thin or too big, you have to be in the middle to impress the (decent) men down here.

Its not as many selections in staying active in many parts of the south especially if you live in a rural or hick town which happens to be the place I live in at the moment. If it wasn't for the college which has a fitness center, I don't know how I would be getting my strength training workouts in. And I love doing cardio on the treadmill more than on the track.

I wish though there was more of a selection of activities to do and more of a variety of healthy food choices but neither really exists in South Carolina unless you live in the capitol Columbia which I don't. And even Columbia has its limits.

So I feel like part of the reason why I am still fat has a lot to do with my environment and now that I am moving to Jersey-Glassboro to be specific, I think my health and motivation will improve tremendously because its a suburban area and its northern and the north has always been way more progressive than the south and has way more choices health wise.

Where are you from and is it the reason or one of the reasons for your weight loss efforts?

[izzyboomama]

Mmmmm....butter....

Oh hi! I'm from Pennsylvania and my motivations are my two kids. I have two littles that are just 14 months apart and I'm trying to lose all this weight so that I can chase them around and hopefully give them a couple more siblings. It's as simple as that.
I used to be very active and I'd like to be again, but I have expensive interests like horseback riding, so now that I have kids that won't be happening! Lol!

I really just want to set a good example for my kids; right now we eat a mostly whole food diet and we do grow some of our produce, but I'm hoping to grow a significant portion next year, at least 500 pounds.

[Seana]

I'm from New Mexico. And my motivation is my future. My weight is getting in the way of what I want. I am recently divorced and about 5 years into my marriage (of 8 years) my husband told me he was no longer on the fence about kids. He didn't want them. I was really sad, but thought I should choose him. Sadly he decided he didn't want to be married. Once I got over the shock of my life completely changing. I realized I could do those things I wasn't going to do with him. So I am getting myself ready to start the process of adoption of an older child. Plenty of kids need homes and I would be a great parent. But I want to have energy for them. So I'm getting for my future family.