[fiddler]

• I'm not in a relationship right now. I want to be in one. Being fat just makes the odds of finding someone that much worse.
• I want to never have to worry about whether the seatbelt will be long enough when I get into a car.
• I want to be able to buy cute clothes in a regular store.
• I want to be able to paint my toenails without getting lightheaded.

[BlueToBlue]

• Looking in the mirror and liking the way I look.
• Being able to wear dresses again (for a long time, my bottom was so much bigger than my top that it was impossible to find a dress that fit both parts).
• Not having my doctor say "you should really try to lose some weight" at my annual checkup and instead having her jokingly suggest that she should have me talk to all her other patients that need to lose weight.
• Being able to do outdoor activities like hiking and not be the one that is most out of breath and red in the face.
• Weighing less than my SO (who is so skinny they don't make pants small enough for him). And not just a little less; enough less that I don't have to worry about weighing more than him if I gain 5 pounds and/or he loses five pounds.
• Various health issues like indigestion, recurring yeast infections... all are better now that I am in better shape. Plus, I definitely feel like getting in shape has significantly improved my immune system. I go a lot longer between colds now. I've had days where I felt like I was coming down with something, I went to the gym and did my workout and the next day I felt fine. Now if there was just some cure for my allergies.
• Coming from a family with severe heart problems on one side (3 of my Dad's four brothers have died of heart conditions and both my Dad and his remaining brother have had serious heart problems) and cancer on the other (my mom and her sister both died of cancer), I know that I am doing all that I can to take care of myself and prolong my life. Hmmm, guess I'd better think about retirement planning.
• This time of year I love reading all the articles about new year's resolutions on eating right and getting in shape and checking off all the suggestions that I already do.

[Reddalice]

This is a wonderful thread that everyone should contribute to- remind yourself what you are fighting for and help others remember too.

My first and foremost reason is that I want to be healthy and have a healthy relationship with my lover- that encompasses everything from feeling "up-to" going ice skating to sex to having a long and healthy life where we may take advantage of every opportunity and KNOW that the opportunity is there.

There isn't the time in this lifetime to waste swaddled in weight and progressively drowning in obesity-related issues that appear throughout life.

I love to run- I'd run faster, harder, and healthier if I was 130 or even 160- **** ten pounds lighter than what I am now!

I love my family, and I hold myself to the same standards of health=love. I want my dad to quit smoking so he can be around for a time when Anna and I CAN get married, when we graduate college... I want him to know that I will be around to support him through the losses and victories he will have too.

While I don't tease myself with- I wish I looked like "so-and-so" or if only I fit into "insert clothing size" I would like the benefit of feeling sexy in lingerie, nice pants, and not worrying about the slacks "front-butt" if I have to dress up. And... I've always wanted to wear a summer dress and look like I am wearing a summer dress and not a tent.

To summarize I want to live full, live well, and live long- and this is just another way for me to break down the barriers that I have entrapped myself with. AH- SWEET FREEDOM!

[Remember2Forget]

Oh wow! What an overwhelming response! Thank you all so much.

And lol, no answer is shallow. It's what helps you make that change in your life and if it works for you, well then go for it!

Heh, I was craving some cake in the fridge right now, but after reading through these replies, I gathered enough courage to say no. Seems to be working!

My motivation:

- I want to prove to everybody around me that thought I coudn't lose weight AND keep it off wrong. I CAN lose weight. I CAN control what I eat. Food doesn't.

-...I want male attention too. I get the occaisional guy interested in me, but I start to get the feeling like it's not right, that there's tons of prettier, slimmer girls out there and why in the world did he pick me? Thus, I back off before there could have been any possibility of anything starting in the first place. I know this is hugley related to my...

-Self-Esteem/ Confidence. I often get days when I'm feeling very down and just being not good enough and somehow, that always ends up going back to my weight. I know being thin is not an automatic ticket to a 'happily ever after' life but with it, it'll help me a LOT. Because I know-- from past experience-- that when I look and feel good about myself, I have so much confidence, which in turn, makes me take bigger risks, go out a little more, be a little more fun to hang around. It just changes the way I live life when I don't have to be so self concious about everything I do.

-Finally, I too want to wear cute outfits. I LOVE clothes, fashion, the whole whatnot. I want to be able to pull off the skinny jeans look, the mini skirt and cowboy boots, summer dresses... *sigh* I know I don't have to wait till I'm thin, that I can still look good if I know how to dress myself properly but no! The clothes I try on look better on the rack. Every shopping experience is a total nightmare. Every size I went up was like a mini-trauma. I remember when I was thin, almost anything and everything that I've tried looked good on me. I want that again...

Wow, I'm SO motivated right now lol.

I can-- we can do this. We can do this!

Alright girls, keep them posts comming!

[Karma27]

My Motivation:

To have contol over every aspect of my life including FOOD.

I want to like what I see when I'm naked.

To actually enjoy shopping...I want to buy clothes that don't come from a plus size store, especially my summer wardrobe.

I want to weigh less than my honey.

I am ready for people to stop assuming things about me because I'm fat. Like I must know how to cook or that I'm always hungry or that I am not in a relationship.

Originally Posted by fiddler

• I want to be able to paint my toenails without getting lightheaded.

LOL that too.

I want to be fit and healthy before pregnancy, and I want shorten the journey to motherhood by controlling my PCOS with diet and excerise.

And lastly...I want to love all of me.. who I am inside and out. I am ready to rid myself of my insecurities and have my outer shell be a reflection of my inner beauty.



I have more, I just didn't want to take over the thread. LOL

Thank You so much Remember2Forget for starting this thread I sooo needed this kick in the pants. I love this site.

[ljd]

Remember2Forget: Your reasonings are some of my biggest motivators as well!

I think my main one is the confidence issue. I've always been bigger than average (I think I'm wearing the same size now as I wore in 8th/9th grade!!), and I was really shy for a lot of my life because of that. I overcame that in high school and college, and I am really outgoing now, but I think that really was just me forcing to go outside of my comfort zone and it would be easier (and it IS easier) with weight loss.

Also, the guy issue: I hate to base any part of my self-esteem on guys, but I always feel like any guy who's into me has to be flawed in some way, which is incredibly messed up and I would never think the same thing if I saw a different guy with a different girl who's overweight, but I can't stop thinking that way when it comes to my relationships. So I end up sabatoging relationships--3 months is my longest one! Certainly that doesn't only relate to my weight and I have other things to work though, but now that I'm thinner it is getting easier for me to feel like I deserve a boyfriend.

And clothes! I love clothes, I want to borrow all my friends' cute stuff. This weekend, I borrowed my friend's medium shirts--I can't remember when I wore medium shirts! And another friend of mine tried to lend me one of her shirts. Last time I wore her clothes, they were too tight, and now they were far too big! It's just a really good feeling to know that trendy, cute clothes that I want to wear look good on me, and that will only improve.

Woo, good to get that out--thanks for this thread!

[NESunshine]

Wow there are so many reasons. I tell you that journal doesn't sound like a bad idea... I mean I keep track of everything, I blog, but it would be nice to have a place to keep other motivational materials...something I can take with me, write things I don't write on the blog....ala Bridget Jones

My top reasons...
1. start small... like with it not being a workout to tie my shoes.
2. Clothes...I'm looking forward to shopping, and wearing normal sized clothes (not to mention saving $$ by not paying for all the extra bolts of material that goes into plus sized)
3. feeling comfortable in my own skin
4. overall healthy and active life....
5. dating.... I'd like to try it again someday
6. liking what I see in the mirror, naked, clothed, whatever....just recognizing the reflection
7. the ricochet effects that changing my lifestyle makes happen in other areas of my life
8. being more comfortable in the summer in the heat!
9. bathing suits. need I say more?
10. I want to be just as proud of my body and the work I put into it as I am of my education, my job, my social activism etc.
11. Oh and shoes....I love shoes but there is nothing comfortable about any sort of slim heeled shoe at 240lbs. nuff said.....I want to run in stilletos

[spanky]

Dittos on that journal thing!

I came here tonight to get a little motivation so I could drive by all the drive-thrus on the way home. Feeling like I'm gonna lose it and pull in for a McD's BigMistake!

Let's see:

I HATE sitting on the potty feeling like I have a cat on my lap. I don't have a cat...

I HATE wearing something I thought I looked my best in--then seeing a photo and resolving to NEVER wear something so clingey again!

I HATE making sure my HAIR looks great so it takes the focus off my double chin.

I CRINGE when I see my guy friend the Diet **** looking at me with that "You haven't done anything about yourself yet, have you?" look.

I almost cry when my DH tells me he loves me "just the way I am".

Awwww, yuck!

sniff, sigh, going in search of my apple for the drive home,

spanky