right now, im losing weight because i want to be more comfortable in my own skin. I want to not feel awkward wearing shorts and dresses, and i dont want to feel like i take up too much space and stuff. i just want to feel comfortable with my body, and right now all i feel is blubbery.
it's also for vanity too. i want to feel pretty. But im not too concerned with how the world sees me, i want to see myself as beautiful, and losing the excess weight i have is leading me to that goal.

For looks I guess, if I have to chose just one. I can live a healthy lifestyle and still be fat. I want to lose weight for pregnancy and labor too. So where does that fall?

My thoughts exactly. I just want to look good and feel confident and happy with myself.

Vanity for me too, although I Know it should be health as I get older.

I want to
slip between tables in a restaurant without my behind or befront bumping into people
not worry whether the drop down table on the backs of seats in planes will rest on me or not
know that I Could eat a juicy steak or big ice cream without thinking people are are thinking, no wonder she's that size
clothes shop in normal shops


Next on my list is things like knee joints not hurting (achieved), achilles tendons and other bits in that area not hurting (80% achieved).

Bottom of the list is trying to get healthy enough to be ill, if that makes sense.

Right now it's about health, I don't want to take bp meds and I was tired of my knees hurting. Once I hit Onederland-oh for sure it will be nothing but vanity, I want to look like I feel good, not hope I look good.

Firstly health reasons. Was on two types of blood pressure meds, borderline diabetic, on cholesterol med, anti-depressant med, anxiety med. and was very unhappy with myself and life in general.

Second was for appearance reasons.

This is more or less me too.

Mine is half and half: vanity and health. I've not had any health issues yet, but my Mom has and I want to avoid that if possible.

Initially, I started this journey because of health reasons. My bp was/still is borderline high. And I'm hoping that it will stabilize over time. My feet and ankles were swollen and killing me by the end of each day. I was exhausted and fatigued. I was just plain old uncomfortable in my skin and embarrassed by my appearance. I was really tired of being the "fat friend".

As my journey has progressed, it has definitely become more about my appearance and fitness. My goal is to be healthy, fit and comfortable in my skin and appearance. At 46, I'm too old to be hot!

This is me too :smug:.

Health is a huge consideration for me in losing weight. I'm in my 40s and want to have a good quality of life as I get older. At my heaviest I had trouble walking, and sleep apnea. It was scary.

Looking at the before and after pics of the women here in this thread, I have to say the looks part has a big influence too, wow! It is a thrill to try on smaller sizes, clothes that are nicer looking and look better on me (the gym helps with that).

I know mentally I'll be more confident and happier too, and have been with the weight I've already lost.

Well it was all about looks before, but now that I'm hitting 31 soon, I'm really scared for my health. Plus I'm a hypochondriac so I already think I have Diabetes and heart disease (although my doc says I'm healthy as a horse).

forget it! you're definitely not too old to be hot! I'm 45 and refuse to believe that, ha!

PS you're looking pretty good in your avatar!

My personal opinion is, there's no either/or between looks and health. There may be a dichotomy between physical health and mental/emotional health but it's not as sharp a divide as some make it out to be.

My #1 reason for wanting to lose weight falls equally into both of the author's so-called categories, looks and health, because it is both. I'm lucky in that I didn't really suffer from any obesity-related medical conditions even at 370, other than slight aches and pains and lack of stamina. My health conditions were mental/emotional - severe depression - the Catch 22 of being overweight making me depressed/being depressed making me unable to lose weight, ad infinitum.

Once I finally FINALLY started recognizing and breaking free of the depression, I realized that I deserved to look as good on the outside as I felt on the inside. So to me, that falls equally into both categories, appearance and health.

Just my $.02 - YMMV.

My main reason for getting serious about my weight loss this time is for my health. I have a 5 year old son who needs his mommy to be around for a long time! Right now he wants to do things with me and my weight stops me from doing some of them....:( He won't always want to be with his mommy and I am missing out on so much!!! Plus both my parents died when I was younger and from disease that could have been prevented had their lifestyles been different.

Next would be getting off my meds and that darn c-pap machine (I hate using it at night)!!! The money I spend on meds is ridiculous and it just gets worse with the economy.

Plus I want to feel good about myself and actually start living instead of existing!!! Being able to actually shop for "normal" clothes would be a great feeling!! There is something very satisfying about being able to wear a great pair of jeans!!!!! :D

But I won't lie....I am a single mom and haven't dated at all in about 4 years. I am 42 years old and sometimes fear being alone the rest of my life. The other day I was talking to my ex-husband and he mentioned his 10th anniversary was coming up. It felt odd to be saying it but I congratulated him. Then he asked me if I was dating anyone. I told him no...people say it isn't all about looks but I couldn't take anymore rejections so I just don't even attempt to meet anyone. Anyway, there is a small part of me that will feel really good to get to my goal weight and put on something really nice and "just happen to run into" my ex-husband and a few others who didn't believe that I would ever lose weight. :carrot:

So I guess for me it isn't just one thing that is motivating me to lose the weight.....