This question is pretty simple. Why are you trying to lose weight? It is for clothing size, to look better, health? What is motivating you?

Great question!

When I started my journey, I was flatly unhealthy - nearing 300 lbs, completely inactive, living on fast food and cigarettes and candy and pastries. I lived in constant fear of sickness and dying, and I was well on my way to doing so. Health was a big motivator!

But I was also getting married, knew I was going to be in a dress and having tons of photos taken, and I wanted to look good...that motivated me, too.

Now, having maintained for several years, then gained a good bit when I was pregnant, this is 100% about vanity. I personally felt more comfortable in smaller sizes and a lower weight. Although my eating habits are healthy and my fitness level is higher than even when I was maintaining my lowest weight, I'd like to be lighter.

I want another baby... So the weight has got to go!

It's all about health for me. Looking better is an unexpected bonus. I've got osteoarthritis in my knees, ankles and feet. I just can't tote around this extra weight any more.

Cigarettes, candy and pastries. Yum! I would have to add coffee to my list.

Anyway, I have been on several major diets and they have all been about vanity. So was quitting smoking about vanity. I had a cough and kept peeing on myself and that was embarrassing!

This time, I was really worried about my health. I was turning 70, breathless, and unable to do quite a few things that only a couple of years ago, I took for granted. I was coughing and peeing on myself and I wasn't even smoking. I was scared.

I never was a great beauty and being a senior doesn't make that any better, but being able to breathe trumps a lot of things as does improving my mobility and how my clothes fit. Weight loss has greatly improved my incontinence. That may be the best thing of all.

As much as I try to "go with the flow", turning 70 has been a huge deal for me.

I hated being physically limited from doing things I love.
At 20, I was sick of being overlooked by men I found attractive because of my appearence
There are heart problems that run on both sides of the family. I want to limit my chances and be as healthy as I can
I didn't have normal social experiences when I was growing up because of my mindset when I was heavy...I felt loosing weight would give me more confidence.

Because it's my life, my body, and I wanted to

To be more healty and a roll model for my kids

Because I can't do any of the things that I want to do. And since this last month I had another major weight gain, I now am struggling just to tie my shoes, walk more than about 10 feet without having to stop to gasp for breath. My knees and hips and back are killing me. In other words, I want to have a life.

I was never technically even "overweight" but I am a prime example of "skinny fat"! Pretty out of shape and weak. My clothing that fit for years began bursting at the seams. I have a lot of binge-like behavior. Lots of room for improvement.

SO - I suppose I fall into the vanity pounds category, but for me it is far more than vanity - it is about having a healthy relationship with food, committing to making good choices, learning discipline, improving my strength and stamina... most of these choices translate into weight loss. And I'm not going to deny it, I would love to be a bit smaller/lighter, so the vanity is still there for sure!

I want to do it for aesthetic and health reasons. I'd like to feel attractive and not just when clothed. Everyone says, "You look fine! I wouldn't lose much more!" *points to current weight and height* That's too much. I know it because I see the number on the scale and I see myself nude every day so I see problem areas others don't. It's not like I go out half naked all the time, how could anyone really know what I look like?...

I also like that I can kind of just zip around now. Before, I felt heavy, bulky, not at all graceful. Now I can bound up steps, carry more stuff, jog for longer distances, etc. without huffing and puffing.

I'm living in Japan now, and everyone around me is tiny. A little girl came up to me at school one day, patted my stomach, said "pon pon" (the sound of beating a drum), then informed me that I was much fatter than her last English teacher before giving me a hug and scampering off to recess. That stung like **** because clearly there was no malice behind it, it was just a little kid making an observation. I also wasn't especially happy to find that I'd gone from being about an American 12 to a Japanese 3L, and therefore needed to shop in the 大きいサイズ section...if there even was one available.

I tried to brush that off, but then I got my first period here (where midol and anything else with caffeine and stimulants is illegal), wished for death for a week, and decided that I needed to get things under control better...and apparently the best way to do that with PCOS is weightloss. Both of my parents start and end their day with literally a fistful of pills for various ailments both hereditary and affected by their being overweight. I'd reeeally like to avoid that a few years down the road...just the hypothyroid and PCOS I have now is bad enough.

Of course there's the vanity issue as well, but since I've been overweight virtually my whole life, I'd gotten pretty good at ignoring my appearance and focusing on having a good time with good people. At my heaviest, I was still the "athletic fat chick," so was never really stopped from doing much. I do, however, now have an awesome boyfriend that I haven't seen in almost a year because he left for Naval training shortly before I left for Japan. He dropped a lot of weight in order to join up, and I figured it would be a nice little surprise for him if I was smaller when he next saw me

I've never been in the overweight category of BMI either, but tend to sit close to it. I'm tired of feeling bloated and sluggish from my terrible diet consisting of a load of fat, sugar and carbs. I do have a goal size and weight in mind where I hope I'll look lean and fit.

It's not wanting to feel bloated and lethargic that's keeping me motivated as well as imagining how healthy I'll look at my goal weight :-)

Lots of reasons. I was always a chubby girl ever since puberty. I never felt like I was good enough for anyone. I also have PCOS and getting that under control is crucial to being able to have my own family one day! I know when you see my height and weight, your probably like hmm. She isn't that big. But trust me when I say I have a small body frame and my doctors have actually told me 140-145 would be a good goal for me. Every extra pound on me is fat haha.

Like I said; I never felt good enough for anyone and that includes men! I don't know how to handle the attention of a guy when I get it because I'm so uncomfortable with my body. Like when I'm hugging a boy and I know he can "feel my fatty rolls" (even though I KNOW that's not what their thinking about, but I'm still self conscious about it) and that has made it virtually impossible to let someone in because i get uncomfortable when it moves to more intimate things. and so basically, I want to be comfortable in my skin! I want to love the body I'm in. I want to be the healthiest physically, mentally, and emotionally that I can be so that when I meet my Prince Charming I won't think that I'm not good enough!

I am only 18, I have so much life and discovery ahead of me. I know that by going through this journey I can learn to love myself for life so that I can live my life to the fullest.

Also: a bonus. I want to be able to pick out clothes and KNOW they will fit. Also, swimsuits. I want to be comfortable in a swimsuit and feel like I don't have to wear a ton of layers over it so no one will look at me.

I don't want to be a fat mom. I started off pregnancy overweight, gained 40 lbs, and though I've lost the pregnancy weight I want to get well within the healthy weight range for my height.

For vanity reasons, I don't want to spend another summer on the beach feeling like I can't play with my son without a shirt or shorts over my bathing suit. I don't want to feel self conscious about how I look.

For health reasons I want to be in maintenance mode for a little while before getting pregnant again.