I know it's a weird question-- especially on a weight loss forum where people are doing the work. But I welcome your comments or ideas.

For years I've made attempts at losing weight, because I know I should want to be thinner. I would like to be thinner. I'd like to cross my legs and not have my weight be the first thing people notice about me.

I don't have any health problems, so other than cosmetics, I can't seem to find a reason to make such a huge commitment, and make all the changes that are necessary.

Bottom line: It just doesn't seem like the pay off is commensurate with the work.

Weight loss is easy.

And the rewards are potentially huge.

It did help my health (I am off of blood pressure and cholesterol meds now) but more than that it did boost my self-esteem. I look and feel great, for the first time in 20 years. That's two fricking lost decades!

This may not be "your time" to lose weight judging by how you feel, but keep an open mind to weight loss so that if you feel you are more ready some day, you seize the opportunity.

Weight loss is easy.

We all know those things in life that are truely hard work. Don't make me list them.

Ha, ha. Weight loss for me has been such hard work so far. But I know getting my weight back down again will improve my self-confidence. It already did. I also feel great. As you said, I can cross my legs again, I fit into an airline seat, I can run upstairs now without huffing and puffing. Most of all, I feel ready for a new relationship and I find guys look at me now and random guys great me on the street, whereas I was completely invisible 50 lbs ago. I want to have the full choice. Finally, it helps to be thinner when hunting for jobs, which I am in the process now. If only to wear a designer business suit and looking more "professional".

Don't stop trying....it will happen. I have tried to lose many times in my life and have been successful in the past. My problem is keeping it off. I lose 20 lbs and think, Wow..I look good...I deserve to eat that bag of chips now. Gets me everytime...hee hee!!!

I know this will sound really cliché, but what about just focus on doing whatever seems reasonable to improve/maintain your health? I don't know if the Fat Nutritionist is up your alley or not, but her site might be worth taking a look at if you haven't yet. She's an advocate of Health At Every Size, which might be a philosophy that works for you.

How old are you? You may not have health problems now, but the longer you are overweight, the more likely something will come up.

I'm 48, and have lost the weight for the last time, as I will keep it off now for life, because I've changed my lifestyle, not just dieted. I'm also thinner than my husband has ever known me, in 22 years, as well as the most fit I've ever been since I've known him.

I didn't have MAJOR health problems, but did have knee problems develop in the past few years. Losing the weight has helped that, but I'm likely always going to have some issues with my one knee. if I had kept the weight off that I lost in my mid-thirties instead of gaining it back, it is likely that I wouldn't have this problem.

I will tell you that I feel SO much better now than before, and feel better about myself.

I think that it would be difficult to lose weight if you really are not wanting to lose. Why don't you concentrate on not gaining, eating healthy, and general wellness? Do things that don't seem like so much work. Then you can at least maintain.

Maybe I've just had a really easy life. To me, being consistent with my food plan is very difficult.

I haven't hear of her, but I will check her out. Thanks.

I'm 46. Maybe since I've always been heavy I just don't know how good it would feel to be thin.

Yeah, I've been at the same weight for about 18 years now. But maybe I could just make a list of the things I'm willing to do that would seem beneficial and try to do those.

I wish I could say weight loss has ever been easy for me. Getting my bachelor's degree and then my master's degree were both far easier and much more fun than weight loss, despite having to work full time and drive 300 - 500 miles a week for the while working full time during most of graduate school. Teaching college classes part time while working 40-60 hours a week as a probation officer? Also hard, but still easier than weight loss. Having healthy self esteem and an active social life without being a doormat in platonic and romantic relationships? Hard, but still easier than weight loss.

I have found ways to make weight loss easier, but it's still a constant struggle, like babysitting a 300 lb toddler. Just keeping food out of my mouth on a minute-by-minute basis, is far more difficult than it should be.

Even so, I wish I had put in the effort when I was still young and healthy. Instead, I had more important and more interesting things to do, and then the health problems started cropping up, and weight loss became a higher priority, but not high enough to fully succeed. I valued my career and education more than I valued my health and appearance.

Before I realized it, I my health problems cost me my career and the ability to use my education.

Postponing weight loss until you experience significant health problems, is like waiting until you need a root canal to start brushing your teeth.

It only gets harder, so the sooner you start, the less work you'll have to put in, andthe fewer ingrained habits you'll have to relearn.

I am a bit taller than you and at your age I weighed 204 pounds. I am 65 now, continue to have excellent health. But carrying that much weight on a short frame did major damage to my knees and I will need knee replacements in the future. I am 145 now, 10 pounds of which I have regained from 135. I don't know how I stood being so overweight for so many years as the 10 pounds I regained make my clothes so uncomfortable. I lost most of my weight slowly over the 10 years from 50 to 60.

You might not think its worth it now, but when you lose weight and fit into smaller clothes and start getting compliments and second looks from guys you'll wonder why you waited so long.

The energy is unbelieveable. After awhile, it keeps you to wanting to move.

But you have to be ready mentally, to start. I really recommend that you just start with a few lifestyle changes. Drop soda, eat more fruits and vegetables, etc. And every once in awhile add something new.

It sounds like you're lying to yourself. We all do it every once in a while. It helps alleviate the feeling of failure when we can't seem to find the motivation or discipline to lose the weight. Making excuses though is never a good alternative to being healthy.

Just because you don't feel adverse effects from the weight does not mean that they don't exist. Humans find a way to cope with chronic maladies by ignoring them after a while. In the summer I started going to physical therapy for a pelvic injury that was caused by my pregnancy. I'd been living with some pain for 2 yrs before I decided to get help for it. At first the PT asked me how my lower back felt. I said fine. Each day when I went in she asked me how my lower back felt, and it was always fine. In fact I was a little annoyed that she kept asking me that because my "pain" was in my hip and pelvis so why did she keep asking me about my lower back? Finally one day as she was doing an adjustment she asked me how my lower back felt and I said FINE. She then poked me really hard in the backside and I jumped off the table in pain and anger that she would do that. She said that's not supposed to hurt and showed me on my arm the amount of pressure she had jabbed me with.... inconsequential, I could barely feel it on my arm. Apparently that pain had been there for years and because it was chronic I had simply accepted it as normal. Did you know that your lower back is not supposed to hurt when you poked it? I didn't know that until recently. Now that I have been doing PT for a few months I can suddenly feel that I had really limited range of motion all over my body, that small movements caused me great pain and that I was just accepting it as normal. My point is that you may not realize what's ailing you because it's ailing you for so long. What if you lost 30lbs and suddenly realized that you can move so much more freely, that it doesn't require so much energy to get up off a chair, it's happened to all of us.

I'm not judging your attitude, because believe I've been there many times. When I start to feel that contentment of "why should I lose weight, I don't need to look like a super model." I start to search around in my motivation quotes for these...

"Those who argue for their limitations generally get to keep them..."
"If you want it, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse"

It's not a weird question. It might be THE question because I believe motivation lays at the heart of any successful weight loss attempt.

I have to also say not having health problems is VASTLY different from being healthy. You can have $10 to your name and you aren't broke but boy are you heading for trouble.

I cannot explain in words how awesome losing 50 lbs has been. Forget appearance or even self confidence. Just LIVING just being, every second of every day is so much better with less weight. I move freer, I almost glide. My head is clearer, yes there is a mind body connection. I have more energy, mood is improved.

Whether you know it or not you are compromising your life essentially at a higher weight. Health issues for sure down the road. higher chance for cancer for instance. But more than that our bodies AND minds just do not function as well at higher weights. So forget appearance, you are compromising your being.

I still have a ways to go, but I am never going back. There is no food on the planet even close to how lethargic and just hard moving and being that being severely overweight makes you become.

Ha, the last thing I want is compliments and people to notice me. Fear of attention is one of my biggest payoffs for staying fat. But thanks for trying, and I'm glad you're able to enjoy the attention.

I think this is what I'm going to do. Since the whole reason I'm second guessing losing weight is because it doesn't seem like it's worth the work, I'm just going to change habits that are making me feel bad in the here and now. I'm going to cut out certain kinds of food make me feel bad after I eat them: fast food, candy, soda, and cereal. Drinking water and walking make me feel better, so I'm going to add more of those. I'll just do that until I stop losing weight, and then reevaluate.

I know there are adverse effects, even if I'm in denial about them, but losing weight is a lot of work and I'm wondering if it's worth the trade off. So right now I'm trying to decide if I want it enough to do the work. Right now, I'm just going to do the few things I mentioned above because I KNOW those will make me feel better, and I'm willing to do them, and they don't seem too difficult.