I think all ya'll pretty much have said it. I want to set a good example for my two year old daughter, and I want my husband and family to be proud of me for all that I will have accomplished, when I reach goal, and you cant forget about all those cute skinny clothes !
This is the forth time I've endevored to drop 45 pounds, I just seem to have a problem maintaining because I go back to the same eating habits that made me fat in the first place. I come from a long line of "healthy eaters". I was never fat in high school, my measurements were 40-28-39 (yeah, i'm kinda busty) at about 135 to 140 pounds. but after I got married, I just ballooned. Then I had kids. And I lost the weight between each baby, but still gained it back. I'm tired of this diet roller coster. I want to loose it for EVER this time. I want to look good and feel good in a size 9 again. Not doing it for the hubby, he doesnt pay anymore attention to me when I'm skinny than when I'm going through a "fat phase". I'm doing it for me. and for the clothes. Last year I was diagosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, so now its more important than ever to maintain a healthy weight, to help manage the pain. the heavier I am, the harder it's going to be to get around, the older I get, and the farther I progress with this illness. I'm tired of having 2 chins. I'm tired of being a fire hazard when I wear courdory pants from my thighs rubbing. On the other hand, I get tired of my every waking thought being consumed with what and how much i'm eating, how much have i lost, have i gained, can i eat that. I get mad and frustrated because i can't eat what i want, then i feel guilty if i do. one thing i'll share that really helps keep me motivated. And i dont want to gross anybody out, but it works for me. Every morning i stand in front of my full length mirror, sans clothing, and ask myself, "How bad do you want it?"
it really works.
My reasons, hmmm. I guess there are many. I joined my gym in late June last year because I realized my sister’s wedding was less than a year and a half away and I was going to be the only bridesmaid over 150 lbs. I was about 205 at the time. It sounds so shallow, but just picturing that scenario, being up there in front of all those people looking like that was just the kick in the pants I needed. So I guess that’s reason 1! Here are some others in no particular order.
2: working out and getting fit keeps me from thinking about smoking (much).
3: I would like to not be “the fat one” for once. I was the fat one of 5 children. I was the fat girl on the swim team. I was the fat girl on my dorm floor my freshman year of college. Of course people were mostly kind enough not to point this out too often, but I always knew, and it made me feel like crap about myself.
4: I would like to see how people would treat me if I were not fat. I know this is sad, but I have it on good authority that thin people get better jobs, make more money, and just get treated better in general by society than their fatter counterparts. I wonder how that feels?
5: Clothes! I really love clothes, but clothes shopping has been something I’ve always avoided as much as possible. I want to be done hiding in jeans and baggy t-shirts and sweaters.
6: I want to be strong and tough. Strength training and yoga have changed my life.
7: I want to do some intense sporting activities someday, like mountain climbing and surfing.
8: My health. I have high cholesterol. 26-year-old vegetarians are not supposed to have high cholesterol!
That’s all I have for now. It looks like we all have our motivation, so let’s keep going!
Swimming! How I love swimming. You won't catch me dead in a bathing suit these days though. Boy, it would be nice to swim again.
shananigans: it is so true about the attractive people getting treated better. It sucks. People make a split decision when they meet other people, and a lot of it is based on appearance. Maybe someday people will look at me and see more than just FAT.
Swim darn it!!! I swum at 262lbs, in a green tankini. Note: if you swim keep buying costumes as you lose weight. I lost mine in the pool...........on a Sunday...........in front of small children. They're probably still having therapy!!
My reason at the beginning was to minimise the risks of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. I was really beginning to feel that my weight was going to eventually kill me, or at least really shorten my life expectancy.
Once I started exercising, I realised I love it!!! Now I want to lose weight so I can do even more exciting things. I want to kayak, dive, climb, hike, do all teh things I thought I could never do.
I want to wear nice clothes! And nicer swimming costumes
I don't every want to be defined by my weight again. I felt completely imprisoned by it, and I never ever want to be that scared, fat, miserable chick again.
I like myself now - and that feeling is priceless.
From my blog - I made this list several weeks ago - I think I need to read it again -
Reason #1 – My health. Tired of being tired, want to reverse the diabetes, protect my heart and not end up in bad shape when I’m older.
Reason #2 – My looks. Don’t care how much I’ve tried to accept myself as I am, or how much some people say fat is beautiful, I’m not buying it. I look better thinner, period.
Reason #3 - $56 a month in diabetes medication. According to the Dr., and from past experience of losing a little weight, if I get the weight off, my blood sugar will go down, and I most likely will not need the medicine anymore, if I watch what I eat.The next reasons are not in any particular order.
#4 Clothes – while the Plus Size market has expanded a lot in recent years (no pun intended), there are still way few choices in plus sized clothes. Especially in pretty lingerie, dressy clothes and chic and cute stuff. I’d rather be caught dead than in a muumuu. As a thin person, I will have more shopping choices and will get more for my money since plus sized clothes cost more. (That irritates the snot out of me, by the way).
#5 Men – let’s face it, your choice of eligible men goes down drastically as your weight goes up. It’s that old double standard, men are visual and looks matter more to them. While to women, we are more interested in personality. Not saying that looks aren’t important, cause who really wants to end up with a cretin.
#6 I have forgotten what it’s like to wear heels. It just hurts too damn much now. Don’t think it’s me getting older, I think it’s putting my bulk on little ointed toes shoes with little heels.
#7 Wearing a bathing suit in public will be no biggie. I don’t want to even think about wearing one right now.
# 8 I can buy stuff from Victoria’s Secret. Not that I will, cause it pisses me off, they don’t sell plus sizes. I mean hey – even Fredericks sells plus.
#9 Sex will be more fun. It’s fun now, but not near as easy as it would be, being lighter.
#10 Energy – God I can’t remember what it’s like to have energy. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.
#11 I can reach my legs easier to shave.
#12 - No more Jabba the Hut. I am pear shaped and when I sit down, my body just condenses down to this Jabba the Hut shape and I hate it. The chairs in our conference room at work are the worst. They are not made for people with wide butts.
#13 - Can fit better in airplane seats. I can't believe that as short as I am that even I don't have enough leg room on a plane, but at my size I sure as **** don't have enough room width-wise in a seat.
#14 - Can fit on a roller coaster again. Not that I want to ride one again, but any and all types of amusement park rides, go carts, bumper boats, whatever - just not possible at the moment.
#15 - Can fit better in seats at arenas and theaters. Had the most godawful experience in Shreveport a couple of months back. Went to a hockey game and could not fit in the seat. I saw other people in the arena larger than me and they had managed to fit, but for some reason I couldn't. Even if I had angled myself to sit I think I would have been so uncomfortable I would have been miserable. So needless to say I couldn't even sit with my group. Not sure anyone evn noticed and I have been mortified and not wanting to go back to Sunday School since. It was the Singles group that went.
#16 - No more snoring, or I hope so. So I've been told I snore. Yeah, that's attractive in a woman. And snoring is worse the more weight you have on you, so maybe I won't anymore.
#17 - Will fit into a restaurant booth. I hate how some restaurants have the table attached to the wall and you can't move it. Well, I went out to dinner last night and squeezed into one. It's hard enough going to a restaurant alone, hate wedging into a booth.
And I thought of another -
#18 - Will no longer feel the need to use a handicapped bathroom stall in a public bathroom, because the "regular" size are too narrow.
According to all the standard indicators, I'm healthy and always have been. All tests well in the normal range. So the typical answers of reducing high blood pressure and getting rid of diabetes and the like have never been top-of-the-list motivators for me.
As non-PC as it is, my primary reason is vanity. I simply want to look better than I do. I want to be rid of lumps and bumps that don't belong. I want to comfortably cross my legs at the knee.
Fear is another big factor. I worry that, if something were to happen to me, my stats would be broadcast on the news. "Yes, this is the woman we're looking for... she's 5 foot 7 and weighs 3,000 pounds".
Even if it were just a minor thing. If I have some sort of accident, I don't want to hear the EMTs grunting and moaning (or worse, snickering or grousing) while trying to load the two-ton woman onto a gurney or into the ambulance. "Put your back into it, guys!!! Uuuuuuuuungh!!!"
I also have a high schooler. Imagine his embarassment at either of the situations described above! I also don't want him to be subject to the "Yer mom's so fat.." jokes. I know most of his friends (good kids) and trust they haven't said anything yet, but who knows. I want to look good at his graduation.
Look, I'm not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. No one has ever given me the old "you have such a pretty face..." line. Instead, I get the "nice personality" line, as if it was a consolation prize. I'm not rich, either. The only thing I have any chance at is thin. Well, thinner than I am now. So, I guess those are my reasons.
