What's your motivation?
Options
Replies
-
baconslave wrote: »My diabetic mother was hospitalized for 4 months due to complications from diabetes. We really didn't think she was ever going to make it back home with dad. When they released her, too ill to go home but her insurance wouldn't pay to keep her there any longer, dad had to become a nursing home nurse basically. Change her diapers, wait on her hand and foot...and it struck me that at almost 260lb, I was headed down that same road. I was 35. I was probably already prediabetic. Going up and downstairs was a chore. And I pictured my children having to worry constantly about me and my poor husband having to change my diapers. I decided I wasn't going to do that to them.
I'm a better wife and mother now. I'm not giving that up for anything.
My dad had a stroke at 44, which put him out of commission for the rest of his life. I'm facing 40 soon and kept thinking about what would happen if I had a stroke or heart attack on the second story of our house. It would have been really hard for paramedics to struggle to get me downstairs. And God help my husband if he had to then become my nursemaid. I don't want to die young or live as a stroke victim.7 -
My motivation comes in many forms. 1 1/2 years ago at 230+ pounds I would literally lie awake at night with my heart racing waiting for the heart attack or stroke and knowing something had to seriously change. Just prior to this, my younger brother was diagnosed with T2 diabetes and only lasted a few months on the recommended 120 g carb/day diet before giving up and starting on medication. This was my future as well. My mom died (cancer) when she was 44 leaving behind 3 kids (ages 12, 10, and 18 months) and my dad. My dad would often comment she died when things were tough (young kids, money was tight, etc) and as much as we were a really happy family full of love, he regretted that she missed out on the fun stuff that comes when kids get older and there is more time and money to spend traveling and enjoying life and each other. My kids are getting older and I didn't want my weight standing in the way of experiencIng life.
I turn 50 next week (Holy Cow!) which was another huge motivator to get going last year.
My 15 year old daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan and her dream was to visit Harry Potter world. We were able to do this together last February without me worrying about not being able to fit into the ride seats, avoiding seat belt extenders on the airplane, and coping with walking miles each day we were at the park. It was amazing to help make her dream come true.
9 -
Pre-diabetes is what got me motivated enough to change my eating habits. I always wanted to lose weight, but somehow it didn't click until I really got a good old-fashioned talking to from the doctor. My grandmother had diabetes and even though I was "only" 40 pounds overweight (now I'm sitting at about 20 pounds overweight), my body was already heading in that general direction holding onto extra weight. Scary to me!7
-
I am motivated primarily by vanity. I mean, the internal benefits of LCHF are great but I loved losing the weight and eating in a way that is quite fun, to be honest. Who doesn't want to lose weight but still get to enjoy steak, bacon, cheese, and sour cream?
But really, I was sick of being chunky and my clothes not fitting the way I wanted them to fit. And I am really liking the way my body is turning out and the shape I've developed from lifting along with eating LCHF.
This is the longest I've ever stuck to a weight loss attempt and 'diet', which is in part because I decided to make this a way of eating, rather than a temporary thing.7 -
Lots of little motivators, but the big ones are I don’t want to go through cancer again if at all possible, and I want to be around long enough to enjoy watching my grand children grow-up. I had my only child in my late 30’s and want to live long and healthy and enjoy my family as long as possible. Other health issues that motivate me are to reduce acne, psoriasis, fatigue, digestive issues, and my knees are no so good so I need to keep my weight down. LC is helping with all of this.
The health of my family members (parents and grandparents) is/was not so great. Way to many issues that could have been prevented or alleviated by healthy life style choices. I can see some of the issues I may need to deal with if I follow down the same paths as other family members have (metabolic, heart, and obesity issues).
I absolutely have a vanity motivation; I would like to reduce my belly and thighs and stay within size 6 jeans. I would not mind at all going up in weight as long as it is more muscle.
6 -
samanthaluangphixay wrote: »I am motivated primarily by vanity...
But really, I was sick of being chunky and my clothes not fitting the way I wanted them to fit. And I am really liking the way my body is turning out and the shape I've developed from lifting along with eating LCHF.
That's a nice side effect. My motivation was my impact on my husband and family. But I'm not going to lie and say it isn't awesome people coming up to me and going nuts. These are random people I do not know. And they say (referencing my 13-year old dd) "Oh my goodness! Is that your daughter? You look just like sisters." Swells the head a little.
She's still a size 3/4 and I'm an 8/10. But I like my curves just fine as they are. 7 -
My health is definitely my biggest motivator. I recently found out I have diabetes and gluten sensitivity. I had low-carb'd before then just to lose weight and had great results. Now my goal is to make it a full time thing. I'm a single mom of two and need to be around for my boys.
In the past 6 years i've really let myself go weight & health wise and I need to get myself back on track!!! 4 -
After several years of low calorie eating and gaining and losing the same 5-10 lbs. I kind of gave up on weight loss. I started low carb for health reasons. I was already gluten free due to celiac disease and had just gotten diagnosed with RA. My doctor said an anti-inflammatory diet was important and then my cousin started telling me about the keto diet. So I gave it a try and it did help my RA symptoms plus I have lost 26 lbs.
Along the way I find that I'm rarely hungry and even when I am it's not "emergency" hungry. In the past I would come home from work shaking with hunger and need to eat half a bag of chips or cereal to level out before I could even cook dinner. Now I can go hours even if I do feel hungry.
So while health motivates me to eat right, vanity motivates me to exercise! I'm close to my goal weight but I'd like a little more definition and firmness. 5 -
Thanks for reading my mind and posting this before I did!
My motivations are:
1.) Having a baby. Found out that on top of my PCOS, I have blocked fallopian tubes so the only way we have a family is through IVF. The clinics here won't touch you for IVF if your BMI is 40+, so right there is my biggest motivator. My sister in law, who lives with us, just had a baby, so every day at home, and every time I look at the photos on my desk, I get smacked in the face with a blatant reminder of why I'm eating this way. It doesn't make the birth announcements any easier to hear, but I'm 25/80 pounds down to reaching the target weight for the procedure and hoping to reach my goal by October. Next year I hope to be the one sending out the birth announcement!
2.) Pain. Just straight up pain. I tore the meniscus in my left knee in November last year, and after the surgery walking was just so painful. I couldn't do anything anymore because of pain, and it was affecting my relationships, everything. I was so depressed and figured that if I didn't start losing weight I would probably end up 450 pounds and divorced, or at least miserable in my relationship, just because I couldn't go do anything with my husband anymore.
3.) Clothes. I have some nice clothes. But none of them fit. I got some clothes in my size, but they looked terrible on me. I've been wearing the same 5-6 shirts and 3 pairs of pants for months now and I'm tired of it. So I'm dropping weight to get back into those clothes I haven't worn in forever!6 -
Sooo many reasons, but the one that finally lit a fire under my rump to quit 'talking about it' and 'just do it' was after ending up in the hospital with stage 4 level high blood pressure, something ~230/120. After 4 hours in the ER it only went down to ~200/110. I was knocking on deaths door, didn't even know it. I went to the ER because I hit my head, not because of any other health reason. I got lucky hitting my head as HBP is called a silent killer for a reason.10
-
The biggest motivator for me was pain and the fact that at one time I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic (I no longer fall into the category). I couldn't ignore the fact that Diabetes runs in the family: my Mom is T2D, and her was mom was too. I was suffering lots of pain every day from (1) foot neuropathy; (2) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome the pain from which I later learned was only aggravated by inflammation caused by the huge amounts of carbs and sugar I was eating; (3) daily headaches from both low and high blood sugar; (4) knee pain due to a combination of my sheer weight (I weighed 300 pounds when I changed my lifestyle to this WOE) and the beginning of narrowing of the joints. The fact that my family has a history of Diabetes combined with the fact that I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic AND I was experiencing foot neuropathy...well, let's just say that the idea of losing one or both feet or other body parts in the future scared the living *kitten* out of me. Farther down the list of motivating reasons which at the beginning of my journey seemed more like pipe dreams to me was of course looking better physically and being able to shop in stores for "regular sized" people which I'd never been able to do. So yeah, a little bit of vanity going on in those reasons too. Currently I've successfully eliminated 156.8 pounds to date and I'm getting close to my goal. I currently weigh 143.2 pounds and I have somewhere in the range of 10-15 more pounds to go. Never imagined I would get this far but so glad I made the choice to change when I did and I'm NEVER going back!!20
-
@ladipoet sounds like you have lost more than you currently weigh! Awesome and Inspiring.3
-
Health is the big motivator now. Spending retirement managing health problems has zero appeal to me. I want to enjoy time with the people I love, participate in volunteering opportunities, and be active in my church. God has given me a wonderful blessing to be able to do those things, and it's my responsibility to do my part. The vanity stuff is fun and is a bit of a motivator in its own right. But in the end, it's taking charge of my health that keeps me going...or gets me back on track when a detour occurs.3
-
1) Appearance/clothing. I like to wear the younger/more eclectic styles. (Last summer was Tank Girl meets Soccer Mom. This year I'm doing a simple Summer Witch inspo).
2) I gained my first semester of grad school. I'm afraid that those 5 lbs would have devolved into me being overweight by the time I reached 40.
3) I am a recovered anorexic so it's important that I choose a lifestyle that keeps me feeling good about myself/appearance and won't devolve into starvation.
4) Exercise keeps my mental wellness strong.
5) I LOVE bacon, steak, butter, salt... I love eating what I love and calling it health food.
6) I am chasing a 3 year old. She wears out faster than I do. Muhahahahahahahahahahahhahaha10 -
I am tired of being embarrassed by how I look and I feel embarrassed for my husband. I want to be able to buy 'normal' size clothes, not plus size. I have arthritis in my knee from my weight and I just feel plain tired, depressed and terrible when I eat carbs, although when I am tired, depressed that is exactly what I want to eat... I love food so I enjoy this woe but it is my social life that derails me sometimes. My mother has a long list of ailments and due to her lack of exercise and bad eating (she is a diabetic) she is nearly immobile. My 62 yr old aunt (who everyone says I am just like) has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. I don't want to be fat but also I don't want to end up sick and on pills because of something I can fix.8
-
My father had his first heart attack at 50. He had his 5th last weekend. He is at home at the moment, but he has a fever and he hasn't eaten for 5 days. His medications are listed on an A4 sheet of paper, covering the whole sheet. He is only 66 years old. Diabetes has done this to his body, his arteries are like strings of pearls and there's nothing more they can do for him. The medications keep him alive, for now, but the side effects of them all are horrific. The pain he's in on a daily basis is more than anyone should have to bare.
He is one of 11. They all, with the exception of one aunty, have type 2 diabetes.
When I was 39 and 120kg my doctor told me if I didn't make a change then I would have diabetes by the time I was 40. Last chance, he said.
I'm 41 now, I'm 89kg (still working on it) and I've been Keto for 2 years and 5 months. This is the way I eat now. Sometimes I have a fit because I lose weight so damn slowly, I do want to be slim and wear the nice clothes like everyone else, but then I remind myself that Keto has saved my life. My bloods now are always spot on, no hint of BS issues, I'm healthy as a horse.18 -
SamandaIndia wrote: »@ladipoet sounds like you have lost more than you currently weigh! Awesome and Inspiring.
@SamandaIndia...you are correct, I have successfully eliminated an entire person's worth of extra weight that I did not need to be carrying around!! lol8 -
I grew up as an overweight child, an overweight middle schooler and an overweight high schooler, with parents who were obese. I didn't know how to eat well as a child and I followed the lead of my parents. Now, at 33 years old and after having 2 kids, I'm thinner and healthier than I've ever been in my life. I can do push-ups now! Real push-ups! I never would have thought I'd be able to do a push-up. My next goal is to be able to do a pull-up, since I've never done one before. So my motivation is 3 fold:
1) Simple vanity - I want to feel confident in a bikini this summer
2) I want to see what my body can do and how far it can go, since I'm already doing more than I used to think was possible for me
3) I want to eat healthy for my kids. Because when I eat well, we keep healthy foods in the house and cook healthy meals for everyone. And they are looking to me as example. I want them to know they can be healthy and strong too.12 -
I was introduced to Keto by way of paleo:
3+ years ago, I read a study that said women over 40 had to increase activity by 1 hr a day to just maintain their current weight. Well as an obese woman who was almost 40, it made me mad! I was determined not to have to work harder to maintain my fat. I was going to lose it before I turned the big 40 and work harder to be in the best health possible.
A friend turned me onto Paleo and I adopted alot of the lifestyle. I quickly shed 35 lbs within 6 months and maintained that until I turned 41! I was still considered obese but felt SO much better. After awhile, I found I could eat as much as I wanted but wouldn't lose nor gain. I became frustrated. Yep I was paleo but carb heavy...
A different friend told me about Keto. One, I had introduced to the paleo lifestyle. She explained the carb sensitivity issues she had with doing solely paleo and on Keto but doing paleo her issues were reduced. I have autoimmune issues so that really appealed to me as I was pretty familiar with my triggers already.
I researched Keto and thought why not? I began implementing changes and switching my macros around. Voila, success! I have finally broken that stall and have dropped around 20 lbs since going Keto/paleo. Its slow but steady.
I still have flare-ups with my autoimmune issues but it's my fault. If I go above my 20-30 carbs I can expect some type of flare-up, usually mild. It's a trade off I'm willing to make for chocolate.
I will be 42 this year and though I'm still larger than I was at 18, by about 18 lbs, I feel I'm the healthiest I've ever been!13 -
EbonyDahlia wrote: »My father had his first heart attack at 50. He had his 5th last weekend. He is at home at the moment, but he has a fever and he hasn't eaten for 5 days. His medications are listed on an A4 sheet of paper, covering the whole sheet. He is only 66 years old. Diabetes has done this to his body, his arteries are like strings of pearls and there's nothing more they can do for him. The medications keep him alive, for now, but the side effects of them all are horrific. The pain he's in on a daily basis is more than anyone should have to bare.
He is one of 11. They all, with the exception of one aunty, have type 2 diabetes.
When I was 39 and 120kg my doctor told me if I didn't make a change then I would have diabetes by the time I was 40. Last chance, he said.
I'm 41 now, I'm 89kg (still working on it) and I've been Keto for 2 years and 5 months. This is the way I eat now. Sometimes I have a fit because I lose weight so damn slowly, I do want to be slim and wear the nice clothes like everyone else, but then I remind myself that Keto has saved my life. My bloods now are always spot on, no hint of BS issues, I'm healthy as a horse.
Wow! So sorry for your dad, but so proud of you to learn from it. Amazing results! My mother died 20 years ago at the age 66 from her obesity and health related issues. She had cancer twice, kidney disease, diabetes, gallbladder removed, pancreatitis, and three heart attacks. The last heart attack got her. Now that I'm 50 I am so afraid I will end up just like her. I am so glad science is so far ahead from those days and now I know it's not just my fate or my genes, it is actually in my control.
5
