What is your WHY?

KateNkognito

I just stumbled across a post on another forum with this title. The OP was struck by the number of people that go strong for a while and then fade. Then went on to talk about your WHY being strong enough to keep you going and changing it as you progress.
Reading that and some of the posts that followed made me think about my WHY. I originally lost 12 pounds after I had some heart palpitations that startled me into weight loss. Then life and stress got to me and I gained it back.
I have been struggling with my motivation lately and realized that I absolutely have no real reason to lose weight. I am not healthy, but I am not feeling the effects, yet. I HATE to exercise. Seriously. I kind of like the way I feel after a few weeks of walking, but not enough to get off my duff and sweat. I don't feel fat. It really surprises me when I catch a glimpse of myself in a full length mirror. I still have the self image of a skinny little 20-something. I don't feel like I am missing out on anything because of my weight. I would like to be a better example for my kids, but my husband is a super healthy guy, so I kind of feel like the negative example of what not to be. I am not outgoing or athletic, I don't have many friends.
So, now I have some thinking to do. What is my WHY? Looking at all this, hopefully I can come up with something.
What is yours? What keeps you going?

mamainthekitchen

Interesting Kate!

I'm not one to like exercising either, waking is doable. WHY? Well I just got back from a 50 min walk: the air is fresh, I breathe in and breathe out and know my sister is no longer breathing so that makes me feel grateful. Not to sound morbid but that's just my life and I am grateful to be breathing I mostly want to listen to a podcast... so maybe I'm being a little more selfish about 'me time'. I listen to silly podcasts like gossip about what happened in the Bachelorette show, or learn about nutrition on Open Sky Fitness and listening to them without being interrupted by the either the husband or kids! Alone time or Me time which I've never taken advantage of before and now that I'm 57, I'm taking that alone time! WHY watch my weight? Well, I can relate to not caring, but now that I can fit into size 29 or size 6, I want, really want, to stay there! My WHY has never been about blood pressure, diabetes or any other health related concerns, I guess my WHY is vanity... as I hated seeing my own photo, or reflection in a window I'd pass by, or those mirrored doors when you enter a mall! Now I'm the one suggesting to take group photos or model new pants happily in front of the mirror at a store.... yup, pure vanity. I am starting to notice when I've overindulged in food, sweets, booze etc... feel gross which I think is a good thing, so maybe my WHY is slowly changing from vanity to feeling good. Plus now that I've lost weight I feel like exercising more, like doing those planks & trying push-ups... afterwards my body feels good which make me want to do more. As for friends.... I've lost many after my kids finished high school. You just don't see them regularly anymore so the opportunities to see people are fewer. You have me and many others on this forum, don't forget that! xo

Hope that helps!

sanjoparolas

I think my Why is because I do feel better after a fasting day or after exercise. Not just physically better, I feel satisfied that I did a good thing. It is so easy for me to overindulge. I overindulge in online time, I overindulge in eating, I overindulge in spending. When I overindulge, I feel bad but not bad enough to stop doing it. Yet the accumulation of instances where I feel bad about myself results in a downward spiral. I HAVE to do something to make myself feel better. Fasting, in the form of restricting food or online time, makes me feel better. 'Fasting from laziness' - a.k.a. exercising - makes me feel I have accomplished SOMETHING and results in feeling better about myself. And like Mama, I feel better about myself when I get to enjoy the results of better health and better physique. All that said, I am still plenty lazy and guilty of overindulging. Deciding to set aside time for a fast just helps me demonstrate to myself that I can say no to my indulgences as needed. And it was needed because I was in the pattern of gaining a little more as the years went by. Really, my fasting and exercising are not that big of a deal. Two fasts per week (and I never fast more than one day in a row so I can always eat the next day) plus a very bare bones strength or Tabata routine on weekdays plus whatever opportunity presents itself on the weekend. So overall, less negative self-image, less guilt, and more positive results for a very small investment!

sanjoparolas

I neglected to mention that my morning strength or Tabata routines are helpful in processing stress and anger. I usually do my morning push-ups in a pissed off mood about something, or I use my imagination while on my exercise bike that I am outrunning the real dangers that impact so many people on our planet. This morning after the US election, push-ups were a breeze although unfortunately they did not change the outcome . . .

flumi_f

Great thread! Thanks for sharing!

My WHY? Scroll to the end...

My History...
Fat as a kid, fatter as an adolescent, obese as an adult...always active and didn't get teased much about my weight. But was never happy with my weight. Dieted a couple of times but was afraid of the yoyo.

Then years ago I hit 97kg on January 1st. Not a good place to be at 157cm. I booked a vacation in Peru and knew we'd be up at 4000+. Thus i started exercising and as a side effect ate healthier/less and lost weight. 21kg in 18mth. Got stuck at 76kg and over time bad habits came back. Like Sanjo, I love food and can eat when I'm not hungry. I don't have huge binges but I'm definitely not always controlled....10yrs later i was up to 86kg again and slowly feeling side effects...knees, bloodwork, blood pressure. Nothing major but everything borderline. During that time I did alot of work on my innerself and psychological issues.

Then by 'chance' I watched Mosley's docu and it clicked...I fasted and the weight melted off...It was easy and my eating on normal days was pretty controlled without feeling the need to control it. I passed the magical hurdle of 75kg and for the first time in my life I believed I could reach a normal weight. So i continued. 18mth later i weighed 57kg and a size 36 was baggy to perfect. That was in May 2014.

Since then I've more or less maintained. Had a breast lift in oct 2014 and a major tummy tuck in june 2015. The breaks were hard but i got back to the exercise and just kept fasting. The last year has been difficult and my control left me several times. I hit 65kg in oct 2016....I did some more work on my innerself and have found my mojo again...down to 62.5kg again.

In that year I always fasted.many were not perfect some a total fail...but i continued, restarted again and again and believed my control would find me again.

I see two reasons for not losing myself completely...my birthday suit does not like the extra tension on my tummy scars and from the start 5:2 was a conscious decision as a way of eating for me. It was never a diet for a limited time, because as a short foodie, I will always need a tool to control my intake. I like the new me inside and out.

I'm happier, healthier, fitter and that is where I want to be. My brain still hasn't caught up with my appearance. The mirror still surprises me daily....and I like that. I also like the feeling of the bloat disappearing after a fast day. And I like healthy meals and enjoy various types of exercise. That's a plus I always had I just always ate too much...

KateNkognito

After some serious thinking, I think I found my why.
I realized I have absolutely no reason in the world to lose weight and a bunch of reasons to stay fat, and that isn't ok. My life is crazy and stress filled and would make a weaker person curl up in the corner. And I need my large a** to stop being part of that. I can fix it. THAT is one thing that is easy to fix. Fasting makes it pretty darn easy. If I do what I should, I can be at my goal weight in 6 months. And then I can work on some of the other stuff.
So there it is, I have no WHY, that's WHY!
Thanks for sharing yours! It helped!

flumi_f

WTG Kate! Go kick a**!

megellcor71

I struggle with Why, because obviously whatever my why is, it has not been strong enough to keep me from overeating. My first week on 5:2 fasting days were a breeze... other days were way off because 3 days in Orlando at Disney parks makes eating normally very difficult. For right now my why is because I feel unhealthy and unattractive at this weight AND fasting seems the only thing that I haven't tried.... Can't believe how doable the two fast days are were last week.

flossyruby1

I've been away for a bit. Still fasting, but just going through the motions. Like many, my motivation is running on low. My original "why" was seeing myself on stage and looking like a cow, even though I was playing a mom. Ballet is my passion and I found the motivation in my desire to look good on stage. Then, my WHY became feeling good about being 47 and doing something not a lot of women my age are doing and doing it well. While I'm still dancing, I've just found my motivation for maintaining to be sort of bleh. Many of my FD end up being a wash because I cave around 4:00 and start eating. I've always had a weight problem. I've long thought that I don't know how not to be concerned with my weight and feel I sabotage my efforts in order to feel normal. The 5:2 plan has been easy for me and this is the longest I've kept it off (3 years in December). But my "why" has become a mystery. Thank you for giving me some food for thought...maybe I'll get my mojo back!!