What is your "why"?

burly_man308

My first question and discussion to you is, what is your why? What is the reason that you want to lose weight and take back your life? What is the driving force and power behind your desire to be healthy?

This may seem like a simple, dumb, obvious questions. But the reasoning behind asking you this question is important. We must have clear, specific reasons and goals that we want to accomplish to help us when the darkness sets in. And sooner or later, the darkness will find us. There will be times of weakness, times of despair, times of pain where we must remember clearly why we started this journey. Having that clear, specific reason as to why we are subjecting ourselves to this hard journey of lifestyle changes and transformations will give us strength to persevere, give us fuel to keep going, give us a reason to get up in the morning when everything hurts and it would be easy to go back to bed. Your clear and specific "why" will be the saving grace that will help power us through the darkness and reach the glorious light of success on the other side.

So I ask you again, what is your "why". If you have never stopped to think about it, take a moment to really ask yourself, why am I doing this? What is MY reason? Be specific. Be thorough. Be real. I challenge you to post it here and document it, put it out there for everyone to see and hold you accountable. Don't let fear or insecurities prevent us from achieving all that we are capable of. State your why and know that in the end, it is what will keep you on your path.

burly_man308

I personally have a couple of why's.

1. For myself.

I have always been the big guy. In high school, I thought it served me well as an offensive lineman (I still believe it did). In college, it became a hindrance and an embarrassment. I have never felt valued or respected (until I met my wife) and maybe sub-consciously it is something that I still want or desire. I feel that I have moved past that and now I want to squeeze every drop of excitement and life out of this one ride we get. I know that if I continue on the path I've been on, it will end sooner than I want. So my first why is for myself.

2. For my wife.

I recently married the best woman in the world last April. Again, I have never felt valued or respected until I met her. And now I want to be around for her, to provide for her, to start a family with her, and live this life with her. She supports me, pushes me, guides me, frustrates me, but ultimately loves me. And I love her. I want to do this for her, so that she might feel proud of the person she married and walks beside. My second why is for my wife.

3. To complete a Spartan Race Tri-Fecta in 2018.

I ran two Spartan Races two years ago and loved them. I have always participated in sports and love competition. I had success three years ago with weight loss and decided to sign up for a Spartan Race. It was amazing. The challenge, the experience, the work... you truly "know it at the finish line" when it's over. I actually met my wife for the first time the night after my first Spartan Race. So I was in a lot better shape then... I've gained a lot of the weight that I lost back since then (thanks to my wife's amazing cooking and a lack of work ethic) and now I want to get back to running Spartan Races again. My goal for 2018 is to run the three different Spartan Race lengths, completing a Tri-Fecta, So my third why is to complete a Spartan Race Tri-Fecta in 2018.

OregonRunner5

Hack My Body. Hack My Health. Get My LIfe Back. Get myself back. Get my self esteem and mojo going again.

I'm 42, female, 164lbs, 5'6"

ccrdragon

I'm 55, male, 5' 8", 245lbs

I have been as low as 208 lbs in the last couple of years, but I got lazy and have put on some poundage that needs to come off.

Reasons to get in shape:
1. For myself - Looking at my profile in a full length mirror disgusts me - moobs and belly especially. I will never be a world-class bodybuilder, but that doesn't mean i have to be a donut-shape tub of lard either.
2. Currently on BP pills and want those to go away - when my weight is normal, so is my BP.
3. For my family - Wife, 4 kids and 5 grand kids that I want to grow old with and be able to be that person 'sitting in the jail cell next to them, exclaiming THAT WAS FUN!!!' instead of sitting on the sidelines weakly cheering them on.
4. Vanity - My step daughter is getting married in April of 2018 and I will be giving away the bride, so I want to look good in all the pictures and to be proud of how I look.

rh0322

Actually been thinking about this a lot. My WHY had always been vanity...always seem to gain and lose the same 10-15 for years.

My WHY is to finally stop the cycle and live with a freedom of not always trying to lose weight. To be content with myself and a role model for my daughter with a positive body image that I'm not always trying change.

Female 41 142.4lbs 5'4"

Fyreside

Hi all, I'm a 5'6 42 year old bloke from Down under, weighing in at a clothes stretching 302.

To tell a long story in the shortest way, I've been an action sport fanatic. A man of a thousand hobbies with a real thirst for life. I never had a good body for mainstream sport. But I was fit and strong. The first in the lake in the morning with ski's on, and a guy you could trust with your life on the side of a mountain.

Going on 9 years ago, whilst riding a motorbike in heavy slow traffic. A guy in a large 4x4 made a snap lane change right over the top of me then kept going, dragging me up the road, bike and all. The injuries were grim, but nothing that wouldn't heal. The real damage was a chain reaction of events that brought down my whole world as I knew it and 18 months later I found myself essentially homeless sitting in the bush on a piece of land I once bought to go camping on beside what remaining belongings I still owned. I built a shelter then wallowed in depression and comfort ate my way to diabetes.

So, I have more WHY than I need. For one thing, my knees and feet want out of this whole deal. And any trace of self respect I have disappears into reflective shopfront windows. I'll never be the me I used to know. But I need to find a new me that fits into regular clothes and doesn't live with the back and joint pain of carrying extra me around.

I have turned the corner and I know what I need to do to lose weight. But like so many others on this forum, I've failed to maintain the discipline as a solo operator. So I'm really looking forward to working with you all. Your Why's all sound great and I can't wait to see us achieve our goals.

cnavarro002

My Why's.

#1. In 5 weeks I'll be having a total right knee replacement; 6 weeks later I'll have my left knee replaced. I MUST get below a 50 bmi for the surgery - I am currently at 50.9 (unless I stand on my tippy toes then I'm at 49.3). However, I notice that I usually weight 2-4 lbs more at my doctors office than I do at home, so I want to make sure I have a big enough cushion to factor in that fluctuation. I do not want to post pone the surgery's as I have already met my insurance deductible for this year - and I'm in a crap-load of pain! I am averaging 1.2 - 2 lbs a week weight loss, so I am really hoping to have a HUGE cushion by surgery date!

#2. The hubby and I have a planned 7 day cruise next November 2018 - I want to be able to play, walk, have fun without getting winded, and take some amazing pictures! Plus cruises=feeling sexy with hubby=I need to stop covering my body when we are intimate. I would love to have more self esteem. He is happy with my body; I am not.

#3. My stepdaughter is getting married in June. I NEED to look hotter than the ex-wife!!

#4. I am currently on BP medicine, cholesterol med, and a few months ago was borderline pre-diabetic. That was 27 lbs ago. Since then I've lost weight and have completely changed my eating habits. I am hoping to reverse the damage I've done to my body.

#5. I don't want to die - I want to live and be happy! Go on adventures and not miss out on anything!

corinasue1143

I swim a lot. I want to look good in a swim suit.
I travel. I want to fit comfortably in a plane seat.
I want to be able to walk farther, quicker, easier. I want to keep up.
I love to dance. I want men to ask me.
I don't want to carry my clothes in one bag, my pills in another.

meat513

To get my blood pressure under control

explodingmango

Long-term: I want to be able to consider myself well and truly recovered from my eating disorder by the end of next year.

Medium-long term: I want to look good at my wedding (this coming June), and in photos with my boyfriend from the conventions we go to (next one is coming in January).

Shorter term: I want to finally get/stay involved in the kinds of sports I've wanted to do since I was a kid. I've recently joined a climbing gym - I'm having a lot of fun, but I want to improve; it's very obvious that I'm a beginner. I've signed up for a few obstacle course races recently; I want to complete even the first (coming up in just under 4 weeks) without having to bypass any obstacles. I've been wanting to do both of these things since very literally before I can remember - it's time I actually got to it.

More vague and/or timeline-free goals:
I want my photos to get noticed in my social media circles. I don't want people to continue to disregard the work I put into making costumes just because my body looks less than great in them.
I want to physically feel better. Just, better, in general.
I want to get my stress levels down by being able to trust my body more.
I want to be better equipped to help my boyfriend on his sick days.
I want to be able to pass the Air Force fitness test.
I want the walk from my car to my apartment to feel less daunting on bad parking days.

And...a whole ton of other little things that I can't quite put into words.

burly_man308

Mango, what obstacle course races are you running in? I have done spartan races before and want to do others. Which one are you signed up for in a month? It would be awesome to see you at one. My wife wants to do one with me next year so we're trying to get that on the schedule.

MmamabearR

I'm 36, 5'3", and 207ish.

I was in great shape back in college, but I slowly started moving up the scale. I have hypothyroidism, which I may have had for a while, but wasn't diagnosed until about 5 years ago. Since then, the symptoms are under control but not the weight gain. I started in May of this year taking part in weight loss challenges. I started out May 1st at 245 lbs. So I've some a long way in five months.

I don't want to get back down to my college weight, which was 135 (I know I am short but have a large frame), but I would like to be within 15-20 lbs of that range. I know technically that's still considered overweight, but I'm not trying to be Miss Universe. I just want to be happy and healthy.

explodingmango

@burly_man308 - The first one I've got coming up is the Hot & Dirty Zombie Invasion - and I've been thinking about adding a Spartan race to my list of upcoming events, but I'm a little nervous about it; it seems pretty intense for where I'm currently at. Speaking from experience, what's it like?

plainanjelik

My why? I've been overweight most of my life and in the past 3 years began to incorporate exercise in my life however, the number on the scale continues to rise. I know nutrition is 70% of the battle and that is where I'm failing. I have high rates of obesity in my family and want to break that cycle. I know without self-discipline I will never be able to accomplish my health goals.