What are your reasons for losing weight?

becoming_the_best_me

I'm struggling and would love some reminders why I'm doing this. If you could please comment your own reasons for losing weight, and what it means it means to you, and if you've lost weight what has changed for the better for you? What is the best part of having lost the weight?
Thank you so much!

harper16

My reasons for losing weight:

To be healthier
To set a good example to my daughter, regarding health and nutrition.
Because I've lost several family members from obesity related diseases.

I've lost about 30 lbs so far. I've another 60 ish lbs to lose. I don't see or notice any difference so far, but I'm now under 200 lbs, and reaching that mile stone felt amazing.

stevehenderson776

Watching my Dad's obesity catch up with him over the last decade. Diabetes, knee replacements, sleep apnea, blood pressure. It was a real eye opener. So I decided I'd avoid that regrettable and completely avoidable outcome.

lgfrie

I could state all the usual reasons, which are all valid in my case: health, wanting to look better, etc.

But when you get right down to it, I think one day I woke up just really sick and tired of always being the Obese Person in the crowd. The person that causes the group to ask for a table instead of a booth. And the thousand other special accommodations and indignities both large and small that obese people go through every day. One day I just couldn't stand it anymore and got to work on the problem.

shabaity

In all honesty because working out and meal prep/planning gives me something to do at 3 am so I don't crash my sleep schedule.

jayemes

Because when I look in the mirror and I'm 50 pounds overweight I'm always surprised and sad, because that's not the picture I have of myself in my head. I need the outside to match how I feel inside.

cmriverside

becoming_the_best_me wrote: »

I'm struggling and would love some reminders why I'm doing this. If you could please comment your own reasons for losing weight, and what it means it means to you, and if you've lost weight what has changed for the better for you? What is the best part of having lost the weight?
Thank you so much!

Could you explain what you mean by struggling?


If that is a current picture in your AV, well done!! Maybe you could/should take a diet break? Have you read the Diet Break thread? All the bullet points are on the first page, but it's a long well-discussed thread:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

springlering62

After receiving a prescription to begin thyroid meds, I actually read the flyer, and was horrified.

Watching two obese women I dearly loved become bedridden and miserable, and observing how difficult they were for caretakers to handle. I don’t want to be rolled hither and thither by means of strategically placed sheets to have my diaper changed or lifted in a hydraulic Hoyer lift to go to the doctor. Nor do I want the carcasses of Hoyer lifts I broke from sheer weight littering my foyer.

This sounds really silly, but when I find myself struggling, I go to the success Stories area of MFP and look at the NSV thread, some of the before/after threads, and also the “Victory” (my word) stories individual users have posted.

I find it very grounding and motivating to remember I’m not the only one. I even intentionally don’t read and “save up” the NSV thread to catch up on for when I’m feeling particularly low and binge’ish.

Because, we all have those times. Am I right?

springlering62

Oh and to the second part of your question. What’s improved?

What hasn’t

Attitude, confidence, appearance, stick-to-it-iveness, willingness to try new things, improved ability to identify/ignore/avoid negative people. Apparently as a thinner person I am not such a (pardon me) softy. I get more respect.

The improved wardrobe is a plus. Particularly the leggings. 🥳

Slowfaster

Thanks for this thread. It's hard for me to stay motivated while I'm home most of the time, no one but family sees me and the future is hard to imagine. I've started several diets recently and after just a few days, my, "Who cares?" attitude shows up and I go back to one of my few pleasures -- baking and eating.

Yet I know I really need to lose fifty pounds, because lugging this extra weight around is becoming exhausting. Every little thing I do, vacuuming, gardening, shopping, all become major chores because of that 50 lb load I have to carry at the same time. My knees ache and after sitting for a while I can barely get up.

There's also that very real threat that if I do catch the virus my risk of death or complications would be greater, because lying in bed with all that extra weight on my chest would make it harder to breathe.

AwesomeSquirrel

I have lost over 40kg, from 135 last July to 92kg last Sunday. Some things that have improved for me:

- I have hobbies now! I run, play padel, do yoga etc.
- I’ve had the opportunity to meet people through my hobbies (I don’t have any friends in my geographical area despite having lived here for 5 years)
- I don’t worry about fitting into chairs or the weight on a stepladder
- I’m looking out for my own well-being in a completely different way. I like myself more and take care of myself better in more ways than just nutrition and movement.
- I don’t have to buy the largest available size and overall have a better selection of clothing that I like the style of

If you haven’t checked it out already I find this thread great for motivation:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10795134/what-was-the-moment-when-did-you-decide-to-take-back-control#latest

amart4224

The things that motivated me to start healthy eating and exercise:

- I finally broke down and cleaned out all of the clothes in my closet that have been too small for years, and realized that it was literally half my wardrobe.
- I went on some group hikes (pre pandemic) in an effort to make new friends while doing something I enjoy, but was embarrassed that I couldn't keep up or finish the routes.
- I was concerned about health problems that would almost certainly come if I continued to gain weight - diabetes, joint problems, etc.
- I was finding myself speaking in the past tense too often - "back when I was a runner", "before I gained weight" - and feeling like I had lost part of my identity in a weird way.

lilcharmer214

I have a few.

First is health. I want to live a long, active life.

Next, I wanna look good! I wanna be one of those women that in her 40s, 50s and 60s looks fabulous and fit!

I had a near perfect body in my 20s and I am really trying to give that up for forever. I want to go back to looking and feeling sexy. For the rest of my life!

HeidiCooksSupper

I want to live long enough to outlast my retirement money. Right now, my financial planner has me still okay in my mid-90s if I don't do anything foolish. Also, I don't want to be miserable at that age. I turn 70 in a couple months and my excess weight is already having a deleterious effect on my quality of life.

But more than for me, I need to stay healthy to take care of my hubby. He had a stoke a couple years ago and has balance and mobility deficits from it. He also has a small reduction in what they call "executive functioning." This leaves me being his caretaker in relatively minor ways that may become more so as we both age. I enjoy our life and want to continue doing so. If I become similarly disabled, we are both up the proverbial estuary with no means of propulsion.

What finally got my attention was when my A1c leapt to 9 and my fasting serum glucose was in the mid-300s. After 3 months of paying attention to how much I eat and exercising a bit, I've lost over 20 pounds and my A1c is back to 6.5. Oh, yes, and being diligent about taking the diabetes drugs the endocrinologist prescribed (metformin and Jardiance).

ChickenKillerPuppy

It's complicated because I know my weight issues are tied to being overweight in childhood, and being called fat by my grandmother, aunts, overhearing boys at school comment on my weight (I went to a small private school where everyone was very thin). I was raised to attach value to size, and the crazy thing is I wasn't really very heavy! I think I weighed 160-170 in high school? I was like a size 14 or so, but I felt enormous. For context I'm 5'4" and I'm not 48 (grew up in the 80s).

I have struggled with my weight my whole life, between 185 (13 years ago) at my heaviest to my lowest which is the past 6 months where I have been maintaining at my goal at 119-124. I have vacillated over the past 12 years between 160-130. I do this in part because I get really depressed and down on myself when I'm overweight which I feel is actually an issue I need to work on because I know it's tied to my issues from childhood. I also LOVE how I look and feel right now - I'm lean and strong and I look amazing in clothes. I am stronger and more fit than I was in my 20s and 30s which makes me happy.

I also don't like feeling out of control, and I get out of control around food, so logging my food and monitoring my weight allows me to feel control, especially during this pandemic when there is so little we can control. So long story, it's complicated, but I know I am happier when I'm healthy and strong and in control.

ready2startablizzard

I'm losing for a number of reasons. Primarily it's for health and cosmetic reasons. I'm not happy with how I look or feel, I have general weight-related pains, and I want to be in a healthier frame of mind and body before starting a family.

BahstenB10

I was a personal trainer for 4 years. I became obligated to being fit for all the wrong reasons. I stopped working out for years and managed to put on over 50 lbs. I am 32 and my doctor wants to put me on cholesterol meds. I need to get a grasp on my health and find the passion I had for fitness years ago on my own terms.

ahoy_m8

OP, have you been at your GW before? What do you remember most about that time? And how it felt?

gcminton

Health is the big one. Both of my parents are obese with Type 2 diabetes that 100% could have been avoided. At least one of my grandparents also had Type 2, one of them died from complications from it. My fiance's dad died from a heart attack in his 30s. I don't want to be them, and I got sick and tired of feeling like crap all of the time.

Vanity is the other reason, because sure, of course I'd like to at least be closer to conventionally attractive. Not sure that requires further explanation.

I've never been a healthy weight, so the process of losing 110 pounds (so far!) has been a weird ride of so many things becoming easier. Chairs are easier to sit in, tying my shoes is easier, I sleep better, I don't need to worry about weight limits on almost anything anymore, I have more endurance and flexibility and less pain. EVERYTHING is easier. Literally everything. Showering. Playing with the dog. Picking something up off of the floor. Picking MYSELF up off the floor. I could probably go on for days...

paulwatts747

It was starting to cause me problems, like sleep apnea and high blood pressure, and also was getting hard to do simple things like gardening.

thakurhimanshi815

Well, I do not have much weight, I just have to reduce my belly fat because I can not wear small clothes due to the fat belly.