What's your "WHY"??

Cayjominara

I have been reading various posts throughout the site. There are a great number of individuals that are entirely motivated, and there are those who need help with their motivation. I have found that the people that experience any degree of success in pursuing a goal, do so because they are DRIVEN! They are driven by something quite often greater than themselves. They have a reason for why they work so hard, or push themselves to intensely. They are committed to reaching the goal because they look in the mirror every morning and remind themselves WHY they are in the fight, and WHY they MUST stick with it until the matter is done. I would like to challenge each us to consider our WHY. Sure, we want to lose weight. We want to be fit. We want to be healthy in mind, body and spirit. But the real motivating factor behind us getting there is WHY! WHY do we want it and WHAT IS IT THAT WILL DRIVE US TO get where we want to be?

Dig deep...
The WHY has to be something that will keep you moving even when you feel like giving up. The WHY will make you put up one more rep in the gym. The WHY will make you push away that plate or turn your back to the unhealthy choice. The WHY will get you up off the couch an out on the track or out for a walk. The WHY will make you ignore the critics and push like you've never pushed in your life.
Dig DEEP...

What's your WHY?

elleloch

I have a few.

1- I am vain
2- I want the huz to have a hot wife
3- I want to feel good all the time
4- I want to help others

goodnamegone

I want my body back. I want to feel good about my body. I want to like what I see when I look in the mirror. It's not a big "WHY" but it's big enough to keep me going. Being a normal weight, having a toned body makes me feel proud of myself and powerful.

I also love the feeling from eating well and want to keep that. I feel like a fraud writing this because I ate crappy food tonight but I will do better tomorrow. Thanks for your post.

SideSteel

My "why" started out by the realization that I was fat and out of shape. I quite simply did not like it and I wanted to do something about it.

At some point, seeing the changes and seeing the efforts pay off became very rewarding.

Eventually, I grew a passion of sorts for the training aspect of it. I think it probably stemmed from using progressive overload and actually treating that metric as a goal oriented focus. "I'm going to get another rep today" or "I'm going to add another 10lbs today".

As of now, it's no longer a question of motivation or drive. It's just a way of life now.

katalinax87

Because my daughter deserves a mummy she can be proud of, my partner deserves a girlfriend who isn't whining all the time and I deserve a body that functions, looks beautiful and can do everything that I want

(Just starting my journey)

msf74

Love.

I love lifting weights - I love the feeling of strength, the challenge of it, the discipline, the focus.

I love cycling - I love the sense of freedom, the meditative quality, the ability to endure.

I am not driven, not in the slightest.

Why would I need to be when I love my life and the things I do in it? Life's too short to be unhappy.

benum21121

Because nobody else is gonna do this FOR me. It's 'Do it', or don't. I deserve it. I deserve to look good, accomplish my goals, and have pride in myself for the first time ever. THAT'S my 'why'.

Bownzi

In my struggle to recover from my neck injury I put on more weight than would have thought possible...My why is that i want to be able to run again and climb.. I can't do that if the weight is on me... my shoulders went away and so did most of my muscle..so another of my WHY's is to rebuild my broken body..

Cranquistador

to reach my potential.

pauldix

I really don't think you have to be 'driven'. I'm not. As for motivation, I heard there was such a thing as BMI and to my surprise discovered I was in the over-weight category. I decided, then, to get a grip on my daily diet.

I certainly don't push the exercise routine very hard. I stick to the calorie limit mfp recomends, plan menus fairly carefully - but then I've been doing that for years anyway.

If 'digging deep' 'feeling the burn' etc works for you then do it.

ChangingforgoodUK

First of my reason is too look good, as vain as that sounds it's true. I hate looking in my wardrobe and seeing my clothes that used to fit me but now barely fit around my thighs.

Secondly I want me and my family have a healthy lifestyle and be a good role model to my little girl.

Thirdly which could probably be the biggest reason why is proving people wrong. So many people think you've tried dieting before but never succeeded this time. However this time it's not a 'diet' its a lifestyle that I have chosen, I'm motivated and ready to do anything to succeed!

blankney94

Why am I doing this?

- For me - no one else. It's not going to work if I put in all this effort just to impress other people. It has to be for me. I want to feel comfortable in my clothes. I want more energy, and I want to push myself. I'm quite driven, but wouldn't be so driven if I was doing this for other people.

Aeramis13

I turned 30 and realized that I'm probably half way through my life and I've spent it missing out on things. While i'd say i'm overall happy with how my life has gone so far (awesome husband, great family, acceptable job, etc.), I wish I had LIVED more and I very much blame my weight & the way I perceive my fat self.

I've missed feeling good, both physically and mentally about my physical appearance. I've avoided pretty much all physical activity for about 15 years, which means I've turned down events, games, even long shopping trips, due to not wanting everyone to see me sweaty and out of breath. I've missed feeling like I've conquered something (I get to do it all the time now in the gym - got a new fastest mile time 3 times this week so far, for example!) I've missed being just acceptably annoyed with photo takers - and definitely plain old turned down being in photos, thus missing a million opportunities for good memories.

It became time for me to stop making choices that take things away from me. And I'm loving it.

brower47

My mother was diagnosed as pre diabetic (she's only 20 lbs overweight) and she has severe prolapse. I want to avoid both of these issues if I can. Therefore I'm losing weight (for the diabetic part) and lifting heavy (please let them be right about it strengthening the pelvic floor).

ryry_

Well I guess it all started the first time I went through the second grade. I caught my reflection in a spoon while I was eating my cereal, and I remember thinking "wow, you're ridiculously good looking, maybe you could do that for a career."

On a serious note, my "WHY" is mostly for vanity to look good. I like walking past the mirror and feeling proud rather than face feelings of regret and unrealized potential. Also, The drive of progressive overload gives me the drive in my life to keep improving, and mood enhancement I get from excercise and sports is so strong it cannot be ignored.

rlmetz23

I want to be healthy agin!

I was put on a very high dose steroid last year for a rare diasease I was diagnosed with, while it helped the problem, it didnt help my weight! I gained 60 lbs in less then a year and am officially the heaviest I have ever been! I am now fianlly off my steroids and ready to get the "Steroid weight" off!

Add me!!! I could always use extra encouragment and motivation!!!!

Rockstar_JILL

I need to feel healthy, be healthy and keep this weight off. I lost over 80 lbs. There is NO way I am going to let myself go backwards now. I love the changes in my attitude, my body and my spirit. I will continue this fight and keep on working even though my body likes to not cooperate. I WILL succeed!!

bvincentelp

Strictly vanity, just want to look absolutely stunning naked.

kdjfalkj

It's really not about what I see in the mirror, more about how I feel living in this body. I can remember clearly just how sick, I mean literally SICK, I felt every day back when I mostly ate and drank a bunch of junk. Stomachaches, lethargy, headaches, all that good stuff. :sick:

After I started eating much healthier and drinking only water, I felt so wonderful that now I don't even crave stuff like soda and chips. My "why" is simply because I love myself enough not to do things that make me feel crappy...and eating junk food on a daily basis was one of those things. Besides that, I just miss having a much lighter body like I used to when I was younger.

Adc7225

Good question, because I think the why changes for some of us as we go along!

I started with just wanting to feel better - tired of being tired (too tired for hanky panky :ohwell: ) and to get off high blood pressure medication.

Then after losing some weight, my then current became my ex . . . I then wanted that "Revenge Dress" moment!

Now, I just want to be comfortable in my skin, I plan to reach my goal hopefully by August of 2014 (or at a minimum, my doctor set goal of 175) and hopefully have a healthier, active lifestyle - never letting my weight keep my doing things.

I have started doing things that I never realized my weight was keeping me from doing - I live in San Francisco, and 2014 I plan to participate in the Bay to Breakers for the 1st time :bigsmile:

Walking not Running!!

AllonsYtotheTardis

I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.