How you started/what motivated you to start losing weight

sun_fish

A serious talk from my doctor after getting some unfavorable lab results. I was 50 at the time, and decided that I didn't want the diseases that were lurking around the corner, and any other life changing problems brought on by obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle.

LoveMyLife_NYC

Most people in my family are severely overweight, and accept the resulting health problems as a normal part of aging. There were so many doctors, pills, and a whole world of "I can't because I'm sick" or "I can't because I'm out of shape."

In my early 20s, I was pre-diabetic and almost clinically obese. I couldn't keep up with my friends when we did anything active. I realized I fell into the same pattern that my relatives did, and vowed not to let those health problems take over my life too.

crystalrose_tina

I've tried and failed many times all my life. I've always been overweight no matter how active I was. I tried nutrisystem while I was in high school. Dropped 15lbs and gained it right back (and then some) after I had completed it and had to actually make my own food decisions. In college I reached my heaviest weight and was also pre-hypertensive. Buffet-style dining halls and fried/fatty takeout meals were the death of me. I was on blood pressure meds and was only 18-19 years old. :S My doctor kept telling me constantly that I needed to lose weight so finally I decided that this was all ridiculous and needed to start making life changes. I started taking exercise classes and making more of a point to start going to the gym regularly.

Weight starting coming off and I was no longer pre-hypertensive! I think what stifled my progress the most was believing the calorie burns that were reported on the exercise machines and also not knowing that I can't actually eat as much food as I want just because I am exercising. Once I found MFP and purchased my own HRM things became so much easier and I was able to finally reach numbers on the scale that I never even dreamed of getting down to. I still have about 20-25lbs to go!

rbarragato412

The desire to look awesome walking down the aisle to my soon to be husband. Also, to be healthy in my marriage so we can live a long life together!

chriamaria

I've been trying to lose for a very long time but what really got me back on track this time was lethargy. I am so very tired all the time and I know that it has to do with the unhealthy foods that I've been consuming. This is mainly due to a low budget- cheap foods can be very unhealthy. My budget has increased thankfully- or it will in one week, but I am on a mission to find healthful foods that are low cost.

arewethereyet

I've been trying to lose for a very long time but what really got me back on track this time was lethargy. I am so very tired all the time and I know that it has to do with the unhealthy foods that I've been consuming. This is mainly due to a low budget- cheap foods can be very unhealthy. My budget has increased thankfully- or it will in one week, but I am on a mission to find healthful foods that are low cost.

I have this problem too and my past experience showed me the exercise helped loads with the lethargy. Thanks for reminding me. (at this point I have no choice but to keep off the processed stuff as I am allergic to gluten. Therefore my cheap stuff is potatoes)

Good luck!

Zouthx

When my ex fiance left me a month ago for being too fat, among other things. Despite the fact I was this big when we got together. I've had a few boyfriends before him tell me I need to lose weight. I want to look as sexy as I feel.

dogwalk

Keep up the good work you will

: look sexy again!

nseantae

I was at 291 and had been working out so I image I was at least 300-310 pounds at one time I just never saw that number on the scale. Plus all of my friends are so small, they love me for who I am. I really needed to get started for my health, and family.
I just decided I wanted to be around for me! Now here I am working out and I love it. This time it feels so different. I actually look forward to waking up to work out. I think I ma going to start weight my self once a month.. or ever 2 weeks

JourneyingJessica

The doctor said i could go get a back MRI so they could find the best spot to do a second back spinal tap because they couldn't get a good reading with the first one. So we could rule out a weight related condition which leads to eye sight loss :sad:

jitsuda

Medical Bills.

I've had PCOS for a looooooong time. I was fine with that when I was in Thailand.
When I moved to the US. , it was like $75 every 4 months plus $20 meds monthly?
That's like an iPad in a year.

My cycles are regular now

ElizaMclovin

Family and customers kept telling me I've put on weight. Just my friends were in denial about the whole thing. I noticed when I couldn't fit to my clothes anymore and then my bf's friends told him I was clearly pregnant when all it was I'd put on loads of weight because of the stress of exams. I eat when I am stressed, so going to cut off the weight and break my bad relationship with food.

euonymust

I've been battling with my weight since I was in elementary school. I don't recall a moment in my life where I was fully secure with my body, or self. I was tired of being insecure, fat, and unhealthy so I've been on/off trying various diet programs, only to end up gaining everything back. After I became more educated about fitness, and nutrition that's when change began. The more my body changed, the more I became addicted to the healthy lifestyle. It's definitely a slippery slope. I have days, weeks, where I say 'the hell with this, I'll eat what ever I want' which ends up sabotaging my hard work, but that's how it is at times.

tattedupboy

My motivation was simply not liking what I was looking at whenever I looked in the mirror. I started in July by walking the 3.3 miles to and from work every day (back then I wasn't sure how much I weighed, but my mid-September people were telling me that it was evident that I had lost some). By the time I joined a gym on September 26, I was 316. I'm 255 now and would like to get down to 220. Most people would probably consider what I've done (including intermittent fasting between 18 and 24 hours at a time, as well as keeping my daily calorie intake to around 1,000 less than maintenance on a daily basis) to be extreme, but it's worked for me.

Eli716

Weighed on July 16th, 2013 at 295.5, I refused to weigh 300+ and told myself, "Enough is enough!"

arlenem1974

bump

JameicaDenise

there are a number of things, dying was the main reason, I wanted a change and I finally made that change Im thankful everyday that I made it... My new years resolution is to continue to this journey for the rest of my life and to succeed at it...

KatieWH

i read this. and i watched the video at the bottom.

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/08/31/is-it-really-worth-it/

Bump

journey_man

It's been a long time coming (put in some half assed efforts last summer) but the real kicker was finding this article amazing article a couple of weeks ago:

Why Obesity Is Not Your Doctor's Problem http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2013/march/1361848247/karen-hitchcock/fat-city

The funny thing is that I never saw myself as fat. But I am. Somehow, gradually, over many years, pound by pound, I have become "one of those people." It's a weird thing to realize. For me, that is a completely unacceptable way to live. So here I am.

dargal55

What got me started was a Triple Heart Bypass a couple of months ago. I was close to 300 lbs and not getting much exercise at all got blind sided with this heart trouble. After the bypass, my Cardiologist recommended 2 things. Start following the Mediterranean diet and using this app and keeping track of calories and exercise. I have lost 25 lbs since the surgery and plan on losing another 100 lbs in the next year. Great app if one is serious about making a change. Not an app for lazy people who make excuses for everything.