Who are we losing weight for... Really?

ashenriver

I am doing it for me, I want to be happy looking in the mirror all the time, I want to look amazing in a bikini and have other people want my body. My spouse loves me and could care less about the extra weight. I have a sister in law who is one of the heavy lifting ladies and I look at her and want to be like her, I want other people to look at me and think the same way.

And for my health, I have seen the health problems my mom has (thyroid, RA, and other autoimmune diseases) and I am just waiting for the ball to drop on me. I need to be fit and healthy to be able to function through those diseases and not have them destroy my body and make me weak.

I want to be fit and healthy, I want to be able to hike up mountains, go mountain biking, horseback riding, skiing without it being difficult.

I don't want to keep buying new clothes because they are too tight. I want to buy new clothes because they look amazing on me and I can show my body off.

Some of it is superficial but most of it is not

Hauntinglyfit

I am already healthy. Healthy BMI. I look fine.

I am doing it for vanity. I want a great body that turns heads. I want to wear anything and everything I want and have it look good.
I want the strength that comes with exercising (mental and physical).
I want to be proud when i look in the mirror.

No shame.

kwantlen2051

Who cares what reasons we start out with. Ultimately it's for ourselves - because we are on the way to better health and when we feel better, we look better.

mattgrenier9

I'm losing weight to look sexier, before I joined this site I was 200 pounds and had a high body fat percentage, now I am 175 lbs and have a 16% body fat percentage but I hope to reach that 10.8% to show off the abs that woman melt over

vjohn04

I wasn't overweight when I started, I just wasn't at my potential-- not even close. I did it because I was tired of not looking as hot as I knew I could. I was tired of taking the lazy way out and settling for less then my potential. I was tired of using a back surgery as an excuse to sit on my couch.

I now enjoy what I see in the mirror.

I enjoy the changes I see in my fitness levels, and the increased fitness I have in comparison to my past 32 years.

ndj1979

1. for my health
2 because I like it
3 to look great

and having cancer will kind of change your whole mind set about health and fitness….

Kaddehawk

I am definitely doing this for ME! I consider it a fight for my life. I have multiple health problems, some genetic, some not...almost all of which will be improved when I get the excess weight off. Right now my every moment is filled with pain - and I am talking physical at the moment. Hyper-mobility syndrome has caused premature degeneration in most of my joints. That is one source out of several...don't worry, I'm not going to list them all! I want my Life Back! I want to be able to get out and do things I enjoy without worrying about what it will cost me. I want to enjoy things with my grand kids. And...I want to see them all grow up, maybe get married, and have kids of their own! (preferably in that order! lol) I also want to feel good about how I look, to be able to buy clothes that fit good and look good on me, but even that is for me and no one else. As far as what other people think? bah humbug!

michelleacohen

I have a strong tendency for type 2 diabetes in my family. I lost the weight not only to look and feel better, but really because I did not want that disease to strike me too, Constantly monitoring my blood sugar, injecting myself, UGH! I know it is under my control to prevent this, so I took control. Lost 12 pounds so far and I'm at a healthy weight now.

Being fat is more than not "socially acceptable," it's very unhealthy (but you knew that). Stay positive!
Michelle

DamePiglet

No matter what, we all lose for ourselves.

Wear cuter clothes? For yourself.
Get healthier? For yourself.
Set a good example? For yourself, because you are filling something that you perceive as a personal responsibility.
Bang Jonny Depp or young chicks? Still to get yourself off.
Even if you're a model and have to do it as your job, you want that paycheck. It's for you.

ironclaw79

I want to lose weight so that I can wear better clothes. i am tired of having big bums and boobs. And yes, I am a man.

faiza77

Iwant to lose wt,Iam just gaining and gaining, i feel tired and ugly , i want to lose it for myself and my family.

darvin1023

I'm just doing it because I'm a shallow, vain, prick.
Not every action in life has to have a big drama behind it.
It's not because of some profound life-changing experience that made me start going to the gym.
Do, i care what other people think i should look? No.
Do i care what magazines and tv think i should look? No.
I care what "I" think I should look. And i say I will look good with abs. So, I'm doing everything i can, to get it.

mcruz1996

thank you... you are so right!! I needed too read your post.I was a little sad, a little down tonight. I was worried that when I weigh in with the trainer 'tomorrow that I will not be happy. I have been working out everyday and logging my food.
so I hope i have lost at least 2 pounds

MinimalistShoeAddict

3 weeks now. 3 weeks I've been weighing **** out and calorie counting. I've been jogging every day too. I feel great. I've lost nearly a stone. But I'm thinking who am I really losing the weight for?
Of course we all say 'it's for me' - but aren't we all doing it really so we feel sexy and acceptable? Acceptable to magazine ideals, to people we wish would love us if only we lost a few, etc...
It's all bull**** really, isn't it? We are the same however much we weigh - it's our minds and personalities that matter. Someone who is un-sexy and irritating at 18 stone will still be the same at 12 stone, there's just less of them to be irritated by?

Congratulations on your success so far! Why not focus on health and life expectancy instead of what others think?

I could care less what others think about my weight. I plan on maintaining my ideal weight for 2 purposes:

1. Maximum life expectancy
2. Optimal performance at current sport of choice (long distance running)

While I am currently bulking and perhaps will be a few kg over my "ideal running" weight by spring, my focus is not aesthetics. I lift weights because I want to strengthen my muscles & tendons. Doing so will help me remain injury free as I increase my running mileage this year.

The_Enginerd

History of cardiovascular problems in my family, plus activities I loved getting more difficult due to the weight was what got me to lose the weight. I'd like to live a long enjoyable life.

moya_rargh

I'm getting in shape for the following reasons:

1. For my health, strength and fitness as I get older.
2. To somehow get in good enough shape to be able to derive some positive self esteem from it.
3. Hopefully, as a result of 2, somebody else will find me attractive. They probably won't, but I'll at least be able to like myself if I achieve step 2.

lumyrainstar

I'm 23 and weigh 429 pounds. I am losing it so that I don't get diabetes or other health complications. ALso for my very future children. I want to be able to be pregnant and healthy and then healthy after I have my baby. *(*this is all in the distant future) lol

sickofbeingfat1986

Yea my whole profile basically says that this is all for shallow reasons and that's ok

Edensienna

I just want to fit back into my pre pregnancy clothing!

Juliemoo1960

I think we are all influenced by outside forces friends, family, tv and magazines but ultimately it is down to you as a individual. If you don't want to do it for yourself then it is never going to work. We have all used excuses in the past as to why we have failed to lose weight but we are geared to keep trying.
When something finally clicks wether it is the type of diet, health issues or meeting the right person we can all achieve that goal to lose weight and stick with it but it has to be because YOU want to and not because you feel you SHOULD do it!!

mimieon

Me! Of course, the society standards you talk about are part of me.

zealey77

Some amazing answers here. Thanks guys. x

latenightdreamer

It's usually for myself but sometimes I go back and forth between doing it for myself and doing it for a guy I've been hanging out with/sort of dating. Although as of late, I've realized that when I'm choosing to exercise/eat right out of the motivation that I'll be more attractive to him, if something goes wrong between us I sort of fall apart and revert to making poor choices.

Last week I hit the mark of losing 140 pounds which hasn't at all been to do with him except maybe the last 40. But since he's come into my life, it's crazy how crap I feel about myself still weighing 180lbs and being more and more impatient with not rapidly losing weight .

As I've become more and more aware of poor motivation, when I eat something now I try to filter it through the lens of whether or not I'm taking care of myself as I make that choice as opposed to, if you eat that you're going to get fat again.

Eleonora91

I'm doing it for myself, but also somewhat for the other people. There's no one I'm particulary losing weight for, it's more like I want my perspective towards people to change. I'm not doing it for them, I'm doing it for the way I personally feel around them. I know my weight is my concern and it burdens me, not anyone else. Even if someone tells you you're fat, you're the one suffering, not them, so you're still doing it for yourself. I don't think that my reasons are the healthiest to lose weight, but what really keeps me going is that I feel better now. I don't feel "good", but if I can at least feel a little better then it's worth it. Who knows, maybe things will turn around and I'll feel good eventually, and weight loss will help me to reach this happiness.

JesterMFP

I'm doing it for me. For real. Of course I feel the expectations of society of how women are supposed to look, but I felt those for at least a decade before actually making a change. If that had been the only reason for losing weight, I really don't think I would have lasted very long.

I do it because I look at family members with lifesyle related health problems, and I don't want that to be me in the future. I look at some elderly people I know/have known and I know that if I get to my 70s/80s/90s, I want to do so fit and strong, with a healthy heart, good bone density and good immune system.

I do it because I had a really unhealthy relationship with food and was using overeating as a coping mechanism for life. Counting calories has foced me to address a lot of these issues and it means that I now enjoy food a lot more than I did before when I was constantly overeating.

I do it because I love being it enough to go for a run, and strong enough to carry heavy stuff without relying on other people.

I do it because now, for the first time ever, I feel comfortable in my skin. I also get a kick out of wearing clothes that suit my personality, wich wasn't an option at a bigger size.

I do it because it makes me feel strong and powerful to make a commitment to something and succeed. Losing 90+ lbs is something I never ever thought I'd b able to do, and the confidence I've gained from doing it has filtered into all other areas of my life. I feel unstoppable now.

RECowgill

I'm doing it for my health and my kids. No BS. My body collapsed and I could have died. So I changed my diet and started exercising. I never had the motivation without the ER to push me into it. I can't forget how painful it was.

lmd_1979

I'm losing weight for all the yokels to see what they're missing.

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Monty_P

Vanity.

alisonlynn1976

I wanted to look better and be able to wear better clothes. I concede that this contains an element of wanting other people to think I look good, but there is no one in particular I'm trying to impress other than myself.