Who are we losing weight for... Really?

lynleeg88

I'm losing weight for several reasons. Overall health, energy levels and feeling better. To shrink my breasts maybe, cause those suckers are too big and may have caused my upper back scoliosis according to the doc. They did get a little smaller when I got to 130 lbs once. I want to be healthy when I get pregnant both in weight and food choices. And I want to be happy with myself, and finally feel good about my appearance.

parys1

The ability to wear better pants.

KateK8LoseW8

Mostly for me. I didn't like my body, and how unfit I was. If the reason I didn't like my body was because of social pressure or magazines, fine, but I didn't lose weight to fit in. I still had friends and a long term relationship despite my weight.

cathylopez1975

Interesting question to ponder. I have lost weight for my health, even though I really love looking as good as or better than my friends and fellow employees. I have a bad heart valve that has already been fixed once in a surgery that was really tough to recover from. I'm also diabetic. I saw my mom with a really poor quality of life her last couple of years and I didn't want to end up that way. I'm doing all I can to get more healthy. I want to LIVE until I die.

But fat or not, I'm still the same person. I teach elementary music in school and interestingly enough, I've never had a comment from a student about my huge body change (89 lbs). I don't think they actually notice - even the 5th graders who've known me for years. They accept me as I am.

kschlap

I think that everybody is more tolerant of thin good looking people than fat people. I know for a fact that I'm much more pleasant to be around when I'm heavier, and much more arrogant and just plain mean when I'm thin. But when I'm thin I get many more compliments about how I look and have a much higher percent attraction rate with the opposite sex. Thus I try to stay in a constant state of remaining thin. If not for the opposite sex, I think I'd just be a big fat guy who sat in an apartment all day eating pizza and chocolate.

Reagan89

I'm honestly losing weight for me I don't feel like I was before and want to be able to get back into my sports again. However I understand why people do it for others but if you can't be happy with who you are you can't expect others to be happy around you.

sue_stef

I'm doing this for me
I want to live to be the cool grandma
I want to be healthy have a full head of silver curly hair
I want to be the crazy old lady who power walks down the block in velvet track pants that are hot pink
I want to grow old with my hubs
I want to see my youngest grow up and find his way in the world
I want to live long enough to enjoy the success of the worlds greatest Lego Engineer(my4th son)
I want to see my 2nd son become a world famous cartoonist

basically I do not want to die of heart disease or any other vascular disorder
I do not want to suffer the complications of diabetes

the losing weight is a side effect
I am already hot and confident I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself

A_Fit_Mom

I lost the weight for myself and my health. I have a wonderful husband and beautiful kids. I don't need to impress anyone, but when I looked in the mirror...I wasn't happy.

That was 35 pounds ago...I lost that weight last year.

I love where I am now, I feel comfortable and confident. I am just getting back to eating healthy and exercising...if I lose more weight...then that is fine.

kk_140

I'm doing this to feel sexy, I wasn't overweight or unhealthy before I started doing this.

But to be perfectly clear, I'm doing it so I feel sexier for me. Not so others will think I'm sexy.

MarKayDee

I want to lose weight for me, yeah to be sexy, and to be healthy, and to have an easier time buying pants, and because all of my friends are tiny beautiful hipsters.
No one else cares that I've gotten pudgier the last few years, but I do.

HanaNikki

Of course our concept of beauty is influenced by the media, but leaving that aside, I really want to lose the weight for myself. I already am at a healthy weight, so it's not for my health (though I work out and eat clean to stay healthy). Most people (including my husband) tell me I don't need to lose weight, but I just feel prettier with 10 lbs less.

I_Will_End_You

I wasn't overweight before, and was already healthy. So yeah....I'm doing it all for the sexy reason. To be sexy to other people AND so that I like what I see when I look in the mirror.

zealey77

So many interesting replies here... but, OP, let me ask you a question. Are you perhaps getting slightly demotivated? You are after the first "honeymoon" phase of losing when the pounds shed so fast and we're full of enthusiasm... Is it an endorphin drop?

Don't get me wrong, you have asked a very legitimate question. I am just asking because for me, when I was just too tired or frustrated to try, the whole "people should accept me as I am, it's my brains and heart that matter" thing was my best excuse for sabotaging my efforts.

All I am saying is, if that should be the case - hang on in there! There is nothing wrong with being valued for your heart, brains *and* looks, and whatever/whoever your motivator is, it all boils down to - do you *want* to stay as you were? If not, then whatever your motivation, you are still on the right track yo what ultimately *you* want.

This.

Yep, was kinda feeling de-motivated. Thanks for jeeing me up. x

mspoopoo

I had a health scare and ended up in the hospital.

I saw some really obese folks, more than me with severe diabetes related problems.

I don't want my toes to fall off.

Borderline high blood pressure.

Plus frankly I just felt like crap.

Nobody feels good lugging around 50, 100, 200 plus extra pounds on them.

I couldn't even walk from the blasted car to the beach without feeling I was going to pass out.

Walking through a narrow place and my big fat *kitten* bumping into things.

My clothes are crap too. I look old and frumpy.

JackKopCh

Definitely for me.

I dont have any friends because my social anxiety has locked me up, my only friends are online so I'm hoping that losing a few pounds can hopefully bring a bit of confidence to me so I can finally leave my house without a thousand thoughts running through my mind.

Obviously there is the fact I want to look better to others also..

elis_mama

Sure, I want to look better and be more fit. But, really, I'm losing it because I NEED to. I'm losing it so I don't get so tired. So my joints don't ache. So I can keep up with my beautiful, gorgeous, active son that deserves a mama he can run around the park with. I want to hike and bike ride with more stamina. I want to not hate how I look in photos with my hubby and son. I just want to be healthy. THAT'S why I'm losing weight. I deserve better.

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waytobeduck

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?

Well, Dr. Phil... Now that you mention it, I am currently losing weight because of the romanticized idea that I will be more content at a certain weight. I think that people will treat me with more respect, at my goal weight, and I will be happier due to this. The whole "sexy"-and-"acceptable"-to-myself-and-others thing is accurate too. Lastly, I want to 'earn' my own self-respect by proving to myself that I have the discipline to get to my goal weight... I wanna be proud! Obviously health reasons are a contributing factor but I feel like that reason runs behind all the other reasons I have here, in this reply, because I'm already quite healthy.

bumblebreezy91

I'm definitely doing it for me and my closest loved ones--my family, so they don't lose another daughter/sister (my sister died in 2000, in an accident), and my fiancé, so we can grow old together.

I'm doing it for myself for the following reasons: I want to be healthy, I want to feel good and look it, I want to be able to shop for "regular" sized clothes that I actually like with "regular" prices in a decent amount of time without breaking down in a fitting room and I want to enjoy the shopping experience, and I want to look good for (and enjoy) my engagement photos and my wedding day. I do not want to be thinking about my weight on my wedding day.

Hey, I'm never going to be in a magazine. I don't want to be. I just want to be able to do normal things without thinking about how uncomfortable I am in my own body, and how guilty I feel for letting that happen. I want to stop comparing myself with other women I see around town and on television. With my healthier body, I want a healthier mindset and healthier emotions. An all around healthier lifestyle.

ETA: I also need to reduce my weight due to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The extra weight on my joints does not help matters.

SapiensPisces

I reached a point that I was fed up with being fat, tired, and feeling like I was an arthritic 80 year old trying move around when I was only 27. I suppose to answer your question directly, I'm doing this to never be or feel like that ever again.

It's common early to lose the "honeymoon" phase, as others have called it. You lose fast, then the excitement wears off and the daily grind begins. It's a lot like starting a new job. Try to just have a plan in place and stick to it as best you can. It's not easy, but it gets more routine as you go along.

Good luck to you.