What is your WHY?

MikePXstream

A lot more wonderful reasons why. Fabulous. Remember, your why does not always stay the same. Originally yeah, I just wanted to be able to run more than a mile again, lose a few pounds, and look good. Then as my mom got more and more sick and unable to really take care of herself, I realized I did not want to get to that state. My mom always said she didn't want to be a burden on me or have her disease be a burden on me, but it ended up being that way anyway. Mostly because she was to stubborn to do the right thing and accept help. So who knows, while my main why will always be my foundation, I'm sure there are others that will come to the surface over time. I still want the 6 pack abs, but to get there I have to get my body fat% down a little more, So in time I will get there.

Calliope610

I think of how I want to live my "golden years". In a nursing home with a walker, or hiking, climbing (small) mountains, kayaking, running, lifting (and I'm not talking about grandbabies) and all around kicking *kitten*.

jakedner

Awesome post!

Great food for thought! I will be pondering and working toward better defining my WHY but right now, my WHY is that I want to feel comfortable enough in a swimsuit so that I can participate in the scuba lessons my husband bought me for mother's day this year.

Thanks again for the awesome post! (I was just thinking about indulging in a piece of chocolate cake that would most certainly put me over my calorie and sugar target for the day - so extra thanks for this!)

gem192

My why is because I am fed up-- fed up with being uncomfortable every day in my own skin, and struggling to find clothes to wear every single day that look even mildly decent. I'm fed up with getting winded going up a few flights of stairs and the countless things I tell myself I can't do because of my weight. I'm fed up with the anxiety about what people are thinking about me, or how they are quietly judging me. I'm fed up with aching joints that should not be bothering me at the age of 27. And mostly I'm fed up with wasting the best years of my youth on being inactive, lazy, anxious, and uncomfortable.

THIS. Exactly this!

hummingbrdhrt

Because I want to free the healthy woman who is fighting to get out of this unhealthy body. I want to be strong and vibrant again.

MikePXstream

Awesome post!

Great food for thought! I will be pondering and working toward better defining my WHY but right now, my WHY is that I want to feel comfortable enough in a swimsuit so that I can participate in the scuba lessons my husband bought me for mother's day this year.

Thanks again for the awesome post! (I was just thinking about indulging in a piece of chocolate cake that would most certainly put me over my calorie and sugar target for the day - so extra thanks for this!)

Your very welcome. Maybe instead of a piece of chocolate cake, just a bite. Everything in moderation. You can still have a treat in my opinion, just regulate the size :happy:

OliviaCounts

my "why" started when I left a relationship behind that did a number on my body and my mind. I don't want to be a stranger to myself anymore. Sometimes it's really hard to keep going but I haven't given up yet and I don't plan to.

disney_mama_13

First off, thanks for such a thinker post! I have three different types of "WHY"s. I have the me the Woman, me the Mom, me the Wife.

- I want to be attractive - and feel attractive. (Who doesn't?? This is both Woman and Wife.)
- I want to buy lingerie for my husband, then be intimate with the lights on. (Wife)
- We went to WDW last year, we are going again next year for my daughters 5th birthday, I want to be in pictures next time. Pictures that I can be happy to print and hang. Not just take pictures of my kids or kids with my husband. (All 3.)
- I want my kids to see a happy, healthy, active Mom. (Mom)
- I want to run a 5K and a 10K and not be in with the walkers by the end. (Me and Mom)
- I have a wedding in October, my cousins wedding. I am happily married, however, a couple guys from my past will be there - why not look hot? (Woman)

Thanks for getting me thinking. You've helped me re-outline some of my goals.

Hippiemomof4

My Why is Multifactorial.

I had an evaluation at work that requires a peer review. I got excellant marks on all of the important areas but evaluation after evaluation I was marked down for appearance. Now I dress nicely, shower daily, all the important cleanliness issues are addressed. It really really hurt my feelings. Then not even a month later I was sought out by a headhunter for a job. She was a super sweet and motivated lady. But she gave me this advice..she said if you lose weight and tighten up you will be able to get any job you want in your field. As much as we hate to admit it, looks do matter. Now Im not ugly but I am overweight, I am very well aware of that. but professionalism is so often tied to personal care. I also have many other personal reasons I want to look good in my clothes and out of them, I want to be able to do all the things I used to be able to do before I gained this weight and I want to be able to be comfortable getting my picture taken and not cringe at the reality I see on the film. Most of all I want to be healthy and comfortable with who I am. I have many degrees, what I dont have is an outward appearance that I am comfortable presenting to the world. I think loosing this weight will help me feel free.

MikePXstream

My Why is Multifactorial.

I had an evaluation at work that requires a peer review. I got excellant marks on all of the important areas but evaluation after evaluation I was marked down for appearance. Now I dress nicely, shower daily, all the important cleanliness issues are addressed. It really really hurt my feelings. Then not even a month later I was sought out by a headhunter for a job. She was a super sweet and motivated lady. But she gave me this advice..she said if you lose weight and tighten up you will be able to get any job you want in your field. As much as we hate to admit it, looks do matter. Now Im not ugly but I am overweight, I am very well aware of that. but professionalism is so often tied to personal care. I also have many other personal reasons I want to look good in my clothes and out of them, I want to be able to do all the things I used to be able to do before I gained this weight and I want to be able to be comfortable getting my picture taken and not cringe at the reality I see on the film. Most of all I want to be healthy and comfortable with who I am. I have many degrees, what I dont have is an outward appearance that I am comfortable presenting to the world. I think loosing this weight will help me feel free.

Wow, I can honestly say I have never heard of anyone being bold enough to tell another person they would be able to get any job they wanted in their field if the lost weight. When I was in the Army that was kind of expected to stay at a certain physicla fitness, but mostly because you had to be able to take care of yourself and others if needed. And it was frowned upon if you didn't take care of yourself. But never in the civilian sector. Well, you have your direction, Let that fuel you and get the results you are looking for. Don't be afriad to reach out if you need support. Thank you for sharing.

Hippiemomof4

It wasnt that she was being nasty, she was really trying to help me, and is isnt like she was saying anything that I had not already heard from my peers in an indirect way. I wasnt mad, I was actually happy that someone said it outloud. She als told me that if I wanted the upper echelon jobs in my field I would need to do some personal branding..have headshots made, that sort of thing....it was positive, and the wakeup call that I needed.

17ChargerGirl17

If I'm going to be honest, it's because my very best friend started losing weight and I did not want to be the "Fat Friend"!!
But once I started losing weight, I wanted to continue seeing my pants sizes go down every month!!!
The best motivation for me to continue is that my kids are proud of me and tell people all the time, "my mom did it with out surgery"!!

Ezzmie

Thanks for that post.

I think I've fallen into that trap of not having a well defined WHY and have let life distract me from my goals.

Time to re-evaluate the WHY and get back to the journey towards good health!

beamer0821

love this. and i don't think people talk about this enough which is why there is such a high failure rate to dieting and obesity.
my why is not simple or just one thing, but i will try and simplify it

when i get overwhelmed, anxious, catastrophic thinking, thinking i need to do it all, don't ask for help, beat myself up, doing things i don't want to do, to name a few it gets in the way of me taking care of myself.
part of taking care of myself is managing these things i just mentioned.
when I'm not properly taking care of myself its reflected in my inability to make healthy choices for myself or it feels like "So much work" to eat well and do well.
when I'm properly managing these things i find taking care of myself and eating well is easy, natural and effortless and therefore I'm able to lose weight.

so the ultimate key for me is to manage the above or generally speaking manage my emotions and when I'm feeling cravings or urges to quit i just need to take a time-out and ask myself whats really going on. awareness is half the battle. the meal plan is the easy the part...

amethyst7986

My WHY is:

I am a single mom...I want to be healthy and happy for my soon to be teenage daughter. I want to show her that yes, it is important to take care of yourself and be healthy. Breaking all the unhealthy habits now will keep me from wishing I had in the future. I have been putting myself on the back burner for years now and Im only 28! I want to be the girl that goes to the dr and gets told, see you next year! Not we need to work on your cholesterol or weight.

Let's face it, life is better enjoyed when you are healthy and happy, not scared to go shopping or afraid to put last years bathing suit on. I don't want to be super model thin or fly away with the summer breeze, I just want to know that when I leave my house I feel confident and comfortable and I want my daughter to do the same--the best way is to show her how to be healthier and confidence comes from within. I lost my confidence along the way.....I'm going to get it back!

jenni112877

My son. I want to teach him how to have a healthy relationship with food (he's 2 now). But, I have to teach myself first.
I will admit sometimes seeing how far I have to go is overwhelming and I feel like I will never get there. Its so easy to slide back into old habits...but my why is my son.

I want to live a long healthy life so that I can watch him grow up and even see him have kids of his own some day. That's the best gift I can give him - my love, my presence - for a very very long time.

whitebalance

My WHY for losing weight was that near the end of 2012, I felt I was at a crossroads. It was getting harder and harder to get myself moving, and it was all too easy to overeat. I figured, in another year I could be healthier and happier with my body, or I could continue my downward spiral and end up facing serious health issues associated with obesity. I decided to take the first road.

It was easier than I thought it would be.

Now, almost a year into maintenance, my WHY is a WHY NOT? I'm having fun doing things I never thought I'd be doing when I started out. I'm happy with the way I feel and the way I look. I have more energy and a better sense of how to use food. So why would I not want to keep pushing myself, keep making goals and smashing them, keep doing active things and having fun? Why do I lift weights and hit things and dance with a hula hoop and eat what I want within reason? Because I can. Why not?

I'm not a big believer in "motivation." If I sat around waiting to be "motivated," I'd still be sitting... and I'd weigh about 200 pounds now. I know that's true, because I used to tell myself that yeah, I knew how to lose weight and I would pretty soon... I just wasn't quite ready to do it yet. I didn't have a good enough reason to start.

Then one day, I said, OK... it's time. And I did it. And I kept doing it. Because I could.

We're always moving, always changing, always heading down one path or another. WHY NOT choose our direction with purpose and go where the awesome is? Because, you know, we can. :drinker:

brizzeem

this is my motivation and my why. if i look like this again im finding the nearest bridge

ghostinfestation

My why is not necessarily strong enough, but I agree that it has to be strong to keep someone going. Maybe that's why I've had trouble in the past. To wear cute clothes wasn't strong enough. To battle my PCOS wasn't good enough because it was invisible, even though I eventually wound up winning. To show everyone that I could wasn't nearly enough, and just can't be enough for anyone. At the end of the day it was very simple- I just got too depressed. That's why I started exercising, it's why I'm working as hard as I can now. I've made room for it. Instead of it forcing me to lay in bed all day, forget to eat, and wind up being tired and flabby and hopeless, I've decided to let me get mad at myself when I work out. I can call myself all the names I want while I run, while I lift, while I squat, while I swim. That is the only time I will let myself hear it. I've battled major depression since I was a child. Nothing horrible ever happened to me, I just got very sad somehow and it never went away. It makes me sleepy, it makes me snappy towards others, it makes me unproductive, and it makes me afraid. Exercise DOES help. Every day for that half an hour to an hour that I kick myself around, I have managed to rescue myself a little bit. I don't sit around and cry or tell myself that I can't leave the house. I even get hungry sometimes. I feel like if I can make small goals for myself and hit them, I can be proud of myself, and that is one step towards maybe even being happy.

milocamolly

-To feel good in my own skin
-Not to be that frumpy wife who let herself go
-so my husband doesn't ever get to the point where he's embarrassed going out with me
-To teach my kids a healthy lifestyle
-To be the HOT mom, not the fat mom.
-So I am no longer considered "obese"
-To have high self-esteem again
-So I can be able wear jeans without a muffin top
-So I no longer get asked of I m pregnant

MikePXstream

ghostinfestat - When we figure out what our why is, it tends to make it easier. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress and get out of that funkly depression that can sometimes give in. Your body releases a feel good chemical when you exercise that lifts you up. The more you do it, the better you feel. Think about how you feel after a good workout or a day filled with activity. You feel energized, refreshed, and ready to take on the world, any worry or thought you had that was counterproductive has been set aside for the time being. Thrive on that and let it fill you with the positive energy to move forward, let it build momentum, and the next thing you know, you regret not exercising vs having to exercise. It is now a want instead of a need! or maybe a need :happy: I hope that makes sense. Thank you for sharing!

My why is not necessarily strong enough, but I agree that it has to be strong to keep someone going. Maybe that's why I've had trouble in the past. To wear cute clothes wasn't strong enough. To battle my PCOS wasn't good enough because it was invisible, even though I eventually wound up winning. To show everyone that I could wasn't nearly enough, and just can't be enough for anyone. At the end of the day it was very simple- I just got too depressed. That's why I started exercising, it's why I'm working as hard as I can now. I've made room for it. Instead of it forcing me to lay in bed all day, forget to eat, and wind up being tired and flabby and hopeless, I've decided to let me get mad at myself when I work out. I can call myself all the names I want while I run, while I lift, while I squat, while I swim. That is the only time I will let myself hear it. I've battled major depression since I was a child. Nothing horrible ever happened to me, I just got very sad somehow and it never went away. It makes me sleepy, it makes me snappy towards others, it makes me unproductive, and it makes me afraid. Exercise DOES help. Every day for that half an hour to an hour that I kick myself around, I have managed to rescue myself a little bit. I don't sit around and cry or tell myself that I can't leave the house. I even get hungry sometimes. I feel like if I can make small goals for myself and hit them, I can be proud of myself, and that is one step towards maybe even being happy.

MikePXstream

Great results! Congrats. Thanks for sharing!

this is my motivation and my why. if i look like this again im finding the nearest bridge

MikePXstream

I bet there are a lot of new people that have never asked themselves this question or need a little something to pick them up today, so here is a little bump. Lets see what happens! :happy:

Fabfitgirl5

Great Post. It was very interesting reading people's Why's- you never know what motivates someone.

For me my Why is a combination of vanity and reality.

Diabetes runs in both sides of my family and I take the traits of the side where it is most prevalent, yeah.. not going to happen. I have high cholesterol-again genetic, trying to rid myself of that if I can.

I have heard so many people tell me you are fine, you look just fine, I don't feel that way and in and out of clothes I really don't believe them. I have a milestone b-day coming up and my shallow vain goal is to be in a bikini on that birthday and for the birthdays thereafter. I no longer want to be the self-conscious chick afraid to show off her form. I am not looking for washboard abs just tone and no extra 'wobbly bits' I know that dedication and time and continuous effort will get me where I need to be.

Lastly, I want to look in the mirror and say, DAMN, just DAMN! :drinker:

Scotty_51

I'm 48, 5'9" 210, so a little back story is needed (warning, wall of text):

In my 20's I could eat 5,000 calories a day and never gain weight, I weighed 145 back then, too skinny IMO . I was very active and in awesome condition, turned 30 and still didn't gain any weight no matter how poor my diet was.

Hit 35 and gained a few pounds and got a bit if a spare tire, no big deal it was bound to happen with age, probably weighed 175 at the time.
40 came and the spare tire got bigger, probably weighed 190 or so, my energy levels dropped and I became less active, just age and stress is what I told myself.

Turned 44, weighed around 205 and started a new job that involves a lot of lifting, busy time of year I will lift 25,000 pounds of product in one day. This left me pretty exhausted at the end of my work day and no energy/motivation to do any cardio.

I have to do DOT physicals for my job every 2 years, weighed 210 in 2012 when I had it done.
April of this year was time for another DOT physical, still weighed 210 but my blood pressure was 170/100, time to freak out.
They gave me a 3 month medical card and my BP needs to be below 140/90 by July.

I don't have time to lower my BP with just exercise, so off to the doctor I went. Hadn't been to one in years, so did a full physical with blood work and started on BP meds.
Got the results of the blood work and I have hypothyroid, turns out I've had the symptoms for some years but dismissed them as just signs of getting older. That turned out to be great news, I've only been on levothyroxine for 1 and a half weeks but already feel much better not only physically/energy wise, but also mentally.

I've been wanting to get back into cardio workouts for sometime to lose weight and get in better condition. The high BP was the kick in the pants I needed. My knees can't handle the pounding of running and/or treadmill so my only real choice is elliptical. I hate gyms so I did tons of research and found an elliptical that felt good and met my budget. I got it 6 days ago and love it, hardest thing has been not over doing things. I've had to resist the temptation to use it twice a day.

Strange that finding out I have high BP was a good thing, got me motivated to work out, and led me to discover I have hypothyroid.

I3righti3lue24

I've always wanted to loose weight but never had the motivation till 2 years ago, why? because I know have a toddler and a 10 week old. I want to be around longer for my girls, I want them to grow up with a fit/in shape active family. I have a lot of health conditions in my family that are hereditary and can be worse with heavier weight, it hit home after I had a kid...

that's my why.

and so far it feels great to see the scale going down

angelic843

Truthfully my why is I want a baby.
But I want to provide a healthy strong body for my baby to grow in.
I want to be a fit mum not a fat mum.

This is my why as well, couldn't have put it better.

RaggedyPond

To get muscles.

clairetomkinson84

My why is my son. I want to be there for him as he grows up. I want to be able to run around with him. I don't want him being embarrassed for having the "fat mum" at school. I want to do it for myself so I can look and feel better.

KaelaLee88

OP, what a great thread

I had gotten and stayed HUGE, in complete denial and I felt awful.

My Husband and I are losing the weight for a healthier future and to be considered for adoption

Thank you for a great reminder and a powerful visualisation!

Kaela x