What is YOUR motivation?

_whatsherface

I didn't look in the mirror or at a picture and say, "You're fat, you need to lose weight." My motivation was just one question I asked myself over summer vacation from work and that was, "Why not?" I'm home from work, I can take my son to the daycare at the gym where he can socialize. It was better than sitting around, eating because I'm bored, over eating and gaining more weight. Now that I've been back at it for almost 60 days, I still have this attitude of, I can either sit around and get more fat and damage my organs, or I can make a comitment to myself to get up 3x a week, eat better, feel better and maybe lose some weight (:

zoeysasha37

Mine was definitely looking in the mirror. I was unhappy with my body and would envy other women that had nice bodies. Finally I stopped feeling sorry for myself and got to work :-)

verastromness

I was just thinking about this the other day. People often tell me, "You have to have a WHY." All I know is I don't feel like I'm having a full life when I neglect taking care of myself. Not always easy to stay motivated. Since I have SOOO many bad habits.

cvaj09

Being happy with the way I look. I'm still unhappy since I've gained 50 pounds in the past 2 years.

irisheyes321

Hi,

I will be forty next June and I am going to enjoy it

seltzermint555

I weighed 307 and hated photos of myself for the first time ever, but that wasn't enough. I started realizing I couldn't keep up with everyone like I did when I was 260-270 for years, so I got scared about health problems in the future and started eating less and walking a LOT. That got me to 270. Took over 4 years though.

At 270, I met my now-husband and started eating a LOT healthier by following his example. That only got me to 262.

I decided to join MFP because an online friend lost a lot using it, and I was honestly quite peeved that my new healthier eating didn't result in a bigger loss after 1 year. That made losing MUCH easier for me and I've now gotten down to 173.

What keeps me going is the realization that I am no longer obese. At 5'8" I'm still overweight but not obese, for the first time since I was 11-12 years old. I want to stay in the 150-170 range for the rest of my life. I want to stay average sized forever. When I get old, I want any health issues to come from natural causes and aging, not from being morbidly obese. I don't want to need a XXXXL coffin when I die.

cardozojoann

What motivates me is I want to he healthy and confident in my body. My highest weight was 194lbs post pregnancy. But I would lose weight then gain it right back for 5 years. Few months ago I decided I really need to focus on my health. Since then I lost 22lbs with the help of T25, shakeology and eating healthy. I promised myself I will never go back to the way I use to be.

Sabine_Stroehm

People in my family die young. Usually of diet and lifestyle related illness. I don't want to die young.

TheSatinPumpkin

Not even to perform basic hygiene like cleaning /wiping after myself was up there.

cwolfman13

Being healthy and fit is awesome...

mcpostelle

My first and primary motivation is myself. I am beautiful, intelligent, and inquisitive on the inside and it should reflect on my outside. It is time for me to show the world that I not an ugly duckling, but a swan.

Little side motivators are slimming down as a F U to my ex, some family members, previous friends, and current people that avoid me due to my weight. Just watch and learn b*tches. :glasses:

Also, I want cute SMALLER clothing. I'm tired of folding and washing my current sizes - makes me feel a bit depressed.


Edit: Spelling.

dianesheart88

Got really tired looking in the mirror and finding it difficult to do things simple things like just bending over. I want to feel proud of my body.

Also, I got a little tired of people blaming my heart disease on what I eat. Even my Dr tells me that for my age it is not even close to normal to see issues and blockages like mine - it's not possible for them to be caused only from food. But, if taking better care of myself can 'help' my situation that's a motivator.
One more thing...my mother has for all my life 'talked' about losing weight, but never acts on it. She's 72 now. I refuse to do that.

sartezalb

1) I was amazed at how quickly and easily I became clinically overweight when I wasn't watching myself. I realized that if I want to maintain a healthy weight, I absolutely have to stay vigilant.

2) I have a tailored suit that doesn't fit anymore. It looks great, and I want to get back into it. :-)

3) Training for a career in medicine, where I'll undoubtedly be advising people on how to eat and exercise better. I need to be able to practice what I preach.

jordipie55

When I "graduated" into plus sizes. I cannot explain the sinking feel in the pit of my stomach when I couldn't fit a normal L. I also hate hate hate it when I look at the ground and there's this big ol' belly (I call it Bertha) in the way. A bunch of little things like that kind of added up and made me go, "THAT'S IT, I'M CHANGING THINGS NOW."

gcbma

Nearing 300, and told I'm diabetic at 25. Reason plenty. Haven't looked back. And won't.

jennylilac

My therapist told me if I didn't do something now (just turned 40) in as little as five years I would probably not be able to hike with local Girl Scouts anymore.

marinabreeze

For me, the motivation to lose weight is a few things taken together:

- I'm 33 and would feel awful every morning as I would wake up with aches and pains. I shouldn't feel like this in my 30s.

- I want to have children and I have PCOS. I need to make a lifestyle change to regulate my hormones and increase the possibility of conceiving and carrying a child to term.

- My DH is wanting to lose weight also as he has gained about 50 lbs over the last 2-3 years (he was overweight but not obese to begin with), and it's the perfect opportunity to support each other in our healthy lifestyle goals.

- My dad passed away at the age of 57 from diabetes related complications. You would think that would be a motivating factor at the time he died, but at first it was not. But recently, I noticed that there's a picture of my dad and myself as a toddler, and a picture of myself recently sitting side-by-side on the mantle. My dad was the age I am now in the picture, and it looks like I'm almost his size. That is really scary. That was the last straw for me.

lessismoreohio

My motivation = I don't want to end up with the obesity related illnesses I see in my friends and family who are 10 years older than I.

As you get older, the weight related aches, pains and illnesses really add up. It really is true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

LisaGirlfriend

My clothes were way too tight and I felt uncomfortable and I was avoiding the scale.

I actually have a date in November, to meet someone I've been talking to about fitness online for 5 years. He too is on here and has specific goals too. We are both planning to reach our goals in time for our meeting. There is nothing like that to motivate me!

airangel59

Mainly what WAS my motivation was being diagnosed with Type 2 on May 11, 2012. BMI 44%
I Found MFP June 7, 2012

What IS my motivation now is the mirror. I what I see. BMI 21.6% and no longer on meds for DM, HTN, High cholesterol/lipids and I want to keep it that way

gonzanab

Foremost, my motivation is to see myself beautiful both inside and outside. I want to be proud of the person I am when I look in the mirror. When I workout and eat right, I feel better about myself. I'm working on the confidence part, but overall I know that by living this lifestyle that I am on the right track. I want others to see it too.