What or Who was your inspiration that got you motivated to l

tamanella

What or Who was your inspiration that got you motivated to lose weight?

I'll start:

My husband and children were my inspirations to lose weight. You see, I have Polycystic Kidney Disease and I was just recently downgraded to stage 3 chronic kidney failure. This made me begin to think harder about what I'm doing letting myself get to 327lbs!?! And then bits and pieces of conversations came rolling back to me...my husband telling me that he needs me, that I'm his everything...my kids telling me that they need me to be there for them, to watch them grow up, to celebrate life's accomplishments with them...and I began to realize that I was being extremely selfish. That by letting myself deteriorate slowly, pound by pound, I was stealing from them. My life is not all about me, it's my husband and my children too. They need me just as much as I need them! So, not only am I doing this for myself, but for my family and I WILL beat this addiction and come out on top with my health 100 times better! I may not be able to stop my disease, but I can sure slow it down!

eeeekie

Is it selfish to say...me, myself and I?

tamanella

Is it selfish to say...me, myself and I?

LOL....no, not at all!

JulieBoBoo

tam -- your story is very powerful. Congratulations on finding the courage and strength to start your journey. I know you will be successful because you're fighting for the most important people in the world.

craftydeb

My daughters were my inspiration. One is on her way to getting her Pharm-D and I saw how this site was helping her to lose the weight she's lost. Now I'm following her and down almost 20 pounds since Jan 5!



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McKayMachina

My best friend. He's the only person who has ever been 100% honest with me and who I trust completely. It was incredibly difficult for him to verbalize it because he didn't want to hurt me. It came from all the right places: love, concern and even selfishness for himself.

After I heard it from someone who means so much to me, it was easy.

After-the-fact Bonus: Over the course of this journey, I am really getting comfortable with replacing external evaluations of my worth with my own SELF worth. A first.

girlofsun26

Getting on a plane to finally see my goddaughters...The last time I went on a plane it was a tight squeeze and I was a lot thinner...When I talked to my oldest goddaughter on the phone she said "its ok nina I know you'll never come out here" killed me. Thats what keeps me going. Knowing that I NEED to get out there without being uncomfortable or having to use a seatbelt extender. I want to have kids one day. With as heavy as I was I was hemorrhaging and the doctor was even nervous about how bad it was. I know it has everything to do with the weight. I'm doing this for my husband...We are young and he told me I'm the air that he breathes..I would hate to have something happen to me to take his air away.. And for myself..this is something I need to do to feel better! Who keeps me going is my cousin..shes my rock. She keeps me in check and is already buying me my goal outfit for July! So I can't let that go to waste!! And lastly all my friends on MFP my God I can't express how much everyone motivates me to continue to do this!

anubis609

Literally me. It's all me. I almost died a horribly natural death from a sudden, unexpected diabetic coma + acute pancreatitis because of the choices I made throughout my life. I accept everything that happened to me as my own decisions. It's that same determination to make my own choices that I am now asymptomatic of diabetes at all, including hypertension, high cholesterol, fatty liver, gout, etc. I'm medication free and am the healthiest I've ever been in my entire life. All because I know I have that much confidence in my own abilities. I'd be my own best friend. :bigsmile:

Lexie28

Is it selfish to say...me, myself and I?

Ditto!!!:flowerforyou:

taso42_DELETED

I've had lots of inspirations. My brother, one of the most disciplined people I know. He was always working hard and looking good while I ate lots of pizza and smoked lots of cigarettes. A friend of mine, who went from chubby geek guy to fit geek guy. My cousin who went from 300 lbs on the verge of diabetes to solid body builder taking home trophies. You don't have to look far to find inspiration but at some point you have to find it within yourself. When the time comes you say "It's my time now. I can do this".

laurenkerwell

My motivation was seeing a picture someone had taken of me. Ironically, the ones other people take always come out a lot worse than the ones you take of yourself.

I've never been skinny, or even average. My parents didn't use healthy cooking habits or teach them to any of their three children -- my older sister has to be almost 400lbs. And I didn't want to let myself get to that point. My dad is also just as heavy, maybe even heavier.

My mom was diagnosed with diabetes. She's not careful about her sugar at all. It's just so disheartening to see the people you love let their health go down the ****ter. She's also been smoking since she was 12 or 14 years old -- and she's 48 now. She's never quit. I don't believe she ever will, despite seeing her mother waste away in the hospital, dying from catching pneumonia, because she had emphysema. I don't know what it will take to make her want to quit.

I wanted to try and motivate her to eat better and keep better track of her health. Last summer I tried to get them into the "eating clean" lifestyle -- some things stuck, but not enough to really make a difference. If she just lost 10 or 15 lbs, the doctor told her that her diabetes would basically go away -- that she wouldn't need to take medication for it anymore. But I guess that's not a big enough motivator for her.

My brother is a big inspiration to me. He made the decision to join the Navy the summer before his senior year of high school and joined the early start program, or something like that. Last summer when I came home, I got a gym membership to join him and went with him every time he went to the gym.

Then I got an internship at ADIDAS, and they have a gym, free to employees, right on the campus. I had a personal trainer there once a week, and religiously went to the free classes they had, sometimes during lunch and sometimes after work. My housemate in Portland, Oregon, was very health conscious -- eating organic food and watching out for preservatives. I couldn't have been luckier, given I found her on craigs list.

Regardless, despite the lack of support from my family, I knew that I needed to do this for me. I've lost 50lbs so far, and just broke out of my plateau. I graduate from college in May, and I want to look stunning. I want to be confident and feel great, physically and mentally. I'm well on my way, over halfway to my goal of 145.

I know on a lot of shows on tv now, that are designated to weight loss, the whole family picks up the healthy eating habits. But in reality, your family might not be as willing. Despite that, you need to find the willpower to resist, and make your own food. It's really challenging, but you have to think of the rewards. Self discipline has been so key to my weight loss journey -- saying "no thank you" to cake and cookies and soda and desserts. Asking to go to restaurants that have "healthier" options, and actually ordering them. Drinking water -- lots of water. It's all so much to keep track of. But, it takes 21 days to break a habit. And after those 21 days, it will be almost second nature to you.

This was a long post, but I figured the more of my story I told, the more motivated someone might be to break free from the negative influences in their life, whatever it may be, and take their health and wellness into their own hands.

Good luck everyone!! Your posts are very inspiring.

countrygirl25

My best friend. He's the only person who has ever been 100% honest with me and who I trust completely. It was incredibly difficult for him to verbalize it because he didn't want to hurt me. It came from all the right places: love, concern and even selfishness for himself.

After I heard it from someone who means so much to me, it was easy.

After-the-fact Bonus: Over the course of this journey, I am really getting comfortable with replacing external evaluations of my worth with my own SELF worth. A first.

That's my story to my bestfriend wants me to be healthy. I love him for it I know how much he cares he always expects 150% sometimes it is hard though. I am also doing it for myself and my family. I hope and pray everyone on here succeeds. :-D

tamanella

This is so great to read all of your inspirations!! Keep'em comin!!

gillianjoon

My daughters inspire me one has recently finished her PhD and is currently completing a post doc and her twin is almost done with her PhD and with all the studying and stress they gained some weight but they took some time to assess their lives and started a journey to better health and now they are carrying me along the journey with them and I have to say that together I know we can do this. I wish you luck with your journey too and with a possitive attitude and the love of your family you can do it

Mountain_woman

First and foremost, I wanted to do this for me. But I also watched my brother, Steve, who was a "big guy" along side me take up the Couch to 5K program, go vegetarian and loose major weight. I was so proud of him. He inspired me to get moving. I also had a beautiful daughter who I didn't want to watch grow from a recliner. I was a young mother and tired of being overweight. I wanted to be a foxy mom who ran with my babies and embraced the beauty I felt on the inside. This site is awesome. I love it and all the stories I read here inspire me to keep going. Thanks everyone!

alienblonde1

My inspiration to get started was when I went to the Dr last year. She told me if I keep going the way I was, I would be on heart/cholesterol and diabetic meds. At that time I was not taking any drugs. I really don't want to have to do that. So in one year by myself (before MFP) I lost 8lbs, my good cholesterol went up and my bad and total cholesterol (now 204) went down. My sugar is at normal levels too.


But what inspires me now is all YOU! Seeing these before and after pictures and reading all your struggles and NSV really helps me to keep going.

BobbyDaniel

My best friend, who is also a pastor, got me thinking about my need to lose weight last year at this time when I read his newsletter saying he was going to lose 100 pounds in 2010...the only bad thing is that now I'm trying to encourage him to be back to reaching that goal.
Beyond that, turning 39 last year was a biggie, I guess this is my midlife crisis. Instead of buying a corvettte I bought running shoes and underarmor! I was tired of not being to run around in the yard with my kids, I was tired of my 38 pants feeling too tight (and they were, just refused to go above that size) and I was tired of what I saw in the mirror.

promiseskept

I am a diabetic, because of my weight. I went through a traumatic divorce and ate myself into oblivion while I sacrificed everything to help my daughters. Its been 10 years and the kids are great, I have a wonderful husband, and a fun life, so I had to ask myself, why am I killing myself?
I was over due. Its all about the future.

Dottie27

You are an inspiration! I have 100 lbs. to lose.It's good to know I might be able to turn around my health issues. I am so glad you are healthy now.

Kid70

Tammy, I'm so glad you started this post! The daily inspirations that keep me going are everyone's stories!

Not my inspiration, but definitely a motivation, came from a woman who I always considered to be really, really heavy (guess I couldn't see that we were in the same boat). She had gastric bypass and got really thin, really quickly. One day, in front of a group of my co-workers, she offered me all of her pants, because they didn't fit her anymore and she was pretty sure they would fit me. it was so embarassing, but such a wake-up call. All of the girls I worked with told me she was so rude and insulting, and that her clothes would be way too big on me, but the truth was, I knew she was right. I guess sometimes you need to see yourself through other people's eyes.

Another weird thing: I was at a children's museum with my girls a couple of months ago and they had a couple of those carnival type mirrors that make you either look short and chubby or tall and thin. I have trouble imagining myself thin, because I haven't been thin since I was a teen, and now I''m a middle-aged soccer mom. I spent a lot of time in front of the tall and thin mirror because I liked what I saw!!! That was definitely an inspiration!

SammieGetsFit

Lauren's post above is almost exactly my story. So I'll just add to that. A big factor, beyond seeing "The Picture" and noticing what was going on around me, was deciding what I wanted to do with my life. I've been out of college for 4 years this May, and I've just been bouncing around aimlessly since then.

I realized that the desire to join the military, which I've had since high school, maybe wasn't so ridiculous. And then I did my research. Even more than wanting to get healthy for myself, realizing that I HAD to or I couldn't pursue the career I want was a huge wake-up call. My weight is actively keeping me from doing things I want, and if I'd kept going the way I was, it wouldn't have just been a military career it kept me from.

Living my life is my inspiration. Getting a career going, as opposed to taking jobs, is my inspiration. And like others have said, everyone else out there who is committed, supportive, and successful is my inspiration. Thank you all!

MAK_01

I think one of my biggest motivatora was when I went tithe doctor the last tome an he said we need to start talking about blood pressure mediation. I had just turned 32. I don't want to be on bp meds the rest of my life. I'm already on daily meds for severe asthma. That was it for me. I started doing it on my own lost about 10 pounds (and that was around the holidays) then in Jan o found MFP. Here I am 75 days later and 17 pounds lighter.

ERapp01

I’m 28 lbs lighter since Jan 1st. I work in the health care industry and I’m 100 lbs. over weight. I feel like such a hypocrite, for being over weight. At the end of last year my knees began to hurt during my presentations. I’m only 43 years old and I get a constant reminder of all the diseases and medications that are part of an unhealthy life style.

I have never lost 28lbs on my own before. I have always looked for the easy way of weight loss. I feel this time is different! I’m not on a diet on living a healthy life style. I walk or go to the gym 6 days a week. I’m cook at home most of my meals and taking vitamins.

E

kris1085

My neices and my nephew are my inspiraton to loose weight ! I want to always be around for them they are 10, 8, 5, and 5 months and they are excited to see that auntie is losing weight !