What Got You Motivated?

kgool

I am just curious about people's motivation and what got it sparked. Please share if you want.

Mine is kind of funny.

I got divorced in 2007 and became the sole provider for my then 6 year old son. I gained more weight.

I had a stroke in 2008 (not necessarily weight related), & was told as part of the rehab to lose weight. I gained more weight.

In 2009 I got big enough that my knees and ankles started hurting during normal activities. I gained more weight

A female friend told me that my man boobs were getting as big as her girl ones. I decided to lose weight.

I would like to think this was not vanity because that went out the window a long time ago. It is weird though, that such and odd and offhanded remark sparked this trip for me.

What's yours?

bmontgomery87

I had a nasty breakup after a 3 year relationship.
I decided instead of destroying myself with drugs and alcohol, I was going to better myself.

Karleyyy

I had a nasty breakup after a 3 year relationship.
I decided instead of destroying myself with drugs and alcohol, I was going to better myself.

You look great.

suzksell

I am only 41 and I am already having to replace my hip (it's pure degeneration, but extra weight isn't helping the daily pain). I want DESPERATELY to be more active and to have the body that I know is inside there somewhere. 10 years of being sedentary because of my pain has made weight loss nearly impossible. So...when my insurance company finally agreed with my surgeon and agreed to replace my hip, I decided that taking off some extra weight before the surgery will help motivate me to work hard to bounce back faster afterward.

Fleur933

I have a few...
My dad is a diabetic who had recent heart surgury (not a future i want).
Nieces and Nephews to keep up with at the park (maybe my own kids someday).
Turning 30 soon (It's never going to be easier).

But truly what got me really started...this past fall I went on a mtn hike with my bestfriend and her family. I LOVE the outdoors...i thought it would be so much fun. I embarassed my self. I couldn't breathe...had to take soo many breaks....their 5year old was up the mtn twice as fast as I was. I pushed it to the top...I had to....but that day, that feeling....really is what kicked me into high gear.

Amandac6772

I got sick with kidney infection that wouldn't go away and finally decided I had to get a grasp on my health. Feel the best I have ever felt and, knock on wood, haven't been sick even with a cold since. I didn't realize how bad I felt until I felt better...lol!

anubis609

I had a nasty breakup after a 3 year relationship.
I decided instead of destroying myself with drugs and alcohol, I was going to better myself.

Opposite for me...I decided to better myself after destroying my body with drugs and alcohol.

Oh, and almost dying from an unexpected, sudden diabetic coma.

kgool

I am only 41 and I am already having to replace my hip (it's pure degeneration, but extra weight isn't helping the daily pain). I want DESPERATELY to be more active and to have the body that I know is inside there somewhere. 10 years of being sedentary because of my pain has made weight loss nearly impossible. So...when my insurance company finally agreed with my surgeon and agreed to replace my hip, I decided that taking off some extra weight before the surgery will help motivate me to work hard to bounce back faster afterward.

Great, I have a friend who had hip replacement at 40 last year and he had lost some weight before and is very glad he did. He is going pretty well now and re-habed pretty fast.

kgool

I have a few...
My dad is a diabetic who had recent heart surgury (not a future i want).
Nieces and Nephews to keep up with at the park (maybe my own kids someday).
Turning 30 soon (It's never going to be easier).

But truly what got me really started...this past fall I went on a mtn hike with my bestfriend and her family. I LOVE the outdoors...i thought it would be so much fun. I embarassed my self. I couldn't breathe...had to take soo many breaks....their 5year old was up the mtn twice as fast as I was. I pushed it to the top...I had to....but that day, that feeling....really is what kicked me into high gear.

I understand you on that last part. We took my son's Cub Scout pack camping in November and another dad (who was already the cool dad because he is ex Special Forces) had to help me up a spot on our hike. Embarrassing!

LuluGirl140

I guess there wasn't just one thing that made me decide, it was alot of little things. 1. I was the biggest in my family and was always looked upon as the fat sister. 2. I wanted to feel sexy again. 3. I wanted to feel like myself again. 4. I decided 2011 was going to be a great year, and realized that I am the only one with the power to make it a great year. So, I started working out in January. I have slipped up a little here and there, and am back and going strong. I'm starting my 3rd week of Insanity and trying to make good food choices. I lost 2 lbs last week and I know I can do better. Plus, I really dislike my sister in law and when everyone started complimenting her weight loss I knew I couldn't let her outdo me. Nothing like a good competition to get your butt in gear, even though she doesn't know I'm competing against her. LOL

Yocum1219

I've been fighting my weight since I was 14 yrs old, my mother has been fighting it for me since I was an infant. I wasn't overweight as a child, she feared I would be, so she always limited my food. Once I got "old enough" to decide for myself, I ate the wrong things, and didn't exercise enough. I was always a "big" girl, but not fat. So I never let it worry me.

I got married, had 3 kids. I got fat. Still, not worried. In the past 3 years though, my dad, his sister & mother, & my mom's dad & brother have all been diagnosed as diabetic. They're all overweight, just like me. I refuse to have to live my life on medications & with needles later in my life because I didn't wake up sooner. Plus my kids need a better example. My hubby has one of those "skinny" metabolisms, but even he realized we weren't healthy eaters, so it's a family change and it's for the better!

Nomomush

What got me motivated...the flippin' mirror. It doesn't lie like friends who tell me I looked just fine weighing 170 lbs on a 5'1" frame. :noway:

kgool

[/quote]

Opposite for me...I decided to better myself after destroying my body with drugs and alcohol.

Oh, and almost dying from an unexpected, sudden diabetic coma.
[/quote]

I had a bit of the first part myself. It is odd/good how this health thing gets addictive for those with addictive personalities and I had my first workout endorphin high last week which is awesome. Good work, your total is kick *kitten*!

P90XCertifiedCoach

I met a female in weight watchers after I had lost 40 pounds and then I went to hell. drinking partying gained my weight back. She too gained a ton of weight. we broke up after a rocky time. I started doing low carb on 04/04/11. As of 05/01/11 I have lost 20 pounds.
I am happy to say I am back on track where I wa sbefore I met her. I am not doing this to spite her but it has motivated me to get my butt back into shape. I am working out for no less than thirty minutes a day. So thank you Allison.

kgool

Oops, messed up my quote.

kld4239

I almost lost my husband and best friend of 14 yrs because I had given up on the possibility of ever being able to get healthy or to feel good and I started to self-destruct and basically gave up on life. I thought that was it and that I had let myself go too far and that I was a hopeless cause. The moment I realized that I could lose my husband I started to change.

Triquetra

Go divorced in 2008 and have sole of my children, one is special needs and will probably need care for a long time, I want to make sure I have that time....also dad is being a deadbeat as far as seeing the kids (he does pay though)....

bmontgomery87

Opposite for me...I decided to better myself after destroying my body with drugs and alcohol.

Well same here kind of. Spent a lot of time drinking and partying and thats why my relationship didn't work. She had a major drug problem, and I had a drinking problem.
I decided to take the break-up as a chance to get away from that lifestyle and live a better life. Probably the best decision I ever made.

BamBam1113

On Friday, March 18, 2011, my girlfriend and I were on our way back to the apartment from the grocery store. Her younger sister was visiting us from Alabama for the weekend. About a half mile from the house, I came up on a traffic accident where a pedestrian had been struck. I am a firefighter with medical training at a Paramedic level, it was in a neighboring department's district, so of course I stopped. I could tell it was bad. I've seen my share of bad, and this was one of the worst. As I get to her, out of nowhere, a fellow friend and paramedic comes up. I don't know how he was right there because he didn't live in the area. No emergency units were on scene at this time. We both just happened to be driving by at the right time. As we are working on this girl I hear 2 more nurses come up and ask if there is anything they can do. As the emergency units start rolling up, CPR is being administered, and we work to get the girl in the ambulance. As my adrenaline was on overdrive, I only have snapshots of the chaotic scene remaining in my mind from that night. I found out later that we actually nad 3 nurses, 2 paramedics, and an anesthesiologist that happened to be at that spot in those few minutes. I have never seen that happen.

What motivated me about that night though, was the fact that this girl that got hit was only 15 years old. She did not make it that night. I could see that night she probably wouldn't. You see enough of them and sometimes you can tell. She was 15 years old, and hadn't had a chance to live her life.

That motivated me to live mine. To live mine better and healthier. Friends....you never know when this life will be taken from you. Live each day to the fullest, love your family and friends. Everyday is a new day. Everyday is a good day.

Good luck to you all.

amandapratt

I bit the bullet on a camping trip and told myself I didn't care how I looked, I was going to wear a bathing suit (and no cover up) on the beach. I took one look at a photo of myself with my thighs spilling over the chair seat and haven't looked back since.

kennysrush

Aside from high blood pressure / and a history of heart disease on my Mother's side of the family, I am 45 business owner who sits at the desk 10 hours+ each day, suffers from sleep apnea, takes Lipotor for my cholesterol, and medication for hypo-thyroidism.

The growing gut and the threat of high blood pressure was my last straw. Now I'm shooting to get within 10-20 lbs of my calculated BMI - watching what I eat and working out 6-8 times per week.

kgool

I posed this in the completely wrong forum, duh.

kgool

Posted this I mean.

jennylynn84

Money.

Seriously, a lot of money. Last year my office's Biggest Loser Competition had an unprecedented amount of money in the pot (over $300). So, knowing I was pretty fluffy, I got in on it to try and win some money and lose a few.

After that initial sign-up and my competitive streak kicked in I noticed a lot of physical progress before the end of the competition. The improvements in my figure, health and physical abilities kept me going well after the competition ended to where I pretty much doubled my competition-loss in the months that followed. After a while working out and eating healthy was just such a part of life its harder to drop it than keep at it.

Then, of course, my boss raved about me to everyone. So, pressure to not gain it back. My parents got on the wagon losing weight - gotta keep setting that example.

So, lots of reasons to keep going now that the initial incentive is gone.

Kolohe71

The day after Christmas I was looking at the pictures taken by other family members of all the kids opening their presents. In one of those pictures I was in the background sitting on the couch. When I saw this picture, I didn't recognize myself and actually asked my wife "Who's the fat guy?" Needless to say, her answer scared the hell out of me and I started my diet that night.

kgool

The day after Christmas I was looking at the pictures taken by other family members of all the kids opening their presents. In one of those pictures I was in the background sitting on the couch. When I saw this picture, I didn't recognize myself and actually asked my wife "Who's the fat guy?" Needless to say, her answer scared the hell out of me and I started my diet that night.

I had the picture experience too, especially when it's your face. I felt like I was in one of those movies wearing the fat suit.

tannaleigh

My son was born with a severe heart defect. He spent the majority of his first year in the hospital, and recieved a heart transplant a week before his first birthday. I remember how sick he was before his transplant and watch him now. he is 2.5 years post transplant and you would never know the poor guy was ever sick... he makes me tired just watching him. Before I had him and since I have lived a pretty lazy life. if I wasn't at work, I was at home watching tv. pretty pathetic.... I have since had a second son, and with the help of his breastfeeding the weight is easily dropping off. watching the scale drop pretty quickly from 234lbs down to the 195 in the first three weeks after his birth really motivated me to keep it up... and the fact that now at 179 I can run and play with my oldest son without getting winded, its all been great motivation.... all of the above together have been keeping me on this path....

that and the little bit of vanity I have... I would just love to look so good, my boyfriend can't stand it

My sister also got clean in honour of my son, and she quit smoking and she now runs 10k 4-5 times a week. She has challenged me to run my first 5K with her at my side this fall.... and I will not let her down!

youngmomtaz

My dad had a heart attack last March at the age of 49. It was due to undiagnossed type 2 diabetes. He has always been heavier(like me) but always been a hard worker(like me) so we all thought he(like me) was healthy. Guess we learned our lessons. He had 4X bipass surgery 9 months after the attack on his 50th birthday. In this year has lost 60 lbs and is at the goal weight set for him by his doctors, is heading back to work part time, and is on the lowest dosages of his diabetes meds they can give him before being off them for good. I never want to have to put my kids through that and I want to be the best example for my 3 boys that I can be. The best part of all this is that my husband has been motivated to join me and is loving how he is feeling too!

I love hearing everyones "aha" moments. Never forget them!

pittielover23

Wanting to get pregnant was really the last straw for me. After trying for over a year, I realized it may not happen for me unless I lose this extra weight. I hav ebeen unhappy with my weight for awhile now though, so that was just what pushed me over the edge.

I also really really want to feel hot and sexy. I want my husband to hardly be able to keep his hands off me

I am also looking forward to NOT being embarrassed by how I look in pictures. I will basically do whatever possible to avoid being in a picture, and as a result all our vacation pics are of scenery and not so much me or H.

AW30

Turning 30 and not liking how I felt and looked.

kgool

Thanks for all the replies, very interesting seeing what got everyone started. I forgot to mention, feel free to add me as a friend, I only have a handful here and need more, unlike real life where I am a hermit by choice!