Ok let's be honest here..................

Iamfit4life

Vanity. I was already fit and healthy when I joined.

Just want to be better.

fatboypup

both

rockerbabyy

it was almost always about vanity when i was trying to lose before. i think thats why it never really worked (for me!). i would just try fad diet after diet to try to get "skinny".. it wasnt until after i had my kids that i realized it needs to be more about health so i can be around for them. its easier for me now, to limit "bad" foods and eat healthier stuff. i think part of it was moving to western washington from utah. much more health conscious people out here.
but even now id have to say 50/50 vanity/health >.>

faith12207

Mostly health and a longer life with my children...

chevy88grl

With a family history of heart disease, heart attack, bypass surgeries, strokes, diabetes.. I could go on and on.. When I was heading towards 35 yrs old I realized I had to change something and quick.

So, I started off doing it because I didn't want to end up like so many of my family members with a bit of vanity mixed into it. Who doesn't want to look better too?

fiberartist219

I am here to be healthy. Diabetes runs in my family, and I'd like to avoid it if I can.

Personally, I feel that I can be beautiful at any size. I am not worried about being perceived as "fat." I also don't have too many problems finding clothes. I can sew, so if I can't find what I want, I make it myself.

kappyd

Health, I have high blood pressure, family history of stroke and heart disease. I also wanted to feel better and have more energy. But a lady walking by me the other day told me that I was cute.........haven't heard that in.......well maybe never.

Rae6503

Vanity. Although it's great to be healthy and fit.

kristarablue

Wow...I am not sure they are separate or even can be separate entities. I joined to track my food and exercise because I was losing weight and i wanted to lose more and it kind of morphed from there. I did not intentionally begin to lose weight it came off through the exercising, but once I realized I was losing I wanted to lose more because I wanted to feel better about myself. That feeling better is both physical ..ie..health reasons....and confidence ...ie..vanity reasons with the confidence to do more physically as well. I think it is cyclical, I think even if we start for health reasons the vanity slips in and that is ok....or if we start for vanity reasons often health slips in so ya...both how could it not if you are serious about getting into shape

chickenlady38

Health reasons ... had cardiac bypass surgery and I need to lose weight so that my heart can continue to heal and be healthier.

mznisaelaine

It started of like 75% vanity and then last year at my heaviest weight I was getting sick (it's very very rare I get sick) and I blamed it on me just not taking care of myself... And plus since I got more and more active on MFP and I started really learning more about health and fitness then I got more serious. Now it's more like 50/50.. But I know once I get healthier and lose weight then I will feel much better about myself.

lazyspice

Health - my back hurts, my knees hurt, my feet hurt and I've got high blood pressure.

Not surprising considering the load they have to cope with!

fit4lyfeLisa

Health

Mrswilko

I've gone the other way round. Started for health, but now that my confidence has risen, a teeny bit of vanity is starting to creep in!!!!

i'd agree with this.... look much better than i used to and now i want to look good!

I have to admit though, although i know i needed to lose weight for some time I never really felt a strong urge to for any reason then one day it kind of clicked after being on AD's and I decided to do it! So here I am....

StrawberrySuzyQ

I suppose I would have to say for vanity reasons, however, my BMI and weight were over the healthy ranges and I wanted to lower those to be healthier. I also decided to make changes for health reasons since my mom was put in the hospital and ended up having to open heart cardiac bypass surgery back in May. It made me re-evaluate my eating and my own health and make changes so that I would be less likely to find myself in the same situation.

Vanity because I just want to be skinnier (like I was before I got married 16 1/2 years ago) and I want to just want to kind of throw it in my ex's face whenever he sees me to see what he threw away since he is going after all those skinny, nothing there kind of girls. But I want to feel good about my body and so a lot of the vanity is for ME.

gazz777

Vanity started to set in after first few stone lost. Before that it was a life vs death struggle. Now, I choose LIFE !

mrmarius

60% health 40% vanity. main issue is to get bp under control.and then get my six pack back

glockster972

Both.

pnieuw

100% health. Could care less about looks or vanity. Needed to drop some weight and balance my diet.

SunshineKisses_2012

I've gone the other way round. Started for health, but now that my confidence has risen, a teeny bit of vanity is starting to creep in!!!!

This. I've lost weight purely for vanity (with a dash of health) in the past and it didn't stick. Me now doing it for health reasons and appreciating the vanity side of it as I loose weight has helped me to better understand why I was fat to begin with so that this will be a life-long change.

Mmmary212

Both...if I didnt find out that certain staple foods were harming me, it'd be 100% vanity. But now over the past few months learning so much about what you eat is more important than how much you eat, It's more-so health because I have never felt healhier and what I look on the outside is a direct response to being healhty on the inside.

BondBomb

Vanity. I have always been healthy and in fairly good shape. Having a baby changed that. But once I lose the last 10 baby lbs I think I will look the way I want to look again.

ONE03

um, neither? lol.

or perhaps health if you can call it that. i find myself obsessed with food, and i just want to stop that. it takes away from my focus at school. not too long ago, i failed my nursing school entrance exam, and that just made me realize i need to improve my focus by developing better study habits AND improving my diet.

SmartFunGorgeous

Both... but check out my user name... mostly vanity!

Since I don't have anything to be vain about yet, I keep focusing on fitness goals. Right now, I want to get my stinking 5k under 40 minutes! I want to actually be able to COMPETE in my age bracket in a year from now... not have to focus on the old ladies and hope they don't put me to shame (SCORE--> beat an old lady today, and it was SWEET.)

baybeecakes08

vanity .. im doing this just to look good lol!!

warmachinejt

i started with a set of 20lbs dumbbells in high school when i saw my friends show off their biceps. Now I just wanna be one of the bigger guys at the gym and feel like a beast...to me working out is about respect

HMonsterX

Neither.

I just want to get stronger to help the wife more, and to be faster around the badminton court!


Looks and health are by-products for me

asyouseefit

Vanity and fitness I was at a healthy weight (higher end of normal BMI) when I started.

killagb

Definitely both. I like being healthier now at 41 years old, before I get older where being very active becomes harder if you're unfit. I also noticed my neck getting pretty damn bloated up and I was creeping up within 10lbs of my heaviest weight in my life, so I knew I didn't want to get there.

ABetterBalance

Vanity and mental health.

My physical health is fine. My weight is in a normal range, and, while I have gained weight in the last year or two, my doctor has not expressed any concerns. Except my blood pressure, which is constantly elevated due to almost daily anxiety attacks.

I do not like the way I look, or how my clothes fit- so a large part of this is vanity for me. Also, I do not like the way I feel, about myself and just in general day-to-day. I've been struggling with mental illness for at least 15 years now, and have found that when I am eating better and more active, the symptoms are easier to manage.