Who inspires you the most and why?

rwwerner

Last year at this time my brother and I weighed 320 lbs or so. He decided that he wanted to "live again" and has lost 90+ lbs over the past 11 months. I guess over the last 13 years or so I had it in the back of my mind that I would always be big and tried to make the best of it. I really didn't want to go through the tough exercise routine and starve myself to lose the extra weight. Watching my brother go from 317 to 285, then to 250, then to 230, then to 218 while tracking his calories and working out made me realize that maybe I could do it as well. Never once did he push me, he offered advice when I asked for it and basically led by example over the last year. He has motivated my father who was also pushing 300 lbs and myself. He is truly my inspiration because of his will power, consistency and constant support. It has been 3 weeks since I started and have lost 18 lbs. I love the structure of the site and support from my MFPals. Rob, you rock my world and I appreciate your leadership and support. Love you brother.

MisterDubs303

Ah, shucks. Thanks, Bro.
You're doing an awesome job yourself, and I'm so glad you're finally on board! :drinker:

There are so many awesome success stories on MFP. I'll mention five specifically. They've each inspired me in different ways:

In chronological order:
(the first four people were among my first MFPals, and are part of what I consider to be My Core)

@Innerfashionista:
For some reason I immediately attached to her when I started MFP. She was so honest in her posts about her daily struggles and temptations, but persevered. It showed me that struggling was OK, and it didn't mean I was weak, or that I might as well give up. I clearly remember processing this way: "If she can be faced with these temptations and struggles and still hold strong, I have to stay strong." How crappy would it be for me to compromise and give in to my own temptations while she's sweating it out day after day? It would be like showing up to an AA meeting wreaking of whiskey. Call me co-dependent, but in my mind, her struggles demanded my strength.

@KimCat73
Even though she just now hit 100 pounds lost (WOO HOO!!!), for some reason I have ALWAYS considered her to be a veteran MFP rock star. Her consistency is unbelievable (450 days straight, today), she always puts up awesome exercise numbers, which provides an excellent example to me. Besides those things, her transformation is just incredible.

@Annacataldo
I thought I was an anxiety-ridden perfectionist until I met Anna. Now I know that I am just a slothful, lazy-thinking slacker. Anna is the friend who, like me, over-analyzes everything. I've learned a lot from her, whether the outcome is agreeing or disagreeing, she's forced me to research and think about some things. Most importantly, though, she's the MFPal that I can count on to challenge my diary, not let me get away with stuff, call out my compromises, and still remind me that I'm worth the effort. This inspires me to stay on track. She also communicates her struggles very openly, and I really appreciate that. Her own transformation is incredible, and we share a lot of very similar stats, so we can relate well to each other.

@JulieCat1
Julie is one of those MFPals that just simply rocks my world. I wouldn't really know how to start, and if I did, I wouldn't be able to stop. I will say that we are both about to reach 100 pounds lost, and the overly sentimental me really hopes that we are able to post that milestone on the same weigh-in day.

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@MeganSWoods
This is a wonderful, talented woman who, in my opinion, has the most incredible transformation on MFP. She doesn't have the highest total loss, or whatever else someone wants to use to judge that for themselves, but I am simply astounded by her accomplishment. The interesting thing that I haven't even resolved for myself yet, is that she is not finished. There is just something about her before and current pics that amazes me; it's that simple. If you are reading this thread, then you have undoubtedly already seen her, either on her own thread (recently hit 100 lbs. lost) or in other before/after threads.

There are several of my other MFPals who, like yours, inspire me in their own special ways, and I am grateful for the roles they play in supporting my own transformation. There are others, including these, who are just simply special to me, but this thread is about weight loss inspiration. Much love.

Iamachocaholic

That's awesome, I love that story!! And what a nice thing to share with your family ... good health!
My story is a little simpler. Just before Christmas last year one of my co-worker's son's got engaged and she freaked out saying she didn't want to be a "fat mother of the groom" (granted she was maybe a size 16 at most) so she jumped into eating healthy and exercising .. now at 48 years old she is rock hard and "smokin' hot" according to her hubby! LOL
Of course her success got me thinking about getting healthy, and so I started making small changes. What finally did it for me was an invitation in early February to ride my motorcycle on the Blue Ridge Highway and Natches Trace. Similar to her I had a realization ... I was going to be the fattest person on the group ride!! (gasp!!)
So on February 14th I purchased a year-long gym membership and a personal trainer as my Valentine's Day present to myself.
Some starts, stops, bumps, and total denials later, I am finally feeling like I might have the hang of this ...

kimcat73

Rob you inspire me every day. You are one of my dearest friends here and I treasure your support. You are an amazing person who is always there to lift us up when we need it and cheer us on when we succeed.

I'm so glad that you have inspired your family as well. If we can do it, anyone can, right?

MisterDubs303

Rob you inspire me every day. You are one of my dearest friends here and I treasure your support. You are an amazing person who is always there to lift us up when we need it and cheer us on when we succeed.

I'm so glad that you have inspired your family as well. If we can do it, anyone can, right?

Shall we just have a support whirlwind? Thanks, Kim, not only for your acknowledgement, but for your inspiration. You're an MFP Superstar, and I've been lucky enough to have known you for my whole time on here. I know that you are responsible for some a healthy slice of my success so far.

Scorpioangel

I was inspired by Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper on the Biggest Loser. I liked their no nonsense attitude and I loved seeing how they helped others change their life around!

eatac

My sister because of her dramatic weight loss over a gradual course of 4 years. She looks amazing and I want to be like her!