What Motivated You to Start Losing Weight?

j1wright

I was out for drinks with coworkers and one of the guys had his really pretty wife there and added me to Facebook on her phone. As she was looking through my old photos, she saw one of me ten years ago when I was thinner and said, "Holy crap! That was you!?!" and proceeded to show everyone how "hot" I was. The past tense is what sunk it.

The next day I started using MFP religiously.

Don't you just love these people? I hope you lose a bunch of weight and see her out again for drinks and tell her thanks for the insults, it really helped you lose weight.

saraann4

I was out for drinks with coworkers and one of the guys had his really pretty wife there and added me to Facebook on her phone. As she was looking through my old photos, she saw one of me ten years ago when I was thinner and said, "Holy crap! That was you!?!" and proceeded to show everyone how "hot" I was. The past tense is what sunk it.

The next day I started using MFP religiously.

WOW! That must have hurt! She probably didn't mean it in a bad way, but I can see it. Think before you say. BUT everything happens for a reason and now you are here!

mrsmel55

For me to wake up and snap out of it was my dear hubby (60 years old) almost died when he had a heart attack on January 14th. They had to shock him 11 times and I didn't know if he was going to live or die. It was the scariest thing I have ever been through. WOW!!! If that doesn't wake you up and make you see that you need to change, nothing will. I was weighing 271 pounds on January 17the when I went to my dr (having a panic attack, a delayed reaction from what had happened two days before) and today I weigh 235 and I will do this. My hubby is doing great. He had to have a stint put in to clear a 100% blockage to the main artery on the right side of his heart. If we had not been at the hospital when it clogged up and burst he would have died. Thank God there were warning signs in enough time to get him to the hospital. He was eating what I fed him, he smoked and neither of us did any kind of exercise. Now we are eating healthy, he has lost 30 pounds, quit smoking and he walks every day for an hour. I started doing Zumba with the Wii, and riding my bike (inside or out) and am even doing some minor weights exercises to try and firm these flabby arms. I still have a ways to go, but its a lifestyle change not a diet. I will get there!!

Lweber0723

I have lots of motivation, but the biggest motivation for me is wanting to have a baby. My husband and I have been trying for over a year now- and I went to the doctor to find I was diagnosed with PCOS. My doctors suggestion- lose weight.....so thats what I am trying to do! I want a baby!

noturshorte

there are so many reasons that I SHOULD have started...I had signed up on here 9 months before I actually started...but my best friend was who made me start with her even though we are now living in different countries

babicak3z

i seen my sister wedding pics i was a bridesmaid and i was the biggest one i had 3 necks and i didnt look like myself its been 5 years and i am maintaining pretty good i put on a few pounds the end of last year got laid off was going through a rough time but now im back ontop and ready to lose those few lbs

Lweber0723

I feel the very same way! I got married last July, and when we got our proofs- I cried. I could not find any pictures that I wanted to frame- I hated how I looked in all of them!

Lweber0723

Seeing pictures of my self on my wedding day and HATING every single one. Not one photo hangs in my house from the best day of my life.

I feel the very same way! I got married last July, and when we got our proofs- I cried. I could not find any pictures that I wanted to frame- I hated how I looked in all of them!

Arthemise1

I had my son, and I couldn't do all the things I wanted to do with him. He wanted my husband or my mom more than he wanted me because I just couldn't do as much with him. I realized that I couldn't do it on my own, so I had LapBand surgery. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I just wasn't going to lose the weight doing the same old thing. I've lost 55 pounds so far, and it's still a struggle. The band helps with the hunger, but I still have to do the work myself. I can keep up with my four-year-old now (mostly), and I hope to do even more as he gets older. I want to be around to see him grow up.

psmoser

I have always been overweight, at my highest I weighed in at 530 pounds and that was 19 years ago. Over about 10 years I lost 250 pounds, but I have been on a major plateau the last 3 years and haven't been able to budge off of it, but a little over a year ago I ended up with a work-related back injury which then forced me to have major back surgery December 2011 and I am getting ready to return to work in the next 3 weeks, and it is definitely necessary for me to work on taking off more weight so the things that were fixed during my surgery don't end up being done for nothing, not to mention I want to finally LOOK GOOD in my skin!

Anaconda62

My best friend apparently didn't think she was being rude when she told me I was huge while I was pregnant. She kept saying off handed remarks about my weight laughing about how big I was. I was always afraid to see her after the baby was born because I was afraid she would tell me how I huge I still was. That was my motivation to lose the weight.

We are not friends anymore.

Haha. You lost waay more than 32 lbs then.

fairestthings

Seeing myself in pictures, and finally admitting my ED came back and I couldn't keep it in check. (Big time binge eater here). Unfortunately my binge eating kept making me gain, unlike in high school when I could binge and still lose 2lbs a week.

Our daughter has Down syndrome and has had to endure a few surgeries for her heart and has had weak lungs. She's only 2 right now but I want her to know to exercise and I want her to crave grapes, not Oreos. It's important we are good examples to her so that when we are not here to take care of her, it has been so engraved into her that she reaches for healthy things and realizes the importance of the ONE body God blessed her with to take care of.

I hate my picture taken and I'm humiliated everytime I have to change in front of my husband or have to see a picture of myself. It's horrible. I never wanted to be in my 20's and not be able to wear a cocktail dress without worrying how plump I look.

fairestthings

Seeing pictures of my self on my wedding day and HATING every single one. Not one photo hangs in my house from the best day of my life.

I feel the very same way! I got married last July, and when we got our proofs- I cried. I could not find any pictures that I wanted to frame- I hated how I looked in all of them!

You guys aren't alone! While we do have some of them up, they're mostly shots where my weight is mostly concealed. I'm still really angry with myself for being as chubby as I was during my wedding.

joankpoirier

turning 50.. and having 3 Saint Bernards that I love to walk and run with.. No fun when you tire so fast

awmejia

To be truthful, I felt like crap. I was so fat I could even make it to my mail box and back without being out of breath, and my skin felt like play doh. I am still over the 200 lb mark but i feel so much better than I did at 310lbs.

villager76

For me, it was not wanting to be the fat guy in my group of friends anymore. But, the final push was my dad having a heart attack. I just started 4 weeks ago. But, so far so good!

spunkfish

For me, it was the fact that every time I went to work I noticed my scrubs were getting tighter and tighter. I refused to spend the money on buying new scrubs. Honestly, it's cheaper to work out and lose the weight than it is to buy new larger scrubs. ( And it's better for your confidence!)

senorlee

I got tired of looking in the mirror and seeing my stomach stick out. It was also a self esteem thing for me. I know others were looking and thinking, "what's up with that stomach". Pastries are my weakness!!!

girlt73

I am an RN and our patients keep getting bigger and bigger, like over 400 to 500 pounds. I see the sadness and shame, and I could not even imagine not being able to take care of myself. I know that to be at that weight is not a goal for someone. It creeps on a pound here and a pound there. After a car accident, steroids, and inactivity, I put on 20 pounds in 3 months. I had to put a stop to it. When your 7 yr old tells you mom, you are getting big, that's a big eye opener! I just want to be healthy and a good role model for my family and my patients.

PSTreasure

My motivation has been the desire to finally get control of my health. My blood sugar was not regulated and my blood pressure was high. When one of my medications went from $25 to $230, I decided I have to get to a place where I don't need the medications. Actually, that was a blessing in disguise. I stopped taking the meds (not the right thing to do!) and lost 40 pounds right away. I hadn't realized that I gained most of that weight when I started taking that medication, After that I went to the doctor, told her what I wanted to do and I was on my way. I seem to do best when I don't eat much meat, so for the most part, I am a vegetarian. It took another year to get really serious about getting in better shape. Of course I had to fall and hurt my knee to get me started on that part of my journey. I discovered that I have arthritis in both knees and to avoid knee replacement surgery as long as possible, I have to lose weight and get in better shape.(yes, I know round is a shape, but it's not good enough anymore!). Two weeks in to this leg of the journey and I am down 4 pounds, I can do 6+ miles on the stationary bike and I am working with a trainer to whip my body into condition! I also have my daughter going to the gym with me and we keep each other on track. Good luck to you!!

smileybooliz

My "BEFORE" picture at 242 lbs... I took that pic in January on vacation and it was a total reality check when I SAW myself in it!!!! I was SHOCKED and never noticed I had gained that much. Joined MFP January 7th of this year and have been on here ever since!!! My profile pic shows my BEFORE and DURING pic.

You look beautiful!! Congrats on the weight loss!!

snix1024

I just new it was time...and my son introducing me to MFP...

beautifulneah

having a mild heartattack & under 35 on meds. Im a mom of 4 and I want to be around to see my children finish school, get married & have wonderful lives. My heaviest was 346, I am currently 299 with my first goal of 250.

Quaftone

The sight of stretch marks was a huge wake-up call.

cannonsky

My motivation was the off chance that I might gain some confidence and finally start to feel comfortable in my own skin

jadedone

1. My periods were getting horrible (I am hypothyroid, so my doctor suggested that losing weight could help with my periods. Or it could be my thyroid, but getting back to the weight I was when I started seeing her would help....as my periods were normal for me then. I was about 20 pounds lighter then)
2. One of my coworkers made a goal to be in her best shape ever before she turns 45, so she started couch 2 5k to support her friend who was doing a marathon for her 40th. I thought I should shoot for being in the best shape of my life before my 35th b-day. And I haven't made any serious weight loss attempts ever (this sounds like a future blog post topic).
3. I was getting sick of missing out on getting the cute clothes from capsule collections at H&M and Target etc because they didn't come in size 18.
4. I was getting sick of my limited lingerie choices (although I don't think it will get much easier when I lose).