Who inspires you?

Just thought it would be fun to take a minute to tip our respective hats to those that inspire us in our fitness and weight loss goals.

I have a few:

1. My coworkers, two in particular, A and K. They've both always been relatively healthy people who kept in shape, watched what they ate, and things like that. But A is almost 27, and within the last year has finished both her first half marathon and her first triathlon (sprint distance). She went from a size 12 to a size 6-8 without really consciously trying to lose weight, just make better food choices and get fitter. She's been a great source of information, support, and tips, and has never once given me the "But you're thin, YOU don't need to diet" speech. K has also been a good example for healthy eating, because she's one that won't lecture, but will definitely good-naturedly pick on you if you come back from lunch with a KFC calorie bomb.

2. An acquaintance and other coworker, Angela. She's kind of a counter-inspiration, not that she demotivates me, but she makes me feel good about my choices. She used to be 120 lbs heavier, and lost the weight with the help of the lapband. I have NO issues with people who have a weight loss procedure, but she didn't try before and she doesn't try now. She still eats horribly, and wears clothes that do NOT flatter her because she's convinced herself she's skinny. She's an RN, too, she should know better. There's kind of a healthy/fitness kick around work lately, with me joining MFP, A's athletic achievements, and a few people who wanted to lose doing their own version of Biggest Loser. Another nurse, D, has started running, and she's one of those people who has to struggle to keep weight on. She's naturally tall and very slender, so when she started upping her exercise, she inadvertently lost weight. I overheard Angela ragging on D the other day, gossiping about how D has an eating disorder (she doesn't, I've known her for years, we worked together before we had the jobs we have now), while A was halfway through a Hershey bar that SHE WAS DIPPING IN PEANUT BUTTER. Then she sat down to a dinner of a Culver's double burger. Without knowing it, Angela makes me feel better about myself, because I know that I have the discipline to make good food choices and stick to a program I know will make me a healthier person. She just thinks the lapband has given her carte blanche to eat any crap she feels like putting in her body. [I know not everyone who has weight loss surgery feels that way, by far, she's just a great example of EVERYTHING a person shouldn't do].

3. My good friend and old room mate, W. He is a little heavy, maybe 15 lbs overweight or so, but in the last few years, he has made drastic changes to his lifestyle. He has been diagnosed as pre-diabetic (it runs in his family), but instead of throwing in the towel and saying "Heck with it, I'm going to get diabetes anyway", he's adopted a far healthier lifestyle. This was a guy who, before, could and would eat tons of meat, and the unhealthiest meats there were, like brats. He never had a drinking problem, but he did sure like his beer, having one or two a night after work, and ate a stereotypical "man's man" diet. He still indulges from time to time, but he's keeping his diet in much better balance, snacking on fruits and veggies instead of bread loaded with PB and butter, almost entirely cutting out refined sugar, and limiting drinking to only on the weekends, and in extremely moderate amounts. He severely fractured his leg about a year and a half ago, so the exercise he can do is limited, but he still does what he can, despite still having some pain. If he can turn it around, anyone can. He's also been nothing but supportive of me. He never once picked on me (other than friendly teasing) when I returned to vegetarianism, and has been supportive of my fitness and weight loss efforts.

4. Myself. It might sound conceited, but without getting way too personal, I have my reasons. In 2002, I suffered a mysterious back condition. I just woke up one morning and couldn't walk. As it turns out, there is a little too much play in a joint in my back, which causes my sacroilliac joint to slip. Google "piriformis syndrome" to get a little more information. I know that NOW, but at the time it happened, no doctor could diagnose is, and it went for 3 years untreated. I was at a point where I lost nerve conduction in my left leg, the muscles started to atrophy, and one very unpersonable and uncaring orthopedic surgeon, after my 4th appointment with him said "Look. I don't know what the hell is wrong with you. I can't help you and I can't do anything else for you. Whatever you have is obviously degenerative, so I would make plans to be in a wheelchair within the next 5 years if I were you." I was using narcotic pain meds to deal with the pain (they didn't), I was down to 92# and slept 16 hours a day. I was convinced, at 25 years old, that I was watching myself die. Through serendipity, I found that activity helped the problem. I was forced to walk a long distance one day through circumstance, and that night I felt ever so slightly better. Walking became jogging became running, and 8 years later, now I'm trying to lose weight, off the meds, and 75-90% pain free.

5. I don't idolize celebrities or try to live up to some ideal of beauty that would take a personal trainer, my own chef, an endless supply of money, and surgery to acquire. But, I am a big fan of Hugh Laurie (from House MD), and he is inspiring to me. When he was younger, he was a star rower. Young, muscular, and unbelievably fit. But now, at 51 years old, he's still in great shape. He's intelligent and amazingly talented, but part of what makes me find him SEXY, is that he isn't physically perfect but he's projects that he's comfortable in his own skin. He's aged naturally, even if that means greying, balding, and a few extra pounds. I can only guess at how busy the life of an A list celebrity is, but he still finds time to keep fit, working out regularly and taking up boxing. His confidence and showing that health and fitness are a LIFELONG goal, and that you don't have to be perfect to be attractive, are inspiring to me.

Your turn. :blushing: