Why do you do it?

MSeel1984
MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was thinking about this during my workout this morning-what is motivating me in my effort to get into better shape?

Is it more about health for you or about how you look? I think it's both for me. I'm hoping as I get in better shape my Type I diabetes will be better controlled...looking better in my clothes (and without them) is also part of why I'm doing this...

I don't know what came first as far as my motivation for working out and eating better...

What about you all?
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Replies

  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
    My quality of life is better when I'm eating healthfully, taking care of my body and respect the way I care for myself.

    If I invest 2 hours a day in myself (one hour of working out and one hour of meal prep/thoughtful eating) the remaining hours of my day are of higher quality.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
    For me it's about how I look.
  • XmanMike
    XmanMike Posts: 183 Member
    For health purposes, mostly. I am middle age now and I wanna still continue being fit and active. I have a memory of being on ship during the Gulf War and the Sargeant Major was 51 years old but he was in phenomenal shape! Muscular and ripped! He was so energetic, full of life and strong even in the midst of the war. I told myself then that I would be that way as well.
  • razzle29
    razzle29 Posts: 9
    Today I was in-line at Subway and there was this younger woman infront of me with this killer, toned body. I probably
    was foaming at the mouth but she was patient and answered my questions. She had been doing stronglifts 5x5 for quite some
    time, at the end of our convo I decided that I was going to give it a shot. Surprisingly, she came with me and helped me pick out
    some weights and nick named me a "she-hulk in disguise" lol.

    Losing the weight would be for my health, lifting for me is 100% vanity :P
  • TinaReinholz
    TinaReinholz Posts: 37
    When I started it was completely look related. Now I'm loving the feeling I get after I lift or exercise and the way my body is felling also. There's so much more I can do.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,148 Member
    It's become habit now. The long term reason, one that I started with a year ago, is to get my doctors to do something about my health problems rather than scoffing them off on my weight.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    It's both for me. I put on a lot of weight in my 2nd pregnancy and knew I was putting weight on at the time as I didn't exercise (I had all the best intentions but the tiredness, nausea and having a toddler to look after and working just didn't make it possible) but nothing prepared me for how miserable I was when my daughter was born and I still resembled a beached whale. So I got right back on the exercising as soon as she was 7 weeks old.

    I feel so much more confident and better about myself now.

    I never had any health issues, but my dad has type 2 diabetes and is overweight, and I don't want that to happen to me in the future.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Started out being purely for health reasons...then I got addicted to fitness and started signing up for races and ****...now I do it because I have to train if I want to compete...and I love competing. My body continues to and that's pretty awesome too....
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    To look good naked.



    And achieve fitness goals I'd never even dreamed of setting in the first place.
  • jayce54321
    jayce54321 Posts: 110 Member
    For my long term health. When I get older I want to be able to care for myself, don't want a nursemaid (unless she looks like you!:tongue: ) Diabetes runs in the family and I refuse to let it kill me.
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
    Vanity

    And to be able to lift more each time
  • ERMOT
    ERMOT Posts: 8 Member
    Health--I had gallstones after my second pregnancy; and for years everything I ate made me feel sick. My mom had been on MFP for awhile and after I'd whined about not feeling good--again--she said, "TRY MFP! JUST DO IT!" Honestly, I was annoyed and secretly joined to show her it wouldn't work. Of course, she showed me and I've been here for a year and a half. I've never felt better in my life and I keep it up because I don't ever want to feel awful like I used to again. The smaller me is just icing on the cake.
  • GloAveritt
    GloAveritt Posts: 2
    For me it is both. I want to look and feel good about myself. i want to be a lot healthier too because my family has a lot of heart issues and diabetes.
  • 43932452
    43932452 Posts: 7,246 Member
    Image, health, family, quality of living, because damn it .. I'm worth it. :)
  • SouthernButt
    SouthernButt Posts: 32
    Today I was in-line at Subway and there was this younger woman infront of me with this killer, toned body. I probably
    was foaming at the mouth but she was patient and answered my questions. She had been doing stronglifts 5x5 for quite some
    time, at the end of our convo I decided that I was going to give it a shot.

    That's awesome! I want to eventually get into lifting as well.

    I want to get into good shape for all the reasons...

    I want to beat up the boys that I've always rough housed with. :)
    I want to look great in whatever I'm wearing and I know everyone has their moments.
    To get my health up and that means inside and out. I've already noticed my skin has improved greatly.
    I've partied pretty hard throughout the years, I imagine it has and will continue to take a toll so I'd like to combat that all that I can.
    I want to be able to be proud of my accomplishment and help others who feel like I do now.
    I don't want to be shamed into working out by myself. I've always dated guys that wanted to workout together. HAHAHAHA. No.

    Oh, and that size 8 sequin Calvin Klein LBD isn't sitting in my closet so I can give it to a friend. THAT DRESS WILL BE WORN.
  • belinus
    belinus Posts: 112 Member
    The politically correct answer is because I want to be healthier.

    The true answer is I hate what I see in the mirror, I am extremely annoyed by weight-related problems I have, and I am sick of having to buy clothes and furniture from specialty stores.
  • razzle29
    razzle29 Posts: 9
    I can see myself flexing while tucking a strand of hair behind my ear :P
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Well for me 4 years ago I could barely stand for 30 seconds at a stretch and walking was next to impossible so anything I am doing today is just a bonus!! So for me I workout "Because a Can!!"
  • 6ofone
    6ofone Posts: 13
    I don't want to look like a male ape with a baby at 40+ (gotta love those family gene's on dads side) and really enjoy working out and the challenges.
    :happy:
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    My primary motivation was so I could fit into better clothes. I do also appreciate the good things I'm doing for my health, though!
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    Well they go hand in hand so who cares, you get benefits all round : )
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    This question was asked in Chit Chat this past week, but was more of a "fun answers" type thread.

    For me, there are several reasons. Probably the most important factor is my health. I let my weight get out of control for almost a decade and I am sure that a year ago I was nearing or at a pre-diabetic stage. I work outside in high heat conditions and it was becoming intolerable, even climbing a ladder was a chore.

    Another reason was my mental state. I was hating myself for what i had become and self-loathing permiated much of my self-esteem. I felt disgusting, increasingly helpless, and completely unattractive. Taking control of my health and fitness has helped me make great improvements on that front, teaching me to love who I am and look forward to who I am becoming.

    And, of course, there is the vanity factor. I am a passable looking guy and I want to have a great body to increase my attractiveness to others. I want the confidence that shines from people with excellent physiques and to be able to attract someone with my looks, then completely blow them away with my personality. I want to be the full package.



    Teehee...package.


    Lastly, I want to see what I am capable of, mentally and physically. How far can I push myself, how strong can I be, how far can I run, how much pain can I handle? I want to find my limits and then tear them down and exceed my limitations in all things.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    For me its about how I feel. I got sick of being out of breath just walking up more than a flight of stairs or a small hill, I got sick of finding excuses not to do stuff that I used to enjoy, I got sick of not being able to do things I used to do properly like kayaking. I have a long way to go and am already doing weights as I want muscle definition when my muscles peak through the fat! To be fitter I need to be lighter so a healthier diet and eating at a calorie deficit is required. Better health and looking better are obviously big side benefits though!
  • koshkasmum
    koshkasmum Posts: 276 Member
    Health definitely!! I was a wreck headed for a heart attack, stroke or diabetic complications. And at 60 there is only so much better I can look...LOL
  • tomg33
    tomg33 Posts: 305 Member
    At first I thought I wanted to be a ripped guy like you see in the magazines because then the ladies would flock to me.

    Then I realised that it's really much more about your personality, confidence, and how you can make a person feel that makes them what to get to know you.

    Now I'm lifting weights, gaining strength and dropping fat because I just love the process. That young man's dream of being a fawkin huge joocy c*** is still in my mind and I love it.

    But there is NO DOUBT that the better you look, the better shape you get in.. The better people treat you. There is no getting around this. Those who are wanting to lose weight, trust me, you won't believe what it's like when people treat YOU like a different YOU.
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
    I gained ~25-30 lbs since getting married. I'm doing this for a multitude of reasons

    1. I have a closet full of clothes that used to fit. I'd like to wear them again.
    2. I have a Chinese relative who told me just how fat I'd gotten. (This is pretty prevalent in Chinese culture, but hard to take if you're "gwai-lo" like I am.
    3. I'd like my husband to think I'm attractive.
    4. I'm an EMT. I have to lean and reach over people in an area the size of my dining room table. The less of me I have to move, the more room my patients, colleagues, and I have.
    5. I like being the one who isn't obese, hypertensive or managing weight-related diabetes at family events. (Most of my relatives are overweight - obese and one relative is morbidly obese. I look "frail" in comparison at 170lbs at 5'7")
  • razzle29
    razzle29 Posts: 9
    I think my biggest reason is to not be ignored anymore.
  • Binkie1955
    Binkie1955 Posts: 329 Member
    My mother has Type 1 and it has led to hypertension, kidney disease and finally vascular dementia. so it's really bad. i'm going low carb because I am more concerned with avoiding metabolic syndrome than anything else. i'm married, so my wife is stuck with me no matter what I look like but I don't want her to be stuck with an invalid. also, I rate my human capital pretty highly and the idea of being unable to work, take care of myself or rely on a social welfare system that is bankrupt is unappealing. I figure once social security and medicare fail, we'll all need to realize that we need to keep working until we're dead. those who cannot do this will be quickly rationalized by the coming 'death panels' of socialized medicine. so staying healthy and strong is really the only insurance we have. Also, low carb diets are your best therapy for avoiding cancer.
  • MsEndomorph
    MsEndomorph Posts: 604 Member
    Because I deserve to love the way I look.

    Because I want my approaching 30's to be so much more phenomenal than my 20s.

    Because I gave the last 11 years to my children and put myself last. Now that they're a tiny bit older, I can invest more in myself.

    Because there's a tiny voice in my head who tells me I can't. I'm sick of that voice and the only way I know to shut it off is to prove it wrong.

    Because a patient at work asked me if I was having a boy or girl. And I'm not pregnant.

    Because I like breaking necks ;)
  • watfordjc
    watfordjc Posts: 304 Member
    The first 50 pounds was for health. At that point I could walk 20 miles, stretch my quads standing up without supporting myself with something, my RHR was 53 bpm (so hard to measure that), and my 1-minute heart recovery rate was about 20 bpm.

    The rest is for physique, although I am experimenting to see if any of my issues are weight-related (doubtful, but if I have popping abs I won't believe doctors are fobbing me off because they think obesity is the cause of everything).

    Actually, knowing more about my body is up there too.

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