Why do you do it?

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.

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

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")

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.

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.

I have always been fat. I just want to be thin for the first time in my life

I got out of breath with the missus in bed, I was wheezing and it was terrible and I've never felt so low or embarrassed before in my entire life. Was that night I realised I had let myself down, Let my missus down and came to the realisation of just how fat and lazy I had become.

Happy to report that it's no longer me who get's out of breath now in the bedroom lol.

I gained a ton of weight during my pregnancy (and was already at my heaviest-145ish prior). I hated the size 16's and larges I was forced to buy so it started out as vanity. Now that I've reached my goal weight I've started to set fitness goals for myself (completed 6w6p for the sake of vanity and am about to start C25K for the sake of a good challenge). At this point it's just about seeing how far I can go (fitness wise) and what I can accomplish when I set my mind to it.

For me its a combination of things.

1) how I look in my clothes
2) its too darn expensive to keep buying new clothes to fit that ever expanding waist and hip
3) the feeling of satisfaction when I look in the mirror and see the changes in my body
4) current and future health...my mom has type 1 diabetes so I'm hoping to avoid that curse
5) most importantly, to serve as an inspiration for my 13 year old twin girls to show them that ANYTHING can be done if they put their minds to it. Hopefully they will be motivated by my effort and results.

For me it was pure vanity. Although I am enjoying feeling better!