Who are we losing weight for... Really?

I am a happy married woman and don't take me wrong but I do have to tell you..."If that is your true body in that picture..Man you are ripped!!!!!!!!" What a great accomplishment and hard work and dedication!!!!
(This was meant for another person that had commented..Dunno what happened)

I lost weight to improve my quality of life. I was tired of feeling like crap all the time, tired of dodging cameras at social events (and tired of dodging social events), tired of wanting to be invisible, tired of doing all my clothes shopping online because I couldn't bear to try things on a fitting room, tired of allowing myself to be controlled by food, and yes, tired of intentionally staying out of the dating pool to avoid being rejected.

But losing weight changed me in ways I couldn't have fathomed back then. I am a better person now, not because I'm thinner but because demanding more FROM myself and FOR myself is now an ingrained habit. Sure, I am physically more attractive, and that most definitely has its upside. But I hope the man who is ultimately the beneficiary of that, whomever and wherever he is, will consider himself at a greater advantage because of the work ethic and problem solving skills and capacity for commitment that I have acquired through losing this much weight.

I'm doing what I do because I stepped on the scale one day, saw the number 408 and instantly knew what it was to truly loathe myself.

Yeah, as the fat comes off and the muscle gets more visible, I get more attention, both from my wife and others too. It's nice, but it's not why I'm doing it.

I'm doing this for me, because it's the one thing I can do for myself that no one else can take away from me...because I'll never again let myself get to that point of being out of control in the only two areas I really do control...my mind, and my body.

I have a few people/things:

I am doing this for the glucose monitor that always laugh when I go into hyperglycemia even when bolusing correct. I have noticed that, even if I am a T1, the ten pounds I have lost ontop of the weight lost from my diabetes has lowered my need for bolus insulin by almost 30%. Though, my meter laughs now when I am constantly going into hypoglycemia, but oh well, it's more sugar for me. :drinker:

I am also doing this for myself. I have been significantly overweight since I was 12, and with my diagnosis, I know that obesity can make glucose control more difficult and could then cause life-threatening complications to arise. I do not want to be somebody who loses her foot by the age of 30 because of poor glucose control. For years, I thought my weight was alright, but I had that horrible "what did I turn myself into" moment as I stepped onto the scale and saw that I was considered obese.

In a way, I also am doing this for the people who believed I deserved no respect because of my weight. Throughout middle school and high school, as my peers went out on dates and gawked about their boyfriends, guys would ask me out as a joke. It does hurt being eighteen and have never been on a date or been kissed. Tough these people are now out of my life, I wish to go back to that point eventually and prove to them that I still deserve to be respected, whether I am 120 or 220 pounds.

I also want to do this for my future children and grandchildren. I lost my grandfather, a beautiful soul who valued life, at a very young age because of heart issues. I do not want my weight to cause me to die early. I want to live a long life and, on the day I die, look back and say that I lived a beautiful life. I do not want to look back on being out of breath for walking up two stories of stairs at my old high school, or the worries of being able to sit in a desk or on a rollercoaster ride, or even the embarrassment of having to shop where my mother shops at.

It's totally for me. I knew what is was like to be fit and at a weight I liked - I starting running long distance running 10 years ago, lost 42 lbs and kept it off for years. In November 2012, I tore the meniscus in my left knee, while I was training for my first full marathon. Being a woman of a certain age, it took forever to convince a doctor that it was not just arthritis in my knee but a PROBLEM, so time dragged on and on and on.

I sunk into a quasi depression, I guess from the loss of the endorphin rush that dedicated long distance running gives you. I began to slip back into all my negative eating habits in a spirit of self-pity - "If I can't run, I may as well eat". Well, 15 months later I have finally reconciled myself to never being able to run again, so that cycle of self-pity is finished. Now I look at myself in the mirror and go OMG who is that person. Now I labor up flights of stairs in the metro that I used to run up. I'm fed up - I want the old, healthy and happy Debbie back. This is for me. PS have 30 lbs to loose.

So that people can accept me :sick:

All of them :frown:

I'm doing for my wardrobe... winter bulking made all my summer clothes tight/unwearable.

I first started losing weight for my family. There is a history of diabetes in my family and I couldn't stand my parents constant worrying that it would be passed on to me. Once I started losing weight, I kept at it for me as I discovered I liked being athletic and running and lifting and hiking. I'm planning on running my first race this summer and I know I wouldn't be able to do that if I were still at the same weight as when I started. My boyfriend liked me when I was fat and he likes me now, so it wasn't for him. And it's not for the media and all the pressure they place on women to look a certain way. I don't want my body to look that thin. So, I started for other people (my parents) but kept at it for me. I'm wondering who you're doing it for OP as you sound very angry and not like you want to do this at all.

I have a strong tendency for type 2 diabetes in my family. I lost the weight not only to look and feel better, but really because I did not want that disease to strike me too, Constantly monitoring my blood sugar, injecting myself, UGH! I know it is under my control to prevent this, so I took control. Lost 12 pounds so far and I'm at a healthy weight now.

Being fat is more than not "socially acceptable," it's very unhealthy (but you knew that). Stay positive!
Michelle

To reply to the question though - for my health. Last year I lost my mum to cancer of the peritoneum. I have her physique. I don't want this happening to me, I want to live for my husband and daughter and sister, and for myself, I want to enjoy hikes again and learn to bike and skate. And, in the end, at 37 years and 108 kg I realized There is no one, no one who will "take care of me" or make my life better, if not me. As much as they love me, it's not in their power, it's in mine.

I do it for me. I'm much more confident. I like me more.

I'm doing this to lower my risk of getting the health issues that have already affected my family -- heart attack, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc... I'm doing this so my knees won't hurt when I walk, so I don't get tired walking across the street or up a flight of stairs... I'm doing this to have more energy, strength, endurance and an overall better quality of life. This is all for me.

I want to be fit enough to run away with the Doctor!

Seriously tho, it started as an experiment, just to see what my body was capable of (serious illness + ten years of using it as an excuse)
It's carried on because I love the attention it gets me, I love wearing the most inappropriate clothes because I am now concidered 'thin enough to get away with it'
Now I am head over heels with someone I don't want to allow my insecurities to ruin this so I need to feel as good about myself as possible.
Yeah, it's all pretty shallow. I was happy when I was big but this is way more fun!
You can flame me but at least I am honest, and to be fair, there are worse ways to address my constant need for attention than being a gym bunny!

Well yeah I want to look good but it's more than just that though that sure doesn't hurt lol. When I take care of my health and keep my weight down I just feel so much better in general. I sleep better, I have more energy, I don't feel bloated and blah-like . I can have an active lifestyle and do things I enjoy like run, bike, hike because I'm fit enough to do them...and I take pride when I reach fitness goals and milestones. You bet I'm not going to be that girl who cant do a single pushup I'm going to be one cranking out 150 and running those 7 and under minute miles. Bring it on! Lol