what got you motivated to lose weight?

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Replies

  • Dedshot
    Dedshot Posts: 145
    Originally, to look better for the summer and shove it into someone's face. Then I realized I really liked lifting heavy. Makes me feel and look like a superhero. Or supervillain ;)
  • vatances
    vatances Posts: 20 Member
    I went to a religious gathering with my family, including my 16 year old sister who just made cheer, and my 23 year old sister who is about 100 pounds...

    I want to have fun going out again.
  • cloverfield4
    cloverfield4 Posts: 52 Member
    1) Bending over to tie my shoes was getting harder to do...
    2) I have a closetful of pre-pregnancy clothes that I want to wear again! (And I can't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe)
    3) Want to set a better example for my children (and spouse)
    4) Want to look good for my spouse
    5) Don't want to be out of breath after a few flights of stairs
    6) I want to find my physical limits and push past them, I'm not sure what all I'm capable of doing, but I want to find out!
    7) Better health; Type 2 runs in my family and it's all due to eating/exercising habits (the habits I grew up with and am currently addressing!)
    8) Eh, some jealousy of my thinner mama friends. Yeah, it's gross, but if it gets my a** off the couch to go to the gym when none of the above reasons are working, then I'll go with it. :wink:
  • turonj
    turonj Posts: 2
    My motivation is that I am back dating again. The type of person I want to be is honest and honestly I want to be outgoing and do stuff like camping and fishing. go on Roller Coaster rides and Go-Karts. Go for Long Walks on the beach. In order to do these activities and meet the type of woman that also enjoys these activities I need to lose weight.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    I never felt motivated to lose weight due to being self conscious of my body because I've always been quite comfortable in my own skin. My motivation kicked in when my body turned against me and I could no longer do the things I loved to do.... Another motivator for me was clothing.. not that I wanted to look better in my clothes.. but that I wanted to be able to FIND CLOTHES.. at 360 pounds, I had even grown out of most Lane Bryant clothes and that was a wake up call for me.
  • MomTo3Lovez
    MomTo3Lovez Posts: 800 Member
    I have a few reasons:

    1 - My kids, I want to set a good example and I want to be around a very long time
    2 - I want to feel good and look good
    3 - I want to be able to wear skinny jeans
    4- I'm newly single and a full time mom to 3 kids
    5 - Not important but a bonus - I can have the confidence knowing I look good and knowing my ex knows it :-) again not important but a big bonus.
  • tabbyblack13
    tabbyblack13 Posts: 299 Member
    Looking at my family history and seeing the majority of what health problems my family has made me change. I also lost 65 lbs on WW before and I know I can do it. Just getting motivated to do it is the problem.
  • crystalwilliams19
    crystalwilliams19 Posts: 4
    To be honest? What got me motivated was that I was worried I wouldn't be able to find a boyfriend because I was fat.
    But now I realise how stupid that is, someone should love you for your personality not your size.
    But now i'm losing weight for ME. if you cant love yourself, no one else can. :) x
  • crystalwilliams19
    crystalwilliams19 Posts: 4

    5 - Not important but a bonus - I can have the confidence knowing I look good and knowing my ex knows it :-) again not important but a big bonus.

    this one too! im a a newly single mum too. and I want my ex to realise what he lost lol.
    i'm so mean but oh well.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I have lost weight in 2 waves with very different motivations.

    2008-2012 the first go-round (from 307 to around 270 lb) I was motivated mainly by fear re: health. I had never been that big before and for the first time in my life I was having weight related issues like swollen ankles, shortness of breath, heavier periods, increased frequency of migraines, etc. Also, I HATED the way I looked in photos (like "THAT is not me!" kind of feeling)...I knew I had to get back to where I'd felt more comfortable. I went to the doctor and had excellent blood work and was normal on all of the other tests but I knew it was only a matter of time before I could experience serious health problems if my weight stayed over 300.

    2013-present is my second wave (262 lb to 187 lb currently) and this time I've just been motivated by somewhat more trivial things like vanity and being somewhat competitive. Keeping up with my friends and husband who are getting healthier and losing weight. I've never been one to be outdone ;-) Wanting to feel cuter in stylish clothes. Wanting to like my body better. And honestly the accomplishment of my smaller goals along the way.
  • SarahNicoleW94
    SarahNicoleW94 Posts: 62
    x
  • SarahNicoleW94
    SarahNicoleW94 Posts: 62
    My main reason, honestly, was that MOST of my boyfriend's exes were all tiny.

    Can totally relate to this!!!
  • alisonmarytuck
    alisonmarytuck Posts: 68 Member
    Iam omotivatedby the chance to havenore choice with clothes and just feeling better generally
  • leahking6
    leahking6 Posts: 9 Member
    My kids motivated me. I am a foster parent of 4 children six and under. We will soon adopt all of them. Right now, my husband and I (and extended family of course) are all they have. I don't want to leave them Motherless (again) before they are old enough to take care of themsleves. I also want to teach them good eating habits so that they won't have to fight the battles I have fought being overweight my whole life. I guess through the years I haven't cared enough about myself to change my lifestyle. Now I finally have a family who makes me realize I am important and worth it. :love:
  • tbs41
    tbs41 Posts: 8
    Sick and tired of being sick & tired...I feel too young inside to be this unhealthy & unattractive on the outside. And.....my biggest pair of pants was getting too tight! It may sound trivial but it was a HELLISH wake-up call.
  • MissySpring
    MissySpring Posts: 442 Member
    I decided to lose weight in the hopes that it would decrease my pain level with my autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis. Luckily, within 3 days of changing my diet, my pain level decreased significantly. That led to being able to exercise and strengthen my muscles to support my damaged joints = even less pain.
  • MelissaA007
    MelissaA007 Posts: 22 Member
    Same here. I was the same size as my friends, then I entered into an amazing relationship. Along with that came good dinner and great wine......and 20+ pounds. I want to wear my jeans again, and feel sexy again!
  • kyregi
    kyregi Posts: 55 Member
    The first time around on MFP was for being able to rum with my kids. I am an "older" mother and when my kids are teenagers I will hit 50... I just want to be able to keep up with them.
    I wanted to do that again starting at the end of last year, when a health scare hit me with an almost heart attack.... Now I really have a reason to loose weight (even though I was never in the obese region or anywhere very close to it), but now I want to be able to run with my kids. Being there is the main reason to loose weight in the hope that will reduce another close call or worse.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
    1. Long term health. Being 192lbs at 5'2" is just not healthy, and I want to be around to see my daughter graduate from college and take over the world.
    2. My daughter completely inspired me by swimming 1 and 1/4 miles in one hour at her swim club marathon event. Non-stop, and she's 8. It reminded me that I used to have the stamina of an ultra-marathoner until I hit 25, and I want that again.
    3. I have a closet full of size 4 and 6 clothes which I bought before I got pregnant, and I'm too cheap to buy any more, quite frankly.
  • Helen_Luvnlife
    Helen_Luvnlife Posts: 230 Member
    I was on a small hike and had to make many stops to catch my breath. On one of these stops a bus load of senior citizens passed me by. Most of them weren't even breathing hard. I decided that's the way I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Having enough energy to do the things I love. That was 5 years ago. I am still struggling to lose the rest if my weight, but I hiked the Grand Canyon last year. Lose the weight now. It only keeps adding on and getting harder. I didn't gain my weight fast. It was only 4-5 lbs a year. It would of been a lot easier to lose a little at a time and keep it off.
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
    I gained weight after having kids. I yo-yo'ed up and down 30 pounds for several years and never got close to losing all that I needed to lose. Then, five years ago, I got a 30-day free membership to YMCA as part of my kids' summer camp program. My kids wanted to go there and swim a lot, so I started doing the elliptical just to keep busy while I watched them in the pool. At the end of the month, I felt stronger and I'd lost a few pounds, and that kept me going until I lost the entire 70 that I needed to lose.

    I'm grateful to YMCA for helping me to get fitness into my life. I had lost weight by dieting and felt miserable before, but it wasn't until I felt myself getting stronger and more fit that losing weight felt good.

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