What is your WHY?

Love these responses.

Fitness has always been important to me because I am a dancer. I have always enjoyed my body and treated it with love and care through fitness. A few years ago my children got to the age that I was when I was being severely abused by my former stepfather. For the first time, in all these years, I actually understood that what happened to me had not been my fault (children blame themselves and it's hard to undo what was taught so deeply). I started to get depressed. Things in my life were changing. I had a lot to think about. But, ultimately, even though it was difficult, it was a good thing that I could finally set myself free from blaming myself. I called the police and reported him. I went through a two year long investigation and legal process. And it was the day the prosecutors contacted me and told me they were taking the case that I went out and checked out all the gyms and fitness centres in my new area (I had moved). I joined the gym. I started lifting weights. I wanted to feel like myself again. And I wanted to feel strong in every way. And I am so glad I did that. Because I focused on that during the whole process. And when the whole process was over, even though aspects of it were devastating, there was not an additional loss of looking at my life and seeing wreckage because I had not allowed that to happen to me. I had made sure that I never lost myself in the process, that I was improving on myself and not letting myself go. And the outward was just a reflection of how I had not let go on any other aspect of my life or my life as a mother. When it was over, I needed to pick up a lot of pieces, but there were less pieces to pick up because I was in order. Now, it's just the continued work towards dancing that keeps me going.

Wow so many heart warming comments from such great people. Man if I wasn't such a selfish prick maybe I would find a better reason than just looking better so I can get laid easier.

My Why? A lot of my family is overweight and I do not want to fall into that category. I want to remain healthy and wear 2 pieces at the pool or beach. Plus my wedding is around the corner and I want to look good on our honeymoon.

I've always been into fitness and I honestly cant imagine life without exercising or being active (I dont have a choice since I work and live less than a half a mile from a gym).

I made a choice to go to school to become a massage therapist, something I wanted for a long time but never wanted to get off my butt and do it. I wish I could be noble about my why and say it was for my family or not to turn out like my mom, but in reality it's largely because Massage takes a lot of work and clients are more likely to want a massage from someone who is healthy as opposed to obese. So, for now anyways, that's my why to succeed at my trade.

Did you really get rid of your diabetes? You don't look old enough to have had it.

This is an epic post. I'm grateful to have read some many soul-bearing responses. I remember being not quite 10 years old and being told I was fat by someone who was wrong to say that to me. I wasn't. But I started to believe it and I started to believe that being fat was bad and that things would be so much better if I was not fat. I thought I would be better.

Almost 30 years later, I still judge my "goodness", my worth, by my weight. My why is so I can spend the next 30+ years being released of this notion.

My why...I am not happy with the way I feel most of the time - tired, lethargic, depressed (from eating too much sugar). I am not happy with the way I look - too much belly fat. I believe losing weight will help my posture, my Sciatic Nerve pain, my self-image, and that nemesis of us older ladies - bladder control. I also want good eating habits to be an example to my daughter and my granddaughter as she gets older.

My WHYs:
1. I was always the thin woman until I had children; now they are young adults and I would like them to experience me as I was when I was thin.
2. I want to sit on the beach or the bow of a boat in a bathing suit and not a pair of shorts.
3. I want to be active and soak up life - hiking, boating, walking - without feeling winded or too out of shape.
4. I want to feel how I 'know' to be healthy. I have been into eating healthy for 25 years, made my own organic babyfood, cook from scratch but somehow (maybe stress) the scales creaped up and I couldn't get them back down. My girlfriends eating Taco Bell while we were pregnant used to say "You be healthy, we'll be skinny". Just need the body to feel what is on the inside.
5. AND...superficial maybe but....want to wear the clothes I want to wear and not just the best that I can fit into; that one bugs me every day.

I refuse to give up; there is a missing link and I feel closer to understanding it now than yesterday.
For whatever reason this week I just feel like everything in my world has kicked in or is ready for success.
So, tomorrow morning I start walking every day. I looked at buying T25 but wasn't sure if that was the best for me long term.
So glad to be using MFP again, have no idea why I ever quit before. So much good here!!

Great thought provoking thread, thanks!!

For me...today...
1) I want to run again. (Or at least be fit enough that should my knees allow, I could go for a run)
2) I want to save money. I'm paying off my debts and cannot justify buying new clothes when I have a whole wardrobe of smaller clothes I can no longer wear.

So I thought I'd come back and see what I wrote to this and see if my Why has changed.

1) I could probably go for a run if I wanted to. My fitness has improved greatly. I will be signing up to a 10K as soon as pay day comes.
2) I have just been able to get into a size 12 jeans I had in my wardrobe so I've achieved that too!! Wooo hoo.

So what is keeping me going? Really it's seeing how great I've done so far. I've lost 18lbs. I can do 30 mins medium intensity on my cross trainer or longer with lower intensity easily. I have been doing You Are Your Own Gym, and whilst I'm adapting a lot of the upper body exercises I've stuck with it, and am about to enter 'week 5's' routines (not done in a week because I'm doing cardio along side). I have seen an increase in my confidence and don't want to lose that.

I lost my dad when I was 24 to complications of obesity. At the age of 26 I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and diabetes (2 of the things my dad had) While sure I want to look good, I want to be able to travel and be comfortable, above all I do this because I want to live. I come from generations of obesity and early deaths. I want to live a full life. For me I knew it was do this or die. I have bad days when I maybe don't eat perfectly but I never let that carry over to the next day or the next meal

I started on my fitness journey 3 1/2 years ago as I approached 200 lbs.
in a job where I'm on my feet over 7 hours a day.
I was in pain die to arthritis on my knee.
My dr gave me some knee strengthening exercises and recommended I drop some weight.
With my mum having had hip replacement surgery due to arthritis and a family history of heart disease , I started tracking my calories and doing daily exercise.
By the end of 7 months I was feeling better and had dropped 35 lbs.

With the weight loss I was more in tune with my body and then I found a lump in my breast.
No family history of cancer.

The pea sized lump that I found was just an extension of 2 larger tumours.
Stage 3 breast cancer with 8 rounds of chemo, surgery and radiation.

I gained about a pound per week during chemo due to inactivity and the radiation sucked the energy out of me for about a year and a half. By then I had gained even more weight.

This spring the energy returned and decided to drop the pounds to help with the arthritis and cardiovascular health. Additionally my type of cancer loves fat cell so reducing weigh is recommended by my oncologist.

This time taking it slower in losing the weight and enjoying the lifestyle changes.

My "why" is a matter of me being cheap. I don't want to pay for a new wardrobe or alterations to my suits. A 50 dollar city rec center membership is cheaper than buying new clothes and alterations, but it's expensive enough for me to not quit. Now I'm having fun with it so that's a bonus. There is a part of me that wants to make the ladies say "Gyad Dayum" for a good reason.

About your plantars fasciatis....if you can balance your pH the pain will subside. Inflammation which leads to disease is often from being too acidic. I had plantars fasciatis when I was taking spinning classes a few years ago; I thought walking out of the gym was my stretching, boy I was wrong. It locked up my calves and my feet and was so painful. So I started stretching my feet 2-3x a time and balanced out my pH and the pain went away. I was sooooo glad!!

My why.

I want to stop hiding in my house. I have 4 kids under 14 and they want to do so many things. I often have my husband take them because I am not confident in myself and hate the clothes I fit in to.

I want to wear cute clothes and shorts in the summer. I want to look athletic. I want to live to see my kids have kids.

I want to stop sabotaging myself and feel like I can do this and be happy with myself.