What REALLY inspired you to lose weight?

Yes the yoyo thing, each new high weight was progressively higher. The clothes, the jeans being too tight, switching to wearing just leggings (and thinking that looked good- until I saw...) the PHOTOS! Ack! Being depressed and not caring about myself, but feeling bad for my boyfriend having to deal with me like that. And he kept loving me anyway. I decided that he deserves me better! Also scared of getting health problems... Very afraid I'll likely get diabetes. And wanting just at least ONE summer of my life where I can wear a bathing suit and not be too ashamed! One goal is to actually wear a bikini one day not likely to happen this summer but maybe next?

I've been physically pretty active for many years--I am at the gym 5-6 days weekly and ride bikes several days weekly (20+ mile rides) in all but winter weather. But I constantly struggle with weight gain. My high school class had our 50th reunion last summer and I hated the photos of myself that were posted in the candid shots. (I mean REALLY hated them!). But still I dinked around about doing anything about it. I have many relatives who are diabetic but My A1C is great. My blood pressure is generally 110/65. My cholesterol is low, my resting pulse is around 56, and wow, I even have most of my teeth, so physically I had no pressing reason to get serious about bringing the weight down. Then came Christmas and once again some pesky pictures pointed out that I was, well, overweight!
That's when I got serious. I turned 69 in January and made the decision that before I hit 70 I WAS going to lose the unflattering extra pounds and commit to not only doing plenty of aerobic activities but to begin a regular strengthening program as well.
Using MFP has really helped me see just how many unneeded calories I was consuming with a few chips here, some cookies there, an extra soda or two every day, a pinch of this and a bite (or 4) of that--whew--putting it all down in black and white ever day was an eye opener!
I have lost about 14 pounds and hope by the end of the year to part with another 15-20.
I still do indulge in snacks, but boy, knowing I'm going to have to list them at day's end has totally helped me to "just say no" to bunches of donuts and excess candy (now I eat a fun size Reeses instead of a full size candy bar), and in general stop the constant thoughtless munching.
My family is having a mini reunion this summer and I'm pretty confident that I might even look forward to being in the millions of photos that are bound to be taken!

For me, there were a combination of factors but it came down to being 37 and feeling/looking like I was a lot older. I decided that I either needed to do something to stop feeling and looking like garbage or shut up about it already. I'm still mad about the wasted years but I'm happy that I have good ones ahead of me.

This time round (I lost a load and then maintained for a couple of years but then got into one of those comfortable relationships and gained 40lbs) what really kicked my *kitten* was one of my friends calling me an 'unhealthy weight'.

We are both 5ft 3, and she has always been bigger than me, about a size 12/14. Then she went travelling, and returned having lost a lot of weight (size 8 now), and is very proud of herself (and she does look great). We were talking, and I was saying how I needed to start losing weight because it was creeping upwards and I was just sick of it. I told her I weighed 9 and a half stone (a healthy weight according to my BMI).

She just looked at me and said, 'well, I think between 8 and 9 stone is a healthy weight for our height'.

I went nuts. I didn't say anything, but stewed internally. Just because she is now skinnier than me doesn't give her the right to judge me, or anyone really, especially as I am a healthy weight. And it was just the way she said it so casually, considering she is supposed to be a friend.

So, whilst I'm not doing this for her, it was great motivation. And there is that little part of me that is looking forward to rubbing it in her face when I'm looking slim and fab again (just five pounds to go before I nudge under 9st!).

A few things really. The doctor had brought my weight up as my bmi was a little high and told me I needed to lose some weight, a couple of friends congratulating me on my "pregnancy" and most of all, as disgusting as it sounds (sorry!) the discomfort of curling up in bed at night or sitting down and having all those yucky flab rolls touching - so uncomfortable! I don't weigh a ridiculous amount at all really but it all goes on around my tummy / top of my legs so even a few pounds shows quite badly!

I have suffered from an eating disorder since I was 9 years old. I've gained and lost, gained and lost the same 40 pounds almost my entire life. Now I have a beautiful 4 year old little girl that deserves a healthy (mentally and physically) mommy. I'm learning to take control of my life and get to a happy weight in a healthy way. She is all of my motivation.

Two reasons. The first is that I am getting married in about a year and half. I don't want to look back at all my pictures and cringe. I have a lot to loose. Like over 100 lbs. I know that I won't be at my goal weight by the time my wedding comes around. But if I am down a good amount by then, I will be so happy. Because I can look back at those pictures and be proud of the hard work that went into getting my weight down.


The second reason is my health. I don't have any major issues yet but if I keep on the way I am, I will. I want to have kids very soon and my weight will definitely be an issue. I want to be healthy for the family that I want to start.

Great thread, very inspiring. Thanks for starting this conversation!

For me it was a combination of things over a period of a few years. It started about 4 years ago with my wife and a couple of close friends urging me to get a bicycle and start cycling with them. The friends were avid cyclists, the wife want to start riding. After several months I finally broke down and bought a road bike, motivated by them and the vague hope that I could maybe stave off some of the blood pressure and cholesterol problems my older brother (2 years older, but so similar most think we're twins when they meet us) was having. I was 41, 5'9" and about 235 lbs at the time. I knew I was fat, knew I was out of shape, and didn't like it but wasn't motivated enough to really work that hard and change things.

The bike is what started it though. For whatever reason, the bike and I just "clicked" and I was hooked. My first ride was 8 miles and left me exhausted. Mere months later, I was riding 3-4 days per week, going on meandering weekend rides of 20 and 30 miles and loving it. Riding more than my wife and even the friends that got me started. Over the next year I dropped down from 235 to about 210 just from riding bunches. Another friend got me hooked on mountain biking, so I added one of those to the mix. Eventually started racing the mountain bike some, got a time trial bike, and started racing that as well as just riding and training more. Then added a cyclocross bike to the stable with the intent of doing some cyclocross races.

Last summer I finally broke down and hired a cycling coach. At that point I'd been riding for about 3.5 years, and was generally around 205-210 without doing anything about the diet. Hiring the coach was the final "ah-ha" moment for me. I decided if I was serious enough to spend that kind of money and effort, I needed to be serious about the weight. That was early July of 2014. I started using MFP seriously (I'd been a member for a while, just hadn't really used it much) the day after I met my coach the first time. My weight was 209.

Here we are almost 10 months later, I'm weighing right around 172 lbs these days with about 10-12 lbs to go to hit my goal weight. I'm riding a lot, training hard, climbing well, and getting faster. I completed a road time trial race about 4 weeks ago and beat my previous personal best by almost 2 minutes over 10 miles. I finished a 3 hour mountain bike endurance race 2 weeks ago, and have a full schedule of road bike races straight through July, then Cyclocross season starts shortly after, which will keep me racing and training right through the fall. I love it and I'm completely hooked.

In addition to all that I feel and, according to many, look, younger than I have in years. I'm energetic, healthy, and I feel great. The rest of my family, including my brother still fights high blood pressure and cholesterol. I'm 45 years old now, my resting heart rate is in the low 40s, my blood pressure at my physical 2 weeks ago was perfect, my cholesterol and glucose numbers are great, and even my doctor is making the obligatory "you're half the man you used to be" jokes.

It has been a life-long journey and I wish I'd done this years ago, but I'm here now and I'm never planning to go back.

Jgasmic wrote: »

My fat, fat jeans were getting tight, and when I stepped on the scale I was five pounds heavier than my previous high weight. That was a good enough shock to make things happen.

This was pretty much what happened for me too.

I would like to say my motivation came from my wedding that is 4 short months away. But it didn't. I tried to make that my motivation, but it didn't work. I would also like to say having open heart surgery in December was motivation. And it kind of was. I've been looking back for the last 5 months thinking "I was lucky because mine was congenital, not health related." But the fact is - if I don't get and stay healthy, it could be health related in the future.

No. My motivation came purely from waking up one day and thinking "I feel awful." I had a binge the night before. Pizza, wings, fries, candy, wine. The works. It took two days before I could climb the stairs again without getting out of breath. It was that moment that made me go "seriously? You stuffed yourself to your eyeballs on junk and crap and now you can't even climb a flight of stairs." That was my motivation.