What's your motivation?
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The biggest motivator for me was pain and the fact that at one time I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic (I no longer fall into the category). I couldn't ignore the fact that Diabetes runs in the family: my Mom is T2D, and her was mom was too. I was suffering lots of pain every day from (1) foot neuropathy; (2) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome the pain from which I later learned was only aggravated by inflammation caused by the huge amounts of carbs and sugar I was eating; (3) daily headaches from both low and high blood sugar; (4) knee pain due to a combination of my sheer weight (I weighed 300 pounds when I changed my lifestyle to this WOE) and the beginning of narrowing of the joints. The fact that my family has a history of Diabetes combined with the fact that I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic AND I was experiencing foot neuropathy...well, let's just say that the idea of losing one or both feet or other body parts in the future scared the living *kitten* out of me. Farther down the list of motivating reasons which at the beginning of my journey seemed more like pipe dreams to me was of course looking better physically and being able to shop in stores for "regular sized" people which I'd never been able to do. So yeah, a little bit of vanity going on in those reasons too. Currently I've successfully eliminated 156.8 pounds to date and I'm getting close to my goal. I currently weigh 143.2 pounds and I have somewhere in the range of 10-15 more pounds to go. Never imagined I would get this far but so glad I made the choice to change when I did and I'm NEVER going back!!20
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@ladipoet sounds like you have lost more than you currently weigh! Awesome and Inspiring.3
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Health is the big motivator now. Spending retirement managing health problems has zero appeal to me. I want to enjoy time with the people I love, participate in volunteering opportunities, and be active in my church. God has given me a wonderful blessing to be able to do those things, and it's my responsibility to do my part. The vanity stuff is fun and is a bit of a motivator in its own right. But in the end, it's taking charge of my health that keeps me going...or gets me back on track when a detour occurs.3
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1) Appearance/clothing. I like to wear the younger/more eclectic styles. (Last summer was Tank Girl meets Soccer Mom. This year I'm doing a simple Summer Witch inspo).
2) I gained my first semester of grad school. I'm afraid that those 5 lbs would have devolved into me being overweight by the time I reached 40.
3) I am a recovered anorexic so it's important that I choose a lifestyle that keeps me feeling good about myself/appearance and won't devolve into starvation.
4) Exercise keeps my mental wellness strong.
5) I LOVE bacon, steak, butter, salt... I love eating what I love and calling it health food.
6) I am chasing a 3 year old. She wears out faster than I do. Muhahahahahahahahahahahhahaha10 -
I am tired of being embarrassed by how I look and I feel embarrassed for my husband. I want to be able to buy 'normal' size clothes, not plus size. I have arthritis in my knee from my weight and I just feel plain tired, depressed and terrible when I eat carbs, although when I am tired, depressed that is exactly what I want to eat... I love food so I enjoy this woe but it is my social life that derails me sometimes. My mother has a long list of ailments and due to her lack of exercise and bad eating (she is a diabetic) she is nearly immobile. My 62 yr old aunt (who everyone says I am just like) has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. I don't want to be fat but also I don't want to end up sick and on pills because of something I can fix.8
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My father had his first heart attack at 50. He had his 5th last weekend. He is at home at the moment, but he has a fever and he hasn't eaten for 5 days. His medications are listed on an A4 sheet of paper, covering the whole sheet. He is only 66 years old. Diabetes has done this to his body, his arteries are like strings of pearls and there's nothing more they can do for him. The medications keep him alive, for now, but the side effects of them all are horrific. The pain he's in on a daily basis is more than anyone should have to bare.
He is one of 11. They all, with the exception of one aunty, have type 2 diabetes.
When I was 39 and 120kg my doctor told me if I didn't make a change then I would have diabetes by the time I was 40. Last chance, he said.
I'm 41 now, I'm 89kg (still working on it) and I've been Keto for 2 years and 5 months. This is the way I eat now. Sometimes I have a fit because I lose weight so damn slowly, I do want to be slim and wear the nice clothes like everyone else, but then I remind myself that Keto has saved my life. My bloods now are always spot on, no hint of BS issues, I'm healthy as a horse.18 -
SamandaIndia wrote: »@ladipoet sounds like you have lost more than you currently weigh! Awesome and Inspiring.
@SamandaIndia...you are correct, I have successfully eliminated an entire person's worth of extra weight that I did not need to be carrying around!! lol8 -
I grew up as an overweight child, an overweight middle schooler and an overweight high schooler, with parents who were obese. I didn't know how to eat well as a child and I followed the lead of my parents. Now, at 33 years old and after having 2 kids, I'm thinner and healthier than I've ever been in my life. I can do push-ups now! Real push-ups! I never would have thought I'd be able to do a push-up. My next goal is to be able to do a pull-up, since I've never done one before. So my motivation is 3 fold:
1) Simple vanity - I want to feel confident in a bikini this summer
2) I want to see what my body can do and how far it can go, since I'm already doing more than I used to think was possible for me
3) I want to eat healthy for my kids. Because when I eat well, we keep healthy foods in the house and cook healthy meals for everyone. And they are looking to me as example. I want them to know they can be healthy and strong too.12 -
I was introduced to Keto by way of paleo:
3+ years ago, I read a study that said women over 40 had to increase activity by 1 hr a day to just maintain their current weight. Well as an obese woman who was almost 40, it made me mad! I was determined not to have to work harder to maintain my fat. I was going to lose it before I turned the big 40 and work harder to be in the best health possible.
A friend turned me onto Paleo and I adopted alot of the lifestyle. I quickly shed 35 lbs within 6 months and maintained that until I turned 41! I was still considered obese but felt SO much better. After awhile, I found I could eat as much as I wanted but wouldn't lose nor gain. I became frustrated. Yep I was paleo but carb heavy...
A different friend told me about Keto. One, I had introduced to the paleo lifestyle. She explained the carb sensitivity issues she had with doing solely paleo and on Keto but doing paleo her issues were reduced. I have autoimmune issues so that really appealed to me as I was pretty familiar with my triggers already.
I researched Keto and thought why not? I began implementing changes and switching my macros around. Voila, success! I have finally broken that stall and have dropped around 20 lbs since going Keto/paleo. Its slow but steady.
I still have flare-ups with my autoimmune issues but it's my fault. If I go above my 20-30 carbs I can expect some type of flare-up, usually mild. It's a trade off I'm willing to make for chocolate.
I will be 42 this year and though I'm still larger than I was at 18, by about 18 lbs, I feel I'm the healthiest I've ever been!13 -
EbonyDahlia wrote: »My father had his first heart attack at 50. He had his 5th last weekend. He is at home at the moment, but he has a fever and he hasn't eaten for 5 days. His medications are listed on an A4 sheet of paper, covering the whole sheet. He is only 66 years old. Diabetes has done this to his body, his arteries are like strings of pearls and there's nothing more they can do for him. The medications keep him alive, for now, but the side effects of them all are horrific. The pain he's in on a daily basis is more than anyone should have to bare.
He is one of 11. They all, with the exception of one aunty, have type 2 diabetes.
When I was 39 and 120kg my doctor told me if I didn't make a change then I would have diabetes by the time I was 40. Last chance, he said.
I'm 41 now, I'm 89kg (still working on it) and I've been Keto for 2 years and 5 months. This is the way I eat now. Sometimes I have a fit because I lose weight so damn slowly, I do want to be slim and wear the nice clothes like everyone else, but then I remind myself that Keto has saved my life. My bloods now are always spot on, no hint of BS issues, I'm healthy as a horse.
Wow! So sorry for your dad, but so proud of you to learn from it. Amazing results! My mother died 20 years ago at the age 66 from her obesity and health related issues. She had cancer twice, kidney disease, diabetes, gallbladder removed, pancreatitis, and three heart attacks. The last heart attack got her. Now that I'm 50 I am so afraid I will end up just like her. I am so glad science is so far ahead from those days and now I know it's not just my fate or my genes, it is actually in my control.
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I started getting bigger and bigger this last 1.5 years. I used to weight 363 and with a Roux en Y I went down to 190. When I stepped on the scale a few months ago I was nearly 250. That's much to close to my pre surgical weight and I became nervous about being in the same shape I was 20 years ago. I started just to change my ways with low fat, less sugar and I failed in about 3 weeks. I felt hungry all the time, I craved junk.
This wonderful couple I know decided to go Keto and I watched their journey unfold thinking "no way could I do this." I want cake, and cookies darn it. They are feeling better than ever, have lost some weight and quite happy. I had to try, just had to. I'm nearly finished with week 3 and it's been amazing. I'm spilling ketones, I have not gone through the imbalances that some do. I don't feel hunger and in the first week I lost 8 lbs. In the second I lost just under a pound, but that's ok.
I want to give my children and the love of my life (whom I only met 15 months ago but know I'll die with) the best of me. The best of me is not 250 pounds, or tired and irritable all the time. I want to feel good. I want to be healthy. I want to feel sexy again. I've only experienced that for minute in my 42 years of life and I want it back for me. My Love thinks I'm perfect as I am but I know better.
My family and my own want of self worth pushes me to do this.16 -
My motivation is mainly vanity - I am tired of looking fat all the time, I recently got to the heaviest I had ever been and couldn't walk down the road without feeling out of breath and tired, found out through the doctors my blood pressure was on the high side and also have borderline thyroid problems - I have a child with special needs so needing my health and fitness is imperative to ensure he is OK. I recently achieved my first goal of being able to fly abroad without a seat extender (after losing 39lbs) and our next holiday is my next goal which is next year and I want to be in clothes I can buy anywhere (not just plus size shops) my goal is to lose over 100+lbs10
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I lost my mom 5 years ago to liver cancer. After grieving then researching, I came to the conclusion that her eating habits, had they changed, could have prevented her death in that matter. I was eating exactly the same way. When I had severe chest pains one night after Christmas, 2014, I knew if I didn't do something soon, I'd be joining her. As much as I'd love to be with her, I have a hub, child and grandson that I need to be here for. I couldn't bear the pain my daughter would have if I passed. And so I began. And continue. Each and every day. Because my life is worth so much more than any old carb.14
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In my early 20's I was tiny - I weighed around 105lbs with no effort at all. When I got to my mid 20's my weight roller coastered like crazy. I was on and off every diet going. I started suffering with constant heartburn, acid reflux, trapped wind, constipation and generally feeling like poo!
I was diagnosed with borderline under active thyroid a few years ago.At my heaviest I was 196lbs - when I became pregnant with my son at 34, I was 188lbs. I was put on an 'obesity care pathway' for my maternity care because my BMI was over 30 and referred to a 'weight management during pregnancy' group. I had to be weighed at every single appointment. I was under consultant led care because of my thyroid and my weight. It was humiliating and I felt ashamed.
After I had my son I started to take my health more seriously as I now had a little person depending on me. I had never known love or responsibility like it!!
My brother came to visit and told me he was doing a low carb diet - I told him off as was sure it was bad for his heart!! He told me to research it - I did and started following a keto plan myself!! I started to feel amazing and lost weight with ease.
When I became pregnant with my daughter I was 160lb and my experience was totally different - no weekly weigh ins or groups to attend! Within 2 weeks of giving birth I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight and am continuing to lose weight now. I have no digestive issues anymore.
Sorry for waffling on but basically, my motivation is to keep feeling this amazing and to be an energetic, hands on mummy who is a good role model rather then an embarrassment to my children!
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In my early 20's I was tiny - I weighed around 105lbs with no effort at all. When I got to my mid 20's my weight roller coastered like crazy. I was on and off every diet going. I started suffering with constant heartburn, acid reflux, trapped wind, constipation and generally feeling like poo!
I was diagnosed with borderline under active thyroid a few years ago.At my heaviest I was 196lbs - when I became pregnant with my son at 34, I was 188lbs. I was put on an 'obesity care pathway' for my maternity care because my BMI was over 30 and referred to a 'weight management during pregnancy' group. I had to be weighed at every single appointment. I was under consultant led care because of my thyroid and my weight. It was humiliating and I felt ashamed.
After I had my son I started to take my health more seriously as I now had a little person depending on me. I had never known love or responsibility like it!!
My brother came to visit and told me he was doing a low carb diet - I told him off as was sure it was bad for his heart!! He told me to research it - I did and started following a keto plan myself!! I started to feel amazing and lost weight with ease.
When I became pregnant with my daughter I was 160lb and my experience was totally different - no weekly weigh ins or groups to attend! Within 2 weeks of giving birth I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight and am continuing to lose weight now. I have no digestive issues anymore.
Sorry for waffling on but basically, my motivation is to keep feeling this amazing and to be an energetic, hands on mummy who is a good role model rather then an embarrassment to my children!
It's crazy how children change EVERYTHING, isn't it?
It's a trial, but also an enormous blessing.
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I was completely addicted to sugar. I had candy hidden in the house and my car and I would sneak off to eat it where no one could see.
This was so beautiful to read.
I was addicted to mocha coffee. Having not had coffee for 22 years, I started again, and struggled not to have one every day. Seems tame enough, except that I'm intolerant to milk, and I don't tolerate sugar well, nor caffeine.
Yet I struggled off and on over nearly 2 years, and each time I'd get into mocha, I'd also eat gluten (also intolerant) or eat out more, thinking well other people do this, sure I can. Appendicitis one year (new years in hospital), pneumonia the next new years.. both just after relatively small, but none the less, dangerous indulgences at Christmas. This recent new years, I had the sense not to do that, but year after year my weight just yo yo'd, always ending higher than before the last diet episode.
This summer however my adult daughter had experienced a number of very distressing things, and for the first time in her life had gained about 15 kg / 33lb. And I struggled to know what to say because I myself have been a poor role model.
Not so much the last 15 years, I eat pretty well with indulgences that non intolerant healthy people would not consider so terrible.. I'd done the damage decades ago. I felt responsible, and I also, for the first time, wondered if she felt embarrassed about me, or lacking in respect toward me.. All of that broke me.
So after a few weeks of feeling a little paralysed, I realised the only thing to do was take charge of my life. To be the change I want to see in her. To be the person she is proud of. To be a model of someone who can take charge and regain a healthy body. To be a person to whom she can turn for advice. To feel like have earnt the right to offer guidance and support.. and above all of that, to be the person I know I can be, and enjoy my own life, and enjoy my time with her. [In these last months, she has taken charge in a very sensible way, of reclaiming her body and life, and I am on the way]4 -
These are all soooooo beautiful to read. I think I will book mark this for a day when I want to feel all the poignant reasons I want to keep eating like a love myself, moving like I love myself.
I might say something about this on the over 40 , over 75lb to lose thread- for some of us it is a long journey. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10378503/over-40-over-75lb-to-lose-365-days-committment-to-logging#latest1 -
At my highest, September, 2014 I was 176 lbs. That's when I met my fiance. I guess he liked who I was as a person and not the outside. I never really thought of myself then as the way I feel now about how I was then. Thinking back on how I looked and what I ate totally disgusts me. I have learned so much here with all of you and am amazed and motivated by all your stories and successes. I guess for me it must have been pure vanity. Didn't like the way I looked or felt and wanted my man to be proud to be seen with me. I will be 59 next month so really no chance of ever putting on a swim suit again and I haven't worn shorts in many years, but I am starting to feel more comfortable with my body and how my clothes fit.
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My motivators were health and pride.
I have a few autoimmune issues that have slowed me down more than I should have been at my age. I was an athlete when I was younger and I was having a hard time letting that go. I wanted to lose weight to reduce my pain and maybe be able to get playing again.
I tried losing weight but I couldn't seem to keep it off. I would lose 10 and gain 15, lose 15 and gain 10, and on and on.
Then I found out that I was prediabetic. Yikes! I had had reactive hypoglycemia for years but steroids seemed to send my IR and BG up, and my weight went up with it. I hit 180lbs which was my heaviest weight ever. Yuck. I'd bee looking into keto and putting it off because I LOVED my soda and sweets. I NEEDED my soda and treats. I put on another 10lbs while trying to talk myself into starting. LOL
Now? I wish I had started this 10 years ago. Perhaps I could have prevented some of my health issues. If I had been lighter and eaten less inflammatory foods, perhaps I would hurt less.... I know I need to stay LCHF so I don't hurt any more than I do.
Plus, I really like having my hubby look me up and down with a sparkle in his eye. Fitting ino my old university sizes are a huge benefit.
Too bad they are mostly out of style now. 
My kids were "weirded out" by the texture of my old polyester track jacket from my school days. Apparently I am "retro". LOL 5 -
My biggest motivator, funny enough, is chairs.
Airplane seats, movie theater seats, heck, even some restaurant chairs are small for me. Of course my overall health is also a motivator (especially considering my genes and the large people in my family), but my husband and I travel, go to plays, see movies, dine out, and go to amusement parks all the time. Losing weight is absolutely making my life easier.6 -
No wild motivations now. I have gotten I shape and hit lots of milestones as far as fitness challenges and things I wanted to do
Now I'm just competing against myself and seeing how fit I can get. It is just a lifestyle and not a goal really
I would like to have a better defined abdomen. But I know how to do it, just a matter of want to.
Living a long life where I can do those things I enjoy, that is motivation. Pretty simple.
Low carb and a steady diet of swimming, running, and cycling works for me.3 -
Bumping for @Leanbean651
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Just received kind of a happy/sad reminder of why I keep fighting to regain my health. My stepfather was stopping through the area en route to help his sister move (TX to KS), and he was picking up some furniture that had been my grandfather's. I got a nice little surprise when my mom made the trip with him, as I haven't seen her in a couple years (at my Grandmother's funeral). It was great because I've missed her like crazy, but it was so hard to see her limited mobility and pain (complications of auto-immune diabetes, beginnings of arthritis, and goodness only knows what else!)... She needed help to get back down two steps. Her knees/joints are that hard on her any more. She sees the progress I've made and regained, but it's still not enough for her to take that leap of faith and start cutting her carbs down at all... I just have to keep living the lifestyle, keep making progress, and hope that one day, before it's too late, that she'll be willing to try my way. Smiles and tears, man...smiles and tears.4
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Started eating lower carb 13 months ago to support my SO whose doctor told him he should do Atkins. While I wasn't going to keto levels, I was amazed at how good I felt. I dropped 20+ pounds which was an added bonus.4
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1) To lose the last bit of pregnancy weight. And to have energy. I was doing flexible dieting for several months and it was just too frustrating and I was constantly hungry. With LCHF it's so easy to manage cravings and hunger and even though the weight loss is slow (for me!) I'm at least not gaining. I'm able to have energy and not feel hungry during my workouts (lifting and hiit) either. That wasn't the case before.
2) T2D runs in my family. Just taking preventative measures
3) hoping to motivate, and be an example to, my hubby. He has a lot to lose and I think he'll eventually be on board.
4) this is the best woe I've ever done. It makes sense and it's easy. That motivates me to keep going because even flexible dieting was so time consuming for some reason. 1 -
One day I looked at my drawer and I had six medications to take for my diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I an 39 years old. I couldn't fathom that I could continue to neglect my health and live to see my boys grow up (they are 7 and 1.5 years old). Enough was enough. I had to accept the fact that I have diabetes and my body is ALLERGIC to carbs. Carbage is poison to my body and by constantly feeding my body them, I was only cutting down my quality of life. It's just like when I quit smoking, I faced the reality of what I was doing to MYSELF. So I choose to eat what my body thrives on, which is low carb, and I'm feeling amazing. My journey started on May 11, 2016 and already I'm down 16lbs, down one diabetes medication and hopefully off the cholesterol meds soon. :-)10
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@genmon00 that is a truly surreal thought for me. I take 1 medication a day and I have reduced it so far and it's for ADHD. I cannot fathom having real health concerns that threaten my life to contend with. You are a super hero! For real! Congrats in your finding a better way to live!1
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Thank you @Sunny_Bunny_ ! You long time keto-ers are MY heros and models. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with all of us newbies :-)1
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »@genmon00 that is a truly surreal thought for me. I take 1 medication a day and I have reduced it so far and it's for ADHD. I cannot fathom having real health concerns that threaten my life to contend with. You are a super hero! For real! Congrats in your finding a better way to live!
I am loving the sound of this - my son has a lot of neurological conditions and I am considering putting him on this woe too - he is open to the idea - I am hoping it will improve things for him too - He has Tourettes, ADHD and Developmental Coordination Disorder so will be great if we can ease the symptoms for him naturally3 -
@Kathrout1973, I would have him on LCHF in a heart beat! Wouldn't it be wonderful if you saw improvements with his conditions that eased his suffering some? It would be hard to cheer that loud in a forum like this, but I would!!!1
