Is there such thing as bad motivation to lose weight?

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  • missmagnoliablossom
    missmagnoliablossom Posts: 240 Member
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    I think a person's motivation is bad if it leads you to do dangerous things - "i.e. I hate my body so I'm going to only eat 600 calories today," etc. Everyone's reasons are their own - the important thing is to get to your goal in a healthy way.
  • moesis
    moesis Posts: 874 Member
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    Your motivation is your own and no one else's business.
  • MomReborn
    MomReborn Posts: 145 Member
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    Your reasons are your own. If you don't think there is some magic attached to getting healthy, you'll be fine. There is no such thing as "bad" motivation, unless it's totally unrealistic and delusional. For example, thinking you're better than someone else for not having "vain" and "selfish" thoughts is, in fact, unrealistic, delusional, vain and selfish. JS <3
  • duddysdad
    duddysdad Posts: 403 Member
    edited March 2017
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    One of my main reasons for wanting to lose weight is to look good in smaller clothes. Also, to prove people wrong who said I would never lose weight. It's vain, so what. I was tired of being fat and wanted to look better for myself and others. Not because I want to impress them, just so I can shove it in their faces. There is nothing wrong with it. I don't want to look like someone else, I just feel like my body is not supposed to be fat, it's just a result of my poor choices.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,724 Member
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    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    Nothing wrong with it at all. I honestly think anyone who says that looking good isn't a factor in why they want to lose weight is lying. It's always a factor, but maybe not the main one.

    (snip by reply-er)

    HaHaha!

    As I told a friend who was worried that I was losing too much weight because of appearance goals:

    If I cared that much about how I look, there are many, many things I would've done even before losing weight: Dye my hair, have reconstruction after the bilateral mastectomies, get my teeth capped, wear makeup, tune up my wardrobe, . . . I could go on and on.

    I'm actually pretty happy to say that at age 61, I have confidence in myself because of strengths I myself value. Appearance, for me, is not a biggie. I wouldn't diss others with different values and preferences, but that doesn't mean I have to share them.

    And I don't think it's wrong, bad, shallow, etc., to lose weight for reasons of appearance, even though I did it for health, to avoid taking statins, to take the stress off my painful knees, to bring my blood pressure down, to further reduce my chances of more cancer, etc.

    You be you, and I'll applaud . . . I'll be me.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    When I first started losing a few years ago, I had recently moved to my home town. I kept running into people I used to know in high school and I was sick of feeling fat and frumpy. So that was a big starting off point for me. Like others said, I found more internal motivation along the way and I managed to lose 90 lbs and got in really good shape. I'm proud to say I look and feel even better than I did when I graduated high school 15 years ago. :) And now I do it for me, not for them.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Besides my health, I also wanted to lose weight to wear cuter clothes, and also to attract the attention of men. Your reasons are your own and eff your cousin''s judgement of you for it.
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    All reasons are pretty selfish in the end. You're either doing it to attain something that benefits you or doing it to avoid something that may harm you (or both). Self-preservation and self-promotion are like law #1. Even the things we do for friends, partners, and children can have selfish undertones. Children themselves are a way for us to project our influence into a future we may never see.

    Reaping the rewards of your own efforts isn't inherently negative. If your reasons hurt no one (including yourself) and they motivate you, they are good reasons.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    Bad motivations:
    1. Body dysmorphia - you are quite healthy and attractive, but see yourself very differently
    2. Eating disorders (related to 1 frequently) - you have a psychological issue with control and food
    3. Abusive relationships - an intimate partner or family member is coercing you to lose weight by withholding love and support or making them contingent on your weight loss.

    The first two reasons mean you need to see a psychiatrist promptly for treatment.
    The second reason means you need to cut someone out of your life by whatever means necessary, and seek to recover from the trauma of abuse.
  • ACSL3
    ACSL3 Posts: 623 Member
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    One of my reasons for losing weight was definitely vain and wanting to have a better body. Now that I've lost some weight, I like that I feel better and feel I look better in my uniform and that helps keep me going. I'm also happy that I can run faster/farther, my cholesterol numbers are lower, I feel better physically, and I can do things I couldn't do at a higher weight - those are also great reasons for continuing on my weight loss journey. But I definitely have some vain reasons too ;)
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
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    I don't think it is wrong at all. We all have our own reasons to loose weight. For me the vanity thing was not there at the start (it was health and control over my life) but it most certainly a reason now.
    Whatever reason you ahve it is in the end about you - from that perspective any reason could be given a label slefish - Well so what?
    As long as it is a reason that is within the realm of helth and yourself your reasosn are your own.
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
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    GoCleanGoLean wrote: »
    (for example, it's not very good to lose weight because you hate your body)

    I think losing weight because you (generally, not YOU) hate your body is as legit as wanting to lose weight to look good in a crop top. If someone looks in the mirror and doesn't like what he/she sees, it makes sense to change it. Not enough muscle? Lift weights. Too heavy? Lose weight. Too thin? Gain weight.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,069 Member
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    In my opinion the only bad reason really is to do it for someone other than ourselves and even then it's only bad because you're relying on someone else for your motivation who may or may not be around for the whole journey.

    OP don't worry about what your cousin thinks, it's your journey not theirs and whatever you want to do for yourself is your own business.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    I don't think there are any "bad" reasons for wanting to lose weight. I think it may vary by age and by person and we all have our own reasons. Ten years ago I wanted to be thin for vanity reasons only and now that I'm 48 I want to be thin for my health and so I can breathe when I walk up a flight of stairs and so I can chase my kids and play with them when summer gets here, that kind of stuff. It depends on what season of life we are in as to why we want to be thin.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    I don't think there is such a thing as bad motivation, except when you want to lose 30 pounds in one month for reunion or something. When my mom gains weight every year after visiting my grandmother, she loses it because buying a new wardrobe would be too time and money consuming, and she keeps it off all year. That's as good a motivation as any.

    Forgot this one! I agree that bad motivation can be wanting to lose an excessive amount in a very short amount of time. That can only mean you will re-gain it quickly when you go back to a normal way of eating because wanting to lose weight so quickly can mean you will do anything to lose it and it's not usually a way that you would keep doing for the rest of your life either.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    Yes. Unpaid athletes trying to lose weight (crazily in most cases) to make a weight class. Dancers are also notorius for losing weight just to look good on stage regardless of their skill.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited March 2017
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Yes. Unpaid athletes trying to lose weight (crazily in most cases) to make a weight class. Dancers are also notorius for losing weight just to look good on stage regardless of their skill.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Oh god, yes. i didn't even think of this.

    I know a couple competitors (figure) who have dieted down so harshly that they were being hospitalized after their competitions. One with dehydration the other with liver and kidney issues from abusing diuretics and i'm assuming some sort of preworkouts.

    i also know a girl that was my size (when i was a gymnast i was 5'3 and 108 pounds) who lost another 10 pounds so she could pull off a catch and release move in gymnastics.

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