What is your WHY?
Replies
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My wife's on a paleo kick and I've got my spring league starting soon. That's a good enough 'why' for me.0
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My why is to have a kickass life! I only get one after all!
I want to climb Kilimanjaro, white water raft in the Atlas mountains for a week, hike Torres del Paine in Chile, kayak down a river in Alaska, do martial arts and dance Salsa, look sexy on a Thai beach, be confident, strong, happy and healthy.
Some of these are done, some are planned, and the rest (among a 100 more) are to come.5 -
It's is just as hard to work at improving myself as it is to staying fat. I decided to work at myself. =0)3
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my reason why is bias doctors it took 6 years for my heart conditions to be diagnosed because dispite not having diabeties i was being told i fainted cause i was fat and now facing the possible narcolepsy diagnoses im still being treated like crap by doctors because of my weight so i want to remove that bias and get treated right1
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Great video on the topic of Know you Why. https://vimeo.com/1694058010
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I started because I was feeling depressed for absolutely no reason. I knew it wasn't normal, and that exercise has already been proven to be a better anti-depressant than medication. I got into the habit of exercising for at least 30 minutes daily and eating healthier (most of the time). Sure enough, 1 year later and the depression symptoms are all but gone, I lost 55 lb, and now I track my stats because I'm a nerd and am starting to enjoy competing with myself5
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I have so many reasons.
1. I keep my exercise journey going because I like the way it makes me feel. I had a family relationship go really sour about two years ago, and working out is one of the main things that kept me from losing my mind.
2. I am 28, and I feel like I'm too young to walk around with a sloppy, fat, out-of-shape body. I'm sorry if that is harsh or too frank, but it's the truth.
3. I'm 28, and I can already feel and see my metabolism changing as I get older. I feel like if I start good practices now, I can beat it.
4. I recently got married and would like to start a family. I feel like if I have a real ingrained habit of working out, I will be less inclined to let myself go after the littles get here. My mother has struggled all her life with weight, but her biggest battle I noticed was losing weight she gained while pregnant/raising my sibling and I. She didn't lose most of it until we were able to take care of ourselves.
5. I was a chunky teenager -- I weighed about the same as I do now, but my body composition was completely different-- it was all belly and fat. I don't want to go back to that.
6. I would love to be a trophy wife -- shallow I know, but I would like to get introduced at functions and have that WOW reaction.
7. I am so close to my goals. I can see abs under the layer of fat. My butt has never looked better. If I can cut about 10-15 lbs of fat, I would not feel bad in a bikini at all -- something I never thought was attainable for me.
8. I have come so far physically and mentally. I could not do a single pushup. I was embarrassed to do Zumba in a group and thought I'd fall off the treadmill, Taylor Swift style, if I ran on it. Now, I can almost do five traditional pushups without stopping and at least 45 incline pushups. I'm a Zumba-holic (and people follow ME in the class to keep up), and I run intervals on the treadmill all the time.1 -
My why was when I saw a picture of myself and saw how big my stomach was and it got me upset and I got really real and honest with myself and I knew I had to change and catch MYSELF before I got too far up there because I know how long it takes and how hard it can be sometimes so I decided to change and work on me and love me and develop new habits and start working out and I love it and I'll never go back to who I was nothing changes unless we change.1
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I've been fighting with this since I was about 17 or so (back when haha, I wasn't overweight) and I'm now about 2 years away from making that 10 years of my life. Switching from loving myself and not caring what others think (aka also eating whatever I want and ZERO exercise) to the point where I know I'm over weight now and it doesn't matter if no one thinks I look "fat"- I know I'm overweight. I have a desk job, my hobbies are sitting down activities such as video games and watching movies. I read how sitting was the new smoking and it lit a fire under my *kitten*. I'm only 15 pounds overweight and I'd like to lose probably 30, but this time things have switched.
I also have two very close family members who are dropping pounds right now and I'm jealous. SO JEALOUS. My older sister has done this before and lost 60+ pounds, gained half or so back over a few years and now has dropped more. She's a bean pole. My husband got a job working on his feet all day and I can tell he's probably lost about ten pounds and his self-esteem has boosted enormously which is changing things for us romantically.
So I want to lose weight-
1. To avoid heart/weight issues (because maternal line has heart problems and my dad is diabetic).
2. To make it easier for me to get pregnant (or at least weight not be a factor in trying to conceive).
3. To feel confident about myself and not guilty when I do enjoy my video games and movies.
4. To pass on healthy eating habits to future kids.
5. To feel not SO far removed from fiction. Whenever I watch movies/shows etc I feel shame that I couldn't possible do what any of the characters are doing (running, jumping, ice skating w/e) because I am out of shape. I know i'm not going to train like Daisy Ridley for Star Wars, but I want to feel like I'm somewhat strong like her and my imagination could actually believe I could do something like that. Idk if that's weird or just a me thing lol
6. To be the hot wife. I know I have a weird gothy/punk style (weird to most anyway), but I'd rather be the skinner weirdo than the fat weirdo. May sound awfully mean, but that's what I think in my head. If I'm going to be an otaku I can't look like a slob.1 -
Reading through a few of these reasons, my reasons seem less serious/motivating. But the thing is, I'm not old (sorry guys). I don't have a family (as in I am not a mother). I don't have kids to live for (I guess my siblings could count, but they aren't MINE per se). I don't have a spouse (I'm still in high school). But I do have myself, my siblings, and my personal experience, so here goes.
* I love the way I feel when I know I'm being healthy. I love how light and energetic I feel when I feed my body with the right foods. I love the way I am happier when I eat right. I love that I feel thin when I eat good food. I love how beautiful I feel when I know I'm doing what's best for my body.
* Bikini. Summer. 'nough said.
* My parents are so supportive -- I've noticed that they've started buying healthy foods (cauliflower, whole grain bread, brown rice, etc.) and though they don't say it out loud, I know it's because of me -- they are trying to help (and they are -- love you Mommy and Daddy ). This support makes me want to keep going -- I don't want to waste their time and effort and I don't want to waste all the yummy new foods they buy for me to eat (like have you tried pumpkin and flax seed granola!? It's amazing!)
* My cousins and I have this little rivalry thing going on -- it's light hearted, but we have this unspoken competition of who can look the best.
* I want to. Plain and simple. I want to be healthy.
* I hate the way I feel after downing over 700 calories worth of Snicker's (yes, I've done that before; not my brightest moment). I love the way I feel after downing 700 calories of granola, yogurt, eggs, and bananas (today's lunch -- I am so excited to eat it)!
So why am I losing weight?
I feel like it.3 -
It all started just to lose weight and get healthier. Turned into seeing if I could run certain distances, turning into marathons. The only time I stopped was due to injury, and then a period after that where I guess my body decided it needed to continue the break for a bit because I could not force myself back into things as running felt like punishment for some reason. Luckily, I'm back with all the determination again after just a few months off, and not longer feel like running is such punishment.
It's all the same "why" in the end.
I do it for me, that's it. I can spin on and on various angles of that. But it all boils down to doing it for me.1 -
WhatMeRunning wrote: »It all started just to lose weight and get healthier. Turned into seeing if I could run certain distances, turning into marathons. The only time I stopped was due to injury, and then a period after that where I guess my body decided it needed to continue the break for a bit because I could not force myself back into things as running felt like punishment for some reason. Luckily, I'm back with all the determination again after just a few months off, and not longer feel like running is such punishment.
It's all the same "why" in the end.
I do it for me, that's it. I can spin on and on various angles of that. But it all boils down to doing it for me.
Good for you! I have not drawn up the courage to do a marathon yet. My max so far is a 10k.0 -
Started running more frequently again to train up for the annual Bolder Boulder 10k My favorite race of the year.
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My WHY is various reasons. My number 1 would be my husband and kids. But myself has to be included because I also have various hereditary illnesses that run on both my mothers and fathers side of the family. Not only to I want to lower my risks for myself but I want to give myself the chance of living a longer healthier life for my family.1
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GreenEyes7787 wrote: »My WHY is various reasons. My number 1 would be my husband and kids. But myself has to be included because I also have various hereditary illnesses that run on both my mothers and fathers side of the family. Not only to I want to lower my risks for myself but I want to give myself the chance of living a longer healthier life for my family.
Love it. Thank you for sharing.0 -
My why is that I can't imagine my little girl not having me to turn to. Physical and mental health are so important to me.3
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Why? Because I never want my weight to hold me back from living life to the fullest. In the past I was afraid to climb the mountain for fear I'd fall, or walk the beach for fear people would make fun, or have the spotlight for fear it would be captured on film. Setting fear and regret aside...that is my why.1
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My why is myself. I am worth getting healthy for.1
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I have been one of those people who constantly flip-flopped between dieting and not caring. After taking an Anatomy and Physiology class for my degree, I learned into detail the damage i was doing to my body, not only from being overweight by easily 200 pounds, but because I haven't been taking my thyroid medication for hypothyroid.
I want to feel better about my self, I want to be healthier for my son since I am a single parent, and in general I want to take care of my body and health. I am tired of walking around in constant pain because of the pressure on my joints, I want to feel more secure and comfortable with myself so maybe I will get involved again with dating and friends. Plus it would be nice to be able to fit back into all my old clothes that I keep holding onto yet refuse to get rid of. My ultimate no scale victory? Being able to take a bath again, since currently I can not. Also being able to sit in the back seat of a car with friends or family comfortably, instead of being squished and getting cramps sitting in an awkward position so the other 2 people can fit into the car aswell.2 -
Thank you for sharing. I know I often reflect back on why I started when I am feeling slightly defeated or stalled. It is a good reminder and helps me focus. Sometimes my Why changes, but that's okay. What ever keep me going.0
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There are so, so many. But lately, as I'm creeping up into my late 20's, I want to be able to have a healthy family with my soon to be husband. I want to be healthy and maintain healthy habits. When I have children, I want to be able to give them healthy habits. I don't want them to have to basically learn how to live like I did. I think of how much I've struggled, not just with food, but basic hygiene and cleanliness into my early adulthood and it didn't have to be that way. I just didn't ever have a stable adult in my life to give me direction. I want to be that for my future children, so I've had to make a lot of changes.2
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HazyEyes93 wrote: »There are so, so many. But lately, as I'm creeping up into my late 20's, I want to be able to have a healthy family with my soon to be husband. I want to be healthy and maintain healthy habits. When I have children, I want to be able to give them healthy habits. I don't want them to have to basically learn how to live like I did. I think of how much I've struggled, not just with food, but basic hygiene and cleanliness into my early adulthood and it didn't have to be that way. I just didn't ever have a stable adult in my life to give me direction. I want to be that for my future children, so I've had to make a lot of changes.
Sounds like an excellent reason to me. Thank you for sharing.0 -
5.25 miles today. Increased the distance. The first 3 miles hurt. Legs were tight, shins and ankles were cramping up. About the time I hit mile 3 everything started to loosen up and I could get into a good rhythm. 5 more weeks until the Bolder Boulder!0
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I developed plantar fascitis....it's very painful, so I'm hoping by dropping to a normal weight, my feet will go back to normal. Trying to avoid the surgery and steroid shots.0
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I'm tired of living life according to my weight. It's holding me back because I always have to question if I can do something because of it.1
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My husband and I recently went on a cruise to the Bahamas. One of the excursions we went on was a 2 mile kayak tour. This was both of our first time and quite an experience. I remember being more than half way through and looking around at all of the water. Water in front of me, behind me, to the left and to the right. And then it hit me, I couldn't stop paddling if I wanted to. There was a distination I had to get to and that was how I was going to get there. I couldn't turn around. I couldn't walk away. I didn't have my car near by to drive off. And even if I stopped paddling, that would have really only been a break because I had to press on in order to get to my destination. I'll admit that I felt some anxiety about that for a second, like I was stuck in the middle of no where. But as I continued to paddle the anxiety subsided because I was back working towards my distination.
I consider that the WHY for my weight loss needs to be like the distination on that kayak tour, do or die. Not that I was in any real or imminent danger of dying or that I want to be! I just want a reason that demands that I continue with healthy living. Even if I want to stop, or give up, if I lose my motivation or even lose support from others, I want a WHY that requires that I keep going inspite of because the only way I am going accomplish that WHY is to press on.
With that being said, I honestly don't know WHY I'm doing this. Granted, there are numerous and unmeasurable benefits, all of them already posted. And I hope to experience them, all of them. I am tired of starting and stopping. I'm tired of "dieting". But as I read through all the reasons listed, I felt no since of urgency within myself. Nothing that I felt would hold my attention longer than a year.
Heard this one day and I loved it "I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just doing it"! So I guess my WHY for right now is "might as well ". When and if it changes, and I hope it does so that I can have a reason to stay this course, then I'll let you know.3 -
My husband and I recently went on a cruise to the Bahamas. One of the excursions we went on was a 2 mile kayak tour. This was both of our first time and quite an experience. I remember being more than half way through and looking around at all of the water. Water in front of me, behind me, to the left and to the right. And then it hit me, I couldn't stop paddling if I wanted to. There was a distination I had to get to and that was how I was going to get there. I couldn't turn around. I couldn't walk away. I didn't have my car near by to drive off. And even if I stopped paddling, that would have really only been a break because I had to press on in order to get to my destination. I'll admit that I felt some anxiety about that for a second, like I was stuck in the middle of no where. But as I continued to paddle the anxiety subsided because I was back working towards my distination.
I consider that the WHY for my weight loss needs to be like the distination on that kayak tour, do or die. Not that I was in any real or imminent danger of dying or that I want to be! I just want a reason that demands that I continue with healthy living. Even if I want to stop, or give up, if I lose my motivation or even lose support from others, I want a WHY that requires that I keep going inspite of because the only way I am going accomplish that WHY is to press on.
With that being said, I honestly don't know WHY I'm doing this. Granted, there are numerous and unmeasurable benefits, all of them already posted. And I hope to experience them, all of them. I am tired of starting and stopping. I'm tired of "dieting". But as I read through all the reasons listed, I felt no since of urgency within myself. Nothing that I felt would hold my attention longer than a year.
Heard this one day and I loved it "I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just doing it"! So I guess my WHY for right now is "might as well ". When and if it changes, and I hope it does so that I can have a reason to stay this course, then I'll let you know.
What an awesome response. Thank you for sharing that with all of us. I truly believe that you will keep going and your true Why will emerge itself when it is ready.2 -
Ocean_Breezy wrote: »I developed plantar fascitis....it's very painful, so I'm hoping by dropping to a normal weight, my feet will go back to normal. Trying to avoid the surgery and steroid shots.
Have you tried KT Tape for your plantar fascitis?
https://youtu.be/WTSOQg680mc0 -
I want to be healthy for my kids. Recently, like, 5 people I know have been diagosed with diabetes. It scares the crap out of me. I want to be as healthy as I can be, especially since I'm considered middle aged now. Once you hit your mid 40s, sadly, stuff starts breaking down.4
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