What's your motivation?
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It has been a few years of enjoying being fit by exercise and a lower carb diet.
I became more active and made those activities part of my normal life.
Enjoying life is fun in and of itself. Doing so by being more active perpetuates success.
I would like to live to enjoy many more decades of fun life! Seeing people with so many lifestyle related health issues that start even in their 20's is a great reminder to not take anything for granted1 -
My Las Vegas trip that I'm taking in 3 months. I've never been so motivated in my life!
I refuse to be poolside and feel uncomfortable and embarrassed about how I look.1 -
Don't people know you are not supposed to ask about pregnancy or a due date unless there is actually a baby falling out?
I always responded with "I'm not pregnant, just fat" which makes any decent human being apologize profusely for their comment/question...still kind of amazes me that it happens so often though...
and now for something completely different...I love reading these!!!2 -
It never ceases to amaze me what people feel entitled to ask.0
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I just tell people it's "leftovers" from my baby. They get embarrassed and all apologetic. I act like it doesn't bother me when in truth it makes me feel awful.0
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A guy asked my friend in the store when her baby was due. She looked right at him and said "oh I had my baby". He acted all shocked and said oh how exciting how old is your baby? She looked him right in the eye again and said "he's 6" and then just waited to see what he would say next. He mumbled something apologetic and beat it out of there fast.1
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LowCarbInScotland wrote: »I know we all have those days when things get tough. I thought it might be nice to have a thread to remind ourselves why we're making an effort to eat the right foods for our body.
So, what's your motivation or inspiration for improving your health?
Mobility has been my biggest motivation. I moved to Scotland two years ago and have missed out on so much exploration because my mobility was impacted by my weight. If you couldn't get there by car, I've missed out.
One of the things I've wanted to do is walk up The Royal Mile to get to Edinburgh Castle. 60+ lbs down, I'm ready to give it a shot soon.
Hey, I have done that mile! Go for it. Lovely walk.
My motivations are:
To enjoy my retirement, I want to travel to even more places than I have already, the bucket list is a long one.
I also have a mother and half sister who have had cancer, I hope to dodge that bullet by eating healthy, they don't.
My husband is T2D, he bounces between being diabetic and being pre-diabetic, so I have to set a good example for him and know how to cook foods that will benefit his health and mine.
I used to be the smallest sized of the 3 sisters, I want to be that again (sibling rivalry & vanity in that one)
To hike the Rockies all day instead of an hour or so, we live on the Front Range and I love mountain hiking.
I don't like pain eating 40/30/30 and taking fish oil helped with that over the years but eating LCHF also seems to be helping even when I forget the fish oil.
To not be hungry all the time, that is where LCHF really stands out for me. Heck, I have started doing fasting. Gives me lots of energy and I forget about food, I am so busy doing other things, it doesn't even cross my mind.1 -
It never ceases to amaze me what people feel entitled to ask.
A friend asked me once, "[So and so] was wondering if you were doing ok or whether you might have Crohn's or something, and I said I think he's trying to live more healthy."
I thought that was great. They must have been concerned when I started losing weight and started ordering liquor or water instead of beer at the bar, and she actually took pains to pretend that a positive explanation was also a serious candidate.
I mean, how can you phrase the basic question, "WTF is up with you losing weight and not drinking beer" in a benign and tactful way?
PS. The confession, "we were worried you had cancer," after I'd explained what I was up to, while well-intended, somehow didn't quite hit the mark...0 -
Motivation?
Complete and utter vanity. Narcissistic compulsion to still be the belle of the ball ( well, at least in a ballroom full of old people) Feels so naughty to say that out loud LOL!6 -
I like to hide behind my hero Baddie Winkle
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My original motivation was to just not be so fat. Eventually, my motivation shifted towards health and then to doing things that I always wanted to do.
What keeps me motivated now? This is one of the things:
Sorry for the poor editing. The firefighter in this image might not want his image posted.
That's the view from one of the seats in an Engine at my fire station. I currently am a volunteer and ride-along and assist. The city is planning on paying for my school, but I might just pay for it myself because I want to do it so badly. I've always wanted to be a firefighter, but I was never healthy enough to do it. I was never certain that I wouldn't be unable to perform due to migraines, physical limitations, weight, or whatever. I just didn't think my body would do it, not even in my 20s. Now, I am working towards it every day.
I am motivated by being able to follow dreams that I never even allowed myself to admit existed before I went low-carb.
I wish I could show better photos. I have some cool ones, but they are all full of personally identifiable information. The truck pictured is one of the oldest and ugliest we have, but it's what we use a lot of the time.
PS: It should be noted that my diet isn't completely known aside from being low-carb based. The Fire/EMT field is pretty hardcore on the low-fat plant foods are healthy, but some of them understand low-carb, as a "diet" at least.5 -
I like to hide behind my hero Baddie Winkle
OMG.
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When my 11 yo daughter begins dating, I want to be in good enough condition that the threats...uh, I mean warnings....uh, I mean conversations I have with any boy she dates to be taken seriously. The gun and shovel are good, but....2
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I so need this thread today. I dunno know what happened, but my motivation really waned the past month. It's forcing me to really look at myself/health/weight in the big picture. There's definitely some vanity reasons behind this...I want the image in the mirror to reflect the person I feel like inside. I want to feel sassy and confident again. But really, I just want to have control over my eating. And I want the food that I eat to make me feel good & energetic, not loaded down and heavy.
I'd like to get to the point where I don't have to struggle and fight with cravings, but just know the things I'm supposed to eat and stick to them. I've been cheating with eating so much this month, and not one time did the food taste as good as I recalled them to taste. I need to remind myself that nostalgia wears rose colored glasses.1 -
So my motivation is being able to walk and the fact that my waist measurements suddenly put me at risk of heart disease. I have RA and I gained about 5kgs after moving from a shop floor job to a desk job. After a sudden flare up I was put on prednisone for what was meant to be a month but stretched closer to six. All up I ended up at 75kg from my pre deskjob 56kg. After prompting from my manager and coworker, and failed attempts at calorie counting (I lost a total of 3kg down to 72kg over 9 months and that would have been mostly water weight from the prednisone) I gave LCHF a go.
So far so good! I've lost about 8kg (currently at 64kg) I've managed to increase my exercise dramatically.
Went from weekly aquacise to doing Zumba, Aquacise, Circuit training, yoga and kick scootering on a good week. My knees still hurt on and off and I get occasional bouts of fatigue but it's not a constant thing and the fact I have the energy for so many different types exercises now really highlights the drop of inflammation in my body.
Yes there is a bit of a vanity aspect in my weight loss but now that I'm over halfway to my goal weight my focus has really switched to building muscle to protect my problem joints (currently my knees).2 -
bumpity bump bump....0
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Yay for another thread I really needed tonight!
My motivation is health and looking good, but honestly, getting a young horse has been the biggest motivator for me. I'm one of the ones responsible for teaching her to safely and happily carry a rider, and even though she's an big girl, I was worried my weight would hinder things. Also, I have big goals with her that will require me to be lighter and more athletic (flying over big fences and jumping crazy cross-country obstacles). So my horse has been a huge motivator.2 -
One of my motivations which I have held onto as a secret until now is fear. Years before being diagnosed with T2D, my doctors would tell me I had BG numbers higher than they would like, but not to pre-diabetic levels. This goes back to the beginning of 2007.
As it turns out, these statements were made without an A1c test just using FBG. The FBG I had when I finally did get diagnosed in September 2015 was exactly the same as where it had been 8 1/2 years earlier. I likely was at least pre-diabetic, if not diabetic most of that time and quite possibly much before that as I had not had a physical before that for more than a decade.
I didn't know all that much about diabetes back then. I did know that diabetics could have sugar spill into their urine. This is where the fear came in because I had noticed on many occasions that my urine smelled sweet - very much like the cereal Sugar Smacks.
I thought at the time diabetes was a forever thing. That once you had it, it was progressive and there was nothing you could do about it. You know, the conventional wisdom spread by the ADA and others.
I knew if I did have it, it was because of my food consumption/addiction. For decades, my philosophy was I would work out as much and as hard as I had to in order to eat what I wanted, when I wanted and how much I wanted. This kept me from ever being obese, although I did get to about 40 lbs heavier than I am now, my BF% never got above about 23% due to the intense workouts.
I will say eating 5000-7000 calories a day (and sometimes double that in a single sitting when a buffet was involved) is not healthy in the long run regardless of how much you burn. It still puts a huge stress on your body. I just struggled, and still continue to struggle with not eating to the point of being stuffed. I think this is why I was able to more easily relate to many people who were significantly overweight.
Fortunately, I focused that fear about diabetes into some pretty intense research, as many of you may have noticed from other things I have written in various threads. I have learned diabetes doesn't have to be progressive and I can and have made changes so that when my now 11 yo daughter is getting married someday, I can be healthy enough to walk her down the aisle. I can be healthy enough to see grandchildren some day.
My motivation in regard to my family is still the primary, but I have to admit that fear of the way diabetes destroys people (kidney failure, blindness, amputations, etc.) was also pretty powerful. Everyone will die one day. That just seemed a really sucky way to do it.3 -
Pretty much my only motivation is: diabetes.
I'm not that worried about looks, hubby loves my curves, and I can do most everything I want to do at whatever size I am. I couldn't care less what other ppl think of me and the path of least resistance (and saving money) is definitely just eating the SAD. I have no fear of death, heaven is my home, and I don't give a fig about clothes. In fact, I don't think I've bought clothes in several years
But I'm here for my diabetes. I want to have normal blood sugars and not worry about damaging my eyes or organs. The weight loss is just a bonus, it's not my driving force.1 -
cstehansen wrote: ».... I have to admit that fear of the way diabetes destroys people (kidney failure, blindness, amputations, etc.) was also pretty powerful. Everyone will die one day. That just seemed a really sucky way to do it.
Not to mention cardiac disease, Alzheimer’s, and necrotizing fasciitis...
Ay, there are better and later ways to go.
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Yes, but I hate to put a damper on all this.
We're all going to die in perfect health - !!2 -
Im a mature student graduating on the 13th of July and want to look good on the pictures.
Also I have two lovely pairs of jeans that I want to get back to by July or my niece will have them.
Ive put my name in the London marathon ballot so I need to get fit because I have a tendency to win any ballot I enter!3 -
AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »Yes, but I hate to put a damper on all this.
We're all going to die in perfect health - !!
In the same plane crash? I hope it's after the party.....0 -
Let's make it DURING the party! I intend to go out singing and dancing - !!0
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Romans 12:11
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Isaiah 22:13.0
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My physician diagnosed me with metabolic syndrome after labs and told me the reason I wasn't losing weight was due to insulin resistance. I have witnessed my mother's medical issues from being non compliant and that's not the path I want for my future. I want to be healthy and have energy and enjoy life. I'm also a nurse and I have to practice what I preach.2
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My current motivation is mostly health related although I really really want to get to my goal weight this time. I got close about 2 years ago, gained back some weight, but I'm very determined this time to reach my goal.
Since then, my sister was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, we do not have a family history of cancer so this was a huge shocker. She wasn't the vision of health at the time. She is overweight, has smoked for over 30+ years and isn't physically active. I have also watched my Mom's health decline over the years. She has so many issues going on, takes so many various meds, she has COPD, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, acid reflux, joint pain, HBP and recently had knee replacement surgery. All of her doctors have told her if she lost weight so many of her medical issues would improve.
I want to give myself the best chance at not following down those roads, so I took control of my health and haven't looked back. I had a full check up shortly after my sister got her diagnosis and everything came back great so now I need to keep it that way, they are my daily reminder and motivation. I have not been able to get either to jump onboard to my WOE, I don't preach or ask, just try to lead by example, but they haven't taken the leap.4 -
I am motivated with LCHF or Paleo because I was a size 18/20 now a size 6/8. Everyday as a foodie is a struggle to make the right choice. That has not changed. But not having to choose elastic pants and buttoning a size 8 is great. I eat to live not living to eat. Stay the course and we all are better.2
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