WHY? and WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Just in the few people who posted on this thread, there's been over 320lbs lost! That's amazing.
 
Staying motivated to lose weight has been so hard for me...I do well for a while then fall off track. I thought I was one of the only people who had that problem...but it seems like a lot of people struggle with it!

I'm doing this for many reasons...I want to look good, I want to feel confident, and I'm tired of being self-concious of my body. But mostly I'm trying to do this to prove that I can do this and I can stick to a goal. I know it's going to be hard but I feel good enough about it already just choosing to be a part of this and knowing that I have control over myself and my habits!:)
 
i'll be honest, which no one else said. love inspired me...(/sigh)...and the fact that i nearly had type II hypertension at 20 years old (at the time though, i had a very stressful job, which i quit). but, i'm being brutally honest, the love inspired me more :p....grrr....i can go into it later :p
 
why am i doing this?
well i'll tell ya mostly because i missed the old me.........as i gained weight i lost my self-esteem and my spark, I felt ugly and undeserving. One day i looked in the mirror and thought "who the hell is this person? Cuz it ain't me!" Now everyday i see a little of the old me comming back.........the intensity of my personality returning and my drive, the sassy young (youngish) woman i am, not the sad sack i had become............and that inspires me!!!
 
nice topic, and a nice place for me to use up my first post :)

My biggest motivation is my bestfriend, who is a girl. It may seem shallow, or extremely shallow, but I think she'd like me as more than a friend if i wasn't a slob. Also, my family is overweight. Since i started striving to be a healthier/more fit person, they have actually started to pick up some of my habits, and found motivation of their own :D. Not to mention the nice new clothes I'm going to reward myself with when i DO hit my goal. Which i will :]

I have a great personality, im a funny guy, and im extremely confident with most other aspects of my life. Fitness just isn't one of them, and I can't wait to hit my goal weight, take a deep breath, and have a bit of a fresh start.

goodluck to everyone with their goals :)
 
My big motivation to lose the weight? At the gym that I was a member of, and now work at, they do a fitness evaluation when you sign up. The fit tester told me that I had 109 lbs of fat on my body. That scared me, and thinking of the health matters that could arise if I continued at my current weight.
 
I want to ride. End of story.

and I want to stop being the "fat girl" of the volleyball team. One of my goals is to walk into tryouts next year and have my coach go "What's your na....Jacqui?" :D

I want to be able to be attractive to guys, I want to wear pretty dresses like my sister does.

and I want to be healthy, just for me, so that I can live a good long life without worrying about my weight, and not being able to do things because of my weight. Change now, and reap the benefits later
 
The main thing that inspires me is i want to be able to look half decent with my shirt off , i am so sick of having to wear baggy shirts that really do nothing to hide my problem ...lol. I also want to be able to run my 3rd marathon , my first and second were way back in 2005 and ive kind of let myself go since then!:eek:
 
I inspire and motivate myself. I have to.. I don't have an exercise/weight loss buddy. I don't have people around me who are really supporting me right now. I'm doing this for me and only me. I'm determined to be happy with myself for once in my life. :)
 
Motivation is tough without support

I wish I had a sister to motivate me! I just joined this group in hopes of finding people who have to exert effort to avoid overeating. I love to eat. It makes me feel good...for a little while. I'm not sure why I do it. I want to become apathetic about food instead of focusing on it constantly. Any ideas???
 
I wish I had a sister to motivate me! I just joined this group in hopes of finding people who have to exert effort to avoid overeating. I love to eat. It makes me feel good...for a little while. I'm not sure why I do it. I want to become apathetic about food instead of focusing on it constantly. Any ideas???

food can be like any addiction. it makes you feel better immediately, but then it makes you feel like sh*t (just like people who abuse drugs/alcohol). some people use it as a means of escape from problems, depression, anxiety, etc. I used to eat a whole large pizza before each final for a couple of days straight. or when I would feel anxious I used to eat a lot. it take some effort but it's possible. i live alone because i'm in college so I dont have any support, but this forum helps a lot. the best of luck!
 
I wish I had a sister to motivate me! I just joined this group in hopes of finding people who have to exert effort to avoid overeating. I love to eat. It makes me feel good...for a little while. I'm not sure why I do it. I want to become apathetic about food instead of focusing on it constantly. Any ideas???

I love to eat, cookbooks and cooking magazines are my porn - cooking gadgets are like my sex toys :D ... Cooking has been someting I've loved to do since I was tall enough to reach the knobs on the stove... Eating is something else I enjoy very much.. Some people eat to live... I'm one of those that lives to eat... to try something new, or to play with a spice combination I haven't played with before is fun and totally enjoyable for me... I don't see me ever being apathetic about food... I have, however, over the past year, learned a lot about portion control and moderation.. There's nothing I won't have anymore, but I will go for quality over quantity, and am still teaching myself to slow down whilst eating so i can enjoy yhe flavor and appreciate the quality... rather than shovelling the food i as fast as possible.

It's not been an easy thing to do, and it challenges me every single day... but the rest of my life is a long time - well sort of anyhow, so I can be a little patient... :D
 
Wow Mal,
Great post. Describes so much of what i feel, i 110% live to eat, and I have along way to go to sort out the relationship food and I have to get to where you are now, but it is kinda nice to hear someone else put into words exactly what is in my head.

I also think trying to stop myself cooking, experiment and enjoying food which i seem to be doing at the moment is all wrong. I must go back to loving food, but loving it sensibly in moderation. Thanks!

As for my motivations. The simple one is my health, not only am I fat, Im majorally unfit, and both of these are things I want to correct.

I am heading back out to india in July, and i really want to be a hell of a lot fitter than right now, and a little slimmer so that I can enjoy my time there to the full. I have pictures of when i was there last year, and I hate to look at the ones at the beginning of my trip, because I hate what i see, and this time, I dont want it to be like that, I want to like what i see in the picture/the mirror etc.

I want to fix me head, and stop using food in all the wrong ways.

This isnt a diet, this is definately a new lifestyle. One that right now is blooody hard for me to stick too, so feels a lot like a diet, but i wont give up, and it will one day be the norm, and my messed up food attitude will be fixed, i;ll be fit and slim, it will be a happy day :)

K x
 
Hi everyone! I feel like we are all in the same boat. Maybe most of us grew up without any real discipline in the food/exercise area of our lives? I know I did. Im going to graduate college in a year, and since Ive been away from my house Ive realized just how twisted my family is when it comes to eating and not caring about being fit. My sister is GORGEOUS, but she gets no attention because she is so overweight. My dad battled cancer, and lost weight for a while, but now he's back to his heaviest. It frustrates me to no end to see them live the way they do. Im the only active one in the family, and its ironic because Im also the only one who is not very very obese.
My deal with my weight is the same as most- Im uncomfortable with myself, and I shouldnt be because Im 20 years old, and I should be enjoying my body while Im young! Im a very sexual person, but I hate that I can't enjoy it the way I want to because Im always so self-conscious. Everytime I go out, I get frustrated with myself and end up depressed, after which I definitly dont enjoy the night I set out to enjoy. So, Im probably doing this for vain reasons (not necessarily to rid any health problems quite yet), but it's something that makes me happy and proud of myself. Im a biology major, with intentions of medical school in a year, and I work SO HARD to be a competative medical college applicant and a competative student at Villanova. So why do I let myself go physically, and why aren't I competative with my body and looks?
 
This is a great question. Growing up me and my brothers were in sports, parents have always served nutritious meals. But each of us became fat at different points, basically no more exercise.

My motivation/inspiration is to achieve that toned body I have always envied, not just being thin, that is my vanity. But, I want to be myself again. I did not hardly take my 2 young ones anywhere last summer, I felt too disgusted with myself, not my norm. I also have inherited a kidney disease from my mom (she's post transplant) and want to decrease my risks for blood pressure problems and potential damage.
 
Reading with great interest!

My motivation before was a print out photo of myself sitting on a bench in a beautiful park eating :( I stuck it on the treadmil to remind myslef but it did not work. Just made me feel more sorry for myself :mad: lol so i will read through and pick up what everyone is sayin
 
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so many reasons...

There are many things that prompted me to start shedding some pounds and taking better care of myself.

#1. The scale: I hit a number that I always swore I would try to avoid

#2. My romantic life: As I newlywed, I "should" have a healthy "life in the bedroom". But recently, poor self-image has gotten in the way. Despite the fact that my hubby loves the way I look, I feel embarrased without any clothes, so much so that it affects my libido. (sorry, don't know how else to put it). I really don't want this to become a problem. I never felt this way in the past, only since gaining some extra pounds.

#3. My career: I'm in a position where I interact with people often: networking, media, etc. I want to feel good about the image that I present. I want to be able to throw on a cocktail dress or suit without any worry.

#4. Myself: I'm a control freak and it drived me nuts that I don't seem to have a handle on my own body anymore. It has been a blow to my confidence and an upset.

#5. My friends: Perhaps it is vain, but I'm tired of feeling like the "chubby one" anytime I go out with my girlfriends.
 
I'm brand new on this site and inspiration is exactly what I need right now. So thanks for this thread -
I'm doing this because I hate being fat and out of shape. I've always struggled with my weight - I yo-yo - and right now I'm a big blob. I have been very fit in the past though - and I miss it so much. I miss how it feels to move and be strong. I miss 6 mile runs and long days of kayaking - right now I can't take a flight of stairs without getting seriously winded. It makes me feel depressed and ugly and weak.
What inspires me? Reading everyone elses stories and struggles. That, and the memory of what it feels like.
 
Why am i losing weight? Because i was obese! Now just overweight (oh so close to 'normal' though :cool:).
Also:
I want to look good
I don't want to have a 'beer belly'
I want to feel good about myself
I want to grow old healthy (well this isn't a guarantee but i don't want weight related health problems put it that way)
I want to be able to wear a business shirt without my gut hanging over my pants (ugh)
Yes i have some self image problems but to be honest i think i deserve them, i let myself go now i have to fix it.

I'm doing this for myself and myself alone, i need to achive my goal as the alternatives are not an option i am willing to take. I haven't had a 'cheat day' since i started my diet this time (early march) and have lost 13kg to date, i can't see my self breaking my routine as my motivation to lose weight is the highest i have ever had. I truly am sick to death of being fat and unhealthy and will do whatever it takes to become healthy.

Thats my rant in anycase :D
 
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