What's your motivation for losing weight or living a more healthy lifestyle?

**Jayne** · 12-31-2008, 09:46 AM

my health...I have type 2 diabetes, high b.p., high cholesterol, and now I am going to have a sleep study to see if I have sleep apnea...not to mention carrying 255 lbs on a 5'3" small frame is destroying my joints and back....

**The Muse** · 12-31-2008, 09:47 AM

Something clicked for me when I turned 25. I'd been overweight since about age nine on and wanted to change.

Exercise came first. At first, I exercised to look good, now I exercise to build bone density, care for my heart, and of course to look good. Diet and exercise are the fountain of youth. Most people guess me to be 27-28 and I'll turn 34 in April. I still get carded!

Diet came later and plays a huge role for me now because I'm a vegetarian and avoid processed foods. That's driven by my concern for animals and wanting to know what I'm putting into my body. Something about ingesting chemicals, saturated fat, and growth hormones doesn't seem like the path to good health.

If I have the misfortune of getting cancer or heart disease, I want to know that I did everythig in my power to avoid it. Reading about the health benefits of a plant-based diet and looking at the statistics proves to me that this is not only a way to look and feel great, but a way to drastically reduce my risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer. The fact that it's better for the earth is just an added benefit.

**thefrug** · 12-31-2008, 09:52 AM

Health reasons. period. Vanity has no place in this. I was JUST diagnosed as pre-diabetic on Dec 17th. My cholesterol was 197! up from 169. My BP was up from text book ( 117/79) to 130/90. I've done lost 3lbs in two weeks so far. I'm just trying to sort thru all the stuff I'm finding on the subject. I'm on a 15-1600 cal diet and I exercise at the gym 4 days a week. I quit smoking 8yrs ago on Feb 14th. I do back at the end of Jan for testing to see what needs to be done if anything about the sugar and BP. Apparently in the last test my kidneys aren't putting out as much as they should. She (doc) said it could be the BP meds since I've been on them for 10yrs now. I just got hit with so much wrong that I was kinda taken aback there for a couple of days. Then I just said, well...let's get to it. Follow the diet, do you exercise and see what comes of it. It's all I can do right now.

**forHISglory** · 12-31-2008, 02:46 PM

I don't have a lot of weight to lose, maybe 5-10 pounds.

Reasons:
1. Want to look good to Hubby.
2. Want to look good to me.
3. Want to avoid the joint problems that have plagued my family.
4. Want to keep on playing with the grandkids.
5. Want to live to 100 (60 down, only 40 to go!)
6. Want to feel good and have energy.
7. Want to keep good eyesight (I eat a lot of fresh dark greens)
8. Want to enjoy my retirement and part time job
9. Want to stay in my clothes (buying new bigger ones is too expensive)
10. Want to wow 'em at my high school reunion!

**mom2matty** · 12-31-2008, 03:16 PM

Originally Posted by madhen

Longevity and quality of life. I want to live longer, and all studies point toward exercising being a major component of that, and if I'm going to be tottering around at 100+ years old, I want my muscles to work!

This is my exact thoughts!! Even at my heaviest I was healthy.....thankfully, didn't have any health issues but I do know that if I had continued on at that weight eventually it would/could all catch up with me.

I'm also really tired of all the time I've wasted and taken away from my kids and hubby (who by the way love me no matter what!) because I was miserable and embarrassed by my weight! If you were to look through family photos you wouldn't find me in any of them and my kids are constantly on me to take pics with them.

I've so far taken 60 lbs off........35 to go and I can't wait to finally be free of it and moving on with my life!!

**LeeCee** · 12-31-2008, 04:26 PM

I have very bad aches and pains all over. also I'm having trouble breathing when doing the slightest thing.

**MommyBliss** · 01-01-2009, 01:58 AM

I have a couple of different reasons why. I want to look good, I want more cute clothes, I want to be sexy for my hubby, and I want to be healthy.

**Mamaw** · 01-01-2009, 07:49 AM

I want to be able to do anything that I want to do without thinking about it or being embarrassed. Fitting into rides at amusement parks with grandchildren, no fear of being too big on airplane seats, being able to throw my leg over a horse. You just can not really enjoy life without a measure of health. And I know that I need to get my rear in gear and start to eat healthy and exercise. I dont move nearly enough. No excuses.... I have a treadmill, a brand spanking new bo flex, balance balls, exercise bands, weights and a dog that loves, loves, loves to walk. I just need to schedule in the time (somewhere) and just do it darn it! LOL

**MoonMommy** · 01-01-2009, 02:23 PM

I have a few reasons.
-I would like to have more energy.
-Vanity-wise....My 20 year HS reunion will take place in about 1.5 years. I would like to look good/healthy for that. It isn't that I look bad now, but a secret part of me wants to look HOT.

-I had a health condition in the past that gets worse if you carry a lot of weight. I really don't want that to come back. I take medication for that and migraines right now. I would like to go off that medication in the fall, so I need to get rid of some extra pounds so that the other issue doesn't return.
-It makes me feel sexier and better about myself when I weight less.

**AmyBoz** · 01-01-2009, 03:01 PM

I'll be honest...it's a little of both.

Healthwise, it's good for my asthma to exercise as much as possible (It's good for ALL of you with asthma to exercise as much as possible...don't let it become an excuse...you can build your lung capacity! Also, I write this without reading anyone's post except for the OP, so please, no one be offended by this) and so I'm walking/running on the treadmill and I'm finding that the more I do, the less I need the inhaler in general life.

Also, I like to be active and healthy. My Mom was a size 0 until she was around 35 and then ballooned since then. I'm going to be 37 in a few days and I refuse to let that happen to me.

And, even though dh thinks I'm like a freaking supermodel, he's so blinded by love (and remembers me when I was 16 and probably is still seeing me that way a little) I realize that there are parts of my that are dragging and could use a lift and a tone, and so I exercise for me, as well.

**MomK** · 01-03-2009, 08:24 PM

Mostly, it's vanity. If I can't fit in my clothes, I immediately diet. I do want to feel good-to perform my best at work and be an energetic mom, but mostly it's vanity.