What keeps you motivated?
What keeps you inspired?
Why do you continue to fight over and over again for your healthiness?
Is the reason you started different than the reason you keep fighting?
I just need to know. You see, I sit here talking about me day after day after day. And rarely do I learn about YOU, my readers. So, I just need to know. Tell me about your inner drive, your reason. That moment when your faced with temptation, what do you think about. What is it that stops you in your tracks, reminds you of your goals and keeps you going? What is it in life that keeps you going long after you thought you’d had given up?
Dear readers, share with me your inspiration.
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my family and friends.
I need to be around for them.
and I OWE it to the former to be around as longlong as I cancan.
Oh gosh, I have been down this road and back several times. But I feel this time its different. First, I am taking part in a competition with some friends, so that is giving me the initial push to stay dedicated and avoid the temptations. Next…I am SO sick of this chapter of my life of “losing weight” or “waiting to lose weight”, I want to be done with it. So that is what is going to keep me going. Thanks for your positive and encouraging posts.
Pure, simple vanity. Liking what I see when I pass a mirror. Not hiding when someone has a camera. Sliding into size 7 jeans without unbuttoning them. Running circles around girls half my age. Shallow? Maybe. But that was and is my motivation and it works.
I don’t think this is shallow at all, or at least I don’t because this is honestly my top reason as well
. It is obviously very important to be healthy for your insides. But honestly? It’s 99% the person who looks back at me in the mirror and she is never having a double chin again.
Amen, sister!
You know that saying “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels?” One day I realized that I knew what pretty much everything tasted like, but I didn’t know what skinny felt like. And I wanted to find out. Also, whenever I’m really focused on being healthy I feel better. Things click. I have more confidence. My skin glows, my hair shines, I have more energy, I laugh more, I sleep better, I study harder, I enjoy my friends more, I love my family better, I have more confidence, I have a much better self-image, and most importantly I am proud of myself and of what I’m doing.
Those feelings are what keep me going or what get me back on track.
I started like many because I just wanted to be thinner. Somewhere along the road I started hearing these little voices saying things like “What if you could do a 5k….”. Things changed now my journey while it is about loosing weight, it’s more about wanting to be able to DO! I want to feel strong, I want to be able to do things like run. It’s now about being healthy and fit more than a specific size. I do it not only for me but for my daughter to teacher that healthy living is the way to be….to show her even as type 1 diabetics we can DO!
Pride – in myself and what I can do, and the loss of it when I backslide, self-confidence, feeling comfortable in my own skin, and because being healthy is just a small step towards being able to do all the other things I want to be able to do in life. And frankly, because I CAN, and I deserve to be the best I can.
To be healthy so I can start a family one day.
Also, to run the marathon smaller and faster. Every single day I think about running down the final chute, beaming, crossing the finish line and getting my medal. And the announcer will say, “Ann Freeman, marathoner”. I want that more than ANYTHING right now.
To be healthy, and live a long active life with my family. I make sure everyone else is taken care of around me, but forget about myself, and my need to take care of myself. I feel better than I did in my 20′s, and plan on continuing that trend
I’m with Norma – vanity. I like the way I look, I like knowing I can run a half-marathon faster than 99% of the general population, I like finding nice clothes that show off the work I’ve put in at the gym.
I like the look on peoples’ faces when I tell them I wear size 32 pants – and need a belt.
I like the way being fit feels. I like knowing that at any given moment, I could hop on a treadmill and set it at 7.5 mph and just run for an hour. Who else around me could do that?
I know these are shallow reasons, but it’s the truth.
I agree. It just feels good to look good, and to be able to run, lift heavy objects, etc. It feels to good to have my husband look at me and think “DAMN!” It feels good to buy a size 2. It feels good to lose all your baby weight after 4 months. It feels good to have people tell you how good you look. Sure, it’s vanity, but it feels so good!
For me it has been so peaceful to finally be living a healthly lifestyle to simple be healthy and feel good. I don’t know when I made the switch from “I have to eat right so I don’t gain weight” to I need eat right so that I feel good and I’m healthy for myself and my family”. I guess it was a gradual move. You know what else helped? I read Jillian Michael’s book Master Your Metabolism. It really did change my WHOLE attitude about eating and what I eat and what it does to my body. I highly recommend it!
I need to do it for me, if I am a better me, then I can take care of my family better and being over weight or in my case obese( I hate that word) has too many risk.
I’ve done this over and over thinking THIS is the time, only for something(injury, emotional stress, etc) to make me fall back into old habits. I had lost 90 pounds and kept it off for quite a while but recently let 41 pounds creep back on (hurt my back and had to stop running, but i stopped EVERYTHING and ate what and when i wanted!).
I found out that i possibly have MS and this made me realize that i HAVE to do this! i have to be my healthiest so when this disease attacks, my body will be as healthy as it can be to fight back!!
I have young children that i HAVE TO be here for and want to watch grow up!
I see a wheelchair or worse when i’m trying to battling with myself if i shouldn’t exercise today or eat junk instead of healthy foods!
I’ve taken 9 of those pounds back off since the Dr. mentioned those words….
i’m on my way!
My journey started because I wanted to look better, fit into cuter clothes, etc but along the way it turned into a journey about becoming healthy. I has lost weight all the wrong ways, hurting my body along the way but this time was different. It wasnt about vanity anymore, but about getting my body healthy, especially so that I can one day have kids. I started to be more impressed by how my body felt and what my body could do than I was by how I looked.
When I start the negative crazy talk in my head or feel like I cannot jog another step, I try to take a big breath and remind myself that everyone has to start from somewhere. I’m not going to wake up the next morning and be incredibly healthy and fit. It takes time. And I try to always remember how amazing it feels when the work out is over.
I do it because..
I feel better about myself.
I’m less stressed (and less bitchy to be honest) when I’m exercising.
I’m healthier.
I like seeing the diminishing number on the scale.
Once I hit 100 pounds lost, I get a new wardrobe – compliments of my parents.
I deserve to love myself.
I want to be the woman God intended me to be – and that means healthy.
I know I am not alone.
I’m worthy of feeling beautiful.
It is time to stop hiding behind the weight and start living my life for all to see.
I think I’m still learning that – how to keep motivated. So this is a great thread for perspective.
At the moment, while the main purpose of my journey is to become healthy, I need little things to look forward to – a size smaller, etc. But along the way, it’s how I’m feeling (physically & mentally), that’s been the most rewarding.
I’m trying to find mine again. I have the support of my amazing husband but for some unknown psychological reason it’s not enough. It helps that others like me are out there and sharing their story. I have come to the conclusion that there is an underlying issue that I may need help in recognizing and help in conquering. Thanks for your words!
My mother died when she was 47 from diabetes. I was only 20 and my younger brother 16. I am now 29 and still unhealthy as I was then but this year I am turning 30 and I realize that if I do not get healthy then I could be dead in 17 years. I would not see my youngest nephew graduate from high school. I still hope to have kids one day of my own but not if I was going to leave this earth before they have grown. So as I exercise I try to do it near a picture of my youngest nephew so I can remember exactly why I am doing it.
Lots of reasons, but a huge motivator is Fear… Fear of not seeing my grandchildren come into this world…
Fear of not being able to run and play with them someday… Fear of not living well every day of me live…
Fear of being a burden someday to those I love because of bad choices now.
But I’m not only motivated by a negative emotion, I’m also motivated by love, and certainly by vanity! Heck – we’re all human.
Thanks for asking Jen, because it made me really think about it… Maybe it will help me to stay on track a little better today.
Knowing that I can do anything I set my mind to, and continuing to prove that to myself.
1. The present and future state of my health. I’m not in danger, but as I get older I know some that some of the habits I have now won’t be good for me and I don’t want to cause any health problems that could be avoided. I want to be as healthy as I can be for as long as I’m on this Earth.
2. I’m running a 5k in March! It’s my first one, and it motivates me to have a goal. I am excited and will be so proud when I’m finished!
3. And honestly, I want a flatter stomach. I want to feel better in jeans. And I will! Nothing helps more than looking in the mirror and knowing that I’m working towards something better.
I have to admit that through the years I’ve mostly been motivated by vanity. Now, I can truthfully say that I do this mostly for health reasons. At 64, I want to avoid all those prescription drugs with the super scary warnings at the end such as “sometimes death.” So far I’ve been successful and all I’m taking is vitamins and calcium and glucosamine.
I started because my husband and I want to start a family. I keep going because I like the way I am looking and love that the scale keeps going down.
I look at old pictures and think its not worth it to look that way again!!
So many reasons:
It makes me feel amazing to say that I have lost 65 lbs. so far, and I’m not done yet. I did that . . . on my own . . . 65 lbs! Yes, I’m proud
To hear my husband and girls (18 and 12) say that they are proud of me is beyond words.
To say that I am in training for my 3rd half marathon is insane to me. Running has literally saved my life. It’s free therapy and I have met some very dear friends that took me under their wing when I couldn’t even run for 30 seconds without hyperventilating. Now I can run half marathons.
To see the look on people’s faces when they haven’t seen me for several months have passed gives me motivation to keep going.
As said before in a few comments, these all may seem like vain reasons to some, but it’s just the fact that I have pride in what I have accomplished so far, and the energy to keep going! I’m not at “skinny” yet, but I can imagine that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels is a HUGE understatement!
I have no motivation. Motivation is fleeting and if I depended on it I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have. I rely on determination and discipline. I enjoy being active and being able to be active because I’m much healthier than I used to be. I’ve also watched far too many family members die or get very sick because of poor health choices, and I’d like to mitigate that as much as I can, within reason.
I also really like the fact that my legs and butt don’t jiggle, so there’s a little bit of vanity in there
I do it mainly for my kids and myself. I want to be around for my kids and be able to do things with them than sitting on the couch watching tv and eating junk. I do it for myself so I can look and feel great. My health problems have gone away since losing the weight. I have allowed about 25 lbs to creep back on and I need to hold myself accountable for that and move on and take some action for it. I want to be at my goal weight by my birthday in August. I can do it!!!!
For me vanity is a major motivator. Plain and simple. I also just want to feel “normal” when in a crowd. I’m to that point now but still not quite where I want to be for vanity sake. I want to be a good role model for my daughters. I like how I feel better when I’m eating right. I like being able to try on whatever and have it look good. I like being able to buy what I like and not have to worry that it doesn’t come in my size.
I remember what I used to look like, feel like and the size of my clothes before I lost 70 pounds. I NEVER want to go back there again. It’s an ongoing struggle but def worth it!
My son, my husband, and the hope of future children.
Well, there are the selfless reasons. The ones like, so I’m healthy & can keep up with my kids, so I’m around for them as long as possible. So my husband and I have “adult time” more often (that one is partly selfish). So I’m a better employee, have better mental health, etc.
Then there are the more selfish ones. I like how it feels to be able to run. I like being able to shop anywhere. I like how I look when I’m at a healthier weight. I also want to prove that I will not be defined by my fat, lazy family (my parents).
I relate to every reason listed above, especially about the “fat, lazy family”. Somewhere along the way, my family stopped caring. Everyone in my family is overweight, except for me. I never have been. But I’m also the only one who has (or expresses) insecurities about body image. Maybe they have them, but they don’t express them. I love my family with everything I have, and I wish they would adopt healthier lifestyles, but I want to prove that you do not have to be the product of your environment. And I want to prove to my son, that our family will be healthy and happy and active – not a bunch of couch potatoes.
It’s changed through the years.
1) In my early 20′s it was “to be hot”. How vain is that? My entire self worth was tied to the number on the scale, and the lower the number, the more valuable I must be. But this was a terrible reason, and I yo-yo’d between 130-150, and was never happy.
2) In my late 20′s, it was to be healthy and active, and actually LIVE. I wanted to hike in the mornings and enjoy the sunrise. I wanted to be able to go for a run with my husband, and feel good. I wanted to create a positive healthy home for our future children, so they didn’t have the same mental hangups that I do.
3) Now that I’m 30, and a first time mom, it’s to live for as long as possible, so that I can take care of my son. I can’t tell you the anxiety I feel when I think about leaving this world. No one can care for him like I do. No one can teach him or love him or hold him or cheer him on as well as I can. He NEEDS me, and I need to be here for him as long as humanly possible.
When I started, I just didn’t want to see *that* number on the scale anymore. I’d weighed in at 219# 10 years earlier and lost 67#. I wasn’t done losing weight then, but I was satisfied.
Then I met Sean, and gained 40# because we both love food and I tried to keep up with what my 6’0, 280# partner eats. Bad idea jeans. I don’t have a very well-defined “full” button.
So I didn’t want to see 189.6# on the scale ever again. I lost 34# in 2010, only to put back on 10# over the holidays in 2011 when I got sick.
Back on the wagon I went, as of 1/1/12, weighing in at 163.8#. I’m down 4#.
But that’s not my main motivation. Sure, I want to lose the weight. I want to get to 135# or so.
More than that, in the process of losing this weight, I discovered running and endurance events like duathlon. I am one of the slowest ones out there, but I’m doing it. I love how my body settles into a 9-mile run on a long, slow day on the training schedule or how it works to help me run faster on speedwork days. I love how I feel when I finish those training runs. And crossing the finish lines of those races? It’s one of the most rewarding things in my life.
So, if doing races and events helps me eat food that will fuel my training and races, which brings me to a healthier weight and a fitter body? That’s what I’m going to do.
I didn’t find Sean till I was 32. I only have so many years left with him, and I owe it to our amazing marriage to be healthy enough to stick around as long as I can.
I feel better when I exercise and eat healthy. I used to think that when I was thinner, people treated me differently – while that was true in some cases, it’s mostly true because I acted differently. When I’m happy with my weight/size, I hold my head up high. I walk into a room with confidence. I dress better. I smile more. I invite people into my life. When I feel crappy about myself, I get moody, I shut down and most often, I don’t even realize it. I want to be the best version of “me” I can be – and that includes working out and eating heatlhy and maintaining a weight that I feel comfortable at. It’s work… it’s a challenge every. single. day. – but it’s worth it. Everyone has the power to do awesome things for their bodies and health – it just takes work… and at 41, I finally realize that.
My 3 yr old daughter. I want to be around for a long time for her…..enough said.
For me, the guilty-sick feeling is never worth it. It makes me feel worthless, unlovable, sick and ugly.
I really believe that for long-term weight loss, it’s a mind thing more than anything else.
“I think I can” sort of deal.
When I started WW in Sept 2009 – I was motivated by the number going down on the scale. I did everything I had to, to make sure that each week when I weighed in it was a lower number. I was obsessed with the number.
Now at goal weight I am not motivated by the scale anymore.
My mind set has shifted from motivation to inspiration. My two young daughters inspire me and they make me want to keep being healthy and active – setting good examples for them. I can’t imagine not being here with them so I am determined to do everything I can to make sure I am here – by taking care of what I can control. I am in charge of how long I am on a treadmill/elliptical and what I put in my mouth – those things I have control over. And if my health and the health of my family benefits – that’s all the inspiration I need.
I am also very competitive – so having a race to train for – Fargo Marathon in May – also motivates me. I don’t train so I can finish first – I train so I can finish strong and on my terms. I can’t wait to be able to say I am a marathon finisher. Proving to myself and others around me that you can do anything that you set your mind to – inspiring.
I, like a lot of commenters, probably started with vain intentions. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If you are unhappy with the way your body looks on the outside it can be toxic to the other ways you think about yourself. Lots of people who want to lose weight talk about feelings of worthlessness, feeling undeserving, sadness, and seeking ‘normal.’ Many of us have felt like the token fat person in our group of friends. And it feels awful.
It wasn’t until after I starting being more active that I realized all the other great reasons to stick with it and make it my lifestyle. To be honest, I have been running and trying to be more mindful about eating for 3 yrs and haven’t lost that much weight. And that’s okay, because even one dress size down, I am happier. And more importantly, I have accomplished things I never thought I could: 4 triathlons, a Ragnar Relay, a marathon. Those accomplishments have nothing to do with size and no matter how tiny or how gigantic my waistline ever gets, nothing will take those away.
Whenever I get nervous about a challenge, I remember the quote I used as sort of a mantra when I ran my marathon: The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.
My kids and Vanity…but mainly my kids. Since the day they were born I want to be a good mom to them and that means having a healthy relationship with food
In July 2010 I had major surgery, on the day after my surgery I was having difficulty breathing, my doctor wrote it off to pain, made me take more pain meds, that night the nurse insisted that something was wrong, called the doctor on call and was told to watch me til morning and have the doctor look at me again. After convincing him that I WAS NOT having an anxiety attack, sent me for ct scan. By the time I got backto my room, there were 3 doctors and an EKG machine waiting. I had bi-lateral pulmonary embolisms (2 blood clots in my lungs).
After coming to the realization that I could have died, I figured there must be a reason I’m still here. I fully intend to be healthy enough to do whatever I was left here to do. Since my surgery I’ve lost 45# and I work everyday to lose the remaining 60#, my family is a constant reminder of why I may still be here.
The mirror. OH MY MIRROR INDEED!
I like what I see now. I still have 40 lbs to reach my goal of 160lb. Guess what, my max was 309 lb, I am hitting 3 years mark of healthy dieting and lost more than 100 lbs. I like the fact that I have collar bones, hip bones, my watch is freely circling around my wrist. My love life with my husband is better. Sex is better. AMEN to that. My kids will NOT eat candy even if I am not present because they know mommy doesn’t eat that! The joy of tasting food instead of shoving it inside my mouth as I used to numb my feelings. The constant complements from people who have not seen me for long time. The fact that I seem taller now. The looks from guys when I approach. I feel that I am more feminine now. I am a true woman not buried under pounds of fat in tent like cloths. All of that motivate me. I don’t agree that this shallow. Health and vanity came as a side effect! I dress nicer now. I put more makeup. I enjoy high heels. Before, I couldn’t keep my balance! All of the above was emotional but physically: no more back pain. two years of physical therapy couldn’t heal me but losing weight did. So many things motivate me everyday. I didn’t put it on in a year or a month so it won’t go in a year or a month so I will creep up again. I simply enjoying the journey!
Why do I never completely give up and quit? Because I am 61 years old and I move like I am not a day over 40 in fact I move better and faster than a lot of people half my age. I keep going because I am terrified of losing my mobility. I also keep going because I can.The older you get the more important it becomes….you will NEVER believe how fast those years fly by.
Here goes the stereotypical Christian answer. God. Knowing that Jesus faced much much greater hardship than I’ll ever know, sacrificed himself and saved me from the hell I deserve. That’s a motivation to try again, to not give up. I’m not my own anymore, I belong to Jesus.
I dont “fight” at all. I made a lifestyle change that I am happy with. There is no temptation at all. There are lines I WILL NOT cross and thats that. No issues at all what so ever. No fight. It’s not hard or difficult. It’s life, and it’s rewarding.
And in a separate post (in case you need to delete it bc it is offensive to you) My “reason”/catalyst for losing the weight initially was the desire to be reunited/sleep with a married man that I had a previous relationship with as a teen and young 20something. He was it. I have written about him many times, and he was the subject of a large gratitude project I did two years ago. He is the reason I am still alive.
I continue to maintain my lifestyle because of vanity, and in the words of Norma, because it makes me better
I also love the way it makes me feel and I love the fitness. Running makes me happy and hiking/backpacking is almost my most favorite thing in the world. I need to be fit to do both.
HIking/backpacking is one of my favorite things, as well (probably my most favorite “sport”… skiing is a close second). Not only does it keep me fit but I stay fit year round to do it!
Every day I workout and make the right choices, I know I’ve done well by myself and that’s worth a lot to me. Every day is a chance to be better than you were the day before – not just fitness and health, but in all aspects.
My health is important because of my family. Even more than that is that the only limits I have are the ones I don’t work past. I have goals, I am committed because this is the one life I get.
Plus,it’s amazing where fitness will take you! (And the weirdest places too! Makes life more interesting! I’ve had an ongoing all out war with the spiders in my basement. I’m NOT giving them the satisfaction of my not showing up.)
For my kids! I want to be strong and healthy so that I am a part of their lives, not just on the sidelines.
Babymaking. I need a healthier body to make a baby happen.
The thought of having a huge family with lots of children. I want that – SO BAD! I gotta work hard to be healthy enough to get it.
It started out as vanity. I didn’t like the way my clothes fit. But then it turned into a health reason. I tore the medial meniscus of my left knee. I wanted to reduce the burden on my knee as much as possible. My getting back to my college weight (and I am only 2# away now!) I can hopefully avoid knee replacement.
I lost weight because…. because I wanted a life. I hid and was scared and shamed and lonely when I was larger. I needed to experience life and I used weightloss as a motivas.
What keeps me going is this life I have now: full of friends, laughter, my boyfriend, skiing, hiking, races, horses, dogs, adventure… everything! Every moment I experience and I go “THIS is life! THIS is joy!” and all the smiles, the going to bed tired and satiated…. There is nothing that is worth these feelings!
I am not skinny and I am not fat. I am just finally free with my body and with my heart and I will never, ever give it up again!
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