What motivates your weight loss?

My primary motivation is getting thinner means getting my good health back. But sometimes that is not enough to keep me on the weight loss wagon. Last night I went searching through all the boxes of smaller clothes I have stashed. I was looking for a couple of old bras that I wasn't even sure I still had (down 30 pounds and my never impressive boobage is even smaller) and I stumbled on a few favorite old tops that will fit if I just lose a few more pounds. I'm just jazzed at the prospect of "new" clothes that I don't have to buy and I really like these things! I did find the bras too but they also require the loss of a few more pounds.
Jan

This is a tough question.  When I started on the way down, the primary concern was my health but one has to wonder why I ever let it get so far in the first place.  My health normalized within about a 30 pound weight loss.  After that, it was pure and simple vanity.  I wanted to look good in clothes.  I wanted to have dates and self confidence.  Here's a simple equation for you:

Weight Loss = good health = good looks = self confidence . . . . . . . and self confidence is very sexy. . . . .


It all adds up in the end.  And it's worth it. 

I'm pretty much the same as Donna........

I started out purely for Health reasons and not wanting to die young.
Now it's about a 50/50 mix with staying healthy and vanity/wanting to look good.

I'm enjoying the looks I get from people when I walk by.......it's sure nicer than the looks/stares/and laughter I used to get!!  

I like what Donna wrote - LOL Weight Loss = good health = good looks = self confidence . . . . . . . and self confidence is very sexy. .I also found losing about 10% of my weight made a huge difference on my arthritis (no pain). I found that the complete change in my diet has dropped my BP and I assume my high cholesterol has plummeted too (get tested this summer). So I feel I've achieved my obvious health goals.

I started out with the goal to lose weight but then I read The China Study which is about various diets of people around the world and the incidence of things like osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease etc. and that book changed my life. I changed what I'm eating and the good news for me is that I'm losing weight without working on it. I guess there will come a time when I have to be more careful about my choices but right now it's easy. I use my energy to find new recipes and play around with old favorites.

I have so much to lose that I am not really sure how much I will lose but one of my goals is to fit into regular sized clothes like Banana Republic/Ann Taylor etc. and not have to depend on plus sizes. I'm also like you still shopping my closet and finding things that I'm just about to fit which is great. I also know that when all my clothes in my closet are too large then I'm close to my Banana Republic/Ann Taylor goal.

I think part of the job is keeping motivation up and finding it where ever you can and using it to continue to lose until you're in a normal BMI.

Skylar

The "seed belief" was that genetic issues in my family:  heart disease, stroke, cancer are all reportedly aggravated by obesity. I'm not 100% sure i will avert those things b/c they are in my genetic database, but i can guarantee that i will survive any incident with any of them with flying colors.

I started by quitting smoking, which took about 4 years to really quit lying about it. That completely unveiled my not so ignorable eating disorder, to then it was time to tackle that. My goal was not to be thin - just be normal with food.

Now that I am officially in middle age, I have the start of osteo arthritis, so getting heavier will not make that any more fun.

I would have to say as far as fitness goes, that has been a love of mine all my life - I was a walker and biker before time started.  I like that for stress management and for good basic strength:  Things like this make my life exciting and fun: camping, hiking, swimming, kayaking, biking, softball, frisbie, etc.  Having the conditioning to really get with it instead of huffing and puffing is just smart.

Your post seems to almost be apologetic about loving clothes & being excited to look good in them. GURL! Wanting to beautify yourself or your home is never wrong. Sure, there can be a fine line between vanity and being all we can be, but I say Push That Line!  LOL!

At least you are more sensible than i am in a sense- clothes are given away to make room for sizes I wear now. I strongly believe in looking good at all weights. These days, my weight has not changed dramatically so very few things hang in my closet that don't fit. I try - TRY - to keep a few nice things rather than a buttload on hand, too. I love clothes and make up and pretty girl things! Work it!

 I was surprised to find that I have at least 6 boxes of cloths in smaller sizes - two 11x17 boxes for each size down to 10-12 (which is my goal). I remember editing their contents a few years ago so what I have in there I really like. But some of the pants have skinny legs so they may have to go. The tops don't look that bad and I really look forward to being able to wear them. The sleeveless ones are telling me I need to start working out, more than just gardening - batwings starting to take shape.
I feel bad about keeping all these things. They really take up space in my little house. But I hate to shop and now I realize I really don't need to for a while.  I plan to lose the larger things in my closet as soon as I can as I want to reinforce never going back.
Jan

My first motivation for losing weight is definately to get healthy.  But also what motivates me is to be able to fit in clothes I used to love wearing and also I love that losing weight has helped my self confidence a lot.



Johnita