Why Do YOU Want to Lose Weight?

As I'm not overweight, and am extremely healthy, it's all looks why I want to lose weight.

As a culture though, yeah, I think health would be a better focus. I mean, even if a person didn't lose all the weight, better to be overweight and eating mainly healthy and exercising than svelte on starvation and sedentary behaviors... Looks doesn't take that into account... Health does. And Health includes more who need it... (thin or fat with bad habits)

Though it does seem people can delude themselves easier about health than looks. Yeah, I'm 5'4 and 240 lb but HEALTHY. (Yeah, sure. Overweight and healthy, sure, you don't get obese without certain habits however - but you hear it a lot!).... They can't delude themselves about what they look like (as much as vanity sizing tries to help there ;) ) So in cases it might cause a kick in the pants that wouldn't happen otherwise...

But ideally, yeah, as a culture we'd emphasize health. And people would strive for it with the same zeal as looks. We'd all be better off.

Melanie you are preaching to the choir because more often than not it is health nuts, egocentric thin people, "green" people, etc who belittle the physical appearance of the obese or interchange the physical and health aspects of weight until they are no longer distinguishable.

I'm commenting because my reason for weight loss is somewhat atypical: performance.

I run distance races from 10K to the marathon competitively and the less you weigh, to a certain point, the faster you go. I am in my early 30s, male, 5'9" and I weigh 148 pounds, which makes my BMI around 22.

I have a long-term plan (1 year+) to lose eight pounds and make my weight an even 140 pounds. I count calories, not at all obsessively, to try to burn just a bit more than I consume.

Jody - Fit at 52

I think this is a complicated question. When I lost weight, I was young & it was all about looking good & wanting to date & not be the fat friend. As I got older, it was still there BUT the health aspects became just as important if not more.

I think there are many out there motivated by looks because our society in the US is focused on that & being pretty/handsome & thin.

There are others motivated by health & many start their weight loss journey due to a doc report or how bad they feel. BUT, look at the obesity epidemic... many are not looking to improve their health or just do not put out the effort because it is hard to do, not complicated, but it takes WORK. I have known people that were given bad reports yet did not try to lose weight to get better... a sad statement on it all.

Spectra

I used to be obese when I was in high school and when I was a freshman in college. I honestly saw no point in trying to be healthy because no one in my family ever made health a priority in their lives. My mom would do various diets to lose weight, but it was mostly so she would look better in clothes; not to get healthy. So I always grew up thinking you went on a diet when you wanted to lose some weight but once you lost a few pounds, you just went back to the way you ate before until you gained the weight back.

When I was in college, my grandpa died as a result of his 4th heart attack. He also had diabetes and had suffered from TIAs while he was alive. After he died, I realized that I couldn't keep eating the way I was and not end up weighing 300 lbs. I changed my diet to improve my health and didn't really focus on how much weight I would lose. I just wanted to get to a weight where I could walk and run easily without getting winded. After about 4 months of eating better, I had lost about 40 lbs and I started running. I never really thought much about how skinny I could get, but it was a very nice side effect to the eating healthy thing.

I think you have a point about why so many people's attempts at weight loss fail--they are more concerned with their appearance than they are with their health. So they go on a weird diet and lose some weight, but it's not fast enough or the program isn't sustainable long-term and they say "screw it, I miss eating Oreos" and they go back to their old habits.

Maintaining the appropriate weight for your body lowers the risks of a person getting chronic diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol and possibly cancer.
I find satisfaction in dong regular exercise even at home doing housework helps me to lose the unwanted calories.
I only eat when I'm hungry and I make sure to get enough sleep. People who lack sleep have the tendency to be agitated and they psychologically look for ways to compensate for that by giving in to their food cravings and they tend to eat more than the usual.
My purpose of staying fit is avoiding the chances of getting chronic diseases and this gives me an added benefit of reducing risks of cancer.

Our body has a lot of toxins that can only be removed through regular exercise, eating the right kind of food and having enough rest and having a healthy lifestyle.

My main purpose of losing weight is not for vanity but to have good health. I have seen people who have cancer or have chronic diseases that were living an unhealthy lifestyle and they suffered pretty bad.I do not want to be in the same situation, so I think that prevention is better than cure. The body naturally heals by itself, if we live a healthy lifestyle.The choice is yours!!!

Health-is-Wealth

my reasons for losing weight were and remain mostly aesthetic. i'm 5'2", and there's just no way a girl as short as i would be attractive if she weren't thin. but i knew if i wanted to keep the weight off, i would have to do it through lifestyle changes, not starvation or some crazy fad diet. so i started exercising regularly, counting calories, and making healthier food choices. the weight came off (slowly) and i'm finally okay with the way i look.

actually being healthier was just a happy side effect. i have more energy, am stronger, and i haven't had a cold ever since i started making changes in my lifestyle (knock on wood). it might be ass-backwards, but whatever works, right?

I'm not overweight, but I want to lose weight (10-15 lbs) because I just had a baby and my belly is a flabby mess. So, yeah, it's totally for looks. LOL.

I want to lose it for vanity. Plain and simple. I was never overweight until I was prescribed pills to stop my period to help ease my endometriois. For close to 11 years, I have been prescibed birth control to regulate my periods. Granted, I am relieved that the abdoninal pains are gone, but now I am 60 pounds heavier from when I started ( 40 pounds of which were gained in 6 months). And I hate it. It been extremely hard to lose the weight with all of these chemicals in my body. I want the pills which my help me lose the weight, but at the risk of the unbearable pains to come back.
I hate being overweight. It sucks. People think they have the right to tell you how you should live your life and what you should eat.
I am sure I am healthier than most people who come up to me and give their unsolicited advice.
Also what I find interesting is that when someone loses weight, they are complimented right away, regardless how they lost it. Being sick or starving to lose it is not good and shouldnt be congradulated. So what if you lose weight, its your attitude in life that matters.
Let me worry about my health, and you worry about yours.

i meant to say i want to stop taking pills but at the risk of the unbaerable pains to come back

SueK24

The reason I lost 100 pounds 14 years ago and maintained it ever since, is to live a long and healthy life. Looking thin is just one of the side effects.

tracyc

i have had many stuggles with weight loss and losing fat for a long time. I manage to lose up to a dress size in a week by doing just a 12 minutes routine thats just body weight… and still be able to eat my confort foods. I am also able to eat ice cream every day and drink smoothies and eat chocolate.
The main difference for me was changing into a diet that allowed me to eat the foods i loved and it worked well for me.

i belive that cutting your calories to much can be a bad thing too… and that eating the foods you love is still important not just for your body… but for your sanity too

i had stuggled big time before i figuered my body and how to do it correctly… now i dont have to starve or eat “rabbit food” all the time.
I made big changes when i realised that a calorie is not always the same and that eating is what controls when and how you lose fat.
i eat raw chocolate ever day… and ive lost heaps of weight!

even though i hated working out, i found that doing the most bang for your buck exersises like squats and pull ups made the biggest differences. I hated doing crunches and using ab gadgets for weight loss… it can be fun and simple… but may not be easy if you do not know how to do it right.

I also believe in doing interval training (short bursts of intensity) rather then doing long steady paced cardio. Lots of research show that it can make you fat. There is a way to lose fat all day long ;)

Lisa

In my opinion, the main reason people want to lose weight is to improve their appearance. And the most ridiculous thing about that is the fact that a lot of those people aren't even overweight! And we have the 'perfect' celebrity image to thank for that.

Don't get me wrong, I know some people do want to lose weight to improve their health. And that's great.

But most people want to lose weight to look better and more attractive. Just think about it. All you have to do is look at the ads for weight loss products. The main 'benefit' peddled is always the same. Something along the lines of "our product will make you look sexier and more attractive ..."

Why? Because it works. That's what people that buy these types of products want. A quick fix to look like their celebrity counterparts.

Harriet

This is very interesting because I recently read about a study (I think in the UK) where they found that the warnings on cigarettes packets were MORE effective at discouraging smoking when they referred to the consequences for your appearance, than when they warned of the danger of death. Apparently people smoke more to deal with the stress of confronting their mortality. Wonder why it doesn't work for dieting?

candyman947

For many people it's a quality-of-life issue. If I have trouble getting around, experience shortness of breath, and so on, losing weight is going to make a huge difference to how I live every day.

HELP>>>......I am so ashamed that I let myself get this HUGH....It was me..acting like it was all not real.. that it was not me eating this.. I have been fighting this (BATTLE) for years...... and I am loseing.. big time.....really big time.. Where do I start.. I dont even want to go out side I am so ashamed.. SCARED I really am... HELP ME>>>......Please.......ashamed

lauralei

it is scary when you see all the risks associated with fat - i am at the stage in my life where i want to lose weight to feel better and be healthier

I'm 5'3 and weigh 10stone 3, BMI 25.9.
So i'm definetly over weight. I'm doing it because compared to my friends i feel massive, they are all 7 stone and less.
I've had a baby, and i used to weigh about 6 1/2 stone, i know that it's not healthy but i'm having major trouble trying to come to terms with being what is
"fat" in my eyes. My daughter is nearly 8 months old so i have no excuse as to having to be up all night feeding her, although being a working mum can be tiring as well... So after realising that all i did everytime i met up with my friends was moan, i have brought myself a twist and tone board, dumbells, and leg weights, and have also started the Special K Quick start diet. I will admit, i'm a novice to eating good food, calories, whats right and whats not and even portion sizes.
I never ate carbs until i was pregnant, but a craving for butter and pasta got the better of me! I should of told myself not to eat butter.. but seriously, you can't not give in to pregnancy cravings!

But yeah, i'm doing it for looks. But i know that if i start now, when im older i will at least have a semi healthy body and might live past 70!

Just for revenge

Lisa Hallman

I spend most of my time thinking about losing weight, feeling frustrated, but still stuffing my face full of more food then I need. I was trying to find out what my real motivation was for losing weight and here are my four.

1. Because I want to be a personal trainer and weight loss coach. It would fulfill a need for a career and the ability to help others achieve theirs.

2. Because I have back problems exacerbated by weight, and by doctors advice was told to lose it. I'm 180lbs on a 5'2" frame.

3. Because I want to have boundless energy so that I can feel more productive and less useless like a sack of potatoes.

4. Because I just want to look good and have muscle tone and definition, and want to say hot damm when I look in the mirror (vanity :P).

motivated4life

Newbie here. I start each year off with the same resolution-lose weight. Never happens. Now my weight is out of control and so is my health. I have always been trying to lose for as long as I can remember. Now that I am older and my kids are so young, 8y/o twins and 9y/o, I want to lose for health reasons. Taking 5 meds now for HBP, I have hyperthyroidism, a heart med, and a cholesterol pill, Bayer aspirin daily. I had a mild heart attack at 35 from taking Herbalife. Up until then, my heart was fine. The good thing healthwise is that my arteries are clear. I am not a beef eater. Diet mostly consist of chicken, and the rest mostly starches. Guess that's where my problem lies. I tried the rice diet at home and lost 10# in one week. Did not have headaches or any discomforts and was not hungry. I am venturing on it again starting tomorrow. I went to Walmart last night around 10pm and shopped for fruits/vegs, and required starches. I also brought a new scale, The Biggest Loser-wt limit 440#. I am at 397 and am 5'7 1/2, the biggest I've even been. Wish me luck. I am using the rice diet because it works for me. It'll jump start my efforts. Plus, I know from experience, if I don't see a loss on the scale, it kills my motivation. Hopefully I can learn a lot on this site. Well wishes for everyone.

janprill

The reason it is so difficult to change unhealthy habits for good probably is the lack of time in a world that is running faster and faster every day. Changing habits is a difficult task. It needs time to constitute a good habit.

I am dieting for health reasons. The reasons we let ourselves get obese are stupid and indulgent for most of us. But it is not looks, that drive me to lose weight, but the desire to be more active with my family and live to see my grandkids graduate college.

Because I am dieting for health, I ditch the fad diet in favor of a sensible calorie restricted and well balanced diet combined with exercise.

Simple math burn more calories than you eat. 3500 for every pound of weight you want to lose, and realistically aim to lose no more than two pounds a week.