Conference rocks::weight_control

I wanted to be happy with the way I looked and felt.  I was tired of looking in
the mirror, being disgusted, and wishing I was thin.  I was tired of dragging
around in the cheapest clothes I could find, because I was going to start a
diet soon and wouldn't be wearing them for long.

The bonuses were the compliments I received, and the happiness I gave to Bill
and my parents, and not having to hear my parents' "nagging", and the bets I
won with my sister :-)

Jill

    
    The reasons why I what to lose my weight.
    
    To be healther and to look nice, To live in the thin world
    instead of the put down, let down world.
    
    So I can climb stairs with everyone else and to not always
    be the one walking behind everyone ..when I walk as I walk
    slow with my weight on.
    
    To do the activities that I want to do but can't do to my
    weight..
    
    I want to look and feel the best I can ..
    
    
    
    Ann
    
    
      

    Good topic Lynn.  Sometimes people on a weightloss program do lose
    sight of their real reasons for wanting to loe weight.
    
    My reasons were strictly health reasons.  As I noted in the "Last
    Straw" note, at my pre-employment physical my weight was 206 pounds
    and my blood pressure was above the upper limit of normal.  In
    addition, the excess weight (most of which was on my abdomen) was
    starting to become a strain on my back.  Through losing about 40
    pounds, these problems have entirely gone away.
    
    
    Paul

    
           My main reason for trying to lose weight would probably be
          so that I can feel better. Carrying around 20, 30 or 40 pounds
          of extra weight is not the greatest feeling in the world,
          regardless of how you 'look'. Not haveing alot of energy and
          being sluggish is not exactly how people want to feel all
          the time.
           For me, I just want to get to a point where I feel comfortable.
          To me, attaining a *certain* weight is not all that important,
          just getting to a point where I'm happy with how I look and
          moreso, how I feel.
    
    
    chris
    
    

My other half, who, as it happens, is as thin as a rake, always nags
    me to lose weight.  But, at the end of the day, I am doing it for
    me - look and feel better.  I too have been suffering from a bad
    back and feel tired lots of the time.
    
    Also, approaching 40, if I don't do it now, will I ever?  Also,
    vanity - I want to look better and be able to wear more fashionable
    clothes.  The other half wants me in leather trousers!!  So he's
    saving his money - who knows maybe soon........
    
    Brenda

    There are several reasons why I want to lose weight -
    one is my back.  I've had back problems for a long time - its about
    time to give my back the care it needs.  Also, I wanted to feel
    better, and look better, and be able to shop in "regular" clothes
    stores again - although that's still iffy, with me being 5' 9".
    At least if it's long enough, I can find the right size to go around.
    It may also have something to do with being in my mid-thirties.
     I've done some reading lately that says those of us in mid-upper
    thirties that haven't started exercizing or dieting yet are starting
    to do so (Gee, I never was one to follow trends before!).
    
    Val

    My main reason for wanting to lose weight:
    
    Just once, I would like to not feel totally self-conscious when
    wearing a bathing suit.  I miss out on a lot of 'fun-in-the-sun'
    activities because of this.  I do go river rafting a lot, but I
    look forward to not being the only female wearing a baggy pair of
    shorts over her bathing suit!
    
    Colleen

    
    My main reason for loosing weight is also related to health problems.
    I have a back problem which with a little less weight would be helped.
    I am also at the highest weight I have been in 15 years. Since I
    am getting on in years I would like to loose it now!!!  I am going
    to start using the progress file. 
    I too want to look good in a bathing suit! I want to feel comfortable
    wearing one.
                  Margaret
    
    
    
    

    Simple....
    
    It was either lose the weight or kill myself (sometimes honesty
    is shocking).  I suppose that means it was for my "mental health".
    
    And, 45 lbs. and a higher self-esteem later...
    
    I am happy and in control of my life....and very glad that I didn't
    give in to the easy way out.  I really believe that old saying,
    "Anything worth having is worth fighting for."  So, I did it for
    the REAL ME (who IS worth the fight!) 
    
    le
    

    I can relate to the bathing suit syndrome!  I want to lose weight
    to look good in a bathing suit and not have to RUN to the water
    and hope no one is watching me walk back to my towel -- where I stay
    for the rest of the day while everyone else is water skiing, etc..
    Also, us "topheavy" women (SSSHHH) should be even thinner than normal 
    because of the strain on the back.  I want to be thin JUST SO I CAN 
    BECOME ME AGAIN!
    
    Janet
    

    Well, it's uncomfortable to admit this, but my personal life is
    running at a pretty low ebb just now - not, perhaps, an all time
    low, but close. If you like imagery, imagine you're at the bottom
    of a deep well, or mineshaft, at night: look up, and you'll see
    the entrance to the well as a dim circle of light - with just a
    few stars for hope. That's how it feels.
    
    What's this got to do with dieting? Anything that will help raise
    my self-esteem - not in a conceited way, just getting back to something
    like normality - has got to be worth a try. Now, I know dieting isn't
    going to solve everything, even if 100% sucessful. But it'll provide
    a few rungs of the ladder up the side of the well. Yes, it'll be
    good to look better, to be fitter, less tired, and so on, but there's
    really a much deeper reason. 
    
    I've really _got_ to make it work. It really means a lot to me...
    
    - brian

    
    	I think I have three main reasons why I want to lose weight...
    
    		1. Revenge - For every person who has said something
    		   	     like if only you wern't overweight...I
    			     remember who they are and I just want to thumb
    			     my nose at them:-)
    
    		2. To feel really good about myself...I look in the
    		   mirror sometimes and think "Whatta cow..." and I
    		   don't want to do that anymore...This is for ME!
    
    		3. There is this DARLING leather dress I saw in a shop
    		   near where I live...I'm saving up for that ($5 for
    		   every lost pound...)
    
    
    	I love who I am...I just want less of me to love;-):-);-)
    
    
    			- Donna

    	Why am I loosing weight?  For many of the same reasons as everyone
    else.  Most importantly, for my health and self esteem.
    
    					Paul 

    
    I NEED to lose weight to be able to ride my horses.
    
    Also, I need the confidence and pride to be able to take riding
    lessons without feeling ashamed and fat.
    
    			Nancy

I'm re-evaluating why I want to lose weight.  

Originally (110 lbs ago) I wanted to lose weight to "get a life."  
I was unhappy, isolated, and physically restricted.  Walking around 
the mall was an aerobic activity -- and in high school I was on the 
track and basketball teams!  The largest size at Lane Bryant was getting 
too small, and that really frightened me: Where would I get clothes?!  
And a lot of my friends were in serious relationships, getting married, 
stuff like that.  My self esteem was such that a date was an impossibility.
(Of course, I wasn't really conscious of how desperate I was.)
    
So that was my motivation in the beginning.

Now I've pretty much accomplished all those things.  I'm wearing a size 
16, which might sound large to some people, but it's a "tiny" miracle 
for me.  I look great, feel great, and go out on dates.  (Strange rhyme).
I walk for miles, run to my car in the rain, go out dancing, look in 
the mirror and GRIN...  Things have definitely changed.  

But I still have 42.5 lbs to reach the top of my WW goal range!  I've 
been having a tough time sticking to the program, and I know it's 
because I need to change my reasons for losing weight.  Why bother 
getting to goal?  Why keep going?  WHy not have that extra bread?

Here are my new reasons:

 Because I want to reach my goal weight.  I want to FINISH this, do it 
 all the way.  I have a better chance at maintaining the weightloss if 
 I go all the way, complete Maintenance, and become a Lifetime member.

 Because I want to be a WW lecturer.  

 Because I do not want to be fat at all.  It's not enough to look "normal 
 sized."  I want to be at my goal weight.  Now, I'm not obsessing about 
 being THIN -- I just want to weigh "what I should."

I've done a lot of work on the issues behind my weight gain, and I've 
done a lot of work losing the weight.  I tend to forget how much I've 
accomplished, and I'm lucky that there are people in my life who 
remind me.

I guess I want to get to goal for the simple reason that I DESERVE IT. 

Thanks for listening, and thanks for all the support you've given me 
directly and indirectly!

Kay
                                                                 

    Since I started this topic...here I go again:
    
    Over the last few years I watched my mother's health deteriorate. 
    First with diabetes and then with a recurrance of colon cancer.  Since
    I feel that both of these ailments were related to her prolonged
    	overweight condition
    	high-fat diet
    	lack of exercise
    	general unhealthy lifestyle
    and since I am also of the opinion that a disposition to these diseases 
    is genetically linked...it's time for me to do something about my 
    health while I have a chance to.  And not wait, like my mother did, 
    until it's too late.
    
    I have a lot more things I'd like to do in this lifetime, and I mean to
    be around to do them!
    
    -Lynn T.