is anyone else only 'dieting' for looks?

i get impressed when people on here say that they diet and exercise so that they can improve their overall health and wellness. i, however, don't really care if im healthy or not. i just want to look thinner. but then i feel very like...stupid. because i know that since i've lost 20 pounds, im definately healthier (with my cutdown on fast foods and such) but me not seeing as much results as i like definately gets me down. do you know what im saying? like i wish i had shown more of my loss instead of just becoming a healthier person.

It was my main reason for doing it. There have been plenty of side benefits, like the fact that I'm eating so much less salt and more nutrients per calorie, and I don't think I've ever gotten the 5-a-day fruit and vegetable requirement, ever, until now.

But honestly, I just wanted to be thinner and look "better." The other stuff is great, but it wasn't my primary intention. I'm getting a little older now and I can't choose what age to appear; however, to an extent, I can choose my weight, and probably slow down the aging process along the way because of better nutrients.

i, however, don't really care if im healthy or not. i just want to look thinner.

The thing is...the healthier you are, the better you will look.  Trust me, I lost weight the wrong way and, yes, I was skinny, but I looked horrible.  Sallow skin, hollow cheeks and dark cirles aren't attractive, even if you do have a rockin' bod.  

if you lookin good your feeling good right?

I can dig what you're saying. I wasn't exactly unhealthy before I lost weight--though exercise DID improve my asthma like a million times over. But if I weren't concerned with being healthy and just wanted to look good, I'd be starving myself, y'know? Now, I try to look at being attractive as a side effect of health :D and I think that if YOU just wanted to look thinner, you'd be bingeing and purging or plain anorexic. I think you must be concerned SOMEWHAT for your health.

well that health thing is a side effect for me.

im on the vanity pounds express.


yeh..the "unhealthly" amt of wt comes off so much easier...so i could see why you are down if you are in the vanity pound range too.

you should take digital pictures to compare for youself so you can really see the difference. im starting that myself this friday as i just started to reduce again. (im doing it in phases with a grand finale of a mini makeover - closet/makeup/hair)

It's ok to do it for looks, but if you don't have your health, you've not NOTHING. 

cant...stand being weak lol

who's going to save the girl when she's in trouble?? hahaha
and yea looking good = good self esteem as well

I'm not just dieting for looks, exactly, but that's the thing that gets me to do it.  Let's face it, lots of people like to talk about health, but quite a lot if they're being honest with themselves & others have vanity as the main driving force that gets them dieting.

I hope to avoid diabetes, which runs in my family.  I hope to live a good, long life.  I'd like to be able to think of myself as healthy.  To go back to the days before I went on all that medication, when I didn't have a love/hate relationship with food.  I'm aware of all of that.  That all means something to me.  But aesthetics is generally what gets me going.

Well, I will admit that my main reason was looks, also.  Don't get me wrong, I want to be healthy,too, but what made me get my butt in gear & get serious about losing weight was looks.  We went on a cruise a couple of weeks ago & I just kept thinking "I remember when I looked like that" when I saw the thinner women in their swimsuits.  So, I'm commited to "looking like that" again!  The fact that I will also be healthier is a bonus ;) !

My main reason is for looks because my self esteem is so terrible and I feel like I can't live a normal life until I'm skinny. But I also hae health problems starting to surface because of my weight so I know it's time to fix things before it's too late. I also want to be stronger and more fit. 

I'm dieting for health only. I had so many health issues before I started my healthy lifestyle. High blood pressure (hypertension), acid reflux disease, high heart rate, back aches, knee aches. Oh it was bad.

Looking better while losing weight and becoming healthier is always a bonus, but not primary by any means.

As you get older, the healthier food will pay off.  You will actually look years younger because your body is getting the proper nutrients.

Looking better is what motivates me most, but now health matters to me too. I mean if I was told that I could do all this diet and exercise, look exactly the same, but be way healthier... I doubt I would do it. When I was your age, health didn't matter to me AT ALL. I was only interested in being thinner, but I was unable to stick to a healthy lifestyle and keep the weight off. I'm 22 now and starting to truly realize that how I treat my body NOW will affect the rest of my life. But there was no way I would have really cared about that when I was 15. So I think it's great that you're losing weight in a healthy way and sticking with it, whether you're motivated by appearance or health!

i do it for looks as well. i have the notion stuck in my head that a guy will only want me if i am skinny. i'm 5'4 at 115 pounds and still feel as if i am not good enough for any man. it's an issue.

No offense vmc, but you've got some issues there that NO body change is really going to fix for you.  If i were you I'd stay clear of guys until you make some progress on this.  The results are often pretty disastrous otherwise.  You're pretty darn thin!  I've been a porker compared to you, for more than half my life & I never stopped getting looks or getting "chased."  I hope you can find some way to feel better about you.  I'm sure you deserve to.  

Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm not overweight so it's not like I need to lose weight for health reasons. However, my weight had been slowly creeping upward, so I was teetering on the edge of being overweight, so it's good that I took control and stopped that. Also, I don't just work out to burn calories and build muscle, I also do it to increase my endurance. I've been thinking about lowering my resting heart rate and stuff.

The way I see it though, how healthy you are shows on the outside. So when you get healthier you will also be more attractive.

I'm definitely on the side of looks... I'm not exaclty unhealthy (though my bingeing habits are frightening) or sedentary. I'm actually considered to be lean for my height, but I know where there are jiggles that would look better toned :P I think the worst thing about having a body with fashion model proportions (and I dont mean the little size 0s but the more popular fit ones like Caroline Trentini or Hilary Rhoda) is that it's 10x easier to try and fit the type. After reading an article on different girls and their forms of excercise though, I've started doing alot more random and fun outdoorsy things. Cycling especially is great for those legs and Doutzen Kroes swears by speed skating (she has larger thighs- but VERY muscular)

I am. Being healthy is a nice side effect but the only real reason I'm doing this is I want to fit a bikini - preferably - before this summer's up.

Mostly for looks, yeah I'd say that would be my main motivation. I suppose it's a shallow thing in a sense, but I'd like to feel good about myself. I do enjoy being healthy though.

If it helps, VMC, a study of college-age men showed that a BMI of 19-20 was what they thought was most attractive, and you're right in between there :) A survey of somewhat older men would probably be a little higher.

Of course, tastes vary a lot from person to person, but the general trend is that the low end of healthy is often considered prettiest - not below.