Why did you decide to loose weight?

Because I didn't want to graduate at my highest weight ever (almost 170!) when I started college at my lowest weight ever (145.)

And I'm hoping to be engaged soon and I don't want to have to lose weight on a deadline to fit into a dress! ;-P

I decided to lose weight when my jeans were getting VERY tight and I refused to go up a size! Since then, I've lost 65 pounds and over 40 inches total. And I have gone down 4 jean sizes! :)

Because I have a family now who deserves to have me at my healthiest and around for as long as possible.  I would hate to become sick or even die based on something I could choose to change.  Can't change getting hit by a bus but I can do my darndest to prevent the type 2 diabetes that runs in my family.

because I have a daughter who i want to stick around for, plus heart issues and high blood pressure runs in my family, so if i remain this size i would be setting myself up for failure.. Also.. i want to prove to myself that I can eat healthy and lose the weight, instead of restricing and purging to lose weight like i did in the pas.... also...  i have a few people in my past who I want to prove something too.. but mostly it was for my daughter and my health

Clothes were getting too tight, and my thighs were rubbing together and irritating my skin when I wore a dress. And I prefer to wear dresses all summer long!

because i woke up one day and realized my thighs were too fat :)

The dr looked me in the eye and said you either lose it now and maintain it off for the rest of your life, or you will wind up with liver cancer in short order. I decided that at 48 yo I still had a teenager who I want to see grow up, marry and give me grandbabbies, and I still had a lot I wanted to accomplish in my life time!

Because:

1. My mother had breast cancer and my father had heart problems and I don't want to put myself at an increased risk of either problem, so I needed to become healthier.

2. I finally had reached a point in fighting my depression that I felt like I was worth actively improving on and worth taking care of.  It had been a long fight to just have made it to the point where I had enough self worth to not think the world was better off without me.  This was the next big step:  Taking care of myself so I have better self esteem -- because I DO deserve to feel good about who I am!

3. I want to feel great when I get my Master's degree, and go into a job with confidence about who I am and what I can do to help others.

The initial thing that got me thinking about weight loss was waking up one day and NONE of my jeans fit and I was so disgusted with myself.  I felt all my usual feelings that hit when depression is trying to assert its control over my life: worthlessness, self-hatred, and an inability to take action.  I was SO sick of feeling that way.  I told myself that I did NOT drag myself up from a very dangerously low level of depression just to spend the rest of my life hating who I was, how I looked, and not feeling able to change it.  

So I went out, bought a scale, and came home to weigh myself -- I was 175 and saw I had a BMI of 29.1.  Now I'm down to 166 and a BMI of 27.6 -- thanks for the help, CC!  The ball's rolling and it's all down hill...

Sorry if that ran long 

I've been a dieter since the end of 5th grade when the class had to crowd the nurse's office floor as we got weighed and measured one by one. The entire class could see each student's measurements. I was ridiculed when I was weighed, and that's what first made me EXTREMELY self-conscious about my weight. I didn't love my body before that, but I accepted it. But after that incident, suddenly the shopping difficulties I had really struck me hard, and I suddenly had this new hatred when looking in the mirror.

Over that summer and the following 6th grade school year, I lost just under 30 pounds. I still was in the "slightly overweight" category. Since then it's been an endless yo-yo diet for 5-6 years.

Now I am a Senior. I feel determined to end this constant struggle by changing my lifestyle. I want to look and feel stunning at prom. I want to graduate high school very fit. And I definitely want to enter college, the fresh start I am so excited for, in a body that I can feel confident and comfortable in.

Because I have to~ If i dont I could be kicked out of the military, not to mention Im at my heaviest weight! I weigh the same now as I did when I was 9months pregnant, and since then I did lose all the weight, gain some, lose it, gain it lose, then I quit smoking, had some med issues and gained A LOT, and now Im sick of feeling so ugly. I have to lose this weight!

Because my doctor told me I was now a full fledged type 2 diabetic and warned me that I would not have many good years left if I didn't make some major changes.    I went home and started my journey.

I encourage people to make the change before your body starts to rebel.  It's not fun when it does.

Good luck.

Because I'm very uncomfortable at this weight =[ I sweat more than I used to, my clothes are too small (resulting in owning only 2 pairs of wearable jeans) and I'm just not comfortable. My legs touch like crazy and my arms are large and yucky looking, and I have zits when I didn't used to.

Skinny here I come =]

I donate blood quite often, but the blood bank often deferred me because my pulse rate was over 100.  That was my clue that I needed to become healthier, but I really did it for my wife.  She has several chronic conditions (not weight related...she's petite), and I realized that if I didn't do something, I wasn't going to be around to take care of her later on in life when she'll need me the most.  I just couldn't do that to the woman I love.

I've now lost over 70 pounds (see my gallery), my pulse rate is now in the 70's, I no longer have sleep apnia, my blood pressure is lower, I no longer have high cholesterol, profuse sweating, or hip pains.

And I owe most of my success to this web site, and the good people who are here to help each other.

Awwww "rsbritt," that's so flipping sweet...

I forget why I'm trying to lose weight from time to time.
It mostly has to do with looking good in clothes, and feeling more comfortable.
Yep, I'm vain.

i couldn't stop getting old, but i didn't have to be old and fat.

I agree with you rsbritt--Scott--that you realize as you mature that you need to take care of yourself. Our loved ones do need us around--and in good health. In fact, I read once a definition of maturity as taking responsibility to care for others. Thank you for expressing yourself so well. It touches the rest of us because it makes us think about how important our loved ones are to us.

Vanity? I caught a few photos of myself and I couldn't believe how chubby I looked, especially my arms... (The paleness didn't help either). And I'm in college, I would really like to have a cute stomach I'm not embarrassed about!  

Well, I've been heavy all my life but not this bad. I was always just stocky, but athletic. I went off to school, gained a lot of weight, graduated, sat at a computer all day, then I became a teacher.

My students are all great so that's not the problem. The problem came when I became a skillsUSA advisor and we all went to an amusement park. I couldn't wait. That is until I figured out that I was JUST big enough that the belts wouldn't go around me.

I then vowed that that would never happen again. I started Dieting at the endish of July. I'm down 20ish lbs so far, but I can already tell the difference. I had one setback because of a Holiday, but I'm good again and exersising regularly. I've even discovered I like Yoga. It's a little funny to watch as I imagine I look like a slightly graceful but ungainly duck doing it. :D

My only problem is that my ankle is a little tweaky and starts hurting randomly so strenous exersise isn't always possible. I'm hoping to be down to my high school size or smaller by my 30th b-day. Doable I think as I still have a year and a half.

Because I'm don't feel comfortable the weight that I am.  But that alone wouldn't have motivated me to do anything about it.   I have low blood pressure, slow heart beat and normal sugar levels so there was nothing to be alarmed about.

It was when I realized my husbands health was in jeopardy that I really kicked into gear for the both of us.  I want him to be with me for the rest of my life. 

My reason for losing weight is very deep. I have 3 children, and all of them are my sun and moon, they mean the world to me. I felt it would be only fair to do something for myself and my children. Now I'm 75 pounds down, and I feel good about myself. I use to blame my weight gain on my ex husband, because of something he asked me to do. He asked me to stop weight training, and I didn't know how to get into a cardio program at the time. So my body started to hold weight, and I gain and I gain.. I wanted that girl/ woman I use to be. I wanted who I use to be back. And I'm half way home.. But I'm back. I can run, dance and play with my children. I enjoy life, and I really do enjoy me. That's why I decide to lose the weight. SO I can enjoy myself and my family. I'm not going to miss out on anything. Not even another ride at Disney with my kids.. I also have a lot of health issues that runs in my family, and I want to keep those family health issues in check and away from me. So, this weight loss has giving me a clean bill of health. I had it before I started losing weight, and I plan on keeping it that way.

rsbritt---- Congrats on your weight loss, and keep up the good work every one.