Who's motivated for health reasons?

I'm a recently diagnosed diabetic (About five weeks ago).  According to "the BMI charts" I need to lose 61 pounds to be at a healthy weight.  I'm already down 15.  I'm wondering if there are others who are motivated to lose weight for health reasons? 

Yup

I was born with a hole in my heart that was fixed at age 4. So after having 2 kids I'm over weight. Plus I'm hypothiroid, so it's hard to drop the weight. My heart is wounderful, my new heart doc asked me if I had it repared in USA. Nope, in Toronto at Sick Kids.
I'm not on meds for my heart, and I'm almost 30. So I know my luck will only go down hill from there, so time to make my body strong and healthy.

Hi I'm definitely motivated by health reasons.  I am 90 lbs overweight and am borderline diabetic.  I also suffer from Chronic Fatigue syndrome and Fibromyalgia.  Both of which can be treated extensively with exercise.

I don't have any health problems because of my weight yet (I'm 25) - but my family is liberally sprinkled with heart disease and my mom is losing bone mass.  I see the health problem my parents - in their 50s! - are having, and I thought 'there is no reason for me to wait until I'm 50 to start fighting those problems that i KNOW I will have'.

So yes, I'm losing weight for health reasons, but not because of a scare.  Looking like a million bucks is a pleasant side effect.

In Sept of 04 my dr told me I was borderline diabetic had high cholesterol and high blood pressure and he said I will give you 3 months to lose 20 lbs and retest you and if no improvement I would have to start meds. 

I lost the weight plus more and when I was retested I was in good shape - still not great but didn't have to go on meds.  I then lost a total of 55 lbs and then quit smoking.  The next yearly work up showed my cholesterol down even more and blood sugar ok and the elevated bp ok. 

This last year my blood work was stellar!!  My risk for heart disease is almost non existent now.  My cholesterol is 152 and my blood sugar is still ok.  I did gain alot of weight after qutting smoking but because I now don't eat fast food and junk food I am able to keep my healthy eating habits and my risk for these diseases in check.  I am still working on my blood pressure issue cuz it sometimes gets high but just by eating right and exercise I am able to stay off meds for other conditions which makes me very happy. 

I am trying to lose the weight I gained after quitting smoking but the last time I went to the dr he didn't comment on my being overweight for the first time.  Lots of folks don't beleive I weigh as much as I do.  I guess its well distributed and some muscle mass under the flab so I don't "look" overweight.

I was diagnosed with diabetes a month into my diet.  I guess my body was already trying to tell me something.  :)  It just hardened my resolve to do this once and for all.

I have high cholesterol and my triglycerides were VERY high. Prior to finding this out I went to visit a relative at a nursing home that I hadn't seen in a year. What I saw there scared the HECK out of me.  Those two things motivated me to get healthy before something really bad happens.

I'm 51yrs old and have no children. When I'm old there won't be anyone around to take care of me. I need to be in the best health possible because I have to depend on myself.

Mine is kind of half and half. My knee and back were telling me that hauling all this weight wasn't a good thing.. though I joke about getting the new nose that started it all (though that could have been a factor as I was feeling more and more better about myself), it was the aches and pains of movement that made me decide something had to be done. Luckily I changed jobs even if it were only for a year and that really helped the stress level.  There is diabetes in our family though usually i'm not one for sweets.. chocolate here and there.. but that doesn't count! :0) And major heart problems in our family.. though not diagnosed with anything, I can feel my heart getting weird if I get stressed out!!!

I am motivated for health reasons.  I have had a harder time breathing, like asthma when exercising.  It is the extra weight I am carrying on my chest.

Diabetes runs in the family and I want to prevent it.

My knees also hurt, or my back.  It is from carrying around an extra 50 pounds.

We also have heart disease and high blood pressure in the family.

I am only 28, but I want to take off this weight and get healthy now.  To prevent what I would get if I just stay this way until 40 years old.

BTW, I have been working out @ 3 weeks, and I no longer wheeze anymore.  Lost 6 pounds. @ 44 to go!

Yes! My knees were hurting sometimes, even waking me up in the middle of the night with the ache. So I decided the best present I could get for my 50th birthday would be to be 50 pounds lighter. And now I am. Lighter, that is, not 50 (yet); I reached my goal early.

My knees no longer wake me up. Yahoo!

Well, I was lucky enough to not have any serious health problems yet.  However, at the age of 40 it was just a matter of time.  That was my main motivation for starting the new eating plan, as I call it.  I did have other issues.  My knees were hurting a lot, which is a lot better, but I do have an old knee injury that acts up.  I was having trouble getting off the floor, that sort of thing, that's a lot better too except for the knee injury issue.  Unfortunately I don't think that that will go away, it happened when I was 11 or so and was skinny.

Thanks to everyone for responding.  It's good to know there are others like me out there. I am really impressed with those of you who report significant changes in your blood work and risk factors by staying with a program, losing weight and working out.  You all give me hope!!

I have a gallbladder disorder that I found out about almost 2 months ago. I'd been doing c-c already since july and lost 35 lbs, but bc of the gallbladder I have to watch fats really strictly and spicy foods. If I don't I might have to have it removed. There's my motivation!

I'm 33 and have arthritis.  So that was a HUGE motivator.  Also, I have family history of diabetes and heart disease.  :)  Kelly

My weight gain is the result of a medical issue. I have BiPolar Disorder. after 5 years of diffrent meds to fix that I found myself 65lbs overweight.  My BiPolar was under control but losing the weight was almost impossible while I was on my meds. So after careful consideration my Husband and I made a decision that I would go off the perscription meds and onto Herbal remedies. ( I do not advocate for others to do this with out consulting their Dr first! ) This is working for me for now and I am able to focus on getting the weight off. I have Mitrovalave prolapse and Arthritis on top of the BiPolar and needed to get myself healthy again. Before the BiPolar diagnosis I was a healthy weight and very active. I have 3 kids and need to be able to keep up. I couldn't do that while being Morbidly Obese. So here I am trying to get back where I need to be to be Healthy and fit for myself and my family. 

Wow reading all of these posts really drives home what a cross section of health related issues results from carrying extra weight!!  We have everything from people trying to prevent health issues from developing to people who need to make a change and fast.

Good luck to all of you!  I'm getting a good vibe from everyone - We are all committed to making some real improvements in our health, our lives and our future!!  We will succeed!

I don't have health problems but am motivated because I am terrified of developing them!  I am still young, so hopefully if I lose all of this excess weight now, I can avoid serious, detrimental side effects of being overweight- that is my main motivation.

My father is overweight and is starting to have health problems... Im only 19.. but I dont want to be overweight all my live and end up woth loads of health problems, so I decided I should get healthy now, instead of waiting for a problem. much the same way tgbrown is thinking :)

Also, Im also hoping that my getting in shape, and eating healthy will motivate my father to start taking better care of himself. He turns 50 in a few months and I think he has decided he's too old to change. I for one think 50 is not old at all, and he has many years ahead of him to enjoy a healthy life... but he's gotta make some changes soon.

I don't have any health problems that I know about it, but I'm motivated because I don't want any to begin with. So I'm doing this for prevention purposes.

I don't want my legs to be strained from carrying around more weight than they need to, and I certainly don't want diabetes. My grandmother was diagnosed with diabetes 3 or 4 years ago, and it was such a shock to me (her mom had it while she was still alive, too). I didn't do anything about my eating at the time, but now I see she's slowly getting worse, and I don't want that to happen to me.

I want to be able to indulge once in a while and not get sick from it. So the only way is to lose weight. I haven't given up my favorite foods, I just eat them in moderation. One every week or two. Today I had a blueberry bran muffin from Tim Hortons, and a tiny bit of chicken from Swiss Chalet. So far I still have a lot of calories left for dinner, so I haven't gone over. It's just a matter of being careful, I guess.

There are all kind of awful problems associated with eating horribly. I want to avoid all of those to the best of my ability. I don't smoke, drink alcohol or do drugs either. So at least if I do get sick, I won't have anything to regret because I will have done my best. That's all that matters.

I look at my mom and I don't want to be her. She's not really, really heavy, but she has been gaining a lot of weight because she doesn't eat right. She doesn't have a lot of money, but she would be better off if she didn't waste money on DVDs three times a week, and cigarettes. And she's one of those people who've always wanted to eat better and lose weight but not knew how, or didn't have the willpower.

She's anemic. Her teeth are all breaking apart because she gets next to no calcium at all every day. She is lactose-intolerant, but she doesn't bother going to the doctor for it, or supplementing. So if her teeth are going like this, her bones are probably degenerating also. One day soon she is going to fall and break a hip quite easily! I wouldn't be surprised if she became diabetic either, since it's so common for the women in our family.

That saying, I want to be strong and healthy for as long as possible. I want to have a good, long life.

I am 47 yo and have back problems from previous injuries, achy knees, fibromyalgia, and high blood pressure.  I am currently on medication for the high blood pressure and see my dr every three mos for this.  These symptoms tell me I need to loose wt.  I am sure by loosing wt the aches will decrease as well as the blood pressure.

I am also 47 and have no cartilage in my knees, fibromyalgia, diabetiesII, arthritis, degenerative joint disease, 2 herniated disks and hypothyroid.

No suprise I have major depression on top of this. I just keep trying to lose the wieght even though I have failed so many times.

I have tried alot of wieght loss programs but have never had success. So I remembered at 14 I had some weight to lose so I started counting calories. That was the only time I was ever successful.

So I am trying one more time. Maybe this time it will work.

:)