What was it that inspired you to really get in awesome shape?

I’m a narcissist.

Wanting a man or should I say sex.

to become a better football player. and the cruise i went on helped a little… :)

I’m going to answer this with a bit of twist, if you don’t mind:

I can tell you what inspired me to gain some really awesome weight. I was informed by my nightmarish wonderful doctor that if I even think of dieting, on to starvation and death road I go. Weird, huh? I was suddenly and miraculously inspired to make eating a hobby. It’s been a year of eating Thanksgiving everyday and I’m still the thin fencepost. There’s always next year I guess…

Flirting with muscle-bound men at the gym.
I really have no reason to go to the gym any more lol

My story was weird, I simply woke up one day and really really wanted to go to gym. I did it for a year. I used to wake up at 3am or 4 am (so not me) and tootle off to gym and wait outside because they were not even open yet. My weekends were spent at gym. I loved it. Then I hired a personal trainer and she put me off gym I never went back. She pushed too hard, said I was weak, wanted me to to massive weights, and push push push. I hated it after that. So although I was fitter, looked better, I felt like all that year I had wasted my time, so gave up.

I think the initial push to go to gym was to acquire better health more than looks, I saw how lack of gym had effected my parents in old age. I think that was my main motivator. The other reward was I looked nice. I build muscle fast so I become quite muscular which I did not like too much. As I have broad shoulders.

As it stand I haven’t been for well over a year, pity. So, I think each persons goal is different.

Turning 50….at which point you begin to fall apart unless you make a serious effort to build muscle strength.

Knowing that in order to keep my rank and position in the Army I had to pass a Physical Training Test. Great motivation! : D

@plethora yikes you got me thinking again loll

I wasn’t aware that round was an awesome shape.

I gained twenty “college” pounds… the final moment for me was deciding that I was sick of worrying about it, so I was just going to do it and get it over with. It sucked big time, but I’m glad I did it now. I feel better, too. No pain, no gain!

In order to better serve others.

Yeah, I know that sounds a bit wierd, so I’ll explain. A few years ago, I donated blood for the first time. Then, I started giving blood components (platelets, plasma). I became accustomed to being weighed and having my pulse, blood pressure, iron, and protein levels checked every couple weeks. Being in a somewhat health-conscious state, I had my doctor check my cholesterol, and it was kinda high (I love eating fat). Not wanting to take drugs, I tried natural ways to lower it; losing weight (35 lbs) turned out to do the most good. Eventually, I joined the “Frequent Plasma” program and had to get annual physicals and quarterly protein analyses in addition to the regular tests. This allowed me to donate twice each week.

I started doing yoga classes taught by my friend/coworker, and she encouraged me to go farther with my practice than I might have otherwise. I became addicted to the changes in my body and mind. I lost another 15 lbs and 53 points of cholesterol in six weeks. I had muscle definition!

Prior to, and during, all of this, my father’s bad life choices led to lung cancer, an aortic aneurysm, and a quadruple by-pass. He indirectly influenced me to get healthier. He’s doing OK, but he aged a LOT in the last few years.

All of these events led up to me becoming healthier than I’ve ever been at the age of 44. I lost 50 pounds and 76 points of cholesterol. Now, I am a yoga teacher, and I assist in yoga classes as well. I’ve accidently become a kind of inspirational role model for some of those who’ve heard my story and seen my yoga practice.

Because I’m seen by hundreds of students each week, if I let myself go, they may become disenchanted with the practice. By staying healthy, I can keep giving more blood as well. Knowing that my health helps others directly and indirectly, I am inspired to keep in my best condition.

Knowing that I had to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in six months.

maybe i’m wrong but i don’t think there’s an excuse to be fat unless youre disabled. i have always been thin and the rest of the women in my family not so much. plus i have diabeties and want to stay healthy

I was in the best shape of my life after I had my second son. I exercised 6 days a week, ate well throughout the week and allowed Sunday to be my pig out day and day of rest. I’ve got that extra 30 that I haven’t lost since I had my daughter 6 years ago and I’m just tired of feeling like crap. I remind myself how great I felt before I had her. I had energy, my back never hurt, I slept well, I was always in the mood for sex. This is what inspires me. :)

For me, it’s anime conventions, as dorky as that sounds. I attend at least one anime convention per year and often go in costume. If you know anything about anime, you’ll see that almost all anime characters have “ideal” bodies, thus it it is difficult to feel you’ve successfully cosplayed (dressed up as) a particular character if you’re overweight. I’m not trying to discriminate against heavier people. That’s just the way it is, especially considering many costumes found in anime (for females, anyway) are on the revealing side.

I’m not overweight, but I’m not as skinny as an anime character, either. I also acknowledge that I’m not particularly physically fit or healthy. But I have a passion to make and wear costumes as well and accurately possible, and par t of that is having a great body!

It’s only recently that I’ve had enoough motivation to actually work out, though. Luckily my boyfriend got a fitness program for his Wii, so I can use that.

Well done on losing lots of weight, you should really be celebrating that you’ve done that, rather than beating yourself up for not losing the last 10 pounds. I’m not sure why you think that those 10 pounds are going to make all the difference, it’s your mind that will.

My motivation – I bought a wedding dress that was a bit tight. I get up early every morning and do 30 minutes of exercise, cycle to work 3 days a week (a good 50 minutes to an hour each time) and do yoga. I’ve been eating healthily during the week and staying off the booze. I also myself to relax a bit on weekends but otherwise I’m pretty good. I’m wearing trousers that were too tight just a month or so ago.

Maybe you need a picture of someone who is overweight on your fridge if overeating is your issue or perhaps measuring yourself rather than weighing may be a better option? You might be losing inches but staying the same weight due to muscle gain.

My health. I was out of shape because I was too sore to move and the longer I sat upon my butt the worse it got. Now the pain is bearable and the pleasure I get form hiking around with my dogs is irreplaceable.