What helps push you to lose weight?
I just answered an ask and now I’m curious about everyone else
I’m not talking about your overall motivation factors (like health, looking good, etc.). I mean what is it that you use to push you to get started in the first place? What was/is it that helped kick your butt in gear?
For me, it was looking at myself in the mirror and facing what my body looks like vs what I want it to look like, as well as stepping on a scale to face the weight that I am.
But what about everyone else? What are your methods that get you to step it up?
Fatlogic and those who cling to it to the point of literally literally hurting other people. It makes my blood boil, my skin actually hurt, and makes me want to be one of the skinny people they regularly hypocritically verbally abuse because I want to have absolutely nothing to do with them! (╬ Ò ‸ Ó)
I’m sorry if you find offense in my personal journey. But I was at a point in my life where I would buy a full family size bag of candy and a pack of those frosted sugar cookies, then lay in my bed and eat both in one sitting. Several times a week. I couldn’t walk upstairs without getting winded. I had bad knee problems. I spent a lot of time just sitting in my car and feeling sad and lonely - not because I thought “I’m fat”, but because I was just at a low point in my life in general. I was having that early adult crisis. The one where you feel like you shouldn’t be living at home with your parents, you should be graduating college already, you should be making more money, why aren’t you getting your life together, what’s wrong with you that you’re failing at this huge step????
You know that feeling where you take a photo when you’re having a good time and you look at it and all your happiness just drains away? That was happening to me. And I know that’s not a healthy mindset to have, but that’s where I was at. I was depressed and eating in a way that wasn’t helping me love myself.
And here’s the conclusion I came to after sitting down and self reflecting.
If there’s one thing I can take control of out of everything in my shitty life, it’s how I look. If I’m not happy about how I look, I’m the only one who can do something about it.
So I did.
This is the ONE thing in my life I have absolute control over. And it took me the better part of 10 years to get to this point.
It still takes constant maintenance and monitoring to be this way, but I do it because at the end of the day, I can look at it and feel proud. I did that. I’m still doing that.
I can flex my arms now and there are muscles there and I did that. I go to kickboxing 3 times a week and it makes me feel so badass. I go to the gym twice a week because I like feeling strong. No lie, I LOVE watching myself in the mirrored walls and seeing what others see. That is my self-affirmation despite whatever direction the rest of my life might be taking at the moment.
My self image now is one of pride and badassery because I wasn’t happy and I did what I decided I had to do to change that.
I could care less about the weight of other people. All that matters is if they’re happy. If you love yourself with where you’re at, that’s great!! I’m happy you’re happy and confident!
My blog is here to help others who might be on a journey similar to my own. That is why I made that original post. Because it’s a struggle and feeling like you have a support network is important.
If you disagree with this blog, feel free to block me to keep your tumblr experience a positive one. I’m not here to preach that everyone needs to be fit to be happy. I’m here to help others who are like me. Who aren’t/weren’t happy with themselves and have decided to take control of that.
I was 19, my uncle had just passed away from an undiagnosed genetic heart condition and my own mother was diagnosed with it just after. I had asthma, malnutrition and was chronically dehydrated. I’ve been exposed to “perfect” body types all my life and indeed it had crossed my mind how much easier life would be if I had that. I’ve always been thin, or average and never obese or overweight but when the idea of life threatening health problems came I decided to let it motivate me.
I saved up bought a punching bag, a bench press, treadmill and various other weight machines and free weights. It never really struck me how inactive I’d been until I did a light jog for 4 miles in 40 minutes on the treadmill the day I got it and found my legs so tight and in pain over the next 24 hours that I couldn’t sleep or rest at all. I was so out of shape my legs felt like they were being ripped apart from the inside. It changed how I saw myself and how I saw my ability. I began to talk to friends about it and was shocked to find the response I was given.
I was selling out, buying into the gay white male image in the media and magazines. I was perpetuating an unhealthy lifestyle and becoming the type of person who fat shames other people by simply being. This response I garnered for just saying I was really going to try and improve my ability after the situation on the treadmill. I’m choosing my words very specifically here because I was raised around people of different abilities, shapes and sizes. People who can do what I can’t 10x better, longer, faster and look like me, bigger, smaller, older or younger.
What I wanted to change about myself was what I was capable of, not how I looked. If I could eat a dozen doughnuts a day and still run 4km in 35 minutes I would, but the reality was things had to change. I was shocked that I received a rather toxic response from my friends but I’m aware of the pain they’d been through and I tried my best to not let it deter me from meeting my goals.
I’ve kept the same goals since then, I’ve wanted to learn how to swim, to do a hand stand, to do the splits, to run a 5 minute mile, to do pullups and situps and not feel winded or sick and so much more. By working hard I’ve reached the mile goal, I’ve helped overcome my breathing issues, and I’m just now 10+ years later learning to swim. My body though, it looks the same if a bit of tone added. I’m happy just being able, if I get muscle or get thinner doing the things I want to be able to do than sure that’s who I am and I accept it. But even still I play on a team of people of all ages, genders, sizes and ability and it’s the same now as it was then. I’m still the new guy learning, admiring and taking notes from everyone else trying to match their skill level and have fun. So my challenge for anyone getting into fitness is to not consider what you’ll look like but rather what you’ll be able to do by the end of it. Chances are your body will undergo a change, but you’ll find yourself reaching a different set of goals one that can easily be measured by you alone. Whether you set your goals in reps, sets, trying something new or perfecting something old, you’ll grow. We’re all built differently, biology is a funny thing. :)