Not that this is my sole motivation, but this is a biggie for me...

I want to be able to fit into a pair of buttery soft black leather pants that were tight on me even when I was at my "thinnest" adult weight around 2002. If I can get myself into those, I will be happier than a clam. :drool:

Oh, yeah, I also have a fairly sizable wardrobe of custom-made corsets (including a leather one) that I hope to be able to fit into, if not completely have to discard...and then I'll start with a complete new wardrobe of them!!

Is this shallow? Yeah, maybe a little, but I need all the motivation that I can possibly get. I am less than two weeks from my first surgery consult and I am getting excited for that...Let's just hope all goes well. :thumbup:

I fall into a "none of the above" category. Health is a HUGE motivator, but not the only one.

I want to be comfortable. Being obese is hugely uncomfortable, in so, so many ways. I was uncomfortable physically, uncomfortable with my appearance, uncomfortable with who I'd become....

I want to be healthy (and really, I was remarkably healthy even morbidly obese), and to feel good in my own (saggy) skin.

I realized after the poll had already posted that I did not include "other" or "none of the above" in it. :thumbup: Sorry about that! If someone knows how I can add it, I'd be happy to!!

I need another option...all of the above. In order...

1. health is number one

2. I'd like to stop all the Rx's and doc visits. Walk the entire six flags, water parks, universal studio....or whatever w/the family.

3. I also have a huge amount of clothes in a smaller size (including a pair of leather and suede pants) that I'd like to wear.

4. I have a reunion coming up as soon and I don't expect to be at my goal by then but damn close.

My motivations:

* To get off of all of the BP meds

*I have always wanted to run. My goal is the cooper river bridge run in charleston south carolina.

I also want to get some jeans from Gap and Tommy Hilfiger.Ive never been able to fit in them. Not even in high school. Boy Im gonna shop now, I told my husband hes gonna have to get a second job just to pay for all of my new clothes and shoes. LOL

My husband and I moved to the beach about 10 years ago and Ive never been ever to feel comfortable wearing a bathing suit. This motivation is for my husband who is awsome and deserves to be able to walk on the beach with his wife not his whale.

Besides wanting to be healthier and hopefully get off some medication, I want to be able to enjoy outdoor activities like biking, roller skating, hiking, running, ice skating and I can't as big as I am. ...I also want people to notice me more and think I'm cute.

I would also LOVE to be able to wear a corsette one day. Of coarse I want to be healthy but I have been trapped inside a big body with the mind of a thin person for so long and I' m so excited to wear sexy pretty clothes. I know for some people it's only about health but for me I've been told my entire life how pretty "my face" was. Grrr I hated that so much. I do feel the desire to wear pretty things only they never fit. I am banded so along with being healthy i am motivated by looking how i've felt but couldn't show it...lol kinda confusing but makes sense to me.

We all have our own reasons and the bottom line is whatever our reasons are, they are important to us. That's all that matters and having this support group is going to be a saviour for me.

I'd just like to be healthy, and like Besty said, comfortable!

At 19 I've really turned down a lot of things because of my weight and carrying around 120lbs of extra fat is really NOT enjoyable. Most of all it'll be good knowing I'm healthier and was able to lose the weight before any serious illnesses struck.

But of course, I can't wait to try on size 6 pants and fit them! :thumbup:

I really have to side with Betsy! I just want to be comfortable; it's been so long since I've felt that way. I want to be at ease with my body and with my self. In so many ways, I don't really live the life I want to be living. I know it's not impossible to live heavy, but it's damn hard! I'm tired of life being such a struggle for me -- physically and emotionally. I know being thinner won't miraculously fix my life. I'll still be me. But I do think that the smaller physical body with make some aspects of my life easier and more comfortable. And any increase in my self-esteem can't be bad, either!