Oh my god it is good to know I am not the only one who looks at cookbooks and cooking gadgets the same way! I thought I was just a bit sick in the head!!

My motivation for this is to feel better about myself. I love having to hitch up my pants because they are getting too big. I love the way my mom keeps calling me "skinny bitch". I know she means it in a loving way! I look at a fat picture of myself taped to my desk at work as my insperation to lose it all.

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No you aren't crazy to love cooking and cookbooks like that. I've always loved to cook, since I was about 10 years old. My mom grew up on a farm so back then it was all about the meat, potatoes and gravy.

I turned my cooking passion into a big plus when I wanted a healthier diet. I love using herbs to spice up my meals and now I'm using those skills to find new ways to enjoy fruit and veggies.

i think keeping your weight at the proper one for you is much easier if you love to cook and find innovative ways to make anything taste better! Besides it makes you appreciate what you eat and actually enjoy it more, I think.

I'm in a wedding next year and the bride lost all this weight and looks amazing. And I'm hopefully getting married in three years and I don't want to look like the Marshmellow puff girl walking down the aisle. I also want to be able to shop in the normal section and not just in plus. It's so limited and the clothes look like old lady clothes. I'm you and hip and I want to be able to dress that way. I need more self convidence and i have self esteem issues. I'm worried about my health and I'm sick of getting looked out funny when I'm out in public. I want to change and prove everyone wrong, that I really can do it, and I'm not just the fat chick anymore.

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What motivated me to lose weight? It all started when I stepped on my friend's scale one day and saw that it actually read 190 lbs. Then, directly after, I started taking a better look at current photos. I couldn't believe how much weight I had gained in the few years I had been out of high school. It had been about four years at that point. After going through the visual things I decided to do a little experiment. I went for a jog, which I hadn't done in a while, and I got worn out so fast. I was huffin' and puffin' and could hardly even walk up a darn hill let alone run on a flat surface for long. Putting all this together I started on my way to healthy living.

A huge motivation for me was watching a show on Bravo called Workout. It's based not to far from where I live so I could identify with the setting easily. The trainers on that show made working out look fun, and made health a bigger issue then some silly commerical selling sex appeal. Now I'm not going to lie, another motivation for me is I want to look better for a potential love interest. It's hard going to clubs and such and feeling you look like a big whale. I know I shouldn't think that way about myself, but it tends to just happen.

One more motivation for me other than health and looking better is I want to be able to motivate others in the future. I want people to see me and realize they can do it too! Having the knowledge of going from large to small will also help me connect with people who are struggling with weight issues. I won't just be some thin person speaking about things they've never experienced, I'll have been a large woman who was able to change her life around for the better.

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Miles on Couch 2 5K since 02/28/08: 7.37

For me it's seeing people being able to go swimming with their shirt off (guys) and knowing that I can't because it would be a HUGE mistake! I also want to feel better and no wind up with Diabetes I have two great kids 1 yr old and 2 month old, so I want to be around along time for them

I recently moved up to the Daytona/Port Orange area, and took advantage of not really knowing anyone to dedicate time to something productive like working out and getting into shape, along with the confidence boost of seeing yourself change as you drop pounds and feel more better about yourself than you did before. In two months, I've lost about 13lbs, still got a ways to go, but I enjoy a leisure run at a park down the street or early evening runs on the beach. I also do it to get my daughter outdoors and involved in getting both of us healthy. I've also motivated a co-worker to join me as well and she's been going with me for a few weeks now.

my motivation is that being big is something i grew up with. it's not necessarily herditary, but my mom was pretty big on comfort food and i don't think i ever properly learned to eat healthy. i handled the ridicule by being violent toward people, and that never solves anything. i already have the self-esteem issues and depression, and being overweight doesn't make it any easier to cope. i worry that my skinny fiancee will think i'm too fat for him and leave me. and i'm getting married in 2 years and i want to be the beautiful person i know i am. i've lost weight before, but i lost it in an unhealthy way so i gained it right back and i'm having a harder time than ever losing any weight this time around. my motivation is that i have to do this for me, to help me with my self-esteem.

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Basically I have been at a certain weight all my life. I just want to feel good about myself. I want to wae up in the morning and not put on my usual sweat pants abd an oversized shirt. I want to be able to wear bosy fitted clothes if I want to. Before I had my little girl three years ago, I was 130 pounds. I didn't realize that I actually looked good.I thought I was fat then, but the truth is that it was just perfect for my body.I'm doing this for me. this extra 48 pounds is not me and I will not be stuck in this hole.

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Sorry I spelled a couple of words wrong.
*wake
*and
*body.

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My motivation is:

Joining the United States Marine Corps when I graduate in 2010. ooRAH!

I want to look better and get higher self esteem,

for my friends to stop making fun of me,

and for a girl (i know how original! lol)

For me its simple.... my inspiration..... getting my life back!!

Being fat destroyed my life, my self esteem was so low that i didnt wanted to go out, or do anything outside my house, that ended up costing me my marriage, and some other things. Now ive lost almost 90 pounds, im pretty fit, i can have almost any girl i want, i play basketball at a very high level again, i feel so good tht i know that theres nothing that is going to make me go back, its been hard work, but its well worth it!!

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I have a closet FULL of clothes that don't fit. I refuse to get rid of these items because wearing them (and looking great doing it) made me feel so sexy. I would walk into a bar like I owned it. I felt like the best lookin' woman alive. Looking like that helped land me the best man EVER. Not saying that is the oly thing we have in common, but if we didn't both look great when we met, we probably wouldn't have ever talked.

I don't ever want my children to be embarrassed of me. I wanna be a MILF.

Laziness is unacceptable. Not devoting the time necessary to take care of myself makes me unhappy. I need time by myself, and with four kids, my early morning work-outs are about the time I get.

I went to the doctor and they said my cholestorol was high. My family has a history of cancer, heart problems, strokes, diabetes, and just about everything else. If I die of a heartattack, it better be during sex.

to me, being fat was a way of life and i wanted to live like a normal person for the first time ever. I wanted the confidence to find a girlfriend, i wanted to enjoy myself and do exercise without being embarrassed, i wanted to be able to swim and i wanted to walk around with confidence in my own appearance without assuming that when someone laughed it was at me.

Now, 16 months later i have a beautiful fiancee who i love and who loves me, and is forever complimenting me on my appearance. I have a positive outlook on life and enjoy the everyday challenges thrown at me, I have no problem talking to large groups of people and I feel i can do exercise wherever and whenever i please, without people laughing and joking. Losing weight has turned my life around as im sure it has many people who use these forums. So if you've only just started or if you're not quite there, stick at it because i'm telling you now its worth the effort and time.

Mike.

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My story - LetsLoseWeight.co.uk

When I train I always focus on my heart,
For me it’s more important to train my heart than my body,
But it’s a plus that my body also gets want it wants =)

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http://urlfreeze.com/1/L-4669/

The main thing that inspires me is my son. I want to make sure I am healthy and have the energy and stuff to play with him and watch him grow up. I am also doing this cause I want to get back down to the size I was if not smaller then I was when I met my husband. We have been together for 8 years and in that time I have gone from a 18/20-26/28 so I would really like to get back down to that size again.

My friend Autumn also is a big help in motivating me cause if she can do it then so can I. She has 3 kids and still finds time to cook healthy meals and stuff and I only have alex so I know i can do it too.

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Cameron Nathan is Due november 12,2008