It just makes sense to me that I have a reason for each and every pound I lose on my way to my dream weight. Each individual pound is important, and considering how much work it is to drop some tonnage, I thought it was worth my time and energy to come up with a list.

So here it is, in all of its not politically correctness.

P.S. Please take this idea and run with it. Come up with your own list! Whether it is ten reasons long or two hundred, I think you will find this extremely motivating. If you do make a list, and you have a moment, tell me about it so I can read your list!


176 Reasons to Lose 176 Pounds


So I appreciate sweets as treats, not as an every day food

I hate Clomid, and my research indicates that if I lose 50 pounds or more I may not need it.

Size 10 clothes are far more stylish than 24s.

I want to be able to shop in all of the clothing stores, not just Lane Bryant.

I like feeling in control of what I consume.

The meat packing industry grosses me out. *Thank you Food, Inc.*

Plantar Fasciitis-aka my feet frackin' hurt!

Heel spurs--The little boney daggers that are making my feet hurt even more.

My skin is clearer when I am thinner

Having a pannus is horrible. Pannus=Dun Lop Disease=Gross overhang of my gut.

I want to run again, without fear of breaking myself or the treadmill.

To look good in a bathing suit. (I realize this may require plastic surgery to remove skin)

To make my husband proud

So being the published author of a weight loss surgery book doesn't seem like a sick joke. (I have not had surgery, my side gig is writing about surgery)

High cholesterol

My fasting blood glucose was 148 the day I started this journey. It is now 98. It still needs to be lower but I'm no longer prediabetic.

I like swimming, even though it requires me to wear that horrible thing called a swimsuit.

I'm too young to ache like I do.

So I can quit envying everyone else's beautiful baby. Or saying someone else's baby is beautiful when it really is a funny looking kid. Oh wait, I will still have to do that if I have my own.

When I fold my pants I am horrified by how huge they are. Seriously. I practically need bigger hangers.

When I eat better I feel better. Understatement of the century.

Rude comments and looks of disgust. (From people raised without manners)

I have nice legs when I'm thin.

I'm NOT big boned! I'm medium boned at best. I'm fat people. FAT. No bones about it.

I'm pretty under the fat. I'm not quasimodo right now, but I am much cuter when defatted.

Green poop is quite funny. At least it is if you are a 38 year old overgrown child.

Stinky skin folds and skin yeast. The constant battle of the powder, and drying, etc.

So I can swim around Liberty Island in NYC.

Smart and pretty is much more fun than smart, I remember what that was like.

I've always wanted to try yoga.

I'm putting running a 5k on my bucket list.

So if I don't get pregnant I will know I did everything possible and will quit beating myself up.

Fluevog boots will fit my calves and Fluevog boots are the sex bomb.

Organic and unprocessed tastes better.

So I quit spraining my ankles over and over.

So I don't feel trapped in my job, which is largely a desk job.

Double (triple?) chin.

Cellulite.

I enjoy life too much to die young.

I want to grow old with my husband, so I can continue to irritate him for decades to come.

I want to be a spry old person. Hell, I want to be a spry 30 something.

To reverse the heart disease I probably have.

To never again fear an airplane seat or seatbelt.

I want to ride roller coasters again. Cedar Point, baybee!

So I'm not the fat one. Anywhere. Ever.

More energy and stamina.

Never break another chair.

Movie seats won't hurt anymore.

Clothes that are too big are lots more fun than ones that are too small.

I deserve better than a 311 pound body.

For the day when 4 mph seems slow.

One size fits all does not fit me.

So I don't have to say, "Do as I say, not as I do."

Adventure vacations.

To be significantly smaller than my husband.

Better sex.

Reverse cowgirl.

Girl on top!

Agent Provocateur lingerie. (I'm detecting a theme here)

So I can wear The Who concert tshirt I bought (seriously, they hadn't toured for 17 years, I HAD to get the shirt) knowing it wouldn't fit, because it was the largest size they had, hoping to one day fit into it.

In case I ever get to work on a LifeFlight helicopter, I will meet the weight requirements. They don't let fatties fly on those emergency medical choppers. 150 lb weight limit for most.

So going hiking in the Hocking Hills doesn't sound like work.

To get rid of my giant ass. Seriously, if it gets any bigger I will trigger seismographs.

Because boobs can be too big.

So shoveling snow doesn't give me a massive heart attack.

So I don't feel like I'm going to have heat stroke all summer long.

It is expensive to run central air all summer long.

Quitting smoking does not mean I must gain weight.

I'd like to ride a bike and not look like my ass ate the seat.

Wiping one's ass should not be the first challenge of the day.

I have features that are attractive other than my hair!

I work too hard to die too young to enjoy retirement.

So I quit loathing stairs.

So I am fit enough to use machines other than the bike and treadmill.

No food will make me feel the way weighing #135 does.

Never paying a surcharge for XXL clothing again.

Sexy bras instead of sturdy ones.

So getting my hair done doesn't seem like a waste of money, since the rest of me is so unsightly.

Because I wasn't always a frump.

To wear one of the cool Speedo suits in fun fabrics instead of the black ones they make for fatties.

So I am not an embarrassment to my future children.

We can show our friends how good organic food can be.

To avoid hip replacement, knee replacement, gall bladder and heart bypass surgeries.

Gastric bypass is not an option.

For the first (and the twentieth) time someone says, "Have you lost weight?"

So people don't recognize me since I've lost so much and become so small.

To regain the self esteem I once had.

People really do treat fat people differently.

So I have more job options while I'm working on my master's degree.

To encourage my husband in his journey to health.

So I can wear shorts instead of jeans in the summer.

So I can complete a sprint triathlon.

Because foodie doesn't have to mean fattie

I am proud of myself when I meet goals I set for myself.

Spandex

So I actually look like I belong at the gym.

So I can quit wearing CPAP at night.

My stomach will keep shrinking!

So my dogs get more exercise, which they love.

I can give my entire wardrobe away and start fresh.

Underneath the fat I have an hourglass shape.

People judge fat people and believe they are fat and lazy.

So one person says, "you are thin enough, you should stop losing weight." After which I run to the bathroom and cackle maniacally.

Tiny, narrow bathroom stalls.

So I'm not the fattest person at work. I think I'm in a tie right now.

So people aren't surprised when I finish 5ks.

So I quit avoiding having my photo taken or hiding behind others when I have my photo taken.

So I'm not the fattest one in my family.

To be smaller than my senior year of high school.

So my risk of heart attack and stroke are nearly non-existent.

I can grow much of my own food.

Exercise is a great way to reduce stress, and I have lots of stress.

Cool 5k tshirts.

Earning an "Alcatraz Swim Team" tshirt.

To look better than I did 10 years ago.

Because it will help fix my ugly toenails.

All of the cool rewards I will buy myself for major milestones.

So I can write about weight loss without it seeming like a farce.

Because no one should ever be told the celebrity they most resemble is Camryn Manheim.


So I can wrap a towel around me that is smaller than a beach towel.

So I can justify buying more workout shirts with the super cool thumbholes. I have an unnatural amount of love for the super cool thumbholes.

So I can trust myself around tempting food and become far more selective about what is tempting.

So my thighs don't rub together until they are raw.

Not having to wear two jog bras to smash the girls flat to keep them from bouncing up and giving me a black eye.

Never wondering if I will fit in the booth at a restaurant.

Levi's.

So I can cross my legs easily and not look absurd.

Serious abs!

So I don't feel sorry for the other people in the row when I need to go to the bathroom during a movie and I have to wiggle past them.

So I can wear high heels without feeling like a Weeble.

It is time to stop having an internal monologue that is filled with hate and disappointment.

J. Crew, J. Jill, Ann Taylor, Dior and Chanel clothes. Not that I will buy them, but I COULD.

Walking into a dressing room feels like walking to a punishment.

To be happy to be weighed at the doctor's office.

So I can jump instead of little tiny hops.

So I quit thinking my husband was dumb for marrying someone as gross as me.

So I look lean, strong, powerful and curvy.

To get rid of my gut that is so big I don't have a lap.

So I quit sounding like a broken record, "I need to lose some weight".

Because my 20 year class reunion is in October.

To feel sexy!

To conquer food addictions. Thank you Dr. Fuhrman for Eat to Live and detoxing my body.

So I learn my trigger foods and how to avoid them.

For the first time that I've lost so much weight that my underwear falls off. Hopefully, this will be in the privacy of my own home.

So I can do a pull up, or maybe even two pull ups.

People respect you when you lose weight, not when you gain it.

The process of losing weight and getting fit is half the fun.

Trying pilates, yoga, kickboxing, boxing and racquetball classes.

So our bathtub doesn't seem too small to soak in.

No one takes advice from a morbidly obese nurse seriously, no matter how good it is.

So my husband can pick me up, throw me on the bed and ravish me without risking back surgery or death.

So socks quit leaving deep grooves in my ankles.

To make me read menus in a totally different way, looking for the healthiest thing available.

Because food is fuel and I need to view it more that way than as a treat.

So I can quit envying the people I see outside running and become one of them.

So that my thighs are muscular and strong, not bumpy and rippled with fat.

So my fingers and hands don't look all chubby and stubby.

So I can put photos of myself looking impossibly cute on Facebook.

Because it is hard to find XXL and XXXL gym clothes.

Not feeling the need to avoid mirrors like a vampire.

So I can be ankle behind my head flexible like I was years ago.

I can stop avoiding necklaces because they make my neck look fatter.

Working in the garden won't make me feel like I'm going to pass out.

Sleeveless shirts. Not that I will wear them, but I COULD if I wanted to.

Losing weight improves hirsutism, which may mean no longer having to have the 'stache waxed.

So oversized chairs feel oversized, not normal.

For the 176 times I will get on the scale and feel happy about my progress.

Because it feels good to get sweaty during a serious workout.

So I can wear those cute tights that the thin girls wear at the gym.

Short skirts.

Vacationing in warm places and locations with beaches.

To feel energized and ready to go when I wake up in the morning.

Never again saying, "maybe we can do that once I lose some weight."

To be "height-weight proportionate".

To qualify for life insurance.

Because there will never be a feeling like the one when I get on the scale and it says 135.