Weight Loss/Health - What Does It Take
Wednesday September 29, 2010
What does it take to motivate a person to change? What does a person have to go through themselves or what do they have to watch a family member or friend go through to MOTIVATE them to change?
I remember a lot of years ago when my grandmother was in the hospital. The lady in the bed next to her was dying of lung cancer due to smoking. I was only in my late 20's then. I remember talking with her daughter & her daughter was saying that she still smoked & even watching her mother dying, she did not know if she would be able to stop smoking. AND, I have a brother-in-law that still smokes even though his mom, my hubby's mom, died of small cell cancer which is a cancer directly related to smoking.
Did any of you watch The Biggest Loser last week as they picked the contestants. Some of their stories:
My mom died of a heart attack directly related to obesity
My mom has major health issues directly related to obesity
My brother died in his sleep, directly related to obesity
Remember Steve, from this post, Learning From Experience. He has lost close to 100 pounds & has a family full of tragic obesity related stories but he refuses to become another statistic in his family!
So my question to you is: What is it going to take to get you motivated to lose the weight & get healthier? Are you going to have to see more family members or friends succumb to obesity related diseases? Will you even know if you make it.. god forbid it takes you before you find the motivation!
Have you NOT done something even when faced with a family member or dear friend that has had major issues due to bad decisions? Why? Are you willing to share?
I know I am being a downer BUT I am just asking you to dig deep & find whatever it is that will motivate you to DO IT! As Jackie Warner said: All I can do is throw out the rope BUT YOU HAVE TO GRAB ON & HELP YOURSELF!
I am always surprised that people faced with the harsh reality of obesity related diseases & death don't change even after it is thrown in their face. The same with cancer.
BUT, this is life & people have to find their way. I am just pushing you along to say, HEY, LOOK IN THE MIRROR & FIND WHAT IT IS THAT WILL PUSH YOU.... JUST FIND IT! GRAB THE ROPE!!!
Check out my post tomorrow for some reading on this & also Dr. J has a good post to read, as usual, Have Fun With Food Cravings and Flexing Self-Control.
All comments are welcome. What is your story?
Thank you to all for your suggestions for workout DVD's!!!!!
What does it take to motivate a person to change? What does a person have to go through themselves or what do they have to watch a family member or friend go through to MOTIVATE them to change?
I remember a lot of years ago when my grandmother was in the hospital. The lady in the bed next to her was dying of lung cancer due to smoking. I was only in my late 20's then. I remember talking with her daughter & her daughter was saying that she still smoked & even watching her mother dying, she did not know if she would be able to stop smoking. AND, I have a brother-in-law that still smokes even though his mom, my hubby's mom, died of small cell cancer which is a cancer directly related to smoking.
Did any of you watch The Biggest Loser last week as they picked the contestants. Some of their stories:
My mom died of a heart attack directly related to obesity
My mom has major health issues directly related to obesity
My brother died in his sleep, directly related to obesity
Remember Steve, from this post, Learning From Experience. He has lost close to 100 pounds & has a family full of tragic obesity related stories but he refuses to become another statistic in his family!
So my question to you is: What is it going to take to get you motivated to lose the weight & get healthier? Are you going to have to see more family members or friends succumb to obesity related diseases? Will you even know if you make it.. god forbid it takes you before you find the motivation!
Have you NOT done something even when faced with a family member or dear friend that has had major issues due to bad decisions? Why? Are you willing to share?
I know I am being a downer BUT I am just asking you to dig deep & find whatever it is that will motivate you to DO IT! As Jackie Warner said: All I can do is throw out the rope BUT YOU HAVE TO GRAB ON & HELP YOURSELF!
I am always surprised that people faced with the harsh reality of obesity related diseases & death don't change even after it is thrown in their face. The same with cancer.
BUT, this is life & people have to find their way. I am just pushing you along to say, HEY, LOOK IN THE MIRROR & FIND WHAT IT IS THAT WILL PUSH YOU.... JUST FIND IT! GRAB THE ROPE!!!
Check out my post tomorrow for some reading on this & also Dr. J has a good post to read, as usual, Have Fun With Food Cravings and Flexing Self-Control.
All comments are welcome. What is your story?
Thank you to all for your suggestions for workout DVD's!!!!!
Posted by truth2beingfit at 9/28/2010 9:00 PM 
Categories: Fitness, Challenges, Motivation/Support, Weight Loss, Inspiration, Health
Tags: obesity Weight Loss fitness The Biggest Loser inspiration health Log My Loss challenges Dr. J
Categories: Fitness, Challenges, Motivation/Support, Weight Loss, Inspiration, Health
Tags: obesity Weight Loss fitness The Biggest Loser inspiration health Log My Loss challenges Dr. J
Very nice Jody -- sometimes there is goodness in darkness.
Just a few hours ago I learned that the father of a good friend had died in his sleep last night. He had battled cancer and much more these past few years. He had been very weak for a long time, and though he "battled" really, he did not. Despite all his ailments, treatments, and medications, he never quit drinking along the way. Last night he went to bed drinking once agian -- for the final time....
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I missed the DVD question but I LOVE Cathe!
Your not a downer at all. Just real.
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we have to want to change...
And for me - that took my own feeling of lethargy to really motivate me to change (several years ago now). It kind of finally sunk in - I'm here, that I know of, once on this planet. I want this life to be fulfilling and meaningful. And that starts by living healthy...
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Lance, you said it.... living healthy helps all of it!
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Thanks for the excellent post, Jody. I mentioned on my blog some time ago about our own family's tragedy of my brother being a heavy smoker and dropping dead at 59 (13 years ago). He had finally quit smoking in the last year of his life (after we all had begged him to stop for years), but too much damage had been done to his heart. You know the movie "A Wonderful Life" -- and how it is shown to George Baxter that if he had never been born (or was not there), his brother would have died, and then the snowball effect from that. Well, 4 years after my brother died, one of his daughters, my very beloved 37-year old niece, died also. Her death could have been prevented had someone gotten her to the hospital in time, but the take-charge person in the family had smoked himself to death, and so she died too, leaving a 2-year old and a 4-year old and a grieving husband. After all of these years, I'm still unbearably sad and angry about these two avoidable deaths.
I refuse to die long before my husband -- he says to me all of the time, "If anything happens to you, who will take care of me?" He has serious eye problems -- we expect that he may go blind someday. I need to be here to be his eyes, and I am going to continue to work toward being the healthiest I can be so that I will be here for him.
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Huge hugs to you & thx so much for this comment!!!! WOW... such a tragic story!!! I have much respect for all you have done!
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Marsial, thank you so much for sharing your story & life with us! Hugs to you!
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My theory is that people are afraid that they will fail and that might feel worse than doing nothing at all.
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Karen, you have a very valid point & actually I can relate in terms of other parts of my life...
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Jody, I have nothing to add, other than a thanks. Oh, and I love the t-rex poster! I want one of those!
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Steve, I know you get down on yourself sometimes when you don't meet your goals or slide back during a busy work week... BUT, you should be so proud of all you have accomplished with that 100 pound loss & how you never give up & refuse to be a statistic!
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Knock on wood I cannot relate to this post
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Karen.. keep on doing what you are doing!
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I have a really small healthy family so I don't have any scarey stories to motivate me. I was lucky to have great role models. I really like Karen comments about being scared..couldn't agree more...
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Sian, you are very lucky to have had great role models as it starts us off right!
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What a great post!! Thank you!
I came from a family of smokers and part of them are on the obese side of the scale as well. I was always athletic in High School and started having problems with my weight after my babies were born. My Aunt passed away with emphysema and I took care of a lady who had emphysema as well. At the time I smoked between 2 to 3 packs a day. During my smoking years I was hospitalized with pneumonia on more than one occasion and would always take part in a yearly tango with bronchitis. At the age of 12 I would sneak my mom’s cigarettes and go out to the barn and puff away. I am 37 today and have been smoke free for a little over a year and am currently working diligently on my weight as well. For me, my Aunt's death did not stop me; changing spittle containers full of green Flem ( I know disgusting but very real) did not stop me. I think that most over estimate the power of nicotine. For me to want to quit I added up the dollar amount that I have smoked my way through and realized that I took that away from my kids. That’s what made me want to quit. But the “quit” is a whole other animal!!! I figured out that I needed aid and the nicotine patches did it for me. However, with those patches I cried often, (cried for the loss of my cigarettes as well as my habit). I mourned that person that used to get to smoke. And I fought for every second of every day the urge to just go down to the store a buy a pack and get it over with. They say that coming off of nicotine is like coming off of heroine they also say that if take 3 weeks to form a habit. So, eventually my brain realized that not only can I live without smoking but I like the way I feel when I don't smoke. The trick is hanging in long enough to get to that point. Today I know I probably will not pick up another cigarette again simply because I don't want to have to "get off" them ever, ever again. So I think that motivation is a big word that moves each of us differently. Now, for me the motivation is in the doing and that's right where I want to be.
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Kandy, that you so much for commenting & for your very touching & real comment!! WOW is all I can say & I am so glad you are on the road to being healthy for the rest of your life! And yes, motivation is unique to each of us so we just need to tap into what it is that will motivate us!
Thx again!!!!
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I'm really not sure what motivates me. I've always just been super driven and stubborn, so when I decide to do something I don't give up!
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That is the way to be & if it works for you, all the better!!!
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