Dedication thread - Why do you do it?

[realdeal23]

In typing this on my iphone so if the spacing is off, lets blame technology...

Anyhow....

Im in bed right now (no homo) and I was wondering something. I started off my cut at 315 lbs and having crashed my 4 year relationship into the ground with my girlfriend cheating on me (who knows how many times). Mind you, i was a 200 lb 6' athlete when we first met.... And it got me to wondering. Why am i doing this? Im 280 lbs right now, why? What is the REAL reason behind busting my ass???


Ive come to a realization... Why have I tried soooo many times and failed on a cut? Because I was dedicated to the wrong prize. Why was I putting the work into something that did not deserve my efforts?

I do this. For me now. For my personal pleasure and pride. For respect and a higher / more quality life. I deserve this.

My question to everyone is.... What is your cut dedicated to?

[joeturner]

In typing this on my iphone so if the spacing is off, lets blame technology...

Anyhow....

Im in bed right now (no homo) and I was wondering something. I started off my cut at 315 lbs and having crashed my 4 year relationship into the ground with my girlfriend cheating on me (who knows how many times). Mind you, i was a 200 lb 6' athlete when we first met.... And it got me to wondering. Why am i doing this? Im 280 lbs right now, why? What is the REAL reason behind busting my ass???


Ive come to a realization... Why have I tried soooo many times and failed on a cut? Because I was dedicated to the wrong prize. Why was I putting the work into something that did not deserve my efforts?

I do this. For me now. For my personal pleasure and pride. For respect and a higher / more quality life. I deserve this.

My question to everyone is.... What is your cut dedicated to?

470->147->180
at first a girl
then, entry weight for the marines
now...for me!
good job bra

[BadBlueTin]

Because I was dedicated to the wrong prize. Why was I putting the work into something that did not deserve my efforts?

OK, so what were you doing it for previously, before you decided to do it for yourself?


I kinda assume a lot of people on here are going to be doing it for girls, which is irrelevant for me as I'm married and am going to get laid no matter what (I think), I am doing it for 3 main reasons.

1) At first it was because I have 2 really close mates, one of them has always been skinny, but the other got fatter and fatter just like me over the years. Until suddenly he went on a cut and drop 40lb. So now there is two skinny guys and 1 fat guy....me, and I'll be damned if I putting up with that. So powerful motivator is my competitive streak.

2) When I realised that I was now the fat guy an utter disgust with the way I looked in the mirror, so motivated by shame.

3) Now I have started the cut it feels so good I am doing it for the ability to carry on feeling this good. My motivation was a 5 at the start, its a 10 now.

[HeavyMetalLover]

For me myself and I <3 lolol

But seriously though. There's something unexplainable inside me that really wants this and I still can't figure it out, or probably I just forgot. Now that I've undergone my first major changes, I'm stuck with fitness and am really happy about it.

[Mongo81X]

For my daughter, when I started getting tired simply trying to play with her I realized something had to change. I want to be a positive role model in her life, and being in good shape while eating healthy is a good thing to look up to. Started at 290ish and down to 267 in about a month, looking to get to 235 by the new year.

[MaudeMoo]

2 years ago my father committed suicide in front of my very eyes. After lot's of therapy and what not... nothing worked. I found bodybuilding.com 3 months ago and I have NEVER felt this good. Going from 203 to ripped and 181 in 3 months....

Thank God for this community and the knowledge I have taken from this site.

I am a huge advocate of Leangains Intermittent Fasting and have been using Jim Stoppani's shorcut to mass program.

I continue to sculpt my body because it is some the only control over life I have had in a while. A plus is it helps my confidence and physique

Keep it up everyone!

[eliseash]

2 years ago my father committed suicide in front of my very eyes. After lot's of therapy and what not... nothing worked. I found bodybuilding.com 3 months ago and I have NEVER felt this good. Going from 203 to ripped and 181 in 3 months....

Wow thats heavy. Congrats on managing to pull it all together.



I'm just competitive, and always have to be working on a 'project'. Finished uni and decided the body was next in line to be worked on. Plus I figured, if I can't do it now, young(ish) and relatively obligation free, it'd only be harder down the track. Smashed all those original goals, but still not satisfied, so trooping on.


Also, I really don't like cats enough to wake up one day at 45, bedridden and surrounded by them

[69cam]

First of all for me, just got tired of feeling tired.

Second for my wife, because a happy wife is a happy life.

[JVRICHARDS]

I've tried 1000 times to lose weight over the last 13 years. (believe me, there's a post I made in the Losing Fat section from 2005 with progress pics and everything).

999 times, it was for the wrong reasons. I wanted my wife to think I was hot again.... **** like that.

Now, I do it for me. I enjoy the feeling of pushing myself farther and farther. I have confidence of self.

[Brad805]

MaudeMoo, a tale like that is quite the inspiration and makes one pause when thinking about his or her own life. Kudos for fighting back and resisting the way out some find in these situations.

My reason for moving to a fit lifestyle is to add some years to my life and bring back that confidence that comes with shedding that lard I been packing for too long.

[realdeal23]

OK, so what were you doing it for previously, before you decided to do it for yourself?


I kinda assume a lot of people on here are going to be doing it for girls, which is irrelevant for me as I'm married and am going to get laid no matter what (I think), I am doing it for 3 main reasons.

1) At first it was because I have 2 really close mates, one of them has always been skinny, but the other got fatter and fatter just like me over the years. Until suddenly he went on a cut and drop 40lb. So now there is two skinny guys and 1 fat guy....me, and I'll be damned if I putting up with that. So powerful motivator is my competitive streak.

2) When I realised that I was now the fat guy an utter disgust with the way I looked in the mirror, so motivated by shame.

3) Now I have started the cut it feels so good I am doing it for the ability to carry on feeling this good. My motivation was a 5 at the start, its a 10 now.

at first i was doing it for her.............which was meaningless. because nothing I could do would have been good enough to make her not cheat seeing as she did not truly care about me like she had "SAID" ...am i right?

2 years ago my father committed suicide in front of my very eyes. After lot's of therapy and what not... nothing worked. I found bodybuilding.com 3 months ago and I have NEVER felt this good. Going from 203 to ripped and 181 in 3 months....

Thank God for this community and the knowledge I have taken from this site.

I am a huge advocate of Leangains Intermittent Fasting and have been using Jim Stoppani's shorcut to mass program.

I continue to sculpt my body because it is some the only control over life I have had in a while. A plus is it helps my confidence and physique

Keep it up everyone!

You're pretty ****ing awesome and inspirational man....You are one hell of a human being and good for living. Thank you for doing what you decided to do and sharing this with us as well. AWESOME bro.

[realdeal23]

for motivation purposes, would be awesome to get some more point of views on why people bother with the struggle that is 'cutting' . Nothing is generic and even though "women" seem to be a main answer, there always seems to be a good story behind it!

[Vawn]

There is no wrong reason for losing fat or getting into shape. Anything that keeps you motivated, excited is good enough. Hold on to that.

[robbie_vlad]

Originally (when I was 13-14 and 205lbs) it was because I hated being the fat kid, so I ran cross country and started drinking only water and lost 35lbs (170lbs). Then my senior year of high school (17-18 and 195lbs again) it was because I was trying to become a better athlete and be happy with how I looked by graduation and lost 40lbs (down to 155lbs). Same thing this past winter after some setbacks (back up to 175lbs in Dec. 2011), then I started playing in a Men's League and wanted to get quicker so I cut to 165 by February. Since then I've just been training for triathlons/cycling/running and am trying to get down to 150lbs just to maximize my muscle/strength:weight ratio for my upcoming competitions.

tldr: Originally because I hated being the fat guy, now I'm not. Now it's all to see how far I can push my physical/mental limits in competition and to myself.

[ThousandEyes]

I used to be a 225 pound 5' 6" muscle hamster. I played football on my schools team and I was real strong, benching almost 300 and squatting over 400.

Truth was though, I always hated how I looked and was never comfortable with myself because of it. I could never get a girlfriend, I never got kissed, I was always the big protector friend every girl had. I desperately wanted to be a lean guy more than anything.

After I graduated high school I made up my mind that I was gonna do it. I dropped the weight albeit stupidly and since I got on BB.com I've gotten everything in order and I'm loving myself more than ever.

I've even had random girls stare and some have even just straight up told me I look hot now.

It's the weirdest thing to me, but the fact that not only do others respect me, but I finally respect myself has made me more dedicated than anything. I love who I am today and I look forward to what I can become tomorrow.

[lacrosse26code]

First for a girl, who is now my girl, now its for both of us.

[DSUP]

To see how far I can take it.

[Gemuadrken]

For a girl.

Also. Ive been depressed for about a year and i dunno what else to do. Its a part of my life that i control 100%. I can make progress and its really the only thing I have going for me.

[RichWar1995]

Sex appeal, re-creating myself, and a part of growth... Just always trying to improve myself.

[JChase27]

At first, it was a girl. I've been miserable for years. Depressed, fat, and unhappy. And then I met a great girl that really made me happy. But of course, I was 285-300 lbs. I didn't have a fighting chance at escaping the friend zone. Now it's not so much for that particular girl, but for future opportunities. I missed out with that girl, but I'll be damned if I'm going to miss the next one.

But it's also for me as well. I want to do things that make me happy. I want to be treated better than I was. I want to command respect from others, as well as myself. I used to believe that I was destined for failure in life. But by taking control of my life and making it better, I've proved to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to.

[MrMarr]

At first it was out of disgust. Then it was for women, which didn't take long for me to realize how wrong that was.

After a few hard breakups it stopped being about either one of those things. I stopped putting all my effort into making other people happy, and started putting it all into making myself happy. Working out was the 1 thing that consistently made me feel great. Now it's all about achieving greatness.

It's one of those things where instead of thinking all the time about why I do it, I ask myself, why wouldn't I do it? There's no good answer to that. Just gonna push everyday to get better and better.

[omggeorge]

To see how far I can take it.

This^^^ at first it was because I got tired of being the fat guy & I wanted to get girls. Once I found this website and learned about nutrition, calorie deficit, lifting it wasn't as hard as I thought.

Signed up for the army(11x) leave to basic in 2 months. Now I just wanna push myself and see how far I can take it my goal is to make Rangers.

[Daywalker75]

I do it for my health, To look good, Longevity and to realise and achieve my full physical potential.

[ToughyIRE]

I first starting training with the goal in mind of it being beneficial with the sport I play, rugby.

Now I train because I'm interested in bodybuilding and get a get sense of self satisfaction out of training. I love going to the gym and seeing the gains I'm making in the mirror. It drives me on when I look at my body (no homo) and notice improved size of definition or a new vein starting to show. Also when people say I'm becoming obsessed and that I'm taking it too serious, can't wait to show them my physique when I am done, so they can see what you can achieve with determination and dedication.

[realdeal23]

Ive also thought about the fact that i personally want to be talked about for something positive and remembered for being unrelenting and determined. Your body is one of the best canvas's to paint your willingness to succeed on.

[srh90]

Id say for me its two fold.

I was in a relationship for almost 5 years, love of my life...( or so I thought ) I thought it was going great. I honestly thought I would marry this girl. Long story short, she sits me down one day and says "We need a break, I need time to myself, I need to be independent, I cant have someone relying on me like this im only 21" etc etc.. so yeah she broke up with me, but the part that pisses me off is this is about 4-5 months later shes dating another dude. Obviously lies, just wanted another dude between her legs. Crushed me, still kinda does. ( we only broke up about 4-5 months ago). Ive always had anxiety but this brought it out reaaaal bad, so I went on Paxil, and lorazepam for my panic attacks. Basically medicine to make me feel sane again. Got tired of it, stopped the medicine cold turkey and decided to get in the gym.
So thats part of the main reason, obviously I know I am a great guy emotionally and was always the best boyfriend I could try to be, but physically I wasnt there I guess... I dont know, thats what my mind can only come up with. Probably wrong, but hey, It is a win-win for me. I get to be healthy and lose weight/build muscle while feeling good about myself.

[Seachmall]

It started with the doc advising me to cut 15kg, I figured if I'm going to cut 15kg I might as well cut the whole 30-40kg that's keeping me overweight.

I continue with it because

A) I like the idea of being fit, strong and healthy.
B) I want to prove to myself and everyone else that I can do it.
C) I don't like the idea of not being in full control of my body, being fat makes me feel this way.

For these same reasons I recently gave up smoking and am giving up alcohol.

On the 30/May/2013 I will be a beast. No doubt about it.

[RRJ]

Originally it was to feel normal again. No more back pain, no more joint pains, walking up steps without being winded and feeling a headache. That was at 350 lbs. Somewhere around 240 lbs I wanted to be more attractive to women and pursue them. I've had a girlfriend for more than a year now, and while she is motivation, at this point I just want to help inspire other morbidly obese men on this forum. I think about what a useless mess my life was and how there are a lot of people living that same life right now, looking for any hope or motivation to get out of it. In some ways it's strange for me because I generally don't concern myself with strangers. Yet I have this very strong motivation to help inspire others on this forum. I feel like there is an unsaid bond between those that have had to lose major weight, going through that struggle. This forum has been such an inspiration for me, especially when I'm feeling lethargic and lazy, so I hope to return some of that.

[IsaacJewton]

I guess you could say I reached that one point where I couldn't really sink any lower. A good friend of mine, motivated me and got my ass in the gym. I've been happily training for myself ever since. Really love the lifestyle and it keeps me motivated seeing your hard work really pay off.

[steffir]

In typing this on my iphone so if the spacing is off, lets blame technology...

Anyhow....

Im in bed right now (no homo) and I was wondering something. I started off my cut at 315 lbs and having crashed my 4 year relationship into the ground with my girlfriend cheating on me (who knows how many times). Mind you, i was a 200 lb 6' athlete when we first met.... And it got me to wondering. Why am i doing this? Im 280 lbs right now, why? What is the REAL reason behind busting my ass???


Ive come to a realization... Why have I tried soooo many times and failed on a cut? Because I was dedicated to the wrong prize. Why was I putting the work into something that did not deserve my efforts?

I do this. For me now. For my personal pleasure and pride. For respect and a higher / more quality life. I deserve this.

My question to everyone is.... What is your cut dedicated to?

Well, so that the person I am inside, can be represented on the outside.
So that my inner beauty can be appreciated externally too!
As an ex-fatty, I have the personality thing down pat and I'm pretty easy going, but treating myself right shows I have pride in who I am and I want others to see that!