The Real Reasons for Losing Weight

I read a highly sexist article on Buzzfeed today presented by Slimfast, the crappy diet shake plan.  In said article, they were talking about 12 things that women say they want to do when losing weight and what they "actually mean."  A majority of the examples had to do with getting guys to notice you and those that weren't about that were about superficial things like skinny jeans.

So why am I really trying to lose weight?  Is it so the boys will notice me?  Maybe a little bit, but that's not the entirety of it, or even really a big piece.  So it's gotta be about wearing skinny jeans and looking good in a bikini, right?  Yeah.  A tiny bit of it is about being able to wear certain styles, I'll even admit to having bought a bikini in anticipation of getting to my goal weight (it was on sale at Meijer for $5, I couldn't pass it up lol).  But that's not the biggest part.

So what is the biggest part?  My health.  As most people know, I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.  PCOS can be caused by weight gain.  Notice that I said can, many women with PCOS are lean and do not have the issues with weight that others do.  I'm 99.9% sure that my PCOS is weight related since losing the 50+ lbs I've lost has alleviated some of the symptoms of it.  My family has a history of high cholesterol, which can be weight related, type II diabetes, heart disease, cancer (some may be weight related), and other dietary related or weight related health issues.  I want to lose weight so I can say that I did everything I could to avoid those issues.

I want to be healthy, I don't want to not be able to walk up several flights of stairs to get to class, I don't want to be the "fat nurse" who tells people to lose weight.  I want to practice what I preach.  I don't want to give anyone an excuse to not trust my advice and information.

I want to look back at who I used to be, a 275 lb insecure mess of a woman, and know that I never have to be that again.  I want to look back at pictures and be inspired by how much weight I lost, and to inspire others to do the same.  I want to be in the best shape of my life so I can really get out and enjoy things.  Sure, I want to look "hot" and be attractive to men, but that is in no way the biggest reason for my losing weight.  I'm disgusted that a brand that tries so hard to appeal to women would post such an obviously sexist ad that basically implies that women only exist to attract men.


I am a strong, independent woman.  I don't need a man in my life to be successful, I can do it on my own.  The only man in my life right now that I need (outside of my family) is my personal trainer.  And I only need him for the next 5 weeks!  I have 55-70 lbs to go and I'm losing it for me.  Sure, I want the guys who've rejected me in the past to look at me and go "well..damn." but that's not the big reason.  The big reason is to be healthy, to avoid weight related health issues, and to finally feel good about myself.  The kind of man I want isn't the kind that only looks at my physical attractiveness anyway.  I have a lot more to offer than that.

They don't even have a spot for "health."  Seriously, Slimfast?