Why I Decided That I Had Lose Weight

What were my motivations to lose weight? Let me jump back a few years.

As I reached my mid-forties my weight had just gone up and up. I don't exercise much. Scratch that. Apart from walking I don't exercise at all. I am very lazy in that area and really have no desire to go to a gym.

Even with my gradual, unacceptable, weight gain I would rather just put the pounds on than doing anything about it. Then a few visits to the doctors over the years mildly forced me to reconsider things.

3 Signs that I should lose weight

1. High blood pressure
2. High Cholesterol
3. General well-being

A couple of years prior a visit to the doctor recommended that I should change my lifestyle a bit. High blood pressure and cholesterol levels meant that I did have to watch a bit what I was eating. Sunday brunch and packets of crisps went out the door.

Then general check up suggested that the (minor) ailments that I had at the time would probably not have occurred if I was lighter. So 3 times it was intimated that I change my lifestyle. Or at least lose weight.

The final straw

I had always said to myself, and a few others, that I would kill myself if I ever got to a certain weight. That is very extreme and I probably wouldn't have gone through with it, but my deadline was 100 kg in my case (almost 16 stone or 220 lbs). That is a lot when you consider I am 173 cm (5' 8").

What I am not

• A weight lifter
• A body builder
• A rugby player

So that was it. I couldn't look at myself in a mirror, I had no self-confidence. I had to lean forward to see my penis when urinating for goodness sake. It was time for a change.

What motivation do you need to shed some of those extra pounds?