Why Am I Doing This?

Why do I want to change my lifestyle?  What does it matter if I'm healthy or not?  What's the big deal with a marathon?

I'm doing this because I don't want to have issues with my knees at 30 years old.

I don't want to be tired all the time.

I don't want to take forever to recover from trivial injuries.

I want to be able to run around and play with my kids after I get married and have a family.

I want to feel confident with my husband, whomever he may be.

I want to be independent when I get older, and not lose my dignity before I lose my life.

I want to live a long life.

I want to have mental stamina.

I want to be an encouragement/inspiration to others.

I don't want my life to revolve around my stomach size.

I don't want to develop diabetes.

I don't want to develop heart disease.

I don't want to have to carry an oxygen tank because my lungs can't get enough on their own.

I want to be able to walk around the mall, the park, Kings Island, and so on without having to worry about when I get sit down and rest my legs/hips/knees/heart.

I don't want my weight to dictate my life.

Some of these may sound weird, and some are things that happen to people regardless of weight, but I want to minimize my chances of some of these thing happening as much as I can.

A friend said something to me last night that has stuck with me.  I'm paraphrasing his words because I can't remember them exactly:

"You have a long journey ahead of you, but don't think about how far you have yet to go, think about how far you've come and keep going one day at a time."

One day at a time.