FMM: The Driving Force

I’ve been a little silent lately, but it’s all for good reason.  I’ve been traveling for work and for pleasure, both of which have been very rewarding.  More on my travels in another post.

Since today is Monday, I thought I’d participate in this week’s FMM*:

What is the driving force behind your weight loss?

My mother is the driving force behind my weight loss.  I have watched my mom struggle with food and her weight since as long as I can remember.  My family is healthy sized, but otherwise not overweight.  My mom is obese, diabetic and depressed as a result of her challenges with food and her responses to it.  She managed to live a fairly active life this way, for several decades, however now that she is in her late 60s it has caught up with her.  True to the textbook diabetes and obesity consequences, she has lost most of her vision due to retinal bleeding, cannot walk more than a few steps despite double knee replacements, cannot sleep through the night due to sleep apnea, loses the ability to feel and use her legs, and has chronic pain in her hips and legs.   In general, she is miserable.

Seeing first-hand the consequences of ignoring obesity, I am committed to changing my life.  Obesity is entirely preventable and I do not want to share her fate.  I love my mother and I do what I can to support her.  She has given me a determined spirit, a compassion for people who are hurting, a faith in a God larger than I, and education.  She has also given me a dependency on food and inactivity.  She gave me life and I will live it without extra weight.

How about you?  What is the driving force behind your weight loss?

*If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at Why I Am Fat so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts.