Why am I doing this?

I've started writing this post several times as I'm not quite sure how to start it - but I just wanted to note down a few reasons, some more important than others, that I want to lose weight, get fitter and understand more about food etc. for myself and to enter into the WAMK competition as although I know I've not entirely improved my fitness and I'm focusing on improving more, the reality is I've lost about 11kg since I started focusing on my diet so I am fitter than I was!

1) I love seeing the slight changes in my body and the way that clothes fit.
2) I would absolutely love to run a 5k for the cancer charity that helped my cousin when she was suffering from cancer before she died.
3) I want to feel confident in myself and my own body and not worry whether something is 'too short' (within reason ha) - I'm only 18 and I should be enjoying myself!
4) It is entirely possible that if I remained at my start weight I could suffer from health problems, again, something an 18 year old shouldn't be concerned with.
5) I want to be able to involve myself in more physical activity without feeling embarrassed, especially when I get to university with so many opportunities to try out new things.
6) As silly as this may sound, I'd like to prove people wrong and hear the shock in their voice when they realise I've actually achieved my goals.
7) I don't want to feel out of place or 'awkward' when with people of my own age who are of a 'normal' size.
8) I want to be able to challenge myself more and more physically and as my body becomes more and more capable I'll be able to do that.
9) Doing more exercise means that I consider the food I eat more carefully.
10) This is the most shallow reason but, to fit into the dress pictured below.

I bought this dress in last year's Christmas sale and it's become a sign of my own denial as I bought it in a size 12 and my arms wouldn't even fit into it! For that reason it's quite significant to me and, well, it's gorgeous.

Ultimately getting fitter has given me more opportunities in terms of exercise and has really made me feel more energetic and happier, making me more confident when it comes to speaking to people and just walking around in public. I feel less conscious about whether people are looking at me and feel more capable of achieving things. I really want to continue getting increasingly fitter so that I can do more and more and, hopefully, become happier in myself and start to feel comfortable with the way that I look. I know that many people, including the WAMK team find that using moneysupermarket.com helps them to track their food as they can do their weekly shop in one go, personally I find that Myfitnesspal has helped me the most in terms of tracking.

It's really important for me, personally, to increase my fitness and lose weight and I know that there are so many people in a similar position, wanting to improve themselves and reach goals and I think it's important to remember why you want to do it and how far you've already come in order to appreciate what you're doing for yourself.