Personal Motivation for Dieting and Exercise

This is a more personal post, in relation to what truly motivated me to lose weight and take proper care of my body as opposed to what I was doing to it prior to my decision. During my past three years at college, I gained a total of 15 pounds ("the freshman 15"). I would usually just use crash diets when I had continuous trouble fitting into my clothes properly. This crash dieting consisted of minimal to no eating and a quick trip to the gym. It was a momentary fix, but with the amount of drinking and binge eating during down time in between classes, I would gain back the weight I quickly scrambled to lose during my crash dieting.
Finally, my junior year (this past academic year), I decided to exercise on a regular basis, drastically cut down on the amount of alcohol I consumed, and eat much healthier, as opposed to randomly starving myself. My motivation behind this change was that not only did I physically not look my best, but my insecurities were at an all time high. I looked at pictures of myself prior to gaining weight and a light bulb suddenly went off. This was strictly something only I could fix. Once my clothes don't fit properly, it truly bothers me. During dieting, the feeling of fitting back into clothes that were always a little snug on you without a problem is not to be believed. Not only did I eventually see excellent results over time, but I had so much more of a positive outlook on my overall state of mind, and I physically felt great as well. I lost a total of 15 pounds (the healthy way) by eating complex carbs and a lot of protein, and upping my cardio to about 4 to 5 times a week. I've kept the weight off since March and I look and feel great. I also inspired my mom to lose join weight watchers and she ended up losing 30 pounds, something she's never pushed herself to do since I was born. She has the same personal satisfaction I feel, which I am more than happy for being partially responsible for.