[lottie63]

I blogged about this over on spark, so if you read it twice, I apologize.

Last September I started dieting, kind of half heartedly, and what a bad time to start, right before the holdiays!

I had lost a little bit of weight, and then I found out my real dad (who I never knew) died.

He died of diabetes complications.

First, he lost both of his legs, and then went blind. Then his kidneys failed and he died.

THIS was what I needed, so sad that it had to be so extreme. My mother, always scared I'd get diabetes, was on me to lose the weight and I decided the day I found out about him, that that was it. I was not going to die in pieces! I would do something about this. It's been slow, and there has been some yoyoing due to medications that caused weight gain, but I am still doing it. I am not giving up. When he died, he was I think 48 years old. I'm turning 30 this year. The thought of having less than twenty years left to live this life terrifies me. My bf of 14+ years worries about my health.

I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic a few years ago, and since then I had tried to stick to complex carbs when I could,but sugar was always a little on the high side.

As of today I have lost 35 lbs and it's taken a good long while, but slow and steady wins the race eh? My sugar is normal as of today's labs, cholesterol which was 215 is now normal, I feel amazing. I can't wait to get to the halfway point and feel even better.

So, what was it for you? What was it that made you say, "I can't do this anymore" and then you decided to stop and take control of your life and health?

[Thighs Be Gone]

..hm..I guess having both parents with diabetes and heart disease got me thinking.....two sisters with MS got me to thinking even harder...

then, of course--was the way I felt physically--tired, sluggish, NOT ME...then came the way I LOOKED physically--mis-shapened, pasty, bloated, NOT ME....

then my third sister was diagnosed with breast cancer....

Yep, I had to do something.....anything to improve my condition..I began to read, educate myself..decrease intake..increase outgo...

I love this journey. I look forward to a new path each and every day. Some are steep. Some are rocky. Some are lonely but I am never alone on it. Sometimes the path isn't a happy one. Sometimes (often actually) I have to pull out my compass and my GPS and really get after it. I have to figure out how to navigate the rocks, the bluffs, the winding rivers. One thing is for sure.

I. WILL. NOT. GIVE. UP.

[dragonwoman64]

that's a great q. congrats on getting all the good results, btw! health is a great gift.

In 2003 I had some bleeding from my breast that I thought might be cancer. In addition to the type of fear something like that generates, going to a doctor and getting mammograms at over 300lbs was an unpleasant, embarrassing experience (to put it nicely). And it shocked me into really seriously considering my health and future health. I didn't have cancer, which I am eternally thankful for.

(just as an aside: a few months ago I had an gynecological exam and mammogram, and at this weight, still big, I felt like I was treated much more normally. I also had a general exam and had normal blood pressure, healthy cholesterol levels, etc.)

I read the ulterior motives thread, and found a lot of the answers funny. Always in the back of my mind, though, is the thought of my health, which is without question my ulterior motive. The clothes, happiness level, confidence, quality of life, better looks, etc. -- that's all wonderful, exciting extra to me.

Lottie, it took me from June 2003 to today to get down to where I am now. That would undoubtedly discourage some people (ok, maybe a lot of people, heh heh), and YES, I wish it were faster. I've kept the weight off, and I'm still managing to lose (at a slow pace). All I can say is how thankful I am that I've done what I've done and have never given up -- only temporarily stalled sometimes!!

who knows, maybe I'll get a better handle on things and see better successes (meaning lose more faster). either way, I'll keep plugging at it.

[JulieJ08]

I was also very afraid of diabetes - two parents with diabetes, and two sisters had gestational diabetes. Also my mother had a heart attack at age 60 and her father died from one at age 48.

[time2lose]

My reasons for starting this last weight loss was twofold.

#1
First there was my health. My mobility was affected and that really scared me. I could barely get around. Just walking into work was an effort and I knew that I was headed for a scooter. I had a possible uterine cancer scare. After a D&C, I learned that I did not have cancer but my weight made me more at risk. Also I was mortified for those poor people in the OR who had to move me around while I was unconsciousness.


#2
My son was considering going back to college after sitting out a year. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed when considering the number of courses he would need and the length of time that it will take him. I reminded him that when he was a freshman in high school, he did not stop to think about the number of courses he would need to graduate. Neither did he stop to think “It is going to take me FOUR years to graduate high school.” Going to high school was his life and before he knew it, he was graduating. I told him to do the same thing with college. Just do what he needs to do today and graduation day would be here in no time.

Then a light bulb went off in my head. The same is true for me with losing weight and getting healthy. There is no quick fix. I just have to do whatever is needed TODAY. If I do that everyday, one day I will realize that it is graduation day because I will be at a healthy weight.

My son and I discussed both our challenges and decided that we would both tackle our fears. He went to college and I started on my plan. He had a 3.8 grade point last year. Somehow, I really feel that if I give up on this, he will give up on college so I have to stick with this for the next 2 years. He will get his degree and I will get my health

[bitetoobreakkskin]

hmm...for me i would say the moment i found out i had PCOS..

only because i had finally found the CAUSE for everything..i gained 100 lbs in 6months, didnt have periods anymore, etc etc..and i was terrified..

luckily i got myself to a great dr and mentioned possible pcos to her..now with all the help im getting its a lot easier to take care of me knwing whats wrong..if that makes sense btw-im sorry to hear abt your dad lottie (even if you didnt have contact).

[salsa chip]

For me (and it's pretty fresh in my mind, I'm still dealing with it now) it's the realisation that I'm really unhealthy - not just physically, but that the underlying causes (from way back in my childhood) have affected my mental health, causing depression and a perfectly rotten self-image. Losing weight and getting into shape is part of the process of dismantling the "fake" me that I used to be, and discovering and building up the real me that I just don't know and have never dared show to the outside world.

It's really scary!

[time2lose]

Lottie,

I am so sorry that your father went through so much. At least you have a warning and can avoid the same fate.

[starfishkitty]

Well, aside from all the clothes and whatnot stuff..... I'd say there was definitely two reasons to me deciding to finally suck it up and do it.

First was, obviously, my health. Things were starting to get crazy... random period of high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, period abnormalities, etc. I've had really weird and odd health problems since I was younger, due to problems as a child with asthma, which led to illnesses which led to too much antibiotic use, which led to two infections that almost killed me in my teens and early 20's..... and then all the weight gain.... and depression..... and wow. Here I was at 250 and miserable and feeling like crap and being warned by my doctor that I've got high cholesterol, etc. Not to mention diabetes in the family, a morbidly obese grandfather that died at age 45 in his sleep, etc. Well, I was just DONE.

Now I eat right, I have 20x more energy, my skin glows (or so all my shocked best friends that hadn't seen me in 6 months said to me this weekend), my hair is shiny..... they said that I literally look about 4 to 5 years younger. My cholesterol is better, my blood pressure is PERFECT, and I'm slowly starting to narrow down things that have been wrong with me for years that alluded doctors that weren't willing to go beyond normal testing due to my lack of insurance. I'm pretty sure my problems either go back to a possible PCOS problem, or, more likely... Celiac's disease. But I'm figuring it out, and I'm getting the testing eventually.... and in the meanwhile, just taking care of myself exercise and food wise... which has made SO much the difference.

The second reason.... a guy. A GOOD guy. A good guy that was willing to care about me at my heaviest. We're going to be together, finally, at the end of this year.... and a part of my mind snapped from the horror of thinking that I'd disappoint him, though I knew/know he loves me no matter what. Since he had so much faith in me (we've been good friends for 3 years now, and together for a year), even when I was sick and morbidly overweight and looked like CRAP..... I want to show him that his faith in me was worth it and be the absolute best for him that I can be. Because he deserves it... and so do I.

[jrsygrl]

My turning point was I can no longer get comfortable in my bed. I'm not sleeping well at all. I sleep for 2-3 hours then I'm back up for hours. Next thing I know it's time to get up for work.

My back hurts constantly. I get winded going up and down the stairs in my house.

Both sides of my family have high BP, diabetes, and heart issues. I don't have any of these issues yet and I want to keep it that way.

[waquilter]

The turning point for me was this spring . My mother is in assisted living but she still has great difficulty in getting around and functioning because of her weight - the day she asked if I would wipe her behind was the day my lightbulb went on and I thought if I don't do something RIGHT NOW I'm going to be in her shoes in 25 years - obese and almost completely helpless.

[Alana in Canada]

It came in a couple of stages, but the short answer is money.

#1. I promised my husband, when we got married 12 years ago, that I would quit smoking. Last fall, deciding we needed to get out of debt, I quit. I had been contemplating it for a long time, and that was it. As well, Cigarettes were going to get harder and harder to find--and there was talk the government was going to make it illegal to smoke and drive in the car with kids. At over $11/pack, it was time.

#2. I knew that in order to lose weight, I had to quit smoking. But I didn't want to worry about my weight while I was dealing with urges and so on: so in about 7 months I gained 50+ pounds.

#3. About 6 months after I quit smoking, I couldn't move. Sleep was difficult. My back was in chronic pain. I was so inflexible I hurt to take a shower and wash my hair. I was in danger of not being able to wipe my own behind. My knees hurt, too. If things fell onto the floor, I usually asked the kids to pick it up for me. If they weren't around, it stayed there. The house was becoming unliveable. Oh, the pain of that last month or so: it was so demoralizing.
I asked my chiropractor for advice and he didn't really have any. That week, the government stopped subsidizing visits to the chiropractor. Our private insurance didn't cover it. So, instead of paying $18/visit, I'd have to pay $30 or more. That was that.

I read Dr. Hamilton Hall--and he gave me HOPE! He told me it was possible to manage the pain! I tried a few of his suggestions and they worked. I was pain free for a few minutes, then 1/2 hour--as long as I could hold my "pain-free" positions.

And so, then, I dusted off a diet book or two, found 3FC, and started to turn things around. I am so grateful I made the decision to lose weight. My knees still bother me--mostly when it is humid (which isn't often) and my back feels a bit stiff now and again. But, oh my, I can actually move again. And it's getting beter all the time.

[Rosinante]

Good question.

It started in 2002. I got to 136 by 2004 from 242.
Encouraged by the (still) Silent Friend, I went to Strasbourg for a long weekend. I was a kind of shy traveller, although I speak good French, hadn't done any research, so was really nervous of going into cafes/restaurants because I didn't know the protocol.
The breakfast in the hotel was really, really scant. Generally, I only managed one panini type meal in the day - and the whole long weekend, I was not physically hungry once!, even although I walked miles and miles every day.
That was a lightbulb in almost an academic interest kind of a way.

Then, one day when I was feeding the 6 dogs, I realized that I was weighing their food to the gram, because I was concerned about their health, and yet I gave not a thought to my health.
That was a lightbulb moment in a duh kind of a way.

I had just changed job, moved from being the Silent Friend's side-kick, shadow and doormat (geez, I need to look at my issues with him still!) to a post where I was on my own and in charge. Being in charge at work helped me to be in charge of my life.

I took the in charge-ness, added the my health is as important as my dogs'-ness, combined it with the blinding knowledge that I didn't need all that much to not feel hungry, and added to it the resolve to lose weight before I got to age 49, the age at which my dad had his first heart attack (he had 1 at 49, 1 at 59 and the killer at 69).

For the first year and more, I lost weight by eating less and moving more. I experimented with various gyms but mostly my exercise was walking, it became totally second nature to walk through whatever weather between appointments, whenever time permitted.

Lost 106lbs in 2 years. Went on holiday off and on throughout but in October 04 had trip of a life time (with the Silent Friend) to Finland and Russia and felt wonderfully free.

Still wondering why I just let most of it (89 lbs) trickle back. Umpteen times during the last 4.5 years I've tried to re-capture the weightloss process but not been able to. No particular tipping point this time - except that hideous photo at my licensing in January - and just decided to tie the weightloss into the new job again. In a bit of a trough at the moment, just about managing not to re-gain what I've lost this year, could do with a tipping point to kick me on again.

[FromFat2Fit]

I have many reasons. I have been overweight for a long time but I never really had health problems. I kept thinking it wasn't a big deal and I would lose the weight eventually. My daughter was born in 2007 and I was at my highest weight ever. It seemed like my body fell apart after she was born. I started having stabbing pains in my chest and struggling to breath from time to time. I threw out my back and could hardly move for almost two weeks. Right then I realized that it was no longer my life that I had to consider but my daughters as well. If I could prevent it, I didn't want her to grow up without me.

Another reason that probably seems rather vain...I just wanted to feel comfortable in my skin. I am rather outgoing and never meet a stranger, but I have noticed that I am slowly losing that. I don't want to be worried about someone thinking I am fat. I don't want to worry about my fat roll sticking out. I have always felt beautiful but I have slowly lost that as well. I am tired of not seeing who I really am. There are so many things that I would have done in high school and college if I would have been comfortable in my own skin. I want to feel sexy, confident, and proud.

I know that it will take time and I will falter...but that is just part of it. All you can do is pick up the pieces and move on.

[dcapulet]

i've know for years that i need to lose weight. when i moved away from my hometown (a very toxic place for me) in July, it was like a burden was lifted from me. Everything seemed possible, and for the first time in a long time, I gave the weight loss an honest try. And I'm happy for now in just the trying.