What triggered you to change?
 

I just looked at the picture somebody took of me on Christmas and remembered how it got me where I am now. I was shocked when I saw the picture! I was huge! I remember being quite depressed about it and had to come up with a plan. So after the holidays I started changing my life. So far, so good :-)

What was your trigger?

thats pretty much exactly what i did!

I had to start buying clothes in "big girl" stores; was looking at Hawaiian Moo Moo's for real life wearing...my top weight had been up to 196. I think it was just finally being READY, tired enough of feeling like I didn't want to do things in life because I felt yucky.

It is sooooooo much better already...

The photos did it for me first. Then when I tried to tell myself the camera adds weight, I found a photo of when I was a 3/4 and looked great. I definitely didn't look heavy there. That was followed by returning to double digit clothing sizes, and lastly the mirror. Again, I told myself some mirrors were "fat" mirrors but when I looked at myself in my usual "thin mirror" I was mortified. That was in December 2010. I started 12/27 and lost some weight (about 12-15lbs), then lost my job and derailed, regained about 8lbs, then re-started 5/27. I've lost those 8lbs and then some.

Being put on meds which reduced my appetite. I'd always been starving hungry before, probably due to erratic eating patterns. Dieting suddenly felt like it was actually possible, I promptly started doing it, found to my delight that it worked, and haven't looked back since then. I wasn't on the meds for long, but my appetite never did surge up to what it was before, thankfully.

I was really into fitness 5 years ago. I had lost about 45 lbs. and kept it off for two years. Then, a series of significant life stresses derailed me, and I regained all that weight and more. For the past 5 years, I was so discouraged that I could not bring myself to start yet another diet. I could not bring myself to exercise again. However, I saw the committment of one of my sisters who was bigger than I was and has been exercising hard core for almost three years. Even during the first two years, it didn't seem as if all that exercise was changing her appearance all that much, but she never gave up. This year, she started seeing a nutritionist, and everything started falling into place for her. She started losing weight and now looks FABULOUS. She was my inspiration to start caring again. I figured that if she could persevere for all those years then I could do SOMETHING.

I just got to the point where it was hard for me to walk long distances and walk up stairs, because I got so out of breath. I felt bad for letting myself get that way, so I decided I was going to change it. At first I was really nervous and scared because I had struggled with anorexia and bulimia as a teenager so when I started counting calories, it became a huge trigger for me and I worried about losing control. But I stuck with it for a while, and got off track a few times, but I'm still going. It's taken me about 2 years to lose over 60 pounds but I feel confident that I will continue losing and will keep it off because I've been doing it gradually.

I wasn't able to play with my kids the way I wanted to. I found myself getting irritated at bed time because I had to keep getting up and down because one of them always needed just one more drink of water or going potty. I also found that I was having a hard time enjoying being intimate with my husband because I was self conscious of my jiggly belly and such (of course he says I am beautiful no matter what my size). I decided that I just wasn't happy with me anymore. So here I am 3 weeks in and down 10 pounds and feeling great!! and my pudge is smaller too!!

I had been feeling miserable for awhile, but I justified it as being 'part of the injury'. I was missing out on life enough as it was, so why deprive myself?

But then when I started getting better, I noticed that I was wearing leggings, skirts, and dresses, but never pants. I couldn't fit into them anymore! I had one pair that had been falling off of me before, and now they were snug. My breasts had grown to be enormous, and they were a huge strain on my back.

After trying and trying, I kept giving up. Finally, one day, it just clicked. My friend and I started dieting together after both of us being sick of not living up to our potential, even though we're both so young. The difference this time is that I haven't given up, like I often want to.

My friends and I got an awesome opportunity through school to do a semester at sea. From there, we've had the experience of traveling to the Caribbean, Greece, Italy, and California.


Here I was, with a once in a lifetime memory to made, and I couldn't gain te full experience. My self-consciousness combatted with my out of shape body, created for disaster. I realized when I came home, things needed to change.

I want to be fully present for all that life hands to me.


I want to feel great about who I am without having feeling like I have to overcompensate for this to be true.

I want to wear shorts on a date!

I want to feel like I am putting in the effort.

I want to go shopping and leave with my only headache being the bill.


When I realized I was the only one standing in my way, I knew I needed to find the resources. So, here I am. Day 1

My mom dying of lung cancer four years ago. I didn't want to be dead at 65 like her. Yep, that was my lightbulb moment.

My husband said something about my weight. Not in the nice way either.

I looked at older pictures of me & realized how much I missed my old body. Figured there is no better time than "now". :)

Working out at the gym for a year straight, bouncing between the same darn 5 lbs. My eating was atrocious, and I finally got fed up! Cleaned it up, and I've lost 20 lbs in 2 months. This is the most committed I've been to weight loss. So I'm very optimistic.