I thought I'd start this post so we can reflect back on our progress.

When did you decide it was time to lose weight? For me it was when my old scale read 271 - alarm bells in my head went off! I thought, I don't want to get to 300 and was petrified of it. For awhile, I lost the weight through an illness, then Medifast, then WW and then Nutrisystem. Part of the weight crept back up but I was able to catch myself fortunately and get quite a bit off. Now that I am almost 50 lbs less than my starting weight, I feel a lot better even though I know according to my doc, I have about 80 lbs left to lose.

What changes can I make that will stick with me for the long term? Exercise, eating healthier, not bringing binge foods into the home, eating trigger foods in moderation, seeking support from the right people, and doing my best!

I hope you are all doing great

I decided when I got a new job where we walked places as a group a fair amount and I absolutely could not keep up. It was awful.

The benefits of being able to keep up with most people, not having to use a seat belt extender anymore, comfortably fitting into the seats at Fenway and shopping in regular clothing stores far outweigh the enjoyment of eating fattening food for me.

Easy. Going on holiday to Sardinia. Looking at beautiful Italians on the beach. It was a case of get home/Diet/Gym Join asap

One of my kiddos (avi) has Cerebral Palsy and may not ever be physically independent. Talking with a mom of a teenage CP kid opened my eyes to what life may be like in 10 years having to lift him in his chair, out of his chair, on to the toilet, into the tub...you get the idea. I just realized that our lives will be so much easier if I get into shape NOW rather than waiting till I cannot lift him anymore.

OMG -- each and every single day!

But if you mean the "aha!" moment? It was 1998ish. I was feeling awful, packing on pounds at a crazy rate, and I determined that even if I didn't know what it was, I was going to at least try to eat better and exercise til I could figure it out.

I didn't realize at the time that "figuring out" that I was a patient with hypothyroid, PCOS, insulin resistance / metabolic syndrome was going to take me another 5 years.

And then learning to cope with it is still a work in progress. I've crept back up, but I've been lower -- even into wonderland. I didn't know losing weight with all the stuff I have would be so dang hard and then KEEPING it off would be a whole other ball of wax.

But I'm still trying to fight the good fight.

So again... I have to make the decision each and every single day.

Keep at it!

A.

The decision has been a gradual one. I remember how horrible I felt: during my first pregnancy when I hit 200; when I found out I had gestational diabetes with pregnancy number 3; huffing up the stairs; thinking about needing a sports bra for my whole body; knowing that when I tie my shoes that the bows aren't in the middle because I can't get past my huge gut to tie them right; and, finally being the fat teacher at school.

These are the everyday things that make me irritated with myself, but there are two big things that lead to my decision to lose weight. The first is my mom. One of my brothers passed away last year, and I know that she worries about me and my health. I don't want her to spend anymore time worrying about me. The second is my children. I feel like my choices are adversely affecting their body image and eating habits.

I broke up with my fiance in November of 2010. It's been a rough seven months, and actually, an even more challenging year and a half (I moved half way across the country for him).

I've been thinking about getting back into the dating scene and recently formed a band with a new friend. We have a gig in the middle of July. I want to feel confident about how I look for that first gig. So I got back on the bandwagon.

I know that this time I'll stick with it. It's so much easier to stick to plan when you live on your own!

When I looked in the mirror and saw myself unhappy and scared. Scared that I'm cutting my life short by eating so many unhealthy food.

I have been thinking about it for a while, the time is now... Newly Divorced. Don't get mad get even!

Waking up and realizing that I was the woman that other ladies say you would let me know if I was "THAT BIG". Which was ironic since when I was thinner I always thought that I was fat but now that I am fat I thought I was thinner than I actually was. And missing all the clothes that I haven't been able to get into for AWHILE.

I decided that it was time to get healthy during school. One year, one of the teachers that I work with decided to start a "Biggest Loser" challenge throughout the building. At first, I joined just to support her cause, but then I started seeing results and realized that it was finally time to be serious about the weight loss. I have been overweight my entire life and always started dieting, but never stuck with it. That was about 2.5 years ago and even though I plateaued and slacked off here and there, I'm still working at it....and seeing results is very motivating!!

I find myself making better choices wherever I am and not always going straight into 'special meal' mode if eating out or whatever. I will still splurge every now and then and have a special dessert...basically not deprive myself when out with friends, but I have a much better outlook on life in general!

i know exactly what you mean! i remember being a size 8 and weighing 138 and still thinking i was so fat i would skip classes because i didn't want to be seen.

but then when i was 200 lbs i thought oh i don't LOOK like i weigh 200

weird but i totally relate!

I realized it was time when all my jeans stopped fitting. I was always skinny...underweight skinny... then I had kids and that all changed. I dusted off my scale last night jumped on it and it read 181. ( That's really big for me considering I spent most of my life at 115). Now my goal is to get down to 135. I believe I can achieve this

I'm 21 and in university, and was at the border of plus-sized and "main range." I had a major fear of having to say goodbye to the places I normally shop and having to make special trips to stores that carried my size. It sounds superficial but I had gained steadily since I left high school and really felt like I had to nip this problem early. I haven't lost much, and I'm still not quite fitting into the largest jeans at some stores, but that'll change soon enough.

I decided when I was getting closer to my scary weight of 200lbs, I did not want to get to that weight.