The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back
 

What made you decide to lose weight?

For me, I got extremely frustrated one evening when getting ready for a party. I kept trying on outfit, after outfit, after outfit, and I was happy with nothing. I suddenly came to the realization (and this is going to sound ridiculous, because it is) that I looked fat in everything because I am fat. No clothing item I owned was going to change that fact!

I'd dieted on and off before that day, but never with the mindset I have now. It was like I saw myself for the first time that day and decided I didn't want to be obese anymore.

I'm curious to see all of the reasons we are here to lose weight!

Trying on a wedding dress for the first time. And then seeing the photos.

Ok, it wasn't that I hated seeing myself in pictures, it wasn't that I could no longer keep up with the family, it wasn't that I found myself leaning on the sink to do dishes, it wasn't even when I dropped something on the floor in front of my boss and I was too embarassed to bend over to pick it up, knowing that I would have to grab the wall for support - all of those were straws - but the final straw that broke the camel's back was when I looked at my wrist - and saw this thin little wrist with a big blob of fat all around it. It looked like a balloon that someone had blown up. It was the "duh" moment - you really ARE fat. It isn't about genetics - it isn't about being over 50 years old - it is about being so fat that all of those other things are affecting the QUALITY of your life. Suck it up - change your lifestyle so that you will HAVE a LIFE and ENJOY that LIFE.

UPDATE - just last week I looked at that wrist - the fat balloon is finally gone :D
And I am fit, and enjoying life the way a vibrant, sexy 50+ woman should :D

One morning during April, my husband looked at me right before he left for work and said, "Since I'm having to work so much, you think you could take <our daughter> to swimming lessons this year?" I said okay. He left.

Then I started thinking about it. And I realized...I didn't even own a swimsuit. And then I thought about shopping for a swimsuit. And then I thought about actually wearing said fictional swimsuit in public! I broke down and cried.

I finally came to terms with my own BS and realized - the fat and flab I'd gained over the last 7 years was NOT going to go away with me occasionally exercising, eating junk, and sitting in front of my computer all day. I had to actually get out there and DO stuff on a regular basis. I had to modify my eating habits, and not on a 'I can do this for a week' idea but 'I'm making a lifetime change here.'

So that's what I've done. I'm low carb, and I exercise - barring injury or illness (and I don't mean the 'oh I'm too tired today' illness) 6 days a week.

21 lbs. lost at last weigh in, will weigh in again in 2 days.

Like most people, it's really an accumulation of things:

-In the family wedding photos, I'm progressively fatter in every one.
-I love clothes & have boxes full from size 8(Australian)to size 20.
-I no longer even think of dancing, even in private.
-Shopping for clothes is a nightmare.

But what really clinched it is that I no longer feel sexy-ugh!

i have had many occasion where something happened that made me want to lose weight...the two final straws were: going on a hike with two people who were older than me (one was at least twice my age) and way not being able to keep up! the other was a very close cousin of mine (who weighs 70lbs more than i) decided to get wls, and i didn't want to be left behind in the realm of fattness!

My son begged me to be a room mother for his 3rd grade class field trip to the circus. I told him I couldn't. I was deathly afraid that the other kids would tease him about his Majorly Fat Mother. I was also terrified I would not fit in the seats at the auditorium...if I could even make it up the flight of stairs to be seated. He was so sad. His little face just broke my heart.

I've been a stay at home mom for 10 years, (work part-time from my home office). My job is being a mother, and my weight has got in the way of fulfilling my job duties. :(

Finding out my Dad has diabetes now too, not just my mom (plus two sisters had gestational diabetes) - too scary.

Canceled my trip to see my new great nephew and go to my other nieces' wedding because I was to embarassed for my family to see how fat I am.

Well I had tried to lose weight but I always failed.. then my mom told me about a program a few people at her work place did where they lost weight and kept it off.. (This was my freshman year in high school).
I didn't bother checking it out, I was so depressed, I thought what was the point?
Then that summer, when I was around skateboarding (lol, my skating/goth phase).. a bunch of kids called me fat. I also had come back from Chicago and I saw pictures of me.. I realized how big I really was and then gave it a shot during sophomore year. It was a rocky start, because I had trouble committing to the diet.. then finally, enough was enough. I realized that I would be going to college soon and I didn't want to be in college at the weight I was at. So finally, senior year, I did the program, lost a lot of weight, but ended up not going back to the program for the transition period (which is the most important part to keep from gaining it back) and well I gained a lot back.
In college, I tried, but with the meals there, it wasn't working. So I did manage to maintain some during the time but ultimately, I gained a lot back during the last semester but I planned on doing it over the summer.
So here I am, committed as ever to this program.. Since I lost it before, I know I can do it, and I'm about 10 lbs away from where I was last time, so I'm just trying to lose the rest!
The fatigue, the depression, the clothes not fitting, seeing other girls my age being so thin, and realizing I didn't want to be at that weight during the "best" years of my life.. well it was all a wake up call.. not to mention the diabetes that runs in my family.

I fell down the stairs and was in severe pain for a while having injured my coccyx. Although I didn't blame my weight at the time, I realized that the pain and lack of mobility was in my direct future if I didn't do something.

I was in total denial about my weight ever since I'd gained it. I thought all the pictures were just "bad" pictures and the size of clothes was "just part of getting older/having kids/being married". I bought a really good scale back in 2004 and when I stepped on it and it registered 250 I could not believe it. I must've gotten on and off of it like 20 times and just stood there in amazement. So I started losing weight, had 2 kids in the midst of it--both pregnancies with gestational diabetes and thought--no way am I going to get diabetes --- I CAN DO SOMETHING to prevent it!

It's been a long hard road, with alot of struggles, but I do plan to reach my goal one day!

I saw a picture of myself with my girlfriends and I looked disgusting. Not just fat, but gross. I was super skinny in high school and it was shocking to me to see the difference in the pictures.

Three things happened:

1. My loose fit size 18 Eddie Bauer jeans (which hadn't been "loose" for ages) became so tight that I drove home from work every night with the top button unbuttoned. I was completely demoralized by the thought of buying size 20 jeans. I had been wearing the same pair of 18 jeans for years (they were my only pair of jeans), I hadn't bought any other 18s because I didn't think I would wear them much longer, they were only supposed to be temporary utnil I got back to a smaller size. Now they were tight! and I needed bigger jeans! It was really traumatizing.

2. I hadn't seen my mom in person in at least 2 years. She's a true, naturally slender woman (5'4" barely 110 lbs my entire life). She wanted me to come visit for Christmas and I was horrified by the thought of my mom seeing me at 200 lbs, she had never seen me so heavy. I was dreading, actually dreading a Christmas visit to see my mom whom I love very much. It was tearing me up.

3. I went to the movies - Dawn of the Dead to be exact. I went to the bathroom, sat on the toilet and CUT the outside of my left thigh on a sharp-edged metal trash receptacle. If I'd been a "normal" sized person, my thighs would have fit just fine, but because I was heavy, I didn't fit. All of a sudden, all I could think of was seatbelt extenders on airlines and a lifetime of being too big to do normal things. I sat there, bled and cried, just bawled like a baby.

So, all of those things were churning in me. I was browsing in B&N, I looooved reading weight loss/diet books. I picked up a book by Dr. Stephen Pratt - Superfoods Rx: 14 Foods that Will Change Your Life and it was like I grabbed an electric fence. After 20 years of dieting, where I went from a slightly slightly overweight 140 lb high school sophomore to a 200 lb 35 year old depressed, tired, lethargic woman, all of a sudden I GOT IT.

Instead of dieting, losing weight and then stopping (and regaining weight), I would change how I ate forever and be slim forever.

Nearly 4 years later...here I am. 130 lbs, size 6, gorgeous legs, gorgeous arms (which I would never have dreamed possible), beautiful cheekbones, I lost 10 inches off my waist, I went from a 42DD to a 34D. I have changed my life, I make good food choices 95% of the time. I don't eat fast food, I gave up soda...and I am happy, I LIKE ME. Me and the mirror - we're PALS. Pictures? Love em, can't get enough. I live to shop. Forget one pair of ratty old jeans, I have a closet of adorable clothes and getting dressed every morning is a pleasure.

From the first moment I thought to do this, I didn't say "I'll start Monday, I'll start in January" I started that second, I never once truely doubted I would lose the weight and keep it off.