I was extraordinarily fortunate that I have always had ridiculously good health and am a physically strong person. I was not in as nearly bad a shape as I should have been at 370 lbs...but compared to the shape I'm in now, the difference is night and day.
Yep. My highest known weight was in the 270-280 range, I wore between an 18-20, walked everywhere I possibly could and could still run up the stairs (only once though!) - so I foolishly thought of myself as fairly healthy. I was constantly told I carried my weight well. I felt like my big body matched my personality. I was in denial about how big my body really was, and I was not suffering any major ill effects of my obesity.
500 pounds or more could have easily, easily happened to me. I could have been bed-bound, I could have been in my coffin still young and purdy...
Now I gripe that what with my fantastic genes (most of my relatives see 90 or older), super-health habits, smoke-free lifestyle and whiskey-bar curtailment, I'll outlive the Almighty... It's a nice gripe to have.
It easily could have been me. I'm so grateful it won't be.
I did pretty OK for somebody as big as I was, in that I was active and able to go about life. My weight had stabilized at the top, which was obviously just WAY too fat, but I wasn't still piling on the pounds. Also, I'm extremely tall, so while I was hugely fat and all, I had more height to accommodate the poundage; had I been any shorter, I would've been far rounder than I was.
However, I was also extremely aware that it was nothing but luck keeping me going. I tired easily, and continuing to stay active was getting harder and harder as I aged. My luck in that regard could've run out at any time, and I knew it in my bones. There's obesity and plenty of other big bad health problems in my family. My grandmother and auntie are both severely arthritic and both had to have knee replacements, due largely to their weight. My joints weren't really bothering me yet, but I can't help but think it was coming.
Oh DC, I didn't realize that when I was choosing some random numbers - a 5 foot 8 person for instance, that you and I would come out to be the same exact starting BMI.
I felt that I had to put those numbers up there, for perspective, because I don't think people realize (myself?) just how heavy that 287 lbs is for a 5 foot person.
I for one was not one of the "strong" ones. No siree. I was terribly inactive - my knees ached (killed) beyond belief. As big as I was, I felt SO weak and so vunerable. Like I was a walking time bomb. Like a trip or a fall would just wipe me out. Disable me completely.
And as far as me getting into the higher weights, although I probably could have eaten myself there, I'm fairly certain I wouldn't have lived long enough to get there. I really felt like it was just a very short time till I keeled over from a massive heart attack.
I think we are really the only ones that don't realize how fat we are or perhaps were I mean at 364 lbs, I didn't realize how fat I was as I was able to do a lot of things. I still don't realize my weight because i still have a fear of plastic chairs. It is easy to tell us stuff things that keep us as we are and even allow us to keep creeping up.
I mean when I was wearing a size 28 tall jeans from Lane Bryant, thinking that they didn't look that bad besides being 'petite'. I had at least 10 inches of extra pant leg, how easy was it to fool myself? When those pants no longer fit and I had to search out other stores, I was still fooling myself because I could still find pants in other stores. I think I could've easily slipped to 400 lbs and maybe even more, all the while telling myself I was ok until I wasn't ok.
I suppose like Nelie said, for many its OK until suddenly it isn't and then perhaps its too late. I 'topped out' at 290lbs a couple of times. There's no particular significance in this number but for me I become too 'uncomfortable' at this weight to maintain normal daily activity which for me was quite active. My choices therefore have been to become less active and give in or fight and lose some weight. Fortunately I chose the latter and can't imagine a situation where I would chose the former. But who knows?
I've never thought about it but yes, I think it could be me. I mostly say this because of the denial I get into when I'm gaining weight. I decide I won't weigh for a week because I had a bad week and I don't want to know the damage. Then another week goes by and it's been another bad week so I'll wait another week before I weigh. I did this for about a year and a half and was surprised to learn I gained about 25 pounds in a year. Yikes. If I kept myself in denial for much longer then had an accident or illness like some of you described, I could totally see it happening. I am glad I'm in WW again and forcing myself to weigh in every week, no matter what.
I think I would have most likely died before hitting that point. At 330 pounds, I was very unhealthy and very sick. It didn't help anything either that I was super depressed and wanting to die.
I mean at 364 lbs, I didn't realize how fat I was as I was able to do a lot of things. I still don't realize my weight because i still have a fear of plastic chairs. It is easy to tell us stuff things that keep us as we are and even allow us to keep creeping up. 
