I think for me it was a combo of getting really sick ( and realizing that my weight was a big factor) and ending a VERY long relationship... it was time for a change.... Painful, but Im glad it all happened... it lit a fire under my ***. FINALLY! lol.

I was too embarrassed to see people I went to high school with because of the amount of weight I had gained.

Also, I'm going to be a bridesmaid at my boyfriend's sister's wedding in October. I went last October to try on dresses and I couldn't fit in the size 10 samples. I was so embarrassed, and I just decided I never wanted to have that kind of moment again. Around the same time I went to Disneyworld, and I could barely fit in the seats for the rides. I got so anxious before every single ride that I wouldn't be able to fit, and I should have just been able to go and have fun. I plan to go back after I get to my goal, so I can see all the wiggle room I'll have then!!

To say the least, im glad i joined and am able to hear all your stories.

Well I have made half hearted attempts in the past and when I didnt see big losses I just went back to my nightly binge.

then I turned 26. I dont know why this was such a big deal to me, I still havent worked that out in my mind. But turning 26 and weighing 212 pounds really scared me. Added to that, I have chronically elevated liver enzymes. Fatty Liver Disease- its important for me to get my weight under control to decerase the work load I am putting on my liver. The more I weigh, the harder it is for my liver to process all of the fat that is in it. But the real moment of truth was realizing that I am 26 years old and I dont want to be that fat mom anymore. I hate meeting new people and having them see me like this. This isnt who I am. I refuse to own this body.

These are all so inspirational and motivating. It's amazing to see all of the emotional connections people have to being overweight.

I had been on vacation for pretty much two straight weeks and just ate my way through EVERYTHING. I was used to putting junk in my body but at the end of the stint, even I began to feel like crap. I had also been nannying all summer for 10 hours a day where I sat in the house when the kids weren't there and ate mass quantities of anything with sugar in it. That was the end of July, and August 1st I drastically changed my diet. I didn't know about thedailyplate.com yet and just tried to overestimate my calories so that I wouldn't be going over and consumed roughly 1000 - 1100 a day (NOT enough for my 186 pounds.) I eventually got on track with things like nutrition and have slowly tweaked my macronutrient split to better suit me and my body. In September I started working out and have been five days a week since.

You go, girls!

Like md I hated the idea of people I went to school with seeing how large I had become!

I'd say my most driving motivation is equal between vanity and energy/strength.
I've always been concerned about my weight. I've let myself get up to 215 and it was a horrible existence. I've generally been maintaining in the 180s for the last 6 years and I'd say the most recent turning point in Feb was just me striving to be a healthier, more energetic, happier, and hotter me!

I'm much more aware of the toll it's taking on my body when I gain weight now. It's harder to run up the stairs, to hoist myself off the floor, to fit into my jeans. So the good thing to that is I correct it before it gets too far.

I've now learned more about having a balanced diet, what works for my body, and most recently I've found out how absolutely necessary it is for me to be strength training to get the body I want!

I look forward to being able to control my weight when I'm pregnant and being a hot mum when that time comes. The thought of gaining too much weight when pregnant is an absolute nightmare to me. I'm 28 and figure that's still at least a couple years away so until then I look forward to being hot in every day life!

I was diagnosed with diabetes at the ripe age of 17. I spent most of college and my early 20s saying, well if everyone else can live this way (aka drinking on weekends, pizza for days, ramen noodles, etc) why should I change?

About three years ago, while living in Italy I just decided I was tired of it. My blood chemistry tests were horrible, and I did not want to have limbs amputated, lose my eyesight or die young. So I've been working on it since then. It has taken me that long to lose the first 50 pounds.

I've been stuck in the 180s for almost a year and just broke through. I have new motivations: WEDDING OCTOBER 2011 and after that, a healthy pregnancy (well as healthy as a diabetic can have!). I have a new outlook. For example, right now I am resisting the massive platters of pasta and chicken tenders that our boss brought to work to share. Reminding myself that if I eat that, I might look like that. Not the nicest thought, but it sure is motivation!

This one is easy...I saw a picture of myself and was totally disgusted. I decided I could not do it on my own and I went to see a nutritionist. The rest is history.

That was a huge breakthrough for me! I used to get so steaming mad that I couldn't eat like my thinner counterparts, but one day I just accepted that fact and things got considerably easier once I did.

But I still have to have ramen every once in a blue (very blue) moon!

It's nice to read that other people just have these sudden moments and then they begin.

Went in to a consultation for a tonsillectomy and was told that the surgery would have to be done at a local hospital instead of their own clinic due to my weight, and as such, it was going to cost much more money. I don't know specifically why that was the trigger, but it was.

Previously my peak weight was 290, but my last weigh-in had me at 328. I had given up on last summer and just let myself go. I was a caretaker for my terminally ill father. He has passed and I have no excuses. I want to 203lbs because I am sick of self-pity and feeling useless.

Sorry for the tangent. I completely relate to luciddepths's not wanting to be like a lot of her family -- most of my mom's family is fat too.

I've never been a small girl. I've always been chubby. I remember the first time I went on a diet was in 6th grade. At that time, there was this boy I liked and I got his best friend to tell him. Later on that day, his friend told me that he said I was fat and ugly. I was so hurt, and that was the thing that probably started it all. It's really sad how something so small has made such a huge impact on my life.

It wasn't until I got to college that I finally started to get a handle on my weight. Sophomore year(3 years ago) I weighed 233-235. I just wanted to feel good about myself. Being in a college atmosphere really reminded me of how I looked. I have never liked the way I looked. I've always wanted to be fit. It's taken me awhile but I'm down to 200 now. I've made a promise to myself that no matter what, I'm going to keep going even if I slip up once in awhile.

I had my "ah-ha!" moment two years ago at the very end of my last relationship. It was a very emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive relationship. It was not good and I knew it needed to end. I knew the only reason I stayed with someone who treated me so horribly was because I had no self-worth and thought I deserved it. He would tell me I was ugly, fat and disgusting -- all of the things I thought I was. But then, the next day he'd tell me I was gorgeous and wonderful... he would kick me down just to pick me back up.

This was all taking place during my last years of high school and in my first year at college -- I hadn't gotten into my first-choice school and was just kind of surviving at the school I had been admitted to. I applied to my dream school as a sophomore transfer and was accepted. The second after I got off of the phone with my admissions counselor and found out I was accepted, that was it. I initiated the breakup with my then-boyfriend and began to change my life. From May to August, I lost my abusive boyfriend and 40 pounds! That was my true ah-ha! moment. I realized I was capable and beautiful and worth the effort to feel good about myself.

Then I met my current boyfriend and got comfortable and gained the weight back. Now that I'm with someone who truly finds me beautiful, I want to see that beauty in myself too. So that's what I'm working on, now...

I completely understand! In 6th grade I was eating a granola bar by my locker with all of my friends and some jerk came up to me and said I should probably be eating a carrot, instead. I remember how I felt at that moment, still to this day. Boys are mean! Hugs!

I gained tons of weight, would lose a lot, and then gain it back. I never had the motivation to stick with it for the long-term. I'd get negative and down on myself, so I'd give up. Then I fell in love and this inspired me to start taking care of myself. I lost 60 lbs. back in 2009. Over the course of last year, our relationship started falling apart and I gained back about 20 of those pounds I'd lost. I had stopped taking care of myself. I was so wrapped up in him and his problems and making things work that I stopped caring about me. Eventually he dumped me and I decided to focus all of my attention and efforts becoming emotionally and physically healthier. It's been very hard to adjust to life without him and there were times I wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. But I started forcing myself to get up and get my butt back to the gym. I started eating healthier. I've since realized that I was in a bull**** relationship and wasted almost three years of my life on someone who didn't deserve me. I decided that I am a kick-*** superfox and I need to let the outside reflect who I am on the inside! I've since lost those 20 pounds I'd gained back and I'm working on the rest I need to lose.