[RavenWolf]

I mean, when did you decide you didn't just want/dream of weight loss, but decided you NEEDED to lose the weight?

I knew I needed to lose the weight on our last trip to Puerto Rico two years ago. I couldn't enjoy anything because I was out of breath and couldn't keep up with family. My husband actually grew concerned that I was going to drop of a heart attack. I tried to lose weight, but nothing worked. (I didn't realize I wasn't cutting my calories back enough to do anything for weight loss.)

Then, this past December, just a couple of weeks before Christmas, I had to be taken by ambulance to the ER. I thought I was having a heart attack...really thought I was dying. I had chest pains, pressure...I was really worried. After full workup, it was found that my postassium was very low.

I have not been able to do a lot of walking for years, because of the bad pain I would have. Now that I have had my potassium supplemented, I am able to work out and am even training to run a 5k! My potassium must have been low for a long time, but whenever I would tell the dr's about my pain, they would tell me it was because of my weight. I "knew" it wasn't from the weight, because it felt different. They never took me seriously.

Last year, 11 Sept, my best friends (and sister from another mister as we liked to say) died suddenly. This was just a few short months after my sister was hospitalized and almost died from anorexia. I was an emotional wreck, and hit an all time low. I had several months of deep depression and cut myself off from everyone but my husband and kids. During this time of reflection, I finally got myself together and knew it was time, I was ready. 1 January I started my weight loss journey anew, and have kept it up longer than I every have.

Just 2 weeks ago, my friend's sister let me know Laura's cause of death: It was heart failure. Even now it tears at my heart to write this, to think that her smile has forever been stolen from my life. She was a big girl as well. So my weight loss is not just for me and family, it is also for Laura. I want to be healthy so I will be available to her daughter for years to come, to tell her all the stories of the fun she and I had with her and my kids.

[nomorejellybeans]

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm glad to hear that you are working on a healthy lifestyle. Not only for the memory of Laura, but for yourself and children. Keep up the great work!

[amandie]

Wow, I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'm not sure exactly what it is that made me hop on the weight loss bandwagon. Something just clicked and I was ready. No serious wake-up calls or anything like that for me.

[nomorejellybeans]

Btw, I just read your blog! You and your husband are a cute couple. Good job on the 14 minute mile Keep it up

[KittieKat]

Ravenwolf I'm sorry for your loss and tough times, Hoping for smooth sailing for you and your family. Good luck

For me it my G.E.R.D is getting out of control. It was the final push for me to make a change.

[Natalie42]

I'm sorry for your loss. I guess I was just tired of being tired. Tired of not wanting to be photographed or seen by anyone who knew me before I gained weight. I was isolating myself and that is not how life is to be lived. When I finally went to physicians weight loss, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes/PCOS. I realized I just can't turn a blind eye to my health. The condition will only get worse. So, out of the negative comes the positive...a lot of motivation.

[lunarsongbird]

It's awesome that you are training for a 5K! Maybe you'd like to jog a heart run in honor of Laura. Also- the American Hearth Association's National Walking Day is on April 3rd. Why don't you post a thread about it as the time comes closer? I'll certainly lace up my walking shoes and walk 30 minutes that day in honor of Laura! You could have people from all over the world walking for health, love and friendship in honor of her memory!

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Gettin...65_Article.jsp



For me- I was reading and came across this statistic, "The March of Dimes reported that obese and overweight women have a 30 to 40 percent higher chance of delivering a baby with a major birth defect affecting the brain, heart or gastrointestinal system. This includes a higher risk of neural tube defects. Studies have also linked obesity to a higher risk of stillbirth."

So I'm going to do everything I can to set my future children up for success- from the very beginning.

[Mozzy]

I literally woke up one day and said "this sh*t sucks! I hate being fat!"
No major wake up call or event, just that random epiphany...

[newleaf123]

I had major, major surgery exactly a year ago -- we are talking 7 hours under with 3 surgeons. Totally unrelated to my weight. Afterwards, in the weeks of recovery, I couldn't separate in my mind what was because of the surgery and what was because of my weight (like my BP being high, or having difficulty getting up out of a deep chair). And I decided that I wanted to take weight out of the equation once and for all. I have never felt so committed, or so done with the yo yo.

[elvislover324]

Originally Posted by newleaf123

I had major, major surgery exactly a year ago -- we are talking 7 hours under with 3 surgeons. Totally unrelated to my weight. Afterwards, in the weeks of recovery, I couldn't separate in my mind what was because of the surgery and what was because of my weight (like my BP being high, or having difficulty getting up out of a deep chair). And I decided that I wanted to take weight out of the equation once and for all. I have never felt so committed, or so done with the yo yo.

Sorry to go a little O/T but your new profile picture is amazing!! I saw it on another thread and got side-tracked and forgot to post about it. Congratulations on looking so great after all your hard work!!

[Garnet2727]

In January of 2012 at a routine doctor's appointment, I stepped up on the scale and saw 302 pounds. Something my brain just went, NO. I signed up for WW that very night.

[berryblondeboys]

I'm so sorry Ravenwolf - it's awful to have death and scares to make us wake up.

Being steps away from a stroke and all kinds of health problems woke me up. I wasn't 40 yet - my bp was 220/130 (I had no idea), my blood sugars were SKY high (only my triglycerides were OK), my cholesterol was terribly high and my thyroid was Super, duper low (like 59 or some crazy number like that when it's supposed to be under 3.)

I had known I needed to lose weight, but I was always healthy and strong, but very quickly got "taken down". I got scared because my estranged father had died of a heart attack at the age of 42 and he didn't even have a weight problem. What the heck was I doing?!?!? And what really did it for me was that I realized I would not be there for my 5 year old son who has Asperger's. He NEEDED his mother as did my 14 year old.

My husband will say, "but you had a young husband too" and I did/do if you count (at the time) 43 young, but he could survive OK if I was gone. My kids wouldn't.

Now that I'm past all that, it seems almost all of that was caused by my thyroid being out of whack, but the extra weight made it worse and might have caused the thyroid problem in the first place - that or my super carb heavy diet. I was on the road to bad things either way. I'm so glad that something scared me awake!

[newleaf123]

Originally Posted by elvislover324

Sorry to go a little O/T but your new profile picture is amazing!! I saw it on another thread and got side-tracked and forgot to post about it. Congratulations on looking so great after all your hard work!!

Thanks! This last year has been incredible...

[EagleRiverDee]

I herniated a disc in my lower back, that left me totally disabled. I was 100 lbs overweight. I had knee problems, had sprained an ankle doing basic hiking, had acid reflux and I looked like a bloated blimp. Seriously. I have a photo of me from then and my face is round as a balloon. I couldn't find clothes in the womens departments that fit so I was buying mens 2X. I was exercising like crazy at the gym and I tried to diet but every time I did my blood sugar would crash and I'd get the shakes and brain foggy and I'd eat whatever I could grab. It all just sort of added up. I saw a Naturopath/acupuncturist re my back pain because I didn't want to be on pain meds. She diagnosed me with thyroid disease, put me on meds, gave me a healthy diet plan to follow (diet as in what you eat, not caloric restriction) and I lost almost 20 lbs right away. That's when I realized I could do it. I changed jobs and got one closer to home that shaved 2 hours of commuting off my daily grind and I thought, "Now I have time to exercise!" I found this forum, and between the medication for my thyroid, the diet, the exercise and the support I get here and from some other folks here I am. I'm halfway to my goal, but I'm so much healthier now that if I went no further I'd still be totally grateful. I'm no longer disabled, and I'm no longer in pain. I'm back to hiking and even overnight backpacking and loving life again.

[lunarsongbird]

I was also shocked to see people on the biggest loser that weighed less then me. Eeep!