Hi I'm new to this site, and am about to embark on a journey to a healthier me. I used to be 46kg, gained heaps of weight to 76kg after the birth of my son and 2nd daughter then lost 24kg. I wasn't feeling bad, just found it hard to find clothes to fit (as I am also short). Now after the birth of my 4th I have put on even more than before and FEEL unhealthy.

My turning points for this journey.

1 - Blood rushes to my head when I bend down to pick up baby, or stuff off floor and to tie my shoes.

2 - I get pins and needles in my arms at night due to poor circulation.

3 - My blood pressure has risen (now controlling with magnesium tabs)

4 - I can't walk 60 meters to my car with baby in arms when I pick up others from school without losing my breath.

5 - My knees hurt, my hips hurt and I get pains in the chest doing everyday things.

6 - I've had a previous foot injury and that now is more pronounced with the extra weight and summer heat.

7 - Speaking of summer heat, I am exhausted by 2pm.

8- I buy clothes in large sizes to fit around my middle but they are baggy in bum and thights and WAY TO LONG

8 - The biggest turning point for me is I can't play with my kids anymore for longer than 5 minutes, and that makes me and them sad. I don't want to be the fat mum at the school gate.

I could go on and on about the negatives of my weight. But that will do for now. My next posts are all going to be about the POSITIVES with each small loss.

One step at a time. I will reward myself with a treat (haircuts, massages) every 4 kg I lose to give me extra incentive.

I'm interested to know what the turning points for others have been.

Cheers
Vonni

Hi Vonni!

I've been here about a week myself. Been working on the weight loss since the new year.

Some turning points for me:
-getting on the scale towards the end of last year and seeing 202 lb. That's the first time I ever reached the 200 mark. I knew it would only just keep getting higher if I didn't try to do something.
-getting rough skin on the tips of my thumb and forefinger from desperately trying to pull up the zippers of my pants every morning while holding my breath and trying to suck in my stomach. I even tore a pair of old jeans. In January I bought 6 or 7 new pairs of pants just so I have comfortable fitting pants at my current weight. LOL...they actually make me look smaller....which in the past is something I would hide behind. I could use my height and my clothes to diminish the appearance of my weight. Now I don't just want clothes to make me look smaller, I actually want to work at becoming smaller.
-seeing myself in a photograph. I mean, I look in the mirror and I could see that I was getting bigger but in a photo taken at Christmas, up close, I looked even bigger than I expected.

There are other factors that I have in mind as well. I like taking day trips sometimes, which involve spending hours on a bus. By the ride home, my lower back is killing me...maybe because of the weight. I'm usually one of the younger people on the bus and I don't notice anybody in discomfort like me. Even my mother, who's in her 70s and overweight, doesn't have that problem.
I have to get CPR certified every year right before summer and this year, I'd like to be able to do the class without dripping sweat for a change.
Sometimes I hear my knee and elbow joints click. I'm 41!
The longer I wait, the older I get, the harder it would be to lose. My mother's been trying to lose weight as well. I've lost 11 pounds since January 1, she's lost zero. Granted, I've been jumping around more than she has but she's never been a big over-indulger with food. Fortunately, neither of us has any major medical issues to make things harder.

Anyway, that's my ramble this go-around. Hope to see ya around the board!

was my husband telling me he was tired of seeing me wearing tent flaps as dresses, and getting larger by the double.

We haven't had sex since we concieved our DD, no thanks at least partly due to my weight and my weight-related depression. He's finally come to the point that he doesn't want to live like this.

I don't want to live like this, either, so on New Year's Day (2007), we went to our local gym and signed me up. I really want to do this, I really want to fit into my wedding dress again (just for pictures) and I really want to feel energetic, happy and ALIVE again. I want to run after my little daughter, play ball with our neighbor's dog, go out more often, have a good social life and stop hiding myself behind oversized overalls and feeling tired all the time.

I'm finally tired of being who I am as I am.