Im new here but I totally understand what you mean. When i tipped the scale at 320lbs, I thought hey that's not that bad, i figured I have a husband who loved me as me, I have a wonderful daughter and I love myself. But then little things always popped up as a reminder that sure I love myself at this weight, but I will love myself even more if i don't let myself be 320lbs. I wanted to be able to chase around my 2 year old and be able to take her to MyGYM and not be the one all sweating and panting for exercises that is supposed to be for my daughter. In short i want to be healthy, I want to be happier than I am right now because it is possible.

Joining this forum, i think will be the difference between my previous attempts on losing weight. Joining is the first step and it's up to me to step up to the challenge of meeting the happier me...

Its Worth It To Me.............

so it posted before i finished... so in short... for me it's worth it... very..

Its worth it and you are worth it!!!

I stumbled upon this thread and I'm glad I did. First off, congratulations on your weight loss to date! Is it worth it? That is a question only you can answer BUT I would most definately say it is! My highest weight was 299lbs and that was my turning point, since then I've lost weight and here I am at 219 now but the difference I feel not just physically but mentally is AMAZING!

I know no one here has to tell you what health risks are associated with the more weight you carry but I want to just say something. I'm 31 years old and was diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic when I was 18 and this was due to being obese, in October 2010 I had a Brain tumour removed and in December found out it was malignant, the reason I'm telling you this? Because I'm being studied at McMaster Hospital to see if there is a direct connection between my diabetes and cancer. It's quite possible that the diabetes that was brought on by my weight has resulted in Brain cancer and even if there is a tiny chance that is the case then I assure you losing the weight is definately worth it!

You are worth the effort, just make yourself a priority. Goodluck

I haven't lost any, but I've been 200, and I can honestly say that I felt *so* much better back then - not because I looked a **** of a lot better, but because I physically felt pretty great.

I'm new and this thread jumped out on me. I have jumped back and forth between 300 and 340 and back again and I have to say that I worry about the same thing.

So glad I read through this thread. It really is all very true.

One more thought. When I make a commitment to eat healthy and to exercise more, I feel better almost immediately. I don't have to lose 20 or 40 or 100 pounds - I have more energy, my stamina improves, and I feel better about myself because of the immediate health benefits of these choices.

Maybe that's true for you too? The lost pounds are helpful, certainly, but perhaps much of what you're experiencing is due to your lifestyle choices. Even if you were able to maintain the weight loss without maintaining the lifestyle, I don't know if you will continue to feel as good as you did when you were eating well and exercising.

Maybe if you concentrate solely on the benefits of the improved lifestyle choices and let the scale be for a while, you wil become enamoured of the way you feel and want to just keep feeling that way - and the weight loss will take care of itself???

Good luck - staying focused is tough.

I think we put way too much emphasis on the goal, and not nearly enough on the journey. We want to know whether the goal will be worth it, we want to know if all the effort to get there is going to be worth all the effort it will take to get there (so that if it's not, we don't have to bother "wasting" the effort).

I've (mostly) stopped looking at the goal, and have instead looked at the journey. This weight loss attempt has been very different than all previous ones (in 40 years of dieting), in that I am not focusing on the goal much at all.

When I started, I decided that I would make healthy changes that I was willing to make indefinitely whether or not they resulted in weight loss, and that I'd just keep adding changes as I go and see where they led me, and if I liked the results. If I liked the results, I'd keep those changes and when I was ready, I'd make some more.

So far, my life has gotten better and better with each change, and the even the changes that didn't result in or didn't seem to result in immediate weight loss, still provided enough benefit, for me to keep at them, and keep making new ones.

I don't know when or if I'll stop making changes. Ironically, it seems that the more changes I make, the more strength and stamina I have to make more - but I don't add a new change until I'm comfortable with the ones I've already adopted. In the past, I would make so many changes, that the benefits weren't worth the work. I'd wear myself out, stress myself out, and freak myself out (I'd convinse myself that the changes were hopeless because I couldn't do them).

Don't worry about the eventual destination, just make sure you're always headed (even when you may or may not seem to be moving) in the direction that is likely to make your life better.

Staying at your current weight is likely going to be better than gaining, but losing "just one more" pound or adding just 5 minutes more activity to your day, may have benefits you can't even envision right now.

Staying focused on "just a little more, to see if it helps" has helped me lose more than 90 lbs, and I haven't seen the benefits stop (even when the weight loss was stalled for months, I still saw other benefits to keep going - but I only saw them because I was looking extremely carefully - writing everything down).

Thank you to everyone for posting such inspirational, motivating stories and helping remind me why I'm doing this. I really appreciate it - more than you can imagine. <3 This thread.

The highest I've ever been was 240lbs the day I gave birth to my daughter. My highest post-partum weight was 225lbs. Even though that's at the lower end of the 200's I can tell you that the difference that I feel now vs then is tremendous.

- I have knee problems and the larger I am the more I hurt. At my heaviest I would have insomnia at times because they were aching so badly at night.
- I'm large chested and I get lots of back pain from it, which is obviously worse at higher weights
- I'm prone to cysts and would like another kid, this also improves with weight loss
- A number of family members of mine have high blood pressure. Right now my blood tests turned out perfect. It's not something I want to deal with later on in life.
- I fly often for work and those airplane seats are sooo much more comfortable!
- I spend less money on clothes (or maybe better put I will at my goal weight) because I don't need to go to specialty stores, I feel like I can invest in higher quality pieces that will last longer, I can now shop at thrift stores that usually only carry smaller sizes, etc
- My feet hurt more at higher weights
- I get more respect at work at lower weights (sad but true)
- ehem, it makes adult relations a lot better for many reasons
- I spend less on food and get to enjoy restaurant food longer (because I save it and it lasts for multiple meals)
- I no longer suffer from headaches/dizziness due to my blood sugar crashing after too much sugar
- My digestive system works better without all the junk
- I can carry more and am not nearly as dependent on DH when it comes to getting things done around the apt/carrying groceries etc
- I have more energy to play with my daughter
- My brain is free more often because I'm not constantly obsessing about food
- I've picked up new cooking skills and I find my food actually tastes a lot better now that I've learned more about herbs/spices/whole foods etc
- I have more confidence no longer being the largest person around.

In full disclosure, my life isn't perfect. That are certainly some cons to weight loss (loose skin, dealing with unwanted attention from the opposite sex, dealing with comments from others etc) but those minimal compared to the advantages. It's not that you have to be a twig but I can tell you that I've seen a HUGE, HUGE difference in myself at 180 vs 225.

I've purposely lost slowly this time around and it's given me a chance to deal with a lot of mental issues that put me at my highest weight initially. I've learned healthier ways to deal with stress and emotions, in general, vs just using food as a band aid.

Good luck and there's no reason why you can't lose a bit, maintain for awhile and decide to lose more. Ultimately the weight loss journey is about you and improving your life so you should dictate how it goes.

Ive only lost almost 30lbs and i can tell you how much different it feels! going from 282 to 253 i can do soooo much more already then i could before. A friend of mine passed away 5 years ago and since then all of us friends get together every summer and do a softball game and this year i felt so great when people noticed i could run faster and how much harder i could hit it the ball. It feels great to have more energy. I also lost motivation but this sit really helps and everyone is great. Congrats on your loss so far and i really hope you stick with it and see how great it feels! I know i cant wait to see what it feels like when i lose even more!

Definitely worth it for me!
After divorce and a new home, I want a new body desperatly so I can be happy again!

That's amazing, because when I was in Sydney 2 years ago, I was too afraid to do it. Not that I'm afraid of heights, but I was afraid the flight suit wouldn't fit, the harness wouldn't fit, and that I wouldn't be able to make it to the top. It's bothered me ever since. Some day, I will go back and climb that bridge. It's on my bucket/thin list.

I am 305 right now. I am 36 and have 2 children 8&7. I did not see if you posted your age or whether you have children.

After 2 VERY hard pregnancies I was 275lbs. One Day I loaded the kids up in the double stroller and went to a very pretty park in a neighboring town. I just started walking...it was a lot like Forrest Gump...I wasss waaaallllkkkkiiinnn. After 6 months I needed new wheels for that stroller. I dropped down to 172lbs. For my frame that put me in a 14/16...TMI ahead---My husband and I were having the best bedroom relations that I had ever had. I actually got cold at movies in the middle of August. I could fit in the slides w/ my kids. I actually enjoyed going to the beach. I walked in a 5k walk for March of Dimes and Captained my Churches Relay for Life 2 yrs in a row.

I never once said I was going on a diet. I still ate Cheese Burgers and Fries. I had ice cream every night. But I was so much more active that it all balanced out. My skin was clearer than it had ever been. I laughed and enjoyed life.

In 2008 I had a hysterectomy. I was young...still could have had more children... I wasn't ready to be told okay you are now in menopause. I now have less hormones than my mother...I get whiskers growing on my chin and neck...

I dove head first into a severe depression that I am battling everyday to get out of...on top of all that I was in a car wreck two years ago that left me with a ruptured disc and chronic pain.

I am 305 now and I would give almost anything to fit into those 14/16s in my closet. Not because of vanity reason, because they remind me of what a fun, outgoing, energetic Mom I once was.

I cant pull a Forrest and just start walking so I am swimming...I am doing it for me. To that my legs are constantly rubbing together causing those disgusting boils, so that my panties aren't soaked through with sweat, so that when I am at Macys and there is a rolling black out causing the elevator and escalator to stop working I am not trapped on the second floor. So that I can be a better Mother, Wife, Sister, and Friend.

Because I am selfish and want to have my own live to enjoy one day when the kids are grown. I want to be able to help them carry there boxes into their first dorm, apartment, and house.

NO. 300 is not an okay number for you to stop at.

~Shesha