Hi all!

I thought it would be interesting to hear what was everyones A-HA moment (if you had one) Or even just what was the last straw before you decided to make a change?

I'll start. As imbarresed as I am by mine.
My parents have a house in the country where they will be moving to when they retire. I was there with the majority of my family. In the sun room we have all this wicker furniture and there is an otomin with a wood base that has under seat storage. I sat down on it and broke the wood in half. I was so ashamed and embarresed. Nobody saw it and I just put it back together as best as I could. But I was humiliated for myself and began to cry. Until I though to myself "wait a second...this would not have happened if I wasn't so big!"
It wasn't that I hadn't realised (it's hard not to notice at 245lbs!) but it was the first time I had broken something because of my weight. Something just clicked like it never has before when I was trying to lose weigh. And I haven't looked back since. Breaking that seat was the best (and most embarresing) thing that has ever happened to me!

Look forward to hearing everyone elses! Don't be embarrassed....JUST LOOK AT MINE

Maddie
xxx

I guess I finally decided to get serious when I couldn't jump on the trampoline with my son because the weight limit with the enclosure is 200lbs. And I've decided that I'm just sick and tired of being obese. Also, I was tired of food controlling me.

I had a birthday party for my baby boy. he was turning one. and i was so uncomfortable in everything i owned. I felt huge and really didnt even want to see anyone that day. I felt terrible because i felt like my wieght was going to hold back my son and i really didnt want that. Then I saw the pictures from that party and oh my god. I was appaulled. I had no idea I looked like that. So i made a change. I relized im not going to be the mom i want to be at this weight.

My back started to hurt. I ignored the rare pains in my knees, but the sharp pains and stiffness in my back had to go. I started going to a chiropractor, and started WWs once I got down to a one day a week schedule with the chiropractor. The pain is gone and the stiffness is clearing up, and now my weight is slowly dropping.

Now I just need to regain some muscle and get my butt out in the world and have fun instead of glueing my nose to a book, tv, or computer screen.

Though I do still enjoy my reading/etc, so it is a tough battle to get moving some days. The changing what I eat part was pretty easy really.

If it makes you feel better, I once broke a wooden chair in a restaraunt FULL of people...while on a date. Go me.

I've been miserable for some time that I regained the weight I lost a couple years ago. I've really started to feel awful, lazy, unenergetic. None of my clothes fit anymore. I had intended to start at the beginning of the year - like so many others. I went strong for two weeks and quit. Put on another 5lbs. So it continued.

The thing that is currently pushing me out of inactivity is that I'm a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding at the end of July and currently don't fit in the dress! I am kicking myself HARD for doing this to myself. Instead of giving into sloth and just getting the dress altered I am doing my best to lose enough and firm up enough to get back in it. This is my current motivation. In the long run though I'm doing it for me, so I will stick to plan after the wedding. This is just what made me go HOLY CRAP I GOTTA DO THIS NOW!

I looked at the scale and noticed that, at 160, I was closer to 200 pounds than to 100. Being a numbers nut, I freaked out.

That happened about the same time that a belt loop on one of my favorite pairs of jeans broke when I was trying to pull them up over my butt.

my family was doing wii fit and I got on to do a body test and I freaked when I saw that I was over 200 pounds. This is the heaviest I've been in my life and I knew that I had to stop the upward trajectory.

I noticed towards the end of the year last year that when I saw down my lower tummy was big enough to overlap onto my lap. My close were growing to tight also and I refused to by the next size up. I wasn't happy with my weight for the whole year prior though and just never had the motivation to do anything about it.

Well - my avatar kinda says it all - I'm the bridesmaid on the right and one of my best friends on the left is outweighed by me by about 70 pounds in that pic - and we're both 5 feet 3 inches!! Lucky for me, I was able to concentrate on the joy of her special day and did enjoy the wedding but looking at the pictures, I hate that it was even an issue. That was in October 2009. I drug my feet and was pretty overwhelmed and felt too out of control with my eating habits to do much about it. Then I started thinking about what I want my life to be and that I don't want to have to live with these limitations (I can't wear this, I can't do this, I won't feel comfortable, etc.) all just because of my weight. Hopefully, this time it will be for good.
Cheers!

I suppose my last a-ha moment came a few weeks ago when I went on a date (my very first date, actually) with a boy who probably weighed a good 40 lbs less than me (and a good 7-8 inches taller). I just felt so uncomfortable in my body and after that is when I decided to really buckle down and get the weight off of me.

I think I had an ah-ha moment plenty of times, but I was too lazy to do anything about it until now.

For a few events.. I worked at a mall various times..seeing all the clothes that appear so adorable I bought them, and of course they did not fit the way I had hoped. Plus all the petite girls that walk in the stores.. made me feel so huge.

Another time is when I was working and a girl came by and asked if I was pregnant, dead serious and had the "awww" appearance and everything.

And I guess my recent one was when I bought a blue summer dress, I looked like a blueberry!

It also does not help that my bf complains about my weight and his mother even cries over it.

I saw a picture of myself and was completely horrified that my body had grew to something I was ashamed to look at.

I had gone jean shopping and noticed I couldn't even button a size 14. I had to buy a size 16 for the first time in four years when I was at my heaviest.

and my identical twin sister is 50 pounds lightier than me. yeah. were not so identical right now. and my older uncle can't remember our names so he says the fat twin.
=/

My aha moment was knowing that my weight was killing me. And I had to be serious and committed and just do it - like I quit smoking.