After reading something in a different thread, I was curious about the experiences of others on this journey. If you are like me, you have been overweight for a long time. What finally made you decide to begin this journey? Was there an incident, a moment, an experience that made you gather your resolve and begin?

For me, it happened this spring, although I did not start eating healthier right after. I went to Vietnam and Cambodia with a ladies tour group, and felt more out of place than I ever have. My weight weighed on me so heavily there. I really stuck out like a sore thumb. There were restaurants that I could not fit in the chairs, and several times random local people would comment on my weight. Once I was in a cooking class, and the teacher singled me out and said, "You tell me if you like this. You fat, so you know good food." I was humiliated, and the other ladies in the class were mortified. I love to travel, and this trip my weight held me back really for the first time. The 15 hour plane ride to and from was torture. I could barely fit in the seat, and the belt was almost to the point of not getting around my abdomen, but I was too embarrassed to ask for an extension. I never want to feel like that again!

Kenda

For me, I joined this site over a year ago and made several half-hearted attempts in that year. I actually started about 2 months ago because of two things that happened.

One was that I went to my uncle's house to meet my young cousins (they're maybe around 5 or 6 years old) and one of them looked at me and asked, "Why are you so fat?" I know it was one of those things that a child can say without any real thought, and their mother scolded her right after but it really hurt. It was the first time that someone had outright asked why I was so fat instead of my parents suggesting that I should eat more healthy or try to get some more exercise, which was always very gently put.

The second, and probably more significact reason, was around the same time. I had gone camping with my parents in the mountains, and the climb to out campsite was about 90 minutes, mostly climbing up a very steep slope (and I don't mean a steep walk, we had to climb), and in about 10 minutes, I was exhausted. I started getting a sharp pain in my lower back and literally had to stop every 10-15 seconds. I felt so ashamed because my parents, who are both around 55 right now, could do it while stopping for breath maybe 5 or 6 times, but I felt like I stopped about a hundred times. They didn't make me feel bad about it, and were happy to stop with me, but I felt so embarrassed the whole time. At one point, I really thought I was about to throw up so I let them go ahead and said I'd catch up. On that day I knew I had to get started on losing weight, because I vowed I would never feel like that again.

I really felt for you reading your post. Comments like that about food and you are horrific! How could people really think they have the right to say those things.

For me, in February of last year. I went to the doctors and was weighed and discovered I had lost 12lbs (154 down to 142). I hadn't been changed much, maybe cut down a little on junk/fast food and started drinking water. I was doing no exercise at all! This really gave me motivation to make a difference to my body and how I felt about it. I never had a huge amount of weight to lose. But at my height, 154 was particularly unhealthy looking. I started walking and watching foods in April time and from then until December I struggled but lost another 15lbs. Unfortunately, I was going into my last semester in college in January of this year and with that came a lot of stress and comfort eating. I was still floating around the forum here but I wasn't committed and between January to March I had gained 13lbs again going back to 140. In April this year, I became motivated again. From then until last month I was going up and down like a yo-yo and not really seeing much difference. On September 2nd I joined the gym. Since I joined I've become recommitted and this time, I'm going to reach goal!

Hey there...My husband and I have been overweight in a big way for the last probably 20 years. My daughters are in the wellness industry and are the reason we finally decided to get healthy. My eldest came to us and said "please do something Mama..I don't want to lose either of you any time soon". It broke my heart...It was the same reason I quit smoking 20 years ago. Not to mention the fact that we were incredibly uncomfortable in our own skin and could hardly go up our own stairs without getting winded. We joined ITG Diet online and committed to our coach to be compliant. Our goal was to get the weight off prior to our oldest daughters wedding, and we did it..we both lost 70 lbs. Now we are back to get a refresher and lose about 20-30 lbs to reach our final goals. We couldn't be happier with out new weights and the activity it has allowed us. The last 20 however..is a bear!! Good luck to all!

well for me it was a summer of stress with the end of my parent's marriage.... and the invitation to a friends' wedding....

Likely one of the last weddings I will attend. It is this summer in PEI. I met this couple in August 2010 in China, I worked with them.... they have only known me at my heaviest.

I have always been heavy, but during Teacher's College I think I gained about 50 pounds (stress and lack of sleep, I averaged 4 hours a night and threw up almost everyday from stress not on purpose) and then my dad almost died and I spent the year in and out of hospital with him, during his surgeries.... and must have put on another 50 pounds....

I feel like I have completely wasted the last half of my 20's (turned 29 this summer)... and I am tired of it.... Most of university I wore a size 18 pant and though I was still overweight, I was happy and fit... working out, going dancing, doing yoga etc...

Now I am not fit, and feel like a hippo.

I have a trip planned for Disneyland Paris in 5 months and my friend's wedding 4 months after that... I am hoping to be under 300 for their wedding.

I have failed many times before, but I don't think I really dedicated myself to losing weight....this time just feels different....I think it's because I am an adult now (with a job and debt free finally!) and I also live on another continent, and I travel at least 5 times a year by plane.... I have to have extenders on 85% of my flights.... I'm tired of that. I'm tired that my tray table doesn't fit.... I'm tired of what I see in the mirror.

So, short story made long - I want more for my life and I want to look good.

I don't think I really had a singular moment that broke the camel's back, but I had a "Huh, why not?" moment.

I never knew I was fat. I mean, I always knew I was bigger, but I never considered myself fat. I started college at 199 pounds, and then when I got sick (gallbladder issues), I had surgery a year later at maybe 170 pounds (No idea...didn't own a scale. But, the gallbladder "diet" was pretty intense).

Fast forward a few years, and the weight creeps on. Every great once in a while, my dad tells me I should maybe think about getting healthier. Never mean, never making me feel bad, but gentle nudging. I don't listen to him, because hey, I'm not fat.

Then in December of 2007, my dad passed away unexpectedly from heart stuff. In March of 2008, I go to the doctor for a physical and I'm at 274 pounds. After hearing my family history and examining me, my doctor told me I needed to address not only my (very) high blood pressure, but also my weight, or I was going to die. And, I needed someone to actually give me the hard truth. My doctor recommended Weight Watchers.

Weight Watchers worked. I lost just over 100 pounds from March 2008 and April 2009. I have since gained 40 pounds back...but that's another story. I can say that I've pulled out all my old WW materials from when the plan worked for me (and I worked the plan) and have been slowly getting myself back on track to re-lose the extra 40 lbs and maybe some of their friends...

I think the number on the scale was the proverbial straw for me. I mean having been obese my whole life, I'm no stranger to high numbers on the scale but something clicked/snapped/fell into place for me when I saw how close I was to 300 lbs. My size 22s were too tight and I think I hit the "no-way-enough-is-enough-I-want-to-be-slim-more-than-I-want-food-and-will-do-what-it-takes" wall! It's not been smooth sailing since then but I'm trying really hard never to get to that point again.

We were ready to start a family, but when I went to the Dr., I was told I was pre-diabetic. I grew up with my mother being type 1, and I see her now with all the issues diabetes causes. She had a quadruple bypass because her veins and arteries shrank (she's not overweight), she's going to eventually lose her feet, her hands have drawn up, and her eyesight is getting to the point that she isn't able to drive. Now, type 1 and 2 are different in some degrees, but the thought of insulin shots and all that came with that diagnosis, terrified me.

Add to that that I wanted to get pregnant......

After a few months of denial, I realized how awful I was feeling, especially after sugary meals. My husband and I are both overweight and for him, it was not being able to ride rides at the amusement park anymore. I remember how great I felt when I had lost all the weight before and how much more in shape I was. I want to get back there so badly. He wants to lose too, but he's not as serious as I am at the moment.

I just wish it wasn't such a slow process.

i've also been overweight or obese all my life. i've had periods where i've been at a healthier weight, but have been mostly over 200lbs in my 20's. just turned thirty this summer.
i think for me it was a number of things. i stepped on a scale a few weeks ago for the first time in a while and was shocked to see the number:289. that's the heaviest i've ever been. and i decided that i need to do something. i want to have a family some day, go on hikes, and not be winded going up the stairs. i also want to wear cuter clothing and feel good in my own skin.

Wow! I am so impressed with everyone's resolution, and how similar some of our experiences are. Nray111, you said "uncomfortable in our own skin". That is exactly how I feel. I have been obese all my life, from childhood on. I have had periodic episodes where I lost tremendous amounts of weight, only to have some stressful event happen and fall back into a cascade of anxiety and stress eating. I lost 80 pounds after I divorced, only to gain it back in a year after my mother had an awful back injury which resulted in her being in a wheelchair for some time. I lost 65 pounds, and gained it back my first year out of grad school, and during another family health crisis.

When I stepped on the scale the day I started, I was horrified by the number. I guess I couldn't deny anymore the reality of the situation. I am doing this with some ladies from work, who seem to be equally determined. I know that stress eating will always be an issue for me. I am working on this with someone, and hope this helps. I am tired of feeling so uncomfortable!

Kenda

i had a group of friends 3 of us are overweight and 2 are skinny.the skinny girls would want to go into forver 21 lovecultrue and stores for skinny girls where we can fit into a dam thing.i got sick of it.now i cant wait to be able to walk into any store and pick out what i want.i also went on a disney cruise for my bday and in the photos you can tell how big i look.this january on my next cruise i cant wait to skinnier in all the photos.

My moment occurred in the beginning of 2012. It was triggered by something very simple... getting out of bed. Now, I've been fat/overweight/obese everyday of my life since the age of 8. That's over 20 years of being the biggest person in the room. But I was kind of used to it. And I always told myself that I wasn't *that* fat, or that I'd never get to XXX weight.

Well that day I woke up and tried to sit up. It proved to be rather difficult so I rolled a bit to the left and then kept rolling until I was out of bed. Afterwards I stood there, frozen, staring at the my bed. "Did I just rooooooll out of bed?" I thought. OMG I literally couldn't sit up because my midsection had gotten too big. I had never thought that would happen to me. And that reminded me that I never thought I would get to be 250# or 300# or whatever weight I had chosen to compare myself to. And the idea that I had just done something that I never thought I'd do made me think, "Holy crap, just because I think I'd never weigh 250# doesn't mean I won't someday." So I hopped on my scale and I'll be damned if I wasn't a measly 15# away from the dreaded 250#. Could I gain 15 pounds? You bet your bippy I could!!! And that was when I decided that I actually had to do something about it. I had tried many times before, but this time was different. This time it wasn't so that men would find me attractive, or because I wanted to be skinny so I could wear fashionable dresses. No. I had to do something because I knew that if I didn't, I would never stop gaining weight and that would do some serious harm to my health. Also, if I didn't start now, starting later would only mean that I would have more to lose.

Bikinis and Victoria's Secret clothes. I wanted to be able to wear them and wear them well. Good riddance to my ex love handles.

Proverbial straw? Not sure. I just decided one day I was done.

I'm sorry that was such an uncomfortable trip for you. But if it helps at all, in cultures like Vietnam it is not necessarily insulting or taboo to mention people's weights. Your cooking instructor may not have meant to be rude. Regardless, it's not fun.

My "straw" was when I was almost 21. I stepped on a scale and saw "207.x" and was shocked. I had never been over 200 lbs before. I remember realizing that since age 10 I had basically gained 10 lbs a year. 130 lbs at 13 years old, 180 at 18 years old, etc. Even if I lost weight, eventually I'd gain it back and start on the 10lbs/yr thing again. I realized that at age 30, I'd be 300 lbs. At 40, 400 lbs. If I kept going like I was, I'd die. In addition, a BIG reason to lose was that I felt jammed into my own skin, I felt claustrophobic and never comfortable (I never hated how I looked really, but I HATED feeling stuck in my body, like the actual feeling, not the body itself). I wanted OUT! So I told myself I could do it, but it wouldn't be fast. So, I actually kept gaining for a while before I said enough was enough. Then I started eating healthier and exercising cold turkey. I dropped 20 lbs by the time I was 21.

I haven't hit goal (I've been the same weight for like 2 years now, but haven't been obese since I was 21!), but I also haven't given up, which is a big change from the previous times I've tried to lose weight. And I think nearly 4 years committed to this, for better or worse, is a step in the right direction.

A small bit about me before I reveal my last straw, which was really more of a reality check. I grew up my whole life on the thin side. I would gain some weight when I was pregnant but always lost it within 6 months of giving birth. I always sat around 135-140. 8 years ago I suffered a huge bout of depression, got divorced and had to re-start life. I decided to be fat and happy, and that I was...gained 50 pounds and have hovered between 170 and 185 for 7 years.

And now onto current day life. Married and happy, but still fat. My husband and I have full custody of his amazing special needs son and we have been lucky to have the same caregiver for over 3 years. She is amazing in a nutshell. She is just 47, a few years older than us, and is like a part of our family. Two months ago she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. Bam! There it was. The big, giant WAKE UP CALL. She is doing well now, recovering from radical surgery. But that was it for me. Time to get off my lazy rear, get moving and take control of my health. I want to be healthy and have energy. I want to grow old and be a grandma. I want to be there for my kids. And I want a body that is healthy enough to be able to fight off anything that comes my way! And so here I am. 20 down and 20 to go. Sometimes it's those reality checks in life that give us a big ole slap in the face. Here's to our journey to health and longevity ladies!