oh my gosh. Some of these posts made me cry, too close to home I 'spose. My straw was something so simple and stupid... So, some of the kids in my sons kindergarten class saw me at the pool with my son for his swim lessons. Ok fine, (they are 2 cute little girls) The next day was my day to volunteer at class. The 2 girls came up to me excited that they had seen me again. (kids get excited over the coolest stuff!) The teacher, (BTW nice young good looking male teacher) asked "where had they seen me?" Well, "at the pool last night", of course, and the teacher looked at me and said nicely "you were in the pool?"

Now... Im sure he didnt mean anything like, you, fatso were in a swimsuit... It was my reaction, my immediate rush of fear, embarassment and shame flowed over me. I quickly said no, that I was there with my boys for there lessons and moved on. That was IT! Being mortified over the idea of someone thinking I was in a bathing suit was my straw!

I was at a restaurant at 2:00 AM with my husband, stuffing my face with a roast beef sandwich and mashed potatoes with extra gravy. I mentioned that I should start dieting again, and he said "What's the point? You're just going to give up again anyway." I started bawling right there in the restaurant, but that didn't stop me from finishing my meal.

On the way home, he and I made a pact that we were going to eat healthy and exercise every day to reach our goals. We[ve been at it ever since

Being in a wedding. I had already been the fat bridesmaid once, I wasn't about to be it again. I lost 60 pounds for that wedding.

I am 31 years old, 5'4" and the mother of 3 young girls, ages 5, 7 ad 9.

There are a couple of things that have happened, just this week, that screamed "THAT'S IT! I AM DONE BEING FAT!"

1) my youngest is constantly touching my stomach and saying " I love your big fat belly" and while it is kinda cute...it is also very sad.

2) I am a size 18 now but dangerously pushing a size 20 and I simply REFUSE to go there. REFUSE.

3) I recently hit 205 pounds and it is way too much weight on my frame. At 31 years old, I should not be in as much pain as I am. Constant back and ankle pains which keeps me from being active with my kids. Just today I ran out of breath from bringing clothes up to the second floor Ridiculous. But yeah, mostly, it is my back and ankles being in so much pain that really lit a fire under my butt. It is very scary, knowing that I am slowly, and painfully killing myself, basically.

I turn down invitations to do things on the basis that "i'm too fat to do THAT" I refuse to go to buffets of any kind, to get on a bicycle, and recently a friend of mine started teaching belly dance and wanted to know if i wanted to come to her class. **** no! Maybe if I lost 100 lbs... she was disappointed in me, I know. But I couldn't imagine myself belly dancing. Being around small women intimidates me.
I realized that my being the "funny fat chick" isn't funny, my friends are sick of it, and I rely on it to avoid having to actually relate to people on a personal level.
My clothes don't fit. I feel disgusting and bloated.
I am just not the person that I was supposed to be... and coming closer to age 30 and not having achieved so many goals I had for myself, and constantly using my weight as an excuse is just ridiculous.
Today was the straw though - I had to walk to the bus stop which is about 3 blocks away from my house and I was winded when I got there. Un-freaking-acceptable!

Are you sure you are not talking about my reason? That's exactly what happened with me. I tried one outfit after outfit and no matter what I tried, I wasn't happy with the way it looked. All of them used to fit me good but weight crept up on me and before I knew, things were just getting too tight and not looking good at all. I've done Chinese medicine and acupuncture, lost weight from stress (I can't eat when I am stressed out), Weight Watchers...and gained all back. This time, I'm working out, eating healthier, and losing weight and gaining muscle and strength.

looking at pictures of myself. i thought i looked good but in pictures i had fat rolls and my tummy was hanging over my pants

Wow--- right on the mark--- I never realized it before, but yeah, I'm definitely overcompensating by being over the top funny.... to the point of being obnoxious...

Just to add my straw to this thread.....

Two things made me decide enough is enough. First, the zip exploding on the only pair of jeans I had left that I could squeeze into, meaning I had to buy another pair a good two sizes bigger. I'd always refused up until that point to buy bigger clothes because I didn't want to get comfortable at a bigger size and not bother to lose the extra weight.

The second thing was my sister (who's 7 inches taller than me, weighs a good deal less and models for a living) sweetly offering to lend me her teeny tiny jeans when she knew full well I couldn't even have forced an ankle into them

I have to admit, it's the second thing that motivates me most! There's nothing like a good bit of sisterly rivalry

Well it was a number of things really I started semi dieting when my size 24 pants were feeling alittle snug... and my scale said 230 pounds!... (I am 5 1 1/4...)
But I got really serious when I was talking to my sister and she told me I looked bigger than my mom..

That was it I was not going to be my mom.. and have sleep apnea and diabetes.. when I am 40 I will NOT have a mild heart attack...

So here I am currently 172 YAY and dropping.

My breaking point was a visit to the doctor, where my weight had stayed the same, but he told me that my diabetes was completely out of control and I would be on insulin within a year if I didn't change things. He did put me on more meds, but they are keeping my diabetes under control now so that I can exercise. In the past, my goal had been to get completely off the meds, but I never did anything about it. Now, I am doing something about it because I don't want to be on insulin or meds.

At a recent visit, he was totally impressed with my changes in diet and exercise and commented several times that I had lost weight. (It wasn't lot, but it was enough that he was impressed.)