There are so many reasons I wanted to lose weight. I look horrible. My left knee hurt whenever I walked. My clothes, even the 3X ones, were getting tight. I knew, just *knew* that I would get diabetes one day (my father has it, and I am morbidly obese. Pretty much a done deal). My husband won't become intimate with me (and I don't blame him a bit for that). The restaining bar on the rollercoasters at Six Flags only go down on click for me. Movie theater seats are a tight squeeze.
The actual trigger, though, was a pretty silly one. I love to watch the show on FoodTV,
Good Eats. It's an intertaining show that blends science, humor, and cooking how to in format that just plain fun to watch. The host of the show is Alton Brown, who if not particularily handsome, is very charming and engaging to watch. I also am of a member of the
Good Eats Fan Page forums. Shortly after I joined there, someone posted
a quote from Mr. Brown where he states that when he meets with his fans who are fat, he wishes that they would spend less time watching his show and more time getting healthier.
As you might expect, there was quite a bit of controversy over this quote. Many people stated that this was a perfectly reasonable sentiment, to which I agree. Others also said that in light of this view, they wouldn't be comfortable ever meeting Mr. Brown, know that they would at least in some manner be looked down on, even if he was too polite to let on to in public. I also was in this camp. And it hit me. If I were ashamed enough of myself to be uncomfortable enough not to want to be seen by someone that was expressing a perfectly reasonable sentiment, then maybe it really was time to start doing something about it.
Silly, like I said. My chances of ever meeting Mr. Brown, regardless of my weight, are vanishingling small (I'm not the type to go to book signings or pay for a specialty class just to meet someone whose show I enjoy). But it was the straw that broke the camel's back.