I myself had a 'last straw' moment. Something happened to me that finally gave me that push to get in shape and lose weight. Obviously feeling good, having more energy and being healthy were reasons, but for some (at least myself) something has to happen for you to open your eyes.

Mine: I was on vacation with my boyfriend last July. We went to a national park to camp out. Turns out the camp ground I picked started with a 2 hour long hike. I weighed over 238 back then -just over 6 months ago.

While I was carrying the huge bag that contained the tent, I tripped on a tree root. I fell on my left side and slammed my right ankle on something -either on my left shoe or a rock- and broke both my ankle bones. It was the worst pain I have ever felt. I didn't ask, but I knew that my excess weight + the pack cause me to fall much harder than normal.

We were in the middle of nowhere. Cell phones didn't work, and I couldn't walk. Hopping even hurt. I had to camp out overnight like this until we called a search and rescue to come the next morning. My boyfriend had to hike back the whole way.
If I was my normal weight he could have easily carried me back to the visitors center. We even tried it but I was so afraid because of how heavy I was, and that I would hurt him.

After being bed-ridden for 2 weeks, going through surgery to have a steel plate installed, doing physio, and paying a ton of money.. along with the fact this all happened becaue of me being overweight. Well, that was it for me.

We have another vacation this July, but we're not doing anything physical. Just renting a cottage and swimming at the beaches. But when I do want to go back to hike and camp again, this time I will be in the best physical shape of my life.

Today was a "last straw" moment for sure! Ive been steadily gaining weight since I started taking a new medication about six months ago. I noticed the numbers on the scale going up and up but I didn't get the "last straw" moment until today. I had a doctors appointment for a physical so I decided to throw some jeans on. Well, let me tell you those darn jeans were not going to button! I tried them all on, pair after pair didn't fit, not even close! Ive been wearing yoga pants for the past 4 months! Then, to top it off, I went to the doctor's and she told me that I've gained 30 lbs and that my perscription for the day was to join Weight Watchers and go to the Gym! Hey, she's right! But that was the last straw. Ive done it before and I can do it agian!

On top of the numbers on my last blood work (almost 3 months ago now) being horrid. I saw, not just glanced at, but truely SAW what I looked like in pictures from Christmas. I didn't recognize myself. Then I looked back at the pictures from our last family vacation and was mortified! I knew I'd steadily been putting on weight - can't miss it when your clothes sizes keep going up and up - but I guess I just blocked it out. I avoided mirrors like the plague! I WILL recognize the image I see again - I WILL!

Not even my fat clothes fit anymore. I wear giant skirts that make me look like an Amish woman.

When I could no longer pull my "fat" jeans up over my ***. I want to wear jeans again.

I find mirrors evil myself. I look good when I'm at home, but if I walk by one at the mall I can see my gutt hanging out and everything else. But now it just gives me more motivation.

The last straw for me was being 235 pounds and my size EIGHTEEN Jeans being so tight I could barely put them on! I refused to wear a size 20 and was like how could I let myself get like this? I vowed then to never see that terrible number again and I never have

I had a few bumps during the past year plus, but overall now I think I've acquired so much knowledge that I can continue my journey

I've been overweight as long as I can remember. And yet I was still surprisingly happy... probably because I was always eating.

My major last straw was last week when I went to the movie theatre... and could hardly wedge myself in the theatre seats...

In an instant I realised my lifestyle has led me to that point in my life; as I was sitting there trying to watch the movie, all I could think about was how long I had coasted border-line 300, a few months ago I passed the line, and didn't even clue into the fact that I do in fact weight 307 lbs.

I read somewhere the wrost thing to do in a diet is to "start tomorrow". so I didn't start tomorrow, I started then... little steps... eatting as healthy as possible.... even if i had made poor choices earlier in the day, I made healthy one's later in the day... Today is my day 3 of eating healthy... I am self-employed, and also a Nanny; I have to prepare healthy (dr. bernstein) meals for my employer, so I have been using the same idea's as her, minus the painful injections & expensive program!

I deserve to have a healthy body, and I deserve to NOT eat the junk that I have been eating my whole life.

No last straws for me. I've been trying to lose this weight since the day it started creeping on, which is the day I started taking BCP. I put on 70 lbs my first year of marriage and I know now it's because I have PCOS. My biggest problem is that I'm such an all or nothing person and I made things too darn hard. It has taken me a long time to find the magic combination of something that both works and is sustainable for me.

Very interesting thread...

Thinking back I don't believe I had a "final straw" which is interesting. In fact I don't even remember the specific thoughts I had before I started on plan.

I do remember that I realized that my weight was starting to impact a lot of areas of my life. So for me it was more summation, I realized that I was ignoring the fact that I was already past the "final straw" point. That probably doesn't make sense, but was I think true in my case.

Two things--well, actually three.

*Being described on a Wii as OBESE! OMG! I knew I was fat--but--yeah, I was in denial.

*Seeing a picture of myself with my friends and realizing I didn't see any trace of ME anymore.

*Having 3 first-degree siblings with very serious illnesses and realizing that I could do things to decrease my chances for enduring the same.

I had a few:

--Having the inner seams of my jeans literally fall apart, with just thin elastic threads holding them together and my fat thighs squishing out between. This was moments before guests were to start arriving for a party. I had to put on my other TIGHT jeans and pray they didn't give out.

--Spending my holidays crying and exhausted and depressed, with my asthma being so bad that all I could do was lay around and cry and cough.

--Being desperately out of breath when climbing 2 flights of stairs at my workplace, while my co-worker bounded up them and was fine at the top. I was heaving embarassingly. Yes, some was asthma but it was mostly because Iwas fat.

I've been beyond fed up with my weight gain over the past five years but I guess in state of emtional paralysis and frustration with the ineffectiveness of my last couple of efforts to improve things.

But this time...my size 18 jeans were getting to be too tight, my digestive system was in a constant state of chaos, and my belly was constantly bloated like a pregnant woman's. I tried to "cut down" without any conscious plan or tracking and that did not work. I tried to "eat more vegetables" but with all the other crap I was eating, salads and vegetables caused IBS-like symptoms. I figured I owed it to myself to start monitoring exactly what I was eating before I ran to the doctor (with no insurance) to describe all these symptoms.

Lo and behold, just three weeks of controlled calories & healthier eating - my digestion has calmed and the major belly bloat is going away and I can eat salads & broccoli & cauliflower again!

I suppose I had a lot of last straws. I gained weight over only a couple years, then I lost a huge portion and gained it ALL back, and then lost it again and was just stuck for the past year and a half or so...

After the re-gain, about 3 years ago now I suppose, a subordinate at work looked at me and said "You've gained so much weight." without any malice or mean spirit, just stated it as fact. I had. I'd regained everything I'd lost. I was immense. I started over.

A hill and my inability to get up it without stopping to rest multiple times.