I thought it might be fun to share some of our wake up calls/ mortifying fat moments. I'll share two of my worst moments.

I went to the fair with my job once and the man operating the ride had to force the ride bar down. I thought I was going to have to get off and explain to my coworkers that I couldn't ride because I was too fat. Thank goodness he eventually got it to click, but I was so mortified and upset I just wanted the ride to stop the whole time.

At my highest weight when I decided I was going to do something about it I bought a workout video game with a one size fits all belt. I had to use safety pins to get it on. That did not help my motivation!

OMG! This is fun! Embarassing, yes, but fun!

At one point i still didn't recognize i was fat. I thought of myself as slightly chubby but not obese. I was at a restaurant with 2 friends and a small girl shouted to her mom "Mommy, mommy, let's sit there near the fat lady, mommy, mommy, there's a table there!". I said to my friends "Poor woman, i'd be so embarassed to be called fat like this... so glad it's not me!". And then the whole family came walking at my direction and sat at the table right next to us. Both my friends were skinny. I was the fat lady.

Once i was trying on dresses. I have really broad shoulders. I put on this dress that i just couldn't get out due to my shoulders now being huuuge. I had to call one of the people who worked at the store to help me get undressed by pulling the dress (a 17yo girl who didn't seem to be sympathetic at all). Sooooo ashamed....

I started to notice that airplane seats and seat belts were smaller and the back of the airplane seat in front of me seemed so much closer to my knees/legs. Air travel was so uncomfortable - especially if the person next to me was also obese.

Then seeing the look on other passengers faces when they realized their assigned seat was next to me - mortifying...

Awww, these are sad.

My wake up call was waking up several times a night because I sleep on my side and whichever arm I was laying on would go numb. I was crushing my own arm with my weight! Heartburn and shortness of breath with walking up the stairs in my house. I kept thinking I was not that fat but if life was so difficult at that weight I cannot imagine how hard it is for people even heavier...or how I could even move at all if I gained anymore.

I've had plenty of embarrassing moments though never had any "wake up"moments that last. It takes a lot more than a wake up call to make a change in my life.

So last year my friend was sporting a brand new bookbag and she was telling me how comfortable it was to carry so I asked if I could try carrying it. Well, she weighs about 100lbs lol and the straps fit her, not me but that didn't stop me. I proceeded to put on the bag only to have both straps snap off as I squeezed them over my shoulders. Mortifying!

And as a teacher there have been plenty of times when the odd 3rd grader would occassionally ask me if I was having a baby. Uhm, no.

Daily things like picking a spot to sit in the subway that may be a tad too tight and then being pinned against 2 strangers thigh to thigh but too embarrassed to get up.

I've had lots of embarrassing moments, but like Wannabeskinny, no real "wake-up" moments. My wake-up was a very slow process of getting past some mental health issues I have and learning to care about myself. Wanting to be healthy came after that.

As far as moments... I've had the roller coaster problem, where the bar barely fit this past new years when I took my son to his first amusement park. I've also had the plane seat problem, where people very obviously did not want to sit next to me, and although I didn't need a seat belt extension, I came pretty darn close.

The most recent (which has been while I was dieting) was being a bridesmaid in my sister's wedding and being the only on the groomsmen weren't hitting on.. but of course still being in the group so being able to hear all of it. I've also been shouted at out of a car window as I was jogging outside, and had people tell me that I really shouldn't be buying snacks, and should consider my health at the grocery store. Snacks were actually for boyfriend, who is pretty rail thin, and he said so.. but the person making the comment didn't believe him and restated to me that I should eat healthier snacks like nuts/celery/fruit.

Not being able to perform basic hygiene.
Getting cramps when trying to navigate under my mammoth gut to reach and wipe myself back there while on the toilet.

Busting the button on my tight 66 size work pants which were my one and only work pants (yep i had to wash them every night so they were pretty sad looking) Started my WOE the next day.

Wow and look at you now, an inspiration!

thanks and back at ya with your progress.

This situation was prior to my hypothyroid diagnosis many years ago. I was right around 400 pounds and in my early 20's. I was changing gyno's and went to pick up my records. I decided to read the Dr's notes about me. She described me as being "morbidly obese". This was a long time ago and I had never heard that term before. I knew what the words meant separately and this was very upsetting for me.

Being denied for life insurance due to my weight - that was both mortifying and inspiring. I immediately buckled down and changed my lifestyle. But the following year, I had to complete an "obesity questionnaire" in order to get approved. I got approved, which was awesome, but again depressing. I shouldn't have to re-enroll again, but if I do, I hope to never ever have to fill out a questionnaire about how fat I am

My 17 year old daughter and I joined a gym a few months ago. I went to the consult knowing that there would be a hard sell involved for a personal trainer. Even though I knew this is part of the presentation, when I had my assessment and they told me I was very unhealthy (209 lbs on 5'2) and it would cost 6K for a year of personal training to get me on track. I sat in the office telling the girl that I knew I was overweight but we'd cancelled our cable to pay for the gym and I don't have 6K lying around to spend on a PT.
She pretty well told me I wouldn't have success without it so I sat there teary eyed and wondered how my motivation to join a gym could result in my feeling so unmotivated.

I haven't been back and that was a few weeks ago.

Leeh Please don't let that trainer's comments hold you back. Her comments are total nonsense! I'm sure there is someone else there who can help you with a program. You can easily use the cardio equipment without figuring out a weight training routine. You don't even need a gym membership to get a good workout in. I haven't been to a gym in years and I workout every day with fitness videos. Wishing you the very best.

My wake up call SHOULD have come 9 years ago on the day I delivered my son. I was 326 lbs and 20 years old. I had gone to the Dr on Friday and they told me everything was fine- BP, heart rate, etc but they were afraid Andrew would get to be too big so, I was to go in, fake it, my OB was the one on call, she would admit me and induce. That was 4pm. At 8am the next morning, contractions were 2 minutes apart but due to fluid retention I couldn't feel a single thing, my kidneys had already stopped functioning and Dr's couldn't figure out how my BP was so high and I WASN'T stroking out. 10 hours of labor and an emergency C section later... it took 5 hours after surgery for me to be awake again.
But no. That wasn't enough. Nearly dying wasn't enough. I've had plenty of embarrassing stories- having to walk off a roller coaster because the straps were too small, injuring myself due to my weight, using a seat belt extender to fit on an air plane.. I even ACTUALLY broke a chair at work- snapped the wheels right off of it- they had to buy me a "big and tall man's chair"... and I'm a girl. But none of that changed it. It wasn't until I got a hairline fracture in my foot this summer and saw my weight on the Dr's scale- 346# that I finally had enough. I spent so much time looking at all of my fat in the mirror in disgust. Aug 18th I hit the ground running and I haven't looked back. Since then I've lost 34# and am going strong. It was something about seeing a number so close to 350# and thinking that made me a hundred pounds heavier than my boyfriend (who has since broken up with me because he's afraid I am losing weight just so I can replace him) got to me. Next stop- 40# and under 300# by Christmas!

I had to wait until my husband had a few drinks in him to get him to admit that we weren't having as much sex because of my weight.

The topic of my weight (well, both our weights) had come up before, but after previous attempts to lose weight I was terrified of trying again. I've only tried twice before, but both times I gained back far more than I lost, and I wasn't ready to go through that again. I knew he didn't like my viewpoint (he believes all it takes is willpower)... but I didn't know what to do about it, or even how to look into it. My doctors had too many different viewpoints and too much varying advice, and I didn't trust anyone anymore.

But after our conversation, I realized I wasn't being fair to my husband. Both of us were the same weight and height (5'10" 180 lbs) when we met, and he'd been a perfect gentleman and always my best friend, and barely said a word about it despite that I'd gained 120 lbs.

Love can be unconditional, but I'm not sure lust can!

So I came here.

The stories on the Success Stories boards are what convinced me to change my diet. And in conjunction with real food/whole food blogs, I'm now a calorie counter for life. I've set goals, and I will reward myself at intervals along the way for sticking to the plan I've set, even once I'm at the point where I'm maintaining.

My husband had also gained 70 lbs (he weighs 250, but his weight gain leveled out a long time ago and mine kept going), and when I told him I'd found a lifestyle I wanted to switch to—eating whole foods and keeping track of calories—he jumped right on board. We're both on track and accountable, and I know he feels 100x better about both our bodies already.

The sex life's already on its way back to normal, if anyone's wondering. TMI, I know.