What was the 'last straw' for you?
 

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.

Originally Posted by CD3:
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!

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 :D

my employers child asked me "how do you even buy underwear that fits!?"
 

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.

Oh I've definitely got one....but it's a long story so bare with me...

I started my last semester of college this past September, moved into a new house off campus with two of my good friends. At home, I worked as a lifeguard/swim instructor for my local YMCA for the past 7 years. I'd like to think that I know what I'm doing when it comes to the field, and when I found out that there was another YMCA a few blocks away from my new house, I decided I should get a part time job there when I wasn't going to classes.

So the first couple of weeks of school I just focused on going to classes, eating all the foods I used to sneak behind my parents (big closet eater here), taking full advantage of the fast food joints at the end of my street. A few weeks into the semester ( I think I was steadily gaining weight at this point) I had arranged an interview with the aquatic director of the YMCA who said that I should be prepared to do a swimming test and an interview.

All my bathing suits were kinda gross & flaking since the high chlorine levels at my home YMCA, so I went to the local sporting goods store and bought a HUGE one that I thought would have to fit. It was expensive too! So I got home and attempted to try it on.....it got up to my thighs and the lining started to tear. I was so upset but it still didn't hit me that it was ME that was the problem, not the bathing suit. I opted to wear one of the older gross suits to the interview.

Next day I go to the YMCA, where I sit down and wait for the aquatic director and see all of these athletic fit lifeguards and swim instructors around the pool. Little intimidating, but since I had 7 years of experience I was feeling more than confident in my abilities. The aquatic director asks me to go change and then she'll have me do the 'typical YMCA test'. I think to myself, "oh I got this", I did this 7 years ago when I was first hired (keep in mind I was still overweight back then, but I was exercising daily with my track & field team), really thought it was going to be EASY, a piece of cake.

Well, it wasn't. It was actually one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. My entire body ached and my face was so red, I really thought I was going to die. I'm a prideful person, so I kept pushing myself to finish, and I did, but barely. I felt like the swim just kept going and going, and it was ONLY 700 yds, what most swimmers consider to be a warm-up.

As I was doing my laps I could see the other lifeguards looking at me, thinking they were going to have to save ME. One of the most embarrassing feelings I have ever felt, as someone with so much experience, who is supposed to be able to save other people, I was the one they were concerned about.

I was disgusted with myself, and that truly was my breaking point. I thought to my how did you get to this point? And as I left that YMCA I knew I could do two things, go eat my feelings and try to make myself feel better about myself through sugar and fat, OR I could go throw out every junk food in my house and begin to make healthy choices for once in my life....guess what I chose? ;)

I clearly didn't get the job, never even got a call back, but in some ways I'm happy that it happened that way, because with the time I would have been working there, I'm out exercising, making better decisions for my body and new lifestyle. Since September 25, 2009 I've been going with this new lifestyle, and sure I've had a few days where I've wanted to throw in the towel and eat everything in sight (and I do have the occasional holiday cheat day), but I remember how I felt that day and my final goals, and it's the biggest motivator for me.

When people I see now ask me what inspired me to lose weight, I don't share this story because it was so embarrassing for me, I just say I had a lot of free time so I figured I might as well put my time and efforts into myself but I wanted to share with you all because I know there is at least one person out there that can relate to this.... Oh & I'm still debating going back to that YMCA when I'm done with the weight loss and into maintaining, and trying to swim those 700 yds again, maybe see if all those lifeguards recognize me now. :cool:

So that's my 'last straw' story...phew I applaud you if you read all that! :D

I’ve had too many last straws! Oddly enough, though, there wasn’t one this time around. I think I just got tired of stressing myself out by “planning” the new lifestyle I was going to embrace but never really doing it. Over the years, I’ve seen horribly unflattering pictures and caught glimpses of my enormous self in mirrors and it’s always disturbed me, but for some reason I never had the motivation to quit eating all the time and try to exercise.

I think the key to my success this time has been that I haven’t pressured myself and I started from a calm, rational place and took health into more consideration than my appearance and how much I detested it.

I would have to say it was breaking over the 300 mark. Years ago I hated even going over 200, but I did nothing and just accepted it. Now, 100 pounds heavier, I was mortified when I saw what the scale read at the Dr.'s office!

I hate that I cannot do physical things with my family. I have a hard time participating in parent against child basketball night. I find myself out of breath at times when I haven't even done anything physical to get that way.

It is time to take my life back, I deserve better than this!

Next goal: 10% loss/ currently at 8.9% loss

My last straw - I started wearing sweat pants whenever I wasnt working. On my way home from I would unbutton my pants so my belly can breathe. (yea..you read that right. Belly needs to breathe) LOL

I never wear heels or any shoes that could possibly be uncomfortable. So my closet full of cute sexy shoes. Nah! Keep those in the corner and wear slippers or birkenstocks. Not a cute look 24/7.

I wouldnt stand for any period of time. If I went to a party instead of circulating and conversating I would seek out the first chair and sit and eat. THAT IS IT!! People would have to come to me. Oh and if I dropped my napkin. oh NOOOO! I would hold my breathe to pick it up. IT was THAT difficult to pick it up.

There were so many signs I needed to lose weight why I ignored it for so long is beyond me. I am not giving up till I am comfortable in my own skin again.

Hearing that I have PCOS and that one way to reduce or eliminate symptoms was to lose weight was my 'last straw'. My weight never had an effect on my health before that moment, but it scared the crap out of me to hear that, finally, obesity had caught up with me.

The last straw for me was when my surgeon told me there was nothing he could do for my severely damaged back. I was looking forward to some good news that there would be and end to my pain and suffering. My hope was shattered when he told me the surgery would be too risky. I was given a 50% chance of improving my pain to a more tolerable level if I lost some weight. I am taking that chance for myself and my family. I look forward to a day when I can join in activities with my family instead of sitting on the side watching life pass me by.

My last straw was trying on a bunch of size 22 clothes and realizing they were too tight (I'd been wearing stretchy maternity clothes for over two years) and no matter which way I turned, nothing looked good.

I have always been able to camoflauge the bulk of my fat in clothes and 'fake' being thinner than I was. But that, plus my abysmal state of fitness, really was the final straw for me. I believe that was October 2008. I tried a couple different diets and methods before finding what worked for me, and haven't looked back since.

Originally Posted by LBLAZY:
Oh I've definitely got one....but it's a long story so bare with me...

I started my last semester of college this past September, moved into a new house off campus with two of my good friends. At home, I worked as a lifeguard/swim instructor for my local YMCA for the past 7 years. I'd like to think that I know what I'm doing when it comes to the field, and when I found out that there was another YMCA a few blocks away from my new house, I decided I should get a part time job there when I wasn't going to classes.

So the first couple of weeks of school I just focused on going to classes, eating all the foods I used to sneak behind my parents (big closet eater here), taking full advantage of the fast food joints at the end of my street. A few weeks into the semester ( I think I was steadily gaining weight at this point) I had arranged an interview with the aquatic director of the YMCA who said that I should be prepared to do a swimming test and an interview.

All my bathing suits were kinda gross & flaking since the high chlorine levels at my home YMCA, so I went to the local sporting goods store and bought a HUGE one that I thought would have to fit. It was expensive too! So I got home and attempted to try it on.....it got up to my thighs and the lining started to tear. I was so upset but it still didn't hit me that it was ME that was the problem, not the bathing suit. I opted to wear one of the older gross suits to the interview.

Next day I go to the YMCA, where I sit down and wait for the aquatic director and see all of these athletic fit lifeguards and swim instructors around the pool. Little intimidating, but since I had 7 years of experience I was feeling more than confident in my abilities. The aquatic director asks me to go change and then she'll have me do the 'typical YMCA test'. I think to myself, "oh I got this", I did this 7 years ago when I was first hired (keep in mind I was still overweight back then, but I was exercising daily with my track & field team), really thought it was going to be EASY, a piece of cake.

Well, it wasn't. It was actually one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. My entire body ached and my face was so red, I really thought I was going to die. I'm a prideful person, so I kept pushing myself to finish, and I did, but barely. I felt like the swim just kept going and going, and it was ONLY 700 yds, what most swimmers consider to be a warm-up.

As I was doing my laps I could see the other lifeguards looking at me, thinking they were going to have to save ME. One of the most embarrassing feelings I have ever felt, as someone with so much experience, who is supposed to be able to save other people, I was the one they were concerned about.

I was disgusted with myself, and that truly was my breaking point. I thought to my how did you get to this point? And as I left that YMCA I knew I could do two things, go eat my feelings and try to make myself feel better about myself through sugar and fat, OR I could go throw out every junk food in my house and begin to make healthy choices for once in my life....guess what I chose? ;)

I clearly didn't get the job, never even got a call back, but in some ways I'm happy that it happened that way, because with the time I would have been working there, I'm out exercising, making better decisions for my body and new lifestyle. Since September 25, 2009 I've been going with this new lifestyle, and sure I've had a few days where I've wanted to throw in the towel and eat everything in sight (and I do have the occasional holiday cheat day), but I remember how I felt that day and my final goals, and it's the biggest motivator for me.

When people I see now ask me what inspired me to lose weight, I don't share this story because it was so embarrassing for me, I just say I had a lot of free time so I figured I might as well put my time and efforts into myself but I wanted to share with you all because I know there is at least one person out there that can relate to this.... Oh & I'm still debating going back to that YMCA when I'm done with the weight loss and into maintaining, and trying to swim those 700 yds again, maybe see if all those lifeguards recognize me now. :cool:

So that's my 'last straw' story...phew I applaud you if you read all that! :D

I know how you feel about it being emberassing. I felt that way about my incident, how they had to send in an ATV to come get me. Then the ambulance worker whined at me for my boyfriend having called 911 just so I could get out of there. Not to mention the cute nurse that had to tie the back of my flappy hospital gown... oy, I could go on LOL

I've been up and down with my weight for the last 4-5 years and I've generally been overweight for as long as I can remember. So, there have probably been a few "last straws". This time around that last straw came on New Years Eve. I ate so much that day I found it difficult to breathe. That really scared me. I took the next three days to look over the last year of my life and the 30-40 lbs I had gained. I came up with a plan and on Monday, January 4, 2010 I joined the gym and started said plan. I've been OP since.

Mine was kind of random, I'm not even sure if it was my last straw, but the words really stuck with me for some reason. I have always wanted to lose weight, but could never find the motivation. This last Spring and Summer, I was bigger than I ever have been.

Well, my boyfriend is in the Army, and he deployed at the beginning of October. Right before they deployed, I was listening to some of the soldiers talk. I don't think they even knew I was listening. One soldier said "All the girlfriends and wives either get fatter or get skinnier when we're gone." They all discussed this and agreed it was true. While missing their loved ones, the wives and girlfriends either ate for comfort or they lost weight from worrying.

That concept really struck me for some reason. I was a girlfriend. And these soldiers agreed that it was fact that I'd either get fatter or get skinnier over the next year. And I realized, I'm either going to continue to get fatter for the rest of my life, or I'm going to get a handle on it and get skinnier.

So I followed the soldier's statement. I have indeed gotten skinnier while my guy is deployed :)

Being 15 pounds from 300 was the last straw for me.I have been overweight all my life ,so I have never known what it feels like to be thin.I would lose 20 gain back 30.I yo-yoed my way 2 285 pounds.Even though I have spent most of my life trying 2 lose weight something about almost reaching 300 pounds was a kick in the head and the rear end. I have lost 30 pounds over the last year, not very fast i know but better than gaining that 15 pounds to 300.So this is it,m trying 2 learn a new way 2 eat.I wouldnt say it is easy but so far it has not been hard,maybe because I am not being so hard on myself

I'm not sure what exactly triggered "the moment" exactly, but having to deal with high blood pressure and possibly going on meds for it at 30 was a big influence.

I dont think i`ve had a last straw moment really i just realised now that my youngest child is 4 years old i have no other excuse, its time i lost this weight once and for all, this is day one for me as i joined my local rosemary conley diet and fitness class, and i`v managed to stick to my calorie allowance which i`m really happy with so i`m just trying to take it one day at a time.
I had a rough time of it when i had my last baby (we both nearly died!!) and it was pointed out to me that weight may have been a factor as it was an emergency section and they had problems getting tubes down my throat and that could have been my weight and the fact that i carried alot of fluid while pregnant, but its on my medical file now so any op in the future will have to be well planned, so i recon its time for my own future health and for any possible op that might be round the corner (we never know) i should get my weight down :)
So here`s hoping we all manage to get to our goals so best of luck to us all :)

The day before I turned 30 I had a doctor's appointment concerning my foot problem (plantar fasciitis) and the scale read 300. I hadn't weighed myself all year and I avoid cameras and mirrors like the plague... so I really had no idea.

I mean, you look down at your body and for some reason in your mind, you don't look as fat as you really are. Or maybe that's just how my mind works...

Then I thought, wait, so I'm having serious knee problems, major foot problems, back problems galore, and I'm constantly in and out of the doctor's office. I'm only 30. I want to be healthy on my 40th birthday and not feel broken.

But the last straw was when I thought, ok, I'll do Weight Watchers again. Oh I'll blog about it! I went to my usual blog site to open a WL account and realized, hmm, I already have one. Logged in and saw a post from about 3 years ago when I started WW. I talked about Atkins and my other diet attempts in the blog, and how certain I was that WW would be the final lifestyle that would fix me.

I was pretty disappointed with myself, to put it mildly. I went down the WW road and it didn't work out for me in the end. So now I am determined to find a way to really change, and permanently.

Schubunny - your story is so scary!! Yikes I would have been terrified. Im glad you are doing fine now!!

My final straw is actually a POSITIVE one. I have always wanted to find a guy who would fall in love with me for ME and not for my face or body. I've always gotten hit on A LOT and I used weight as a bit of a barrier to weed out guys here and there. I met my bf online and I didnt start losing weight until AFTER I met him in person. I was a little scared of what he would think when he saw me since he is a super fit Navy corpsman. Our first meeting was perfect though and he made me feel incredibly beautiful the whole time. After I came back home to CA I started to slowly let go of the weight that I was carrying. Its taking me a long time to do it but I'd like to think that slow and steady wins the race :)

In January of 2009 my oldest daughter turned 1. I saw pictures of myself at her party. I looked HUGE. I hadn't weighed myself since she'd been born, and at that time I was around 250lbs. I stepped on the scale and the numbers flashed 270. I about cried because I had always sworn to myself that 250lbs was my limit, I refused to get any heavier than that... But somehow I had. So I decided to do something about it. I had lost 25lbs by the beginning of March, then I found out I was pregnant again. I was determined not to let being pregnant be a license to gain weight all willy nilly. So during my pregnancy I gained a total of 5lbs, and once I had my second daughter (Nov. 24, 2009) I jumped right back on the bandwagon. And here I am!

I haven't really had a "final straw" moment, but I have kind of been on a diet by proxy. In November my dh went to the doctor for shoulder pain and ended up getting a EKG because his BP was 180/120. He was put on meds immediately and started eating better. I in turn started buying better food at the grocery store, and started eating better food because that's what there was to eat around here ;)

Originally Posted by LiLLy19:
Schubunny - your story is so scary!! Yikes I would have been terrified. Im glad you are doing fine now!!

Thanks Lilly :) I was so scared that I think I cried the whole night in the woods. Half rom that and half from frustration and just wanting to go home.

Also I really love your story. I know myself I have a complex in the way that I feel no good looking guy would ever want me due to my weight. But I have a wonderful (and sexy LOL) boyfriend who is encouraging me all the way but would be fine if I stayed how i am- and it looks like you found yourself one of those gems too. :)

The last straw for me was when I got on the Wii Fit balance board and it said that awful word "overweight". My 5 year old repeated it so many times I cried.. I am happy to say I am about 5 lbs from "overweight".. My son won't know what happened the day I get on the Wii and it doesn't repeat that word... Everyone needs a little push I guess

I love hearing these stories!


My opinion about my weight and appearance has always wavered. For most of my life, I just didn't care. I was the "skinny" one in my group of friends, so what did I need to fret about? Furthermore, I was thoroughly convinced that if I were thinner, my rib cage would be big and poke out and I'd look like some disproportional freak of nature.

What pushed me over the edge and made me take the plunge was a chance of luck. I don't know why or how, but I had somehow come across Before & After pictures on a forum similar to this... And holy cow!!! All those photos of real people made me realize, for the first time in my life, that a big person can get small, and a small person can get big. More things shrink than just the tummy. I was also given the tools needed to go on this journey, which I previously didn't have. (After all, the media puts so much out there in terms of weightloss. When you're ignorant, it's very difficult to point out what is true and too good to be true).

For me my "final straw" moment was all of 2009. I hit my highest weight ever, 225, and a bunch of other little things. The biggest thing was probably in August. I was on a 10 day trip for my biology class. We were going to be backpacking, hiking, mountain climbing, and rafting for 10 days. I think we ended up averaging 8 miles of hiking a day.

I was the only person who couldn't make it up the 14'er with my 12 other peers. It was embarrassing and I was ashamed of where I was in life. That was my final straw.

My problem is I have had many, many "last-straw" moments. Maybe this is will b the last. I am angry at myself as I have gained, lost and gained again over the last three years 60lbs. Why, why, why? My DH has seen me up down and up again and of course says it doesn't matter but I am tired of being tired.I started back again on Monday and am doing really well and really want this to be my last straw moment now!
Great thread. I love this site and all the support.

Well I'd gotten a blood glucose test when I was 16, and I was 1 point away from the highest it's supposed to be. My doctor told me I was pre-diabetic. I remember being really quiet while my mom drove me home. She told me I needed to lose weight, and I agreed, but I didn't know how.

I went that whole year not even really trying. I was extremely depressed. I had no friends at school since my weight had ballooned (~50 pounds in 2-3 years). I was skipping a lot of school, and none of my teachers noticed or seemed to care, which made me feel worse. My dad knew but just let me, he didn't know what to say to me. I KNEW I needed to lose weight, for my life.

Well that summer my best friend moved in with me and my dad. She'd already graduated, and her mom was charging her a lot of rent even though she was only 17, so we took her in. We had the same pediatrician and went in together. Our doctor told me I should join Weight Watchers (she'd said it before), and this time I actually thought about it. I really liked and respected my pediatrician, so I valued her opinion.

On the way home I asked Tina. She said she was down. Just knowing I had someone to figure this whole mess out with me gave me the courage to finally do something. I had REALLY bad social anxiety, but we went the next day to the center my pediatrician went to and recommended and registered, and the rest is history. When I get to goal I'm going to email my old doctor and thank her. If she wasn't my doctor, I don't know where I'd be right now.

Edit- I've thanked my best friend multiple times for her support and help, and putting up with my "my way or the high way" attitude in the beginning lol.

my last straw moment was realizing i was the biggest girl out of the gradchildren. The biggest in my family(even dad.) also i saw a picture that was not very flattering ...

Last straw for me
 

I'm not overweight, but I was terribly out of shape. 2 flights of stairs would kill me. I didn't want to show my arms or legs or abdomen. My knees were KILLING me. I thought it was because of my bad feet, but I've always had bad feet, so nothing had changed.

I never thought that my knees were hurting because my hamstrings were so tight, and my legs were so out of shape.

I've been doing aerobics and some light strength training for the past month + nearly straight, and I feel so much better.

I've only lost 2 pounds, but I've put on a lot of muscle, and the fat is JUST coming off. I'm excited.

and my knees don't hurt!:carrot: