I could write entire books on why I've started, especially since I've started so many times.
I was a skinny kid until puberty hit and I got smacked down with all sorts of illnesses that landed me in the hospital throughout junior high. I never did completely recover from the weight I gained, resulting in being heavy all of my adult life, at an average of 250. Until now, I've only been able to get under that number twice in my life; once through diet pills, another time by starving. I'm doing my best to do it right this time.
Back in 2005 I was extremely unhappy. My life, my relationship, my job, my weight, my finances, my friends were all taking a horrible toll on me. And as usual I guess I turned to food for comfort while doing my best to hide from the world. I had jumped from 250 (the weight I've spent most of my adult life at) all the way up to 360 in the span of two years, what seemed like the blink of an eye. I took a long, hard look in the mirror one day and couldn't believe where I'd ended up. I took a deep breath and decided that no matter what, my weight needed to start going the opposite direction. Both of my parents died far too young and I don't want to follow the same path of becoming diabetic, being diagnosed with cancer, and having limited mobility.
I've had many stalls since then, but I've managed to lose 120 pounds so far without gaining any of it back, and I'm currently on a mission to push harder and get down to at least 199 and eventually reach my ultimate goal of 150.
I've had some tough battles along with way, especially while still living with my ex. I have the full support of my new husband these days along with lots of free time, so I really have no excuses. I take walks early in the morning, do exercise videos, and most importantly, I don't bring junk into the house. I no longer buy cookies, chips, etc., and I don't drink soda (I do buy soda for my husband but it totally turns me off to even think about drinking anymore). I pick up fresh produce and try to eat as many whole foods as possible. I do eat more fast food than I'd like but I make sure I'm calorie-aware so I can make informed choices; for example I often have the grilled chicken salad whenever we visit Jack in the Box. When eating at a sit-down restaurant I look up menus before-hand when possible and sometimes look up calories right on my phone while sitting there! We occasionally splurge on pizza but I'll typically only take a slice or two while having a homemade side like spinach salad.
The most important thing that has pulled me out of a recent but extremely long plateau has been the new exercise I've been doing. In addition to the every day walking and the exercise videos, I've been doing weighted toning exercises for my arms and have been trying to be more active overall. And while the weather's still nice I'm trying to get some good old sunshine for a change (I swear I was a vampire in a former life, lol).
It takes time to establish new, healthy habits, and even more for a positive attitude (at least in my case), but it all helps. For the record, I hate calorie-counting. It makes me anxious and obsessive (which is how I ended up starving myself a few years back). I just try to take it easy by making the best choices I can each day and by learning from poorer choices rather than berating myself over them. I'm pretty happy with my progress thus far and am especially happy with my health issues that have cleared up.
Oh, and when I finally get a waist that curves in instead of out, well . . .