For me it was being on a strenuous group hike, that I had trained for, and realizing I was still the most out of shape. And then on the way down the guide and I were talking and she asked "Do you exercise on a regular basis?" It hit me hard because if she was asking that, she clearly couldn't tell that I did. I realized I wasn't working out enough or pushing myself enough. I also realized that what I thought was exercise induced asthma was really just being out of shape (and overweight.)

I love hiking and it makes me sad that if I tried to today I would die within minutes :(

Last night I was trying to take pictures of my new haircut to show my mom and really struggled to pick out one I liked. Usually pictures other people take when I am doing stuff, I am okay with; but trying to pose decently wasn't working. I just looked kind of bad, even with the hair. I just couldn't overcome how much heavier I looked and how much it changes my face. I look so puffy and old. Sigh. Anyway I tried to focus on the positive and ignore the rest for now.

I went to throw the garbage out of my building and came back so out of breath I almost had a panic attack, my lower back was in such pain from almost no physical effort. Also I was 10 pounds away from 300 and didn't want to see that number on the scale because if I did I knew there would be no end to how high it would go.

My friends are active and outdoorsy. So much so that rather than sit around and plan the evening, we'll hike the whole day and throw ideas out while on the mountain. Well, one time, at my highest weight (245-ish. I stopped going near a scale by then) we were trekking through a local state park. I had to stop so often and I was so red in the face, I thought I'd pass out. But when my friends stopped with me, it wasn't annoyance or frustration or even anger; it was worse. It was pity. I saw it in their eyes and heard it in their tone: "don't worry, we can rest again. It's no problem." Those words and those looks, they'll be with me forever. I'll never be the reason anyone stops again because I'll never stop again.

My Wake up call came about from a few different moments. One was finally weighing myself after years, and being above 200 & the highest weight I've ever been.

Also we had just moved and in our new home is a giant mirror above the sink that is right in front of the shower. Having to see the actual image of myself, naked in all its entirety, shocked and crushed me. How did I gain so much weight and hardly notice???

After these happenings I completely noticed how out of shape I'd become. Just everyday tasks took more and more effort and even getting dressed was a huge task! finding clothes that still fit/ didn't make me look like a sausage squeezed into its casing etc.

Now two months have passed and I've lost about 10lbs and I already feel like a new person. I have way more energy than ever, and total control over myself and what I put into myself. Now I can appreciate the process of coming to this realization. I've had to make positive changes to improve my life. Before I was simply going through the motions. I wasn't truly happy with myself or my lifestyle. Thank you for making this post :) It is great to remember the reasons why we are loosing - To gain life :cp:

My wake up call came from the over the glasses look I got from my doctor, when she suggested that I get a diabetes test and told me my bmi was creeping up to 30 which is considered obese. I was in total denial. I hadn't got on a scale in years, and I was so bad I would tell the nurses that weighed me not to tell me how much I weighed. They didn't, but my doctor made sure I knew.

Anyway, I thought she was nuts. O.K. I had gained 25 pounds in the last several years, but I thought how did being a little overweight qualify me for a diabetes test? The answer to that came in a show called "Weight of the Nation", where a man had type 2 diabetes from being a few pounds overweight. That did it for me.

Since then or over the past two years I have taken off 18 pounds, and I am well within my healthy BMI and no longer considered at risk for this horrible disease. I am very close to my goal weight now, 6 more pounds which have turned out to be the toughest to lose. But I no longer dread the scale or the look on my doctors face. She's happy, and I feel great.

I will never let those pounds do a stealth attack on me again.

At 50 something my knees are going - trying not to have to have - omg - I must be 70 something.

For me it was being nearly 300lbs at 22 years old. I got out of breath doing everything, although I still am thankful that I could get things done, but I got out of breath going upstairs, walking from my car to a building, tying my shoes, trying on clothes at a store...pretty much any movement beyond crossing a room got my out of breath. I also reached a size 20 pants and was wearing between a 2XL and 3XL at most stores.

I'm a pear shape so my butt has always been huge, but you know, eventually weight does start piling on everywhere. My face was becoming very chunky and I just wasn't recognizing myself anymore. I couldn't ignore it.

I've lost about 70lbs so I'm halfway there. I can proudly ride a bike, walk and run. I also climb stairs and tying my shoes doesn't make me breathless.

Although I still have a ways to go, I will say remembering what it was like at nearly 300lbs is exactly what's keeping me going. I don't want to just be surviving. I want to be living.

For me, the first wake up call was seeing a number on the scale that was way too close to 200 pounds. That, and the fact that my size 16 jeans were getting too snug, did it for me. I lost 15 pounds after that, but stayed in the 170s for a long time, mostly because I couldn't get the clean eating part right.

The second wake up call came ten weeks ago, when I realized that I'd be turning 30 later this year, and I had spent all of my 20s being fat and tired and scared of being the next person in my family to be diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension. So ten weeks ago, I joined a gym, started eating right (for the most part), and 22 pounds later, I feel pretty good :)

For me my wake up call was a mixture of things. The first thing that happened was me going on antidepressants and gaining more weight until I got out of breathe doing housework and got aching joints, so I was suffering a fair bit. Then my husband got diagnosed with diabetes and I witnessed how much he has to go through with it and I don't want to end up the same way. Then the last thing that seems to be motivating me the most is that I'm really unhappy at this weight. I was fit when growing up and I enjoyed it. Then when I met my husband who isn't it into fitness I gained a heap of weight because of the lifestyle. He likes to spend a lot of time indoors and he eats a fair bit too. The weight gain made me unhappy because in my later teens I dreamed of becoming really fit and possibly having a career in fitness and I really want that career!

Blah, my wake up call was several things. Being 18 and having no friends to hang out with because I was too anxious and worried what someone else would think of me. Dropping out of High school because I couldnt maintain my grades because I was way too tired and disinterested. Not having my drivers license because I was afraid my stomach would drive the car and not my hands. Not moving out because I've never had a job because nobody would hire someone my size (My highest weight was 350) and the moment I found out I wouldnt be able to accomplish my dream career, which was becoming a tattoo artist, because my finger was broken and my hand forever shaky.

And the most unimportant to others but really important to me is that I couldnt go jogging or running, couldnt go to the beach and not be stared at, I couldnt go biking because the last bike I had broke from my size. I couldnt go on trails for fear that I would clumsily fall over something and die there and become a feast for some animals.

But now :) I have another bike which is perfect for me. I have been walking trails, I can jog now! I can't run yet and havent been to the beach so those things will come in time. As soon as I can have my weight under control, I can be in control of my life!

Mine was a photo. My daughter's first day at preschool. I looked terrible! huge and my girl looked unconfortable next to me... that was it! Ive lost 11 kilos since that day and Im not stopping, not now not ever until I reach my weight goal!

Old thread, but I like it. For me, it was when I was bent over reaching for something and my boyfriend took a picture of me from behind (I was fully clothed). He liked my body but I was horrified at how big and thick/chunky my legs looked! They never looked that big in the mirror! Made him delete it immediately

The first time I lost weight, it was right before college, and I wanted a fresh start. This also happened to be right on the heels of the director of my high school drama telling me I was too big to play a love interest (this was after the music director told me I had the best voice for the part and was the only girl who could do the New York accent well. That EXTRA stung because I knew I'd have gotten it if I wasn't fat. He was an ******* and I had terrible self esteem at the time. Still a little mad I let him get away with saying that to me! What? Big girls don't fall in love in your universe??? lol) Looking back... a part in a high school musical isn't a big deal, but it was a HUGE motivator then. I wanted to stick it to him, haha.

I lost about 30lbs but still felt like I was huge and it discouraged me. Stress and general bad eating choices (my first diet wasn't very sustainable) had me gaining it back.

The second time, was when I saw my highest weight ever, compared myself to photos taken over spring break (right after I started gaining back) and was like WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED. I'd never been over 200 before, and here I was almost hitting 210! Now looking back, I'd do anything for the ~165lbs that I was that first time I quit. I looked great!

Bright side: this time, I've actually started incorporating healthy food/choices into my diet, so I know it's going to last.

For me it was putting myself first for the first time in my life. I have always been the one who looks out for others and tries to comfort them. Taking on others' burdens was making me crazy and terribly stressed because I also had my own problems. I want my clothes to feel loose. I want to be able to put anything on and feel good about what I look like. I want to see a defined waistline again, wear belts and avoid knee replacement surgery.