What was the last straw?

CatchingThemAll

What was the final push you had to finally lose the weight? What was your motivation?

chubbymybunny

2 weeks ago got on the scale at the doctors and couldn't belive the number. Then the doctor said I was considered obese. That was it for me I was so upset with myself and how far I let myself go that I started making changes that day I have lost 4 pounds since then.

bookworm_847

It was kind of a combination of things-- a consistent sluggish and general icky feeling crept up. Then the buttons on my shirt popped open at work one day (luckily, I had a tank top on underneath!). The official last straw was probably when I grabbed some pants out of my closet and they were a bit snug. "These can't be my 'big' pants," I thought to myself. They were.

rissavanwey

I graduated from nursing school, so don't have the excuse to not have time to eat right anymore. Also, the interview clothes I bought in September were suddenly a little snug. I don't have the money to buy new clothes again!

raoflight

My son being born. It's more than just about me now. I need to be well not only for myself, but for him.

SingRunTing

I ran out of pants that fit. I refused to go buy a size bigger.

So I wore dresses and my loosest tight pants for a few weeks while I initially dropped some pounds.

Now I'm 3 sizes smaller and don't have any pants that fit, because they are all too big!

Holly_Roman_Empire

I wasn't overweight when it finally hit me, but I was on the high side of my weight range. After huffing and puffing my way through a 6-mile hike on my honeymoon, I decided I wanted to get in shape.

smfrench1

Health problems of my older siblings, happening before my birthday - seemed like a wake up call. Three and a half months later, I am close to the milestone of 200 lbs (21 pounds down) and within 11 pounds of my goal weight. Has been kind of fun to get rid of old clothes that are way too big now - clean out the closet. Surprising that slow and steady weight loss has been a little easier than I expected using MFP (making sure I do some daily exercise and watching what I eat).

Dana_Poo283

The last straw for me was when I stepped on the scale back on January 19th and I weighed more that what my scale would read. I was disgusted...I have now los 17.5 lbs.

gothchiq

Blood sugar and cholesterol spiraling out of control. It was no longer simply a matter of aesthetics.

applcorp

After a lifetime of lower-than-normal blood pressure, it's become high enough that my doctor suggested medication for it. That coupled with the fact that next year is my fiftieth birthday, I decided I wanted to be in shape instead of "obese."

Oh, and there is a vanity factor.....I'm single and I keep looking at these gentlemen my age who are fit and healthy, and I had been thinking I'd like to date someone like that, but in order for ME to date THEM, I need to be HEALTHY like them!

crystal8208

I had been off and on for a long time. Started getting serious for "swimsuit season" about 3 weeks ago. Had labs done last week. Result was that I had elevated cholesterol levels. 27 points above normal range. Not horrifying yet, but I will not take drugs for cholesterol....

Katiebear_81

I got a new job about a year ago (switching from on my feet all day to a desk job), and now all my pretty, expensive new clothes don't fit. I've picked up a few in-the-meantime items... but I want to wear all my beautiful NEW clothes again!

Plus I had put on almost 20+ lbs in a year. If I keep going at that trajectory... I'll be at 200 lbs in another year. 200 lbs on my frame isn't healthy or attractive, ergo... weight loss.

earlnabby

I ended up in the hospital with severe anemia caused by stomach erosion from GERD that bled. The tests that they did showed that I also had T2 diabetes. The GERD could easily be attributed to the excess weight and the pressure on the stomach. Diabetes also is a side effect of excess weight.

KindaSortaKaty

Wedding dress shopping.

MisterZ33

my orthopaedic surgeon telling me that i need dual hip replacements due to old sports injuries and a major car accident.

he said, either have surgery or lose weight.

im 33. too early for one hip replacement, let alone two.

oh, and also my daughter asking me if i had boobs.

Khalstead0517

The final straw for me was when I had to have further testing done because mt dr. thought I had breast cancer and the idea of potentially dying and leaving behind a wibderfyl husband and four kids didnt sound as aweful as living another 40+ yrs in my body! I was 5'11" and 429 lbs and barely squeezing into size 32W jeans. That was a year ago,currently have no signs of cancer...am still 5'11" and am 348 lbs...down 82 lbs and trucking along at about 2lbs a week lost.

palwithme

Watching obese people 15 years older than me really struggle with health issues. I figured at 47 I had some time to change my future before it got too late.

senglishrose

When I remembered a poem from many years ago:

Tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow I say,
Tomorrow will be a better day,
Today I'll snick and today I'll snack,
And maybe tomorrow my diet will come back.

You can't keep saying tomorrow. It will never come. I have to do it today! That has gotten me back on track.

Just_Ceci

Went to the dr after spraining my back. He looked me in the eye and said, "You are borderline morbidly obese. This will continue to happen unless you lose weight."

cattitude123

The old health scares..High Blood pressure, developed diabetes..sucking wind at the simplest chores..and not liking who I saw in the mirror!

ElvenToad

After spending my entire life morbidly obese and utterly disgusted with myself but never caring enough to actually do anything about it.. one day I decided I didn't want to live that way anymore. I was so desperate for change that I googled calorie counting and found mfp. I finally stopped feeling sorry for myself, learned about nutrition, and took control of my life.

kourt_phx

Having a cardiologist telling me I needed to be active. I went in for pericarditis and it's slowly getting better, I decided that I have used every excuse now so I needed to start taking my health serious.

estherlion

The short story...I found out my husband has a crush on a beautiful co-worker and I became Ms. frumpy.

The long story...My weight has been a problem most of my life which has affected my self esteem in many areas. I thought I lived in a very secure marriage and trusted my husband and never doubted his fidelity. I discovered that he wasn't satisfied sexually and started desiring other women (videos) and developed this crush on his co-worker. I found out about it and was shocked. After some self refection though, I had some fault in it. Due to my extra weight, I didn't feel sexy, wasn't intimate with him enough, he didn't communicate his needs, time went by, and then the truth came out. I knew I had to make a change. I had let myself go. I had let my weight steal my joy and peace. I wasn't taking good care of myself. My neglect for my body, over focusing on work, and being over stressed has almost cost me my marriage. I've started working out, I've lost some weight, I am at a normal BMI, my stress is taken out in the gym, and my confidence is up. Our sex life is better, still wounded with doubt, but trying to save my marriage and family. I am ten pounds away from my goal weight, and no matter what the outcome is, I will continue doing this for me.

riffraff2112

I have dropped a significant amount of weight a few times in my life. Here are the three reasons (separated by about a decade!). Always managed to keep it off for a few years but....
1. High school grad and not wanting to look like a whale.
2. Seeing an ex girlfriend at a wedding who looked amazing and I felt like a whale
3. Seeing pictures of myself that made me feel old, fat and frumpy.
and most recently after gaining a few lbs back after a successful loss last year
4. Not fitting into a pair of jeans I love.....so before I let things slip too far I am doing something about it now!!!

sherbear702

I literally spent almost of all of 2014, starting in January, saying I'm going to start losing weight today. I'd make it to Wednesday before I caved and ate/drank poorly. Then one bad day would ruin the rest of the week and I'd say Okay, Monday is a new week I'm going to start losing weight on Monday. This was a vicious repetitive cycle that lasted until December.

I honestly can't say what changed in my mind, but something clicked and I buckled down and stayed focused. It's been 3 months and I've lost almost 20 pounds. I'm shooting for another 30 by the end of August. I guess it took me a years worth of internal dialog before I acutally did something about my weight.

I have a family and I want them to be proud to be seen with me in public. Not embarassed because I the fat mom picking them up from school or dropping them off at sports.

egorre

that odd feeling i got around my heart one day during work where i felt like it's pumping so hard it felt like my arteries are literally clogged. i was 21 and i felt like i'm about to get a heart attack. that's not normal. friday that week (june 6) i started walking around my apartment complex. a month later (june 8) i found out about and joined MFP and started logging daily. fast forward now i'm 90lbs down.

mizzzc

On my 21 birthday (January 2014) I went out to a Mexican joint with my girls. Wearing plus size clothes I wouldn't even take off my (ex) boyfriends sweater to eat because I was so ashamed. When I saw pictures from that night and my chubby face and all my skinny girls I thought "this is it - no more fatty" and slowly but surely I have lost 50 pounds in just over a year.

UrnAsh_

Getting BACK up to 200 pounds.

erinp523

I was sick and tired of yo-yo dieting and losing the same 5lbs over and over. I never stuck to anything more than a few days and gave up on most exercise regimens after about a week and a half. When I would see pictures posted of me by others on facebook I realized how big I actually was. In addition to my personal motivation, I have seen my previously obese mother become diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, cancer, and a heart condition all before the age of 50. She had bariatric surgery a few years ago and has since become healthier but still have complications from time to time. I don't want that to happen to me so I needed to make a change.

jerogers4s

I always told myself that I would do it, but would get overwhelmed or just decide I would rather be fat and happy bc all this was just too hard. Then this past January, something just clicked. I realized I had to go slow and steady. My goals started out about vanity, looking good naked, fitting into smaller sizes, etc. I had it mapped out that I would drop down to 120 in a year and a half and get smoking hot. I've only been at this for 7 weeks and consistently lost a little over a pound a week, but my goals have already changed. Now I don't really have a goal weight anymore, I just want to see where I feel most healthy at. I've fallen in love with running, so I want to build up to a 5k, then see what I can do next. I like how I feel mentally as the weight comes off. Something about changing my diet and exercising has done wonders for my mood. And mostly, I want to be a positive role model for my daughter.