What made you decide to start losing weight?

unicorndancefairy

I don't like my picture being taken, because I'm a big gal.
But I just got engaged, and I have until September of next year to feel comfortable because a wedding day isn't a day you can avoid having pictures taken.
My reasons are superficial, but honest.
And they're enough to motivate me.

laureneliset

I moved to Asia. The largest size they tend to do in shops here is a UK 12 / US 8 and even that is fairly rare. Here they will sometimes tell you when you walk in a shop that there is nothing for you in there. They're not trying to be rude, but culturally they can be a bit more matter-of-fact that you are wasting your (and their) time. So I'm limited to expensive ordering from overseas or waiting to stock up on clothes when I travel.

Also I miss the confidence I used to have (especially around guys, now I'm single). When I felt I looked good, I would just go out and have a good time, chat with anyone and have a laugh. Now I'm more self conscious, less outgoing and I just want to be able to get dressed up, give myself the nod in the mirror, and then go out and forget about how I look for the rest of the day or evening, then laugh with my friends at the pictures we took the next day, without that feeling of dread about how huge I look.

fittoday14

I have lots of beautiful clothes that are 2 sizes smaller than I am now (size 4 and 6, I am now 8 petite pants & size s/m tops). I love food!

Emedina1987

I just had 2 babies in 3 years. My daughter will be 2 in July and my son is about to be 4 months. I'm not far from my goal, but I am determined now that I am done having kids. After I had my first I struggled with my weight and I never tried very hard to get back into a healthy lifestyle mainly because I wasn't sure if I wanted more kids or not. I was on birth control when I found out I was pregnant again and I was devistated. My daughter was very hard as a baby. My son, however, is a breeze. But of course I didn't know that then.

I decided to get my tubes tied even though I am only 26. I know I am done. My kids are 18 months apart and I have one of each. I have no desire to have anothe baby. Anyway, I never got out of my maternity clothes after having my daughter and I used to have a cute little figure and I was VERY confident in myself. Although , now that I have tons of stretch marks I am determined to feel good about myself again. I threw out all of my maternity clothes so I wouldn't get too comfortable in them. I have about 10-15 pounds left to lose. I haven't been able to wear a lot my jeans since I had kids and I am desperate to be in them. I even bought a dress after I had my daughter that was way too small and I really want to be able to wear it. good luck to all of you and I hope we all reach out goals!

fequick

I simply got tired of always being the biggest person in the room, the pics, or an event. I have to angle selfie pics for facebooks o I won't look so huge. My lebido has definitely been affected by my weight gain. About a year and a half ago I lost about 20lbs and it was noticeable. My husband had gallbladder sugery, the more evasive one and it went downhill. I had to take care of him and do everything for him and it took a toll on me and I just ate to relieve myself. I didn't mind taking care of him but I was sad a lot because he was in a lot of pain so eatting was an outlet. I not only gained the 20lbs back but I gained another 20lb on top of that which put me at 271lbs. I thought I'd never see the day when I got so close to 300lbs. I was mortified! So I started taking zumba classes at work, one of the teachers wanted to get trained and certified so she kinda used us as guinea pigs. It created a spark in me to want to do better, so I got a membership at a women's gym. I've seen so many people on fb be successful at working to lose weight, I'm no more different from them I can do it too! So here I am starting my journey. MFP keeps me accountable no matter how ugly it is that I eat I put it on my food diary. I feel good being honest because it makes me strive to do better the next day! Congrats on starting this journey, because it truly is a journey. It's not easy, if it were everyone would be the weight they want to be.

fallingtrees

I've lost a grandma and an uncle to diabetes. Keeping my weight down and my fitness level up is the best way to prevent it.

And, I want to be a Hottie at 50.

Ftw37

I decided to start losing weight on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.

I got so out of breath walking back to work from lunch that I had to lean up against a wall and catch my breath. From walking half a block.

At that point, I decided to finally do something about my obesity.

I still have a long way to go before it is all gone.

Frank

fitgirl0614

Most women in my family suffer from high blood pressure and high cholestorol. My mom suffers from fibromyalgia and has had two heart attacks. I am 36 years old, over weight and don't want to develop any of the health issues I just mentioned. A friend of mine mentioned MFP to me a couple of weeks ago so I decided to give it a try. Wish me luck!

Good luck to everyone on their journey.

Let's continue to support and encourage each other.

mlanders22

I was looking at pictures of my family at my daugther's first birthday party. I didn't realize how far I had let myself go. I had to get healthy for her - be a role model, be around for as long as I can.

loubidy

I am by no means someone you'd look at and call "fat" but all of my friends are skinny, I am the fat friend and I'm the only single one. I know that losing weight won't get me a boyfriend but when you go out every weekend and watch your friends get all the attention and you're the one going home alone, again, it's certainly motivation to work for the attention. It sounds extremely vain, I know but it is honestly on of my biggest motivators.

poohbah4

I was huge and my clothes were getting tighter. It was either buy a whole new wardrobe in a larger size or lose the weight for good.

The only problem is, now you will still have to buy a whole new wardrobe, but in a SMALLER size! :flowerforyou:

moya_rargh

I got sick of looking and feeling like s***.

jos05

It finally hit me when I went to get out of bed and I just rolled...and my stomach was rolling before my actual body was...it was so depressing. I had been lucky enough to have a gastric bypass in 2005 and I lost down to 155-160.... and at that point I thought I was tiny. Because I started at 280lbs. But I woke up that morning in 2012 and I had let myself get back up to 196lbs. And that was my final straw! I woke up that morning and make the small changes I need to... everyday... everyday I make the decision to get up... 4:30 am... be at the gym by 5-5:15am... and I work my butt off (literally!) until 6:30... and until about 2 months ago... I had followed my diet ... off and on... but I will tell you this: you can work your butt off all day long at the gym... but your diet will make all the difference. I currently weigh in at 155lbs... but my body shape is completely different than it was when I lost weight with my surgery. With my surgery I got down to a size 10 and since working out and eating right... this go around I am weighing in at the same weight; but I can usually buy a size 6!!!

I think when it finally clicks and you realize that it takes daily discipline to get where you want to be... that's when it will come together; but you have to want it for yourself... no one else... this is for you!

_lyndseybrooke_

I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw.

Arydria

Like many others here, I was tired of always being the "big" one. I took up 2 seats on the bus; I had to upgrade to first class on flights to avoid the embarrassment of having to buy a second seat (I had my own seat belt extender so I didn't have to ask for one)

But what started it for me was when my husband asked me if I was willing to go to a personal trainer if he got us one. I said "absolutely" and thus our journey began.

We started on July 12, 2013. I weighed in at 291 lbs and wore a size 26. Down 115 lbs, I now wear a 10. YAY!!

amberj32

Diabetes.

DawnW3218

I got older.

I don't have a huge amount of weight to lose, but I realized that over time I was just gaining a few every year.

This.

Tired of tight fitting clothes, heartburn... just not feeling like 'me". I was kind of afraid to get on the scale because I didn't want to face it, but then I just did and while "bad", it wasn't as bad as I thought. So, I thought, let's nip this in the bud before it gets worse and reverse those numbers on the scale.

Both of these quotes sums me up - I became very good at 'hiding' my weight behind long cardies and baggy ytops - I am now back in a UK 10/12 and all of the baggy tops and long cardies have been thrown out - never to be worn again!! The heartburn has also gone which is a blessing too!!!

kids183

In January of this year, my boss was preparing to go on maternity leave and a coworker of mine asked me if I was also pregnant...which I was not.

Also, I lost my mother at the age of 48. She was very unhealthy. She smoked and didn't eat healthy or exercise regularly. I'm trying to stay healthy for my daughters so that I can live longer for them - and since January they have picked up on a lot of my healthier habits. We exercise together (ie. bike riding and rollerblading) and they make healthier food choices.

luzdelua

But mainly, it was the sex

^ so glad someone said it.

I also want to be comfortable under my own skin.

wotius

In Jan 2013 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I asked my urologist about non-invasive options to treat the condition. He said I needed to lose weight. I downloaded the MFP app and started tracking my food and exercise. I lost 45 lbs in 2013, my triglycerides, cholesterol, fasting blood sugar and PSA are now within "normal" ranges.
A few weeks ago I noticed that my weight was beginning to creep back up (10 lbs). I had quit logging into MFP and was reverting back to my old eating habits. On Sunday I started tracking my food and activity again with MFP and am on my way back to my target weight.