What convinced YOU to shed the weight?

PeytonLT

My best friend (32 years old), who was overweight, died suddenly in Feb 2011 due to a heart attack. It was caused by all of his weight related illnesses. And... I'm tired of going out to eat with my husband and wondering if I'm going to fit in the booth.

Cdcaldwe

This



Getting better though

Super impressive....and how long did it take from Pic 1 to Pic 2?

I started about the end of April. Went hardcore all summer. That pic was the end of september.

Black_Swan

When I stopped liking all of my shirts because I could see how my stomach was big in them... and my face "fat" in photos... and the guilt whenever I had something to eat... it was just too much. When I dropped a tear because of it, I said to myself "Enough! Its in your power to stop this!" and thats when the journey began...

Italianyc84

Had a herniated disc with lots of sciatic pain last year, and then again earlier this year. I was home from work for about six weeks, and went from 200 to 212. I couldn't believe that I let this happen to me. I've struggled with weight since puberty...went from 180 to 130 at age 16, then climbed up to 170 by the time I was 21, then got myself down to 150...when I moved from New York City to DC when I was 22, I gained weight from the different lifestyle...a lot less walking down here, plus, I was in a happy relationship for the first time ever and eating differently! I felt like CRAP! My knees hurt, I could no longer wear sexy clothes...and, yes, I'm vain--I was no longer turning heads.

I list this in my profile, but one of my inspirations is Bernadette Peters. She is 63 years old and has an amazing figure. Her body is similar to mine when I as thin--curvy, with large breasts and womanly hips and a flat stomach, and her ethnic background is the same as me (Sicilian). I saw her on stage earlier this year and thought "I miss having that figure".

By the way, I turned heads for the first time in a long time last week :-) I put on this sweater I had bought several years ago (just before I moved to DC) on a trip to Berlin. It's tight and a bit lowcut. All day long, everywhere I went men were practically falling over themselves to get the door for me, etc. My partner picked up from work and said when I was walking towards the car, all the men I passed turned and looked at me! Vain and shallow, I know, but gave me an ego boost! (and yes, I"m gay and don't even like men, but I still want to be thought of as attractive :-p

allie864

For me, it was when I saw pictures from a birthday party. I didn't recognize myself & it shocked the heck out of me. I vowed to change after that & I have been, thankfully.