What was your "last straw"???

I wasn't at the weight requirement to enlist into the airforce :brokenheart:

Not only that but during school when a group of friends and I would go off campus for lunch I automatically got to sit in the front seat because with me being in the back we wouldn't fit :frown:

Also I noticed that when I would try to run up the stairs in my house, I would be sooo short of breath .
It really sucked, especially since it's only 15 steps . .

I had 2 straws:

#1 - My parents came to visit, and I found out my mother is prediabetic with diverticulitis, which was all caused by her lifestyle. She had lost 18 pounds already, after watching her for years and years not care and not try. If she can get those diseases, so can I. If she can do something about it, so can I!

#2- After my parents left, and all the pictures went up on facebook, I didn't even recognize myself. I was totally and completely disgusted with myself. I even thought "how can my husband love someone who looks like THAT?!?"

The next day I joined a gym, cleaned out the cabinets and took my first measurements.

My last straw happened last year when I was 17 (18 now) and I realized I had stretch marks on every area you can pretty much get'em, and I wasn't even that over weight. I started working out because I figured if I'm really fit and healthy the fact that I have them won't make me as self-conscious as having them overweight. Now I just work out on the basis of wanting to be healthy and live a long time

I started slowly by cutting out junk, processed, and fast foods and soda and lost 15lbs over the year without exercise.

When I joined MFP towards the end of July I weighed 140lbs now with working out at least 5 days a week, only drinking water and tea, and eating 1,200 calories I weigh 133.5/134 (the scale can't decide) and my goal weight is 120-115 (I'm only 5'2).

Good luck to everyone and their goals, they are possible

(P.s., it's a good idea to take measurements of the main areas you want to lose weight in - waist, hips, butt, thighs - every few weeks as water weight/bloating can throw off the scale and muscle weighs more than fat for those who are doing a muscle building workout)

You'll find that once you start exercising (however you do it: walking, gym, weights, etc), you will start to feel better all around---and that will be your motivation....

As a little kid, I was small and started getting chubby. Eventually as I got older I got to the point where I was mildly obese. I knew both my parents have diabetes and my mom has had problems because of it since she can eat too many sweets at times. I didn't want to have health problems because I didn't take care of myself. I didn't want to have diabetes, and the more overweight I was, the more likely I would end up getting it. I've lost 50 pounds since then, and it's a great feeling.

I am pretty tall for a woman, 5 ft 11 inches, so I would talk to people about losing weight and they would always say, Yes but you're tall, so when does it become too much weight. Well last year or so I have gained and at my heaviest, 210 lbs. I should be at around 160 - 170 for looking good and healthiest weight. I used to wear a size 10 pants back in my early 20's, but then wore size 12 for many years which for me looks good. But, then I started wearing a 14 for several years, recently last 2 years I have increased to size 16 pants and some XL shirts are not fitting me anymore and my size 16 pants are still fitting but starting to get snug. OOPS. Now that I am turning 50 end of 2014, I need to take off the pounds now before any health problems and pants don't fit anymore!!!! I am in good health, don't have diabetes or anything, don't smoke or drink. So weight is my only problem right now.

I used to drum in a rock band for many years and that was my main excercise. Well that has slowed down alot and I slowly started putting on the pounds since last 4 years. So now I found this app and it is great!! I really see what I have been eating.

I also need to excercise and keep putting it off to join health club to walk and bike on the machines to get started. So I need motivation to exercise which I don't like the boringness and drudgery but it has to be done in order to achieve my goal of going back to at least size 14 if not size 12 pants!!

A combination of things: Seeing photos of me from my last vacation, Looking at my backside in the mirror, Hitting a weight I had never hit before, Realizing I won't be able to fit into my fall wardrobe, etc. But the real last straw came when my husband said I was fat. Talk about a "slap in the face":(

For me it was not being able to fit some clothes anymore & then my 'comfy' pants gave me a muffin top. I got on the scale and realised I was only 15-20 lbs off from when I was 9 months pregnant...YIKES! Then and there I said to myself "Self, enough is enough, no excuses, time to get healthy & fit. And you will never ever let things slip like this again!"

It was a combination of not fitting on a ride and then having to get off. So embarrassing because everyone knows why you are getting off. So when I finally weighed myself I was over 300 pounds. That was it. I had it. Andddddd that leads to where I am today. Though I didnt start MFP 20 pounds into my journey, then I got a smart phone.

A photo. I knew what I weighed, and I knew I was fat.. but I was kidding myself that I was carrying it well.

I was sitting at the doctors office, ( foot doctor) and I was looking around at all the people with toes missing, with half thier foot gone, with half thier leggs gone, not from war, but from diabeties, and I looked at my feet, getting numb as they were, and I knew my kidney scores were getting worse, ( spilling into my urine) and I was sitting around at 380 pounds, my knees hurt, I had fallen down and broken my Humorous bone mid shaft, and I was having thoughts of just going over the cliff so to speak, and something clicked, I am 50 years old, I FLIPPED THE SWICH inside my head, the fight was on, now I am down 71 pounds and going strong, no more visits to the doc for feet, completely off diabeties meds, and wow, what a differsance so far,, I lost 6 pounds this week alone!

This is what did it for me. Being in the hospital and seeing people with parts missing because of diabetes.

Going to an annual checkup at the doctors and facing the reality of the scale. No excuses this time!!

None of my pants fit and I found that I needed to purchase new ones with another 4 inches in the waistband!

seeing myself on video riding the motorbike, ewwwww.
embarrassed and turned off

Used every excuse in the book to get out of going for a swim at the cabin this summer... all because I did not want to wear a bathing suit in public. Making those excuses made me realize that not only was I lying to myself about my weight gain, but now to others as well. And that is just wrong. Also, I'm only 45 years old, and that is just way to young to give up swimming at the lake!