When was your last straw that made you want to change?

I ordered a whole wardrobe's worth of new clothes in "my size" online. I tried the first pair of pants on- "Must be mis-labeled size"....second pair "Weird, did I happen to get two mis-sized pair of pants?" Third pair "Ok, I'm apparently fat"

They were not one, but two sizes too small.

Lol.....laughing WITH you. Not fitting my clothes were my issue as well.

I bet my start is a lot different than most people.

I was given an Ipad as a gift. It sat in the box for a couple of weeks because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to use it. I thought about the purpose of technology. The purpose of technology is to improve our lives. What is the biggest most profound way my life could be improved? My health!

So, I started looking into apps that I could install on my Ipad to improve my health. I found MFP. I lost 25 pounds. I quit smoking. I have since gained back all of the weight and then some. Nine months later I am trying to take off the weight again.

This last year I have made the biggest improvement in my life in many years. All because of technology.

... none of my clothes fit ... well mostly my bras I realised that I had about two bras that fit and even they were too snug!

What really got me serious was a diagnosis of Hidradenitis suppurativa (which is fun to say but SUCKS to have) - short version is it's kind of like reverse acne in places where your skin rubs together - for me, my armpits - and the lumps are a heck of a lot bigger than regular acne. This is gross, but when the "zits" pop they can leave holes and over time make tunnels and eventually stop healing. Had to have surgery to fix my "holes" on both underarms, which sucked. I couldn't lift my arms for 6 weeks - was kind of like this:



Which my hooligans found to be HILARIOUS...me less so.

My surgeon - because they have EXCELLENT bedside manners - told me that if I wanted to avoid ever going under the knife again I had to lose weight. That the condition can't be CURED, but is totally manageable, but not if I was fat.

I told him I'd been working on losing weight (I'd lost 12 pounds in the preceding 3 months) and he asked how. I told him I was watching what I ate, and before I could say anything else he said...direct quote here:

"The only thing you're watching is your fork go from your plate to your mouth."

I was shocked, then burst out crying. He said, "What are you crying for? It's not like you can't fix this."

It was kind of my "There's no crying in baseball" moment. I realized he was right and I needed to get serious. Signed up for MFP and have been doing the slow-but-steady method...a little slower this past year than I'd like, but still making progress.

WOO HOO!!!

I had multiple reasons.

1) I'm a photographer and I had annual fall photos taken. Getting them back and seeing that I was bigger than my husband (without the excuse of 'baby weight' any more) it made me mad. My health has always come easy to me. Now that I'm 31 and with 2 kids, it's not as easy.

2) My biggest reason is my dad. He passed away a year ago Friday. I've been in a depressed state since then. I'd given up on any sort healthy living. Something about this 1 year anniversary has kicked my behind and I want to get healthy for my own kids.

Mine was seeing a picture of me from Christmas where I looked 4-5 months pregnant. I am not pregnant. It's my profile pic now to remind me of the change I want to see. I'm the one on the left.

I saw a picture of myself at a Christmas party last year (2012) and finally realized I had gained a lot more weight than I realized.

Yes, this too. I have seen several pictures of myself in recent months and could not believe my eyes. Isn't it funny how we see ourselves every day in the mirror and we know (or thing) we've put on a little, but when we see that picture it's a real eye opener.

It was pretty bad, especially since it was a group photo of me and several friends - and it was clear how much heavier I was compared to all of them. I had never been that heavy in my life. The pictures of me from 2013 holidays were an amazing difference, and a great motivator to maintaining my new, lower weight through another year.

I'm tired of starting over. Literally! I posted on Facebook (dumb, I know) that I'm starting my diet (lifestyle) and so many people cheered me on. It was so touching how many people cared. I have some of the best cheerleaders, my nieces are my biggest cheerleader. When I feel like giving up, I'm going to think about them and their reaction when they see a thinner me. They motivate me because I want to be a good role model for them, and teach them that they can do whatever they set heir minds to do.

I have been a member of this site a while now, but I finally feel like I'm ready to start getting my weight under control. being 5'4 and 237.4 lbs isn't great for my 40 year old bones. And to top it off I am back to my heaviest weight that I was 10 years ago, lost 80, and over the past 4 years managed to gain it all back slowly. Nothing fits anymore. I look like the Michelin man. The boob roll ( The roll right under your boobs and before your waist ) is almost as big as my boobs, and I have a nice healthy set, and I'm always achy and out of breath. I figure if I'm gonna be achy and out of breath it might as well be because I'm exercising, and not because I sat on my fat *kitten* all day and just walking up 5 stairs winds me.

I too have been on this site a couple times, get some results and then something happens and I quit. The last time I did really well for me (lost 30 pounds) but my sister died suddenly in an accident and I quit for 4 months. I am back now however and I will be successful. I am so tired of having to continously buy bigger clothes and throwing out smaller ones. I want to be in the opposite order! Plus, I have 2 young girls who look up to me and I want to be there for them as a healthy role model.