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

Getting out of breath tying my shoes b/c my giant gut squeezes all the air out of me. That was the last straw.

I've never been truly "heavy" compared to others, but after my now husband and I got together I gained about 25-30 pounds of "newlywed" weight. Didn't really care a lot, neither did he. Then I was diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 26 and that opened my eyes a lot to how I treated my body. I finally acknowledged my weight, since I got weighed all the time, and ended up losing 20 pounds from stress. After my surgeries were done and I was healed, my oncologist had talked to me about the importance of what we put into our bodies and what we put onto our bodies and how it effects our health and I started paying attention and decided to get back in shape. I had grown up as a dancer and was always active, but got pretty lazy in my early 20's.

4 years after my cancer diagnosis, I started lifting weights and running and had truly found my groove and decided I was going to get to my goal body (not so much a weight # on the scale, but a body fat %), and then I broke my ankle last July. When I say I broke it, I literally broke and tore everything. All the bones shattered. I still have extensive nerve and soft tissue injury that extends into my foot. I am almost 6 months post break and it's definitely not the same and probably never will be. I may never run again. So I am turning to what I know I can do, and what will bring me the health benefit I need, and that's weight lifting. Losing my ability to run is the last straw. If I don't run again, that's ok. But I'm sure as hell not going to stop being active.

Having to buy size 16 pants and breaking 200 pounds during my second pregnancy.

I too had reoccurring infections, I was also getting them beneath my breasts(horrible).They just tested me for diabetes, do not have it, but said I'm close. So here I am trying to reverse years of being sedentry, having 3 kids and eating unhealthy foods. I wish this were easier to do. I'm at it daily, I know it will take time, but will admit its the hardest thing I have ever committed myself to doing. The hardest part is not having a partner. I feel I would be more successful doing this with someone. In addition to my own goals, I would like my family to be in on the action!

I think my last straw was having my daughter and realizing that at the size I am, I don't have the energy to run around with her or take her outside to play; I was just too tired. I made up my mind that food wasn't more important than my love for her. I've made up my mind a million times but this time has to be different, because life is too short and too precious to let it just waste away.

The final straw for me was when I found out that my husband was no longer attracted to me.After 7 years of marriage and 3 children with working a full time job, I did not look or feel like the happy and fit bride that I had been. I realized I missed that person. I missed being confident and happy, even though it seemed that way on the outside to everyone, I pretty much hated myself and what had happened to my body after 3 kids so close together! I worked really hard and lost about 40 lbs. It was incredible. I felt overwhelmed at first and lost as to where to start and so I just walked into the gym one day and hired a trainer. Yes, it was a lot of money at first, but I started looking at it as investment in myself and an outlet for stress. We also worked on our marriage a lot that year. I started eating better, sleeping better, having less stress and pushing myself to move past what I "thought" I was capable of.
Then, after losing 40 lbs, we became pregnant with number 4. So now I am starting over again, but this time, I have more knowledge and drive to work towards this. I really like who I have become on this journey and I realized that it's not about what anyone else thinks of me, even my husband. This is about how I see myself and how hard I'm willing to work towards my own goals to accomplish them. It's difficult, but I can't wait to get back down to my pre-pre pregnancy weight. I am giving myself 4 months. Watch me go.

I'm just tired of feeling sick and tired.

Mine occurred at my highest weight of 238 pounds, when I was trying to bathe my son and could not sit down on the floor and reach over to bathe him because it was too uncomfortable. At that point, I thought about ordering a bench to accommodate my weight, then I said, heck no, it's time to lose this weight. There will be no more accommodations for me being fat!

When I got out of breath trying to dry off after a shower AND standing at the kitchen zinc doing dishes in pain.

I've been feeling pretty crappy for some time now and I KNEW I had to make a change, but....I kept putting it off, excuse after excuse. The final straw was actually two different incidents in one day.....when I realized that I had become so thick around my middle (and so stiff from lack of exercise) that I started preferring my slip on ballet flats instead of the gorgeous boots I'd waited all year to be able to wear. I love my boots, but bending over to pull them on lately has been torture. So for me to dread them....wow.

Later that day I stepped on the scale just for giggles and grins and well - there were no giggles or grins after seeing the number on the scale. I burst into tears!

I was sad. Then I got angry. REALLY angry. But instead of becoming bitter and pitiful I instead felt determined and motivated - FINALLY - to make a permanent change to my lifestyle. I have the help of a close friend who has lost an enormous amount of weight and is in incredible shape.

So....here I am! Finally!