Didn't know I was getting fat till I got fat!!

For years I worked in retail pharmacies where I was on my feet all day. Plus I was broke and didn't have a car so I walked a lot. Then, I switched to mail order pharmacy. I got a raise, bought a car and a cozy desk job. Sitting all day not only burned fewer calories, but it also aloud me to snack. Add to this recipe falling in love, getting married, and 2 pregnancies. I always knew I was fat, but I didn't care. I still felt sexy, and I was happy. When I started to feel unattractive, depressed, and when little comments that use to roll off my shoulder would make me cry I knew I needed to do something for me. I'm doing this for me. My next goal is to go back to school. I want to be a pharmacist.

Four words: airline seat belt extenders

Funny (now, not then) story of how I realized I was fat. I was wearing a pair of suspenders years ago--the kind that snap to your slacks (not button). I was working at my office desk and a pen fell off onto the floor. I bent over to pick up the pen, the suspends stretched and the back clip came off! Like a rubber band, the metal from the suspenders hit me in the back of the head so hard that I sprawled out face down on the office floor! It hurt so bad I thought someone shot me in the back of the head!

That same day at lunch, I drove to Wal-mart, bought a pair of shorts, shoes and a shirt and went to the gym!

God bless!

Shawn

I smiled at this one because I could visualize it so well. Kind of a slap in the head revelation like, "You could've had a V-8!" MY revelation came at our local fair when the carny wouldn't let my husband and I on the Ferris Wheel, "until more people our size came along to balance it out." That was enough for me.

Im still marvelling at what I've done. Always been chubby, biggish, round... Now i feel like a whale!
Was 140 lbs on a 5'5 frame (slightly overweight but not major) now I'm pushing obesity (oh how i hate saying that) at 172ish. Gained 32 lbs - the weight of a child! - over 9 months. Not in pregnancy either.
Quite a few moments which should have told me something; having to order new shirts at work because my chest was straining the buttons, getting rolls of fat when i sat down, feeling tired constantly, my mother saying i look 'well'... A friend at work even said sympathetically, "don't worry, everyone puts on weight when they're in a good relationship" for crying out loud!
I feel like I've let myself down and let my partner down. He's never said anything about it but when i pushed for an opinion he said he found me more attractive when my belly was smaller. I know i pushed but that was the last straw. Im doing this for me and for him. Going to try to get to a more toned old me, hopefully 135 lbs.

It took me 20+ years to gain 50 unwanted pounds and like another poster, I had my ah-ha (or is it oh-sh#$) moment when I was weighing our cat and the scale went over 200. I also noticed I was huffing and puffing when climbing more than a couple flights of stairs. I had shoulder pain, foot pain, even some back pain. Family photos brought the pain of embarrassment. I was no longer the healthy woman in the family photos 30 years ago.

Funny, though, how pain is a powerful motivator. Not going there again!

oh no I definitely realized I was putting weight on. The first 15 lbs came on slowly and the last 15 really fast.

When I realized that I weighed more than my boyfriend... although he is a skinny mini with a metabolism to die for (lucky him!) he is 4-5 inches taller than me. Being with my boyfriend all the time I ate super unhealthily and convinced myself I could eat like he could... which I can't! Also my clothes stopped fitting. I had attempted to lose weight a couple times before but nothing serious until the past two months or so.

I didn't realize I'd gained weight, mostly because I loathe pants (skirts are sneaky like that - they just sit a bit higher up when you gain weight, so you don't realize....sweaters are sneaky, too - they just stretch....and don't even get me started on loose tops....). THEN, I went to go skiing a few weeks ago and....my snow pants didn't fit. Now, don't get me wrong, mine weren't the elasti-waist type, but, still, they are not exactly the most fitted garment in the world. I was horrified. I had to buy new snow pants!!!

So, like any responsible adult, I moped around and ate (and ate and ate) for a couple of weeks, and then I got on here and started taking it seriously. Here we go!!

Sneaky *kitten*, that weight gain that happens over several years. The worst kind!!

I finally realized I was buying larger sizes every few years, and noticing that the image I saw in the mirror (standing up straight with tummy pulled in) wasn't the same image I was seeing in candid photos of myself! I didn't like my tummy pooch, how thick my arms were getting, and had started buying longer and longer shorts every summer because the fat was creeping down to my knees and beyond!

I was around 40 at the time and decided things weren't going to get any better on their own. I had been (and still am) a stay at home mom since my kid (now 16) was born, and fairly idle. And I thought I ate pretty healthy until I started logging foods and seeing how little protein I was getting, and how big a lot of my portions were - I was good at overeating!

So, 4-5 years later, I'm down 25lbs, stronger, fitter, and feeling so much better than I have in years! Lifestyle change is in place and I plan to continue for the rest of my days. :drinker: