What made you decide to start losing weight?

Because death scares the crap out of me.

I live with my boyfriend in a house with 2 other roommates. For the last 4 months I have literally sat in our room and ate and ate and ate and got depressed then ate some more because I was depressed which then made me even more depressed over how much of a loser I was. Well .. I'm not a loser. My boyfriend is very supportive of me and whenever I would get into that depressed mode of calling myself names he was always there to tell me the opposite. I want to make sure that he knows how much I appreciate him being there for me in my dark times. The best way for me to do that is to show him that his words are true. I'm not a loser and I can do anything I want in life .. life isn't over. If I stay this weight (over 300lb) .. then yes life is going to be over.

I want to be healthy and I want to be able to love myself. I know losing weight and 'getting thin' won't suddenly make me happy but working through my issues while gaining confidence in myself through losing weight certainly will.

Good luck to everyone! A lot of inspirational things in this thread!

When I started to feel self-conscious about how my clothes fit.

It's not in my nature to mind my weight or shape all that much, but I kept catching myself fussing over which pants to wear with which shirt that would cover my butt when I bent over. Then I was sent the date for my family's yearly beach vacation and panicked.

So I decided if it was going to be this uncomfortable, it was about time I changed things. And if I'm going to do that much, why not go ahead and reach for my ideal?

I'm really enjoying these stories, so here's mine:

I've always been heavy, and I've gone back and forth with trying something and then failing and trying something else and giving up. But after I had my second daughter (I gained 50 pounds with each pregnancy) and topped the scales at 213, it was time to do something. I don't want to die of a heart attack like my father. I don't want Type II diabetes like my mother. Just no.

My doctor told me very bluntly to lose 50 pounds. The very next day I went horseback riding with my two small friends. The place where we went had some paperwork and one of the questions asked if you were under 200 pounds. Since I was just at the doctor and I knew I was right at the edge of 200 (as in 195 with my clothes on), I put yes, under 200. The tiny teenager who worked there looked me up and down and then got out a scale. She put it down in the dirt and weighed me in front of everyone going on the ride and then said it would be $10 extra for me to go since her scale said I weighed 205. If I hadn't been with my friends, I would have just left, but I paid her the extra. She then picked out the largest horse they had, a Belgian, to accommodate my weight.

I used to work on a horse ranch. I had picked larger horses for those Girl Scout mothers who were obese. I don't want to be that person! The ride was ruined, really, and I called the manager the next day to tell her all about it. I get the part about picking an appropriate horse - but weighing people like that with the scale in the dirt? Horrible.

That's not happening to me again. No one is ever going to look at me and wonder if I need special accommodations for anything - horses, plane seats, anything! I'm done with this and that's that!

I'm just tired and being fat.

I used to be heavier 197 was my heaviest weight and I saw a picture of myself. It was for a college project for class we all had to go out and take pictures of each other for a presentation. when I saw my picture I wanted to cry. I knew I had gotten heavy but had avoided mirrors like if I didn't see it then it wasn't that bad. I lost some weight with the weight watchers program then I got stuck and have gone back and forth over the same few pounds. I had a new kick to the backside about getting the weight off for good this time. I went to meet my new doctor and he casually talked with me about exercise and encouraging me to walk more. he didn't say too much about my weight but then again I put on my new patient form that I could use to lose weight. My new doctor's office has online patient records that can be accessed anytime. Right there in black and white under current conditions was "obesity". I don't want that one my current conditions anymore.

I want to buy slutty goth clothing and look amazing in it. It's all about gaining the confidence to feel sexy I guess.

My boyfriend had an affair with a girl who is as skinny as a stick insect. totally destroyed my confidence and now i'm doing my damndest to lose all this weight in an attempt to stop it happening again

Oh honey, there was something deeper under the surface and probably had very little to do with your weight. Don't lose weight for anyone but you.

Two things, one was that we were getting new life insurance and my weight would have raised the premium, a huge wake up call for me because it meant I was high risk to ensure.

Second I was having trouble walking and doing stuff, I wanted to stay active

I've tried a few times now to lose this weight but it was for all the wrong reasons. As many others on here will agree, you need to lose weight for yourself and not for others. What drove me to this point was a couple of things, I had a scare recently where I thought I was having a heart attack, thankfully it wasn't but it was a way of my body finally telling me enough is enough. It was definitely a complete eye opener for me as I'm only 27 and I don't want to die young. I want a family, to grow old with my partner and to live a happier healthier life. So that is why I am here and why I am working towards the new me.

First, it was seeing myself in some pictures, I had no idea I had gotten that big!

The more I thought about the pictures, the more I realized I was following the same path as my mom and grandmother, who have dealt with weight and weight related health issues most of their lives. If I didn't do something soon, I was probably going to end up with the same health issues and the crazy amount of medications that go with them. No way was that happening!

I got tired of feeling sluggish and depressed. I want to take care of myself and feel amazing, have more energy and set a really good example for my kids. Also I'm going back to school in the fall, so I would love to embark on this new chapter of my life with a new attitude and a new body.

I dropped 7 lbs in 24 days, and I already feel better. It's amazing how much healthy eating and being more active, can make such a big difference! I still have 64 lbs to go until I hit goal, but for the first time in over a decade I really believe I *can* do this.

I've been overweight my whole life, never knew the feeling of being thin and losing it is always something I've struggled with.

To start I was at the doctor for a neck issue which turned into a blood pressure and weight issue. She said she'd give me 3 months to get my blood pressure down before she puts me on another pill.

And the final kick was my son not wanting me to go on his school field trip because of my weight and he was afraid the other kids would make fun of me, that broke my heart I remember sitting in the car crying as he told me this. I do make comments to him here and there about that but it was the truth if I wanted to hear it or not. He is now one of biggest supporters, I can't imagine going through this journey without him!

Yesterday my Dr. said I was 'morbidly obese'!

I have Lupus Nephritis. This past April I ended up a week in the hospital on bedrest. I gained a lot of weight, mostly from fluids, hospital food (so much ice cream), lack of exercise and my new super medications. As soon as I got out, l looked at myself...nothing fit. I rested a week snd got evrn bigger b/c i was so unhappy. One day, I jus up snd put in sn easy Leslie Sansone Walk DVD and stared something and it worked. Later on I was in here on MFP to help track what I did. I lost all the fluid weight I gained plus some and am feeling better all the time. I want off all these meds and to get as "normal" as I can.