What set you on this journey?

for me was seeing how large my arms looked in pictures and not being able to hide my back fat with shape wear! yuk....no $$ for lipo so "I" had to do something about it ...

Being my heaviest weight, not being able to go up and down the stairs in my house without being out of breath and knowing that I have to wear a sleeveless bridesmaid's dress in June for my best friends wedding...those are just the excuses...it was time and it had to happen, so here I am!!

Seeing a picture of myself at the beach, you know the ones where you aren't trying to suck in your gut cause you don't realize there is a picture being taken :P
I saw it and I looked like I was about to deliver twins.....

for me, it was getting winded evertime I played with my 2 yr old...well, that and the guilt i felt for making my hubby do all the chores around the house cuz I was always too tired to do it :indifferent:

2 things: seeing myself in a picture of about 30 women at a party at my house (by far the biggest one there)...and my daughter really reaming me out and asking me "Since when did you stop caring about yourself?"

I looked sideways in a mirror and saw my belly sticking out farther than my boobs. Yuck!

Really... it was pregnancy then exclusively pumping then a broken kneecap and recovery. Got started with the exercise as soon as I could (was terrified of losing milk supply so didn't exercise much) and the dietary changes just kind of go along with exercise for me.

I saw an add in Parents Magazine one Sunday afternoon. Thought it would be "fun" to track what I was eating and "graph" my progress. Ha! Little did I know what I was getting myself into but I'm so glad I stumbled on this site and made some decisions to change my life!

the double takes and looks i got from family who (whom?) i hadn't seen in 10 years. after that i started realizing all kinds of things that i just hadn't noticed before. it wasn't that chili's was making restaurants with smaller booths, i was getting bigger. Chevy wasn't making trucks with the steering column closer to the seat, i was getting closer to the steering column. There wasn't a conspiracy to make seat belts shorter, i was just getting too big to buckle them. looking back its actually kinda funny, and sad, all the excuses i was making when in reality i was just fat.

My youngest daughter is 5 and she told me one day that I had a big tummy. That comment changed my life! I just love how blunt kids can be lol, the truth hurts. :embarassed: But I needed to hear it.

I saw a beautiful family pic taken on the beach, only to see me- "mom" in the pic looking terribly UNhealthy. My arms exposed and looked like they were exploding like the skin couldn't get any bigger. I just looked awful. I wouldn't ever show this pic to anyone (and I was so embarrassed about that because my family looked so great in it-I just looked terrible)

I decided that I could keep trying to "lose weight" like I did so many times or I could attempt to "get healthy", I decided I had to get it in my head that this wasn't about vanity any longer. I was looking at a picture of a very overweight and unhealthy mom of three kids.

And EVERYDAY I REMINDED myself that I spent the last 13+ year OVER weight, so why should I be in a hurry to lose it ALL so fast. (I always gave up after a week or two before because it was too slow) My focus became "what is something new I can try this week" A new healthy recipe....a new exercise dvd....and then it just became my new habits...I keep looking for new ideas to keep the weight coming off and keep me focused on being healthy.

I can't even wear jeans and a t-shirt without seeing a huge belly roll! I just want to wear normal clothes instead of nike shorts and t-shirts everyday. I also hate this newfound back fat... no idea where it came from! I have always have a tummy and I just want to be confident in showing my belly

A renewed committment!

In my teens I was always a slender thing and could eat and drink what ever I liked without gainng weight. When I went to uni (now more than 20 years ago!!) I started to put weight on going from a UK size 8 to a 12. I travelled for a while after Uni and a couple of bouts of dysentry soon lost the extra lbs (lol!!).

I came home and was back in my size 8-10 clothes and all was lloking good, I had a lovely boyfriend and a good job and we were settling down. Working meant I was more sedentary in my life and the settling down lead to cosy nights in front of the telly with a bottle of wine and a takeaway or a nice down the pub with friends. Soon the weight was back and I was now up to a UK size 14. Fastforward 10-15 years and I hadn't got round to losing weight but it was a concern. I had married my lovely boyfriend and we bought our first place together and had started on our family.

My eldest daughter provided me with a great inspiration - I didn't want to be the fat mum at the school gates so I joined Slimming World and lost 2.5 stones (35lbs) and was feeling great. Then i fell pregnant again and stupidly decided that I wouldn't worry about what I ate as I now knew I could be determined and lose weight - afterall I had proved it!

Last year I turned 40 and I been telling myself that I wouldn't be fat and 40 - but then I was! It got to Christmas and I decided that the new year was going to be my new start and that I was going to make changes that I could live with and maintain. Three months on I am still here on my journey, typically losing weight each week but not every week and still motivated. The support and encouragement I have from you guys daily is making such a difference - thanks!

So to answer your original question what set me on this journey - I think the answer for me is a coming together of a number of factors, turning 40, having 2 gorgeous kids who need a mum who has energy and is fun, and finally finding the committment to get started!! Sorry it took me so long to explain this!