Why did you come to the conclusion to lose weight?

It wasn't my aha moment, I had already had one of those I mentioned earlier in this thread. I had another defining moment. I had given an old point and shoot digital camera to my young 4 year old daughter around a year or so ago when I had gotten a new one. She loves to take pictures, especially of unsuspecting people and dogs. I looked through all the pictures on the memory card and was really floored at what I saw. She had taken several pictures of me and my husband in the same chairs doing the same things we always do. Looking at those made me see again how unhealthy I am and that I tend to sit in the same place and eat entirely too much. I plan to print out those pictures as a reminder to myself to get up and move and eat at the table so I can focus on my food and not just shoving it in my mouth. I really wanted to just cry when I saw those. I want to make sure I am a better example to her than that.

I stopped smoking and gained 10 KG which pushed my weight up to the highest it had been since i was pregnant. I just decided i was sick of hating my body and if i wanted to stop feeling that way i was the only one who could do that for me. I picked a date to start that was about 3 weeks away and let myself eat whatever i wanted to then then i gave it all i have and now im 24 kgs lighter. I decided if i was going to do it i was going to go all the way and try to be on the lower end of my weight for my height and that i would do it in a healthy and sustainable way.

I saw a picture of a very overweight woman and said "wow have a shirt like that"...that woman in that photo was me. I didn't even realize I had gotten that over weight and didn't even recognize myself in my photo.

I did bungee jumping in December 2014. They made a video of it and When I saw the video I saw this person who helped me back to ground stick his tongue out coz he couldn't believe how heavy I am! and that deeply offended me. I almost burst into tears and decided enough! I hate my fat body and I wanna get healthy

It seems like I've always been on a diet. I suppose my first time dieting was during the Subway's Jared campaign in 2000. I worked at Subway and had started doing karate. I went to it with gusto and got down to a size 10. Needless to say, I went back up to a 14 within a couple years. Then dieted again in 2010, getting down to 165 lbs. Went back up again of course. At one point I was 205. That was in 2012.
Since my first dieting experience, I've been on an upward track towards a more healthy lifestyle. Just learning more about how to be healthy and stuff.
In 2012 I was 205 lbs. My boyfriend and I went totally vegan. I was tired of being addicted to cheese and chinese buffet restaurants. Since then, I've lost weight steadily, I cook all of my own meals pretty much, I'm eating more whole foods. Recently I've been reading about vegan bodybuilding and am very motivated to be in the best shape I can be in, for my own health and for the cause of veganism.
Not to mention, it's really what I've always wanted, to be a hot muscle woman badass.

I got sick of not liking myself anymore. Tired of being lazy, and fed up with wearing clothes that hide my body. It seemed like all my clothes were unflattering on me, and it was time for a change.

Well, when I get on the wii board while on the wii fit game and it tells me that I'm overweight, then I figured that I'd better lose because I'm 49 and not getting any younger and I have a 7 year old son to keep up with. Lol

Came across the "what will I look like?" website around Christmas 2013, & something just clicked. I'd had a MFP account since 2010 & never really used it, but I've used it daily now for over a year!

When I got diagnosed with Type2 DM in May 2012. Yo yo dieter for most of my adult life (lost it & gained it and more back). Something just clicked that May. I'd been dealing with heartburn, hypertension, high cholesterol issues for years and was on 4 meds...and now with DM (med #5) and the complications that come with it...was my motivating factor.

Off all meds since Sept 2013. Currently maintaining my loss (-150) & NEVER want to be in that situation ever again. So I guess the curse was actually a blessing, that was my wake up call.

Oh and I found out I was close to pre-diabetic as well. Uh uh, no way. No thank you very much.

I was naturally thin my entire life. Then I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and anxiety/panic disorder my senior year of high school.

I began medications for both… Humira, Gabapentin, Prednisone, Remicade, Lexapro, Prozac, Celexa, Cymbalta, Klonopin, Ativan, Effexor, Zoloft, to name a few.

I rapidly gained 111 lbs within the past 3 years due to the medications. I've basically doubled in size.

I want my body back.

Tired of being tired of ... tight pants, avoiding the mirror, wishing I had the same body I had at 17, of being jealous of thinner people, etc, etc.

Not really an "a-ha" moment. I was always thin as a teen and young adult. But three kids later, in my mid-40s, I found myself 30# heavier than I was when I met my husband, and always feeling self-conscious about how I look. I miss the days of never giving my appearance a second thought when I put on an outfit! I'm doing this to lose those 30#, but a nice side benefit is how exercise makes me feel strong and powerful--totally a mental thing, and I LOVE it!

A few years ago, I had gained so much weight that I literally had nothing to wear. My husband and I were planning on going to a NYE party. I tried on probably everything in my closet. Nothing fit. Even my "gym clothes" looked terrible. I stood in my bedroom, naked, and looked at myself in the mirror and cried. I hated what I had done to myself.

After squeezing myself into jeans and a sweater we went to the party. The one singular photo taken of me looked TERRIBLE. That sure didn't help.

So of course New Years Day followed, I joined MFP and learned a WHOLE lot about myself and about leading a healthier life.