What made you decide to lose weight?

It was what I call the triple convergence...

1. I strained a side muscle wiping my but.
2. I would be out of breath after tying my shoes.
3. Dr. told me I had Type II diabetes with an A1c of 6.7

I don't know if just ONE would've given me enough of a push, but all three in triplicate indicated that I needed to get off my but and do something. So far, lost 51 lbs (248 to 197)., A1c down to 5.7 (normal), BP from 140/70 to 116/60, cholesterol from 191 to 156, triglycerides from 175 to 115.

I saw a video on Netflix called "Fat, sick and nearly dead" about a guy who fasted for 60 days. It wasn't so much his journey that got to me (although he and another guy he converted to juicing had incredible losses) but all the people who were really fat and making excuses as to why they wouldn't get healthy. "I don't have control" "I'd rather die fat and happy" I hate to say it but I saw myself in them. When he asked one lady what she thought would motivate her to lose weight she said "well I guess I'll just wake up one morning and change." That really got to me. What am I waiting for?What will it take to get me to change my eating habits and be healthy and feel better about myself? So I decided then and there i was going to get healthy and I was going to change my life.
I'm tired of not having energy, aching, embarrasment from climbing stairs and not able to talk, don't enjoy shopping blah blah blah. I'm just over being fat. Just getting started. I've lost 11 lbs (10 before I joined MFP) I have a way to go but I'm not looking back.

I saw a picture of myself and thought, there's no way I really look like that. So that's really what started it all. I was just kind of disgusted with myself.

I was 32 and had gout, high cholesterol. That didn't work so i changed for me, my kids and my wife.

for my self confidence, how i look in and out of clothing, my husband, and to be a better role model for my children. Sorry it's not just 1 reason.

Tired of being a failure at every diet attempt I've made. If I don't do it now, I'll never do it.

The 70 year old me more than anything. I want to be that "old" person that no one would think was 70 and be on the go and do whatever I want!! I don't want to be a burden on my kids when they are adults and have a family of their own either.

I was actually thinking about this the other day, It's like something just clicked one day, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and always having back problems and never being happy with my body. I'm def not where I want to be but I know i'm on the right road

My clothes. I knew I had to change when they started getting tighter. And I REFUSE to EVER go bigger! Oh hell no.

I woke up and decided I was tired of being FAT

I had reached a point after so many diet plans that ended in failure that I had resigned myself to a large life that was becoming more and more full of aches, pains, and breathless points throughout the day. I thought I knew how to fix myself but felt like I could never see it through. Then a friend seemed to drop a ton of weight, and I worked up the nerve to ask what she had been doing. It was MFP. I was not sold immediately since I had given up on myself, but I did begin thinking about it. Last summer I figured I didn't have anything to lose but pounds so I cautiously began again. This time I was determined to only take the steps that I could live with on a permanent basis. A year later I am 60 pounds lighter! This is the longest I have lasted, and the steps I have taken are closer to becoming the daily habits I need than they have ever been. There are so many motivators including the forums, the people I have met here, the success stories, fitting into clothes in my closet that still had the tags on them, meeting goals, people noticing, the support of my husband, breathing better, feeling better, and the list goes on. I now feel my goal weight is not a pipe dream out in la la land. It is a place I can get to and live in. I may not get there quickly, but that is okay. I didn't get to the point of giving up quickly either.

Back to the original post - pictures & avoiding pictures - kids asking if I was going to have a baby - dreading shopping for clothes - shoes hurting my feet - feeling like the biggest person in the room - wondering if I would fit in the seats at the amusement park - not being able to paint my toenails - having to hold my breath to tie my shoes and put on my socks. These are just a few of the factors that helped me decide I did not want to pack the extra pounds around anymore.

my wife got diagnosed with lymphnoma cancer. has had a very long and hard journey with it. there were many times she wanted to give up much like I have on weight loss all the time. well, spending long days at hospital for test, appt and all the other crap and eating out of a bag, not to mention stress had me at the heaviest weight I have ever been at in my entire life. I felt I was defeated, I was a tub of lard, my wife had cancer plus my dog ran off....It was the perfect country song, hell, I get depressed reading this post! Well, I decided that its pretty unfair to tell my wife not to give up no matter what when I am a 300 pound man eating a big mac and fries sucking a coke down. so on January 1 I started. Not to mention all I have learned about food and cancer in the U.S.A., wow, what an eye opener! any how. now my wife is beating cancer with natural medicine, yep, everything from the earth! the medical doctors reallly messed up and God and natural things are helping us! I am not going to give up! my goal weight is 198 pounds

I wanna look good naked

The 70 year old me more than anything. I want to be that "old" person that no one would think was 70 and be on the go and do whatever I want!! I don't want to be a burden on my kids when they are adults and have a family of their own either.

For me is the same thing!
I want to be that 70 years old that still runs a 5K and gets everyone else jumping and hopping. That aged person no one thinks of as being old!

One day I looked in the mirror and thought - Enough! Patricia, enough! Now it's time for you to grab your life by the horns and make of it what you want!

Well, being healthy and painless is what I want of my life!

At 41 years old I found myself at 5'11" and 280 pounds. My clothes did not fit and I was ashamed of the way I looked. Adding to my motivation were medical test results. High blood pressure, low back pain, high cholesterol and a pre-diabetic condition, I have a family history of heart attack, diabetes and stroke. MY doctor told me I should consider lap band surgery. That prospect did not appeal to me at all. I decided I wanted to look better and live longer. I love my family and want to be around with them for a long long time. I have tried all kinds of diets and would lose some and then gain beck more.. I started MFP 14 days ago and have already lost 16.6 pounds. It has been really simple and seems to be working well.