To ask if you've successfully lost weight?

[SpaceToad]

What motivated you? What was the deciding factor that made you think 'enough is enough'?
I'm fat (16.7 stone this morning) pre- diabetic, and fully aware of how awful type 2 diabetes can be. Terrified that my 13 month old DS is going to end up obese through the shocking example I'm setting.
Yet I'm still eating the fucking chocolate.
I have the best of intentions but they crumble so easily!

[Idratherbeaunicorn]

For me it was the fear that there wouldn't be "That thing" that was big enough for me to lose weight.
I got married and didn't lose weight, I went on honeymoon and didn't lose weight and I thought that if those two huge things weren't enough to give me a kick, what would be? and it was that fear that turned out to be the kick I needed - I then lost almost 5 stone.
I'm now 32 weeks pregnant so I've put a bit on, but know that I want to work to get it off and I know that I wont let myself get big again....

[Bluntness100]

Put on weight twice and needed to lose it.

Th first time I was 3 stone over weight, as I was walking through the office a man gave me the eye, as I walked past I heard his colleague say to him "you always like the big ones". I was friggen horrified. I was about a size 16 at the time. Five foot eight,

I then lost it and stayed a size ten for about a decade, and yup did it again. About 2 to 2 and a half stone this time. Pushing a sixteen again,

But this time I was aware I looked bloated and like shit, so there just came a day where I thought that's it, enough, I don't want to be fat. I didn't really buy bigger clothes so was living in stretchy gear as I simply refused to accept it was permanent. Three months or so ago I went on a diet. I'm now probably about half a stone to ten pounds to go, and am a small twelve.

[Niggit]

We were on holiday in Mull in our motorhome, and I realised that I was choosing all the easy, level walks for us to do, using my painful knee as an excuse. It wasn't anything to do with the knee - it was because it was too much of an effort to haul my 16 stone 4 pound carcass up anything more than a slight incline. Once I started being honest with myself, I was mortified by how much of a squeeze moving around in the motorhome had become, and I'd rather draw a veil over what I must have looked like heaving myself out of bed to go for a wee in the night...
As soon as we got home I joined my local Slimming World, which worked really well for me. I did stop going to meetings once I'd got the hang of the eating plan - all the applauding each other and moving stars along a chart wasn't really for me - but I'm now just over 12 stone and a size 14, and I feel great. I still have a way to go, but I know I can, and will, do it - life has put a few spanners in the works this year which have derailed things a bit, but I'm proud that I've managed to stay the same size.

[theredjellybean]

not sure really...just woke up one day and realised i ate too much and often for the wrong reason.
I stopped eating so much and only ate when i was hungry. But didnt think about it, didnt see it as a diet, didnt say foods are good ro bad, just decided i would eat when i was hungry ( really huungry) and then i would eat whatever i felt like at that point and stopped the moment the hunger went away.
I lost 4 stone easily and have kept it off.
Portion sizes and extra snacky stuff amounts to basically way more calories than most of us need.

[Yumchocxhcvn]

I got really fat during pregnancy , 5 stones plus. I suspect it was more as I didn't weigh myself until I decided to lose it.
Was a shock to me how I looked. For vanity really, didn't like how I looked that's it.
I have lost 4 stones and some and another stone to go to get to where I was before dc.

[ChopsticksandChilliCrab]

I had been wanting to lose weight for about 5 years. I tried to start properly last year but quickly got bored with the gym and didn't really know what I was doing foodwise. Then this spring I spent an evening with DH and a group of his colleagues (all of us in our 50s) and one had lost a huge amount of weight (and looked great) after a bollocking by his doctor. He recommended this book, which completely changed my outlook on food. I don't exercise much but eat carefully (except on special occasions) and track my progress on a spreadsheet. I have lost 3 stones and want to lose one more.

[oldlaundbooth]

Getting pregnant motivated me. Doctor told me to lose 25 pounds, instead I lost more like 40.
Low carb and cycling.

Other points motivated me too, I wanted to wear nice clothes, look younger and not resent having my picture taken. Also the health thing: Snoring, bad knees, diabetes symptoms all disappeared and I only had to lose 20 pounds.

I'd had comments too about my size : I once said to someone that I wasn't the right shape for running (actually meaning my boobs are too big) but from the look of pity on my colleagues face I knew she thought I was too fat to run.

Fuck that, I don't need your pity.

[SestraClone]

51 lbs so far on LowCarb bootcamp on here. I still have a long way to go though, but this is the first time anything has worked for me.

[Bluntness100]

for vanity really

[Yumchocxhcvn]

It's just that I have been slim all my life and have nice photos before my dc.
I just don't want to stay fat and have fat pictures with my child. My dc doesn't deserve that esp when it's within my control to make the change.

[SpaceToad]

I'drather I'm hoping I'm coming to that. I'm late 30s now. It needs to happen.
niggit sadly complaints about knee pain have some truth for me. I've been fat for a long time.
yumchoc ironically I lost 2 stone when pregnant. Gestational diabetes and a restricted diet!

[Yumchocxhcvn]

Space I balloned up with GD as I really had no understanding of any diet or diabetes. I had some complications towards the end due to it and I blame it all on my ignorance!

[steff13]

I'm fat. I was told by my doctor last week that I am pre-diabetic. She put me on metformin and told me to start counting carbs. That was Thursday. So far, I've lost 4.7 lbs. The low carb thing has been hard, especially with 3.7 million lbs. of Halloween candy in the house, but it's not unmanageable. Hopefully, this will work.

[Bluntness100]

I'm low carb, honestly the cravings go away. As in totally away.

[SprogletsMum]

I was really close with my sister, both sahms, 2 children each of similar ages, always together.
She decided to lose weight and I didn't want to be the fat sister. We lost 6 and a half stone each.
I found it easy because I only had to properly deprive myself 2 days a week because we did 5:2 and we were both really competitive with daily calories and making sure we didn't binge. We also kept each other occupied on fast days to make it easier.
I'm pregnant again and have put a bit back on because I can't fast but will be back on it as soon as possible after the baby is born! I just hope I can find it easy to do alone.

[Chocfish72]

I was at the dr for something, can't remember what - a pill renewal maybe? She weighed me and told me I was technically obese. It was a total shock, I knew I was overweight but mostly denying it was a problem. I was so ashamed. DH was much the same. So we did some research and got organised (meal planning, clearing cupboards etc) and did Atkins for a year or so. We both lost heaps - DH nearly 20kgs. Since then we've both regained a bit but with renewed efforts (stopping drinking, DH has done C25K) we are both losing again. For us, we are older parents and have young boys: they need fit, active, energetic (well as best we can!) parents, not knackered, panting, wrecks with dodgy hips and knees. And staying a healthy weight helps us achieve that.

For me, I have to say that not turning into my mum is another motivation. She and I are scarily similar in build, I can see my future health issues if I keep drinking too much and not eating well.

[SafariOrigami]

I was always very skinny as a child and right up to my late 30's (and that includes being pregnant). Something happened at around 42 / 43, we had a run of crap luck with fertility treatments and I guess I started 'treating' myself more and coupled with slowing mid-40's metabolism I out on some weight.

My clothes were getting tight and unflattering and I was sort of buying bigger sizes but hated doing it. I really threw caution to the wind last christmas and ate and drank to my hearts content.

In early Jan of this year I weighed in at 12st 5lbs my heaviest EVER inc full term pregnancy. I was pretty disgusted at myself and I also knew that the scales were only moving one way if I kept going as I was.

I wanted to look and feel better by the Spring so I cut back all the crap and the wine etc. By May / June I was 11st and back into 10/12 in clothes.

We had a very busy summer with a lot of long haul travel and I was really proud that I managed to stay in or around the 11st 3lbs mark.

I am back down to 11st now and aiming for around 10st 7lbs by Christmas.

I carry the weight all around my tummy and that is the most unhealthy so I was conscious of that.

I find now, 11 months after starting that some habits are ingrained. I think before dipping into the cake / biscuits. I try to cut back on wine in the evenings with dh and save it for when we are out (that one is a harder temptation for me)

I absolutely feel better and more like ME when I am not carrying the extra weight so I am happy to keep going

[GeminiRising]

I've lost 4 stone since March this year, heavier than you at the start. I'm asthmatic and couldn't climb a flight of stairs without gasping for breath and knew I needed to do something.

I started off just walking more and not thinking about the food - then once the weight had started to come off with just walking alone I thought about how much more I would lose if I started watching what I ate. Got myself a fit band/fitness app and it really motivated me to start setting activity targets and be more aware of what I was eating.

I am doing it all myself and not doing slimming world/weight watchers. Just keeping a food diary and making sure every day that my calorie intake is less than my calorie burn. Still losing weight, albeit a bit slower now, still giving myself treats, but most importantly have changed the way I eat and view food so I should be able to maintain the weight loss long term.

[KondosSecretJunkRoom]

I find losing weight easy compared to keeping it off.

I think successfully losing weight, as in, losing weight and keeping it off for a lifetime, is a different project from shedding the weight quickly.

Because I can do the latter like a fucking deamon but I just lose interest once I'm happy and pile it on again.

[OvO]

Health.

I have Type 2 diabetes. I was completely ignoring the fact I had it and took no medication, didn't go to the doctors for reviews, ate allllll the sugar.

Knew if I kept it up I'd die young. Have already got nerve damage in my feet and changes in my eyes. I'm only 36!

It's a recent thing for me. I started my diet a month ago and am down 16lbs! Have started taking my medication and seeing the doctor.

[Myrobalanna]

This is a really encouraging thread. Like the OP, I'm overweight but I never seem to care enough to actually stop. I do think about health and looks, I just somehow don't emotionally put those in the same box as weight. It's strange. I'm not stupid or lazy or undereducated.

So inspired by the people who've actually done it.

[MargoChanning]

Just wanted to say well done OvO 16 pounds is a wonderful achievement!

[KatharinaRosalie]

Vanity, relly.
I've been quite fit for the past 10 years or so, that wasn't an issue. But I didn't like how I looked. Was putting together a photo calendar for grandparents last year and realised we had basically no photos of me and the kids, as I always looked fat, with double chin, so I avoided being in any photos. Much better now.

[OvO]

Thank you, Margo!

I think that was the easy part as I have so much to lose but I'm feeling very determined this time.

[amusedbush]

I got married and didn't lose weight, I went on honeymoon and didn't lose weight and I thought that if those two huge things weren't enough to give me a kick, what would be?

God, this is me. I ended up BIGGER when I got married in April, I had to buy a new dress three weeks before the big day since the wedding I've piled on a staggering amount of weight and I've had to buy a load of new clothes in size 18s and 20s I start every day with such good intentions and always give in. I'm wasting soooo much money too because I spend a fortune on healthy food, which ends up going off and being binned because I'm eating crap instead.