This is why....

[Cameo325 27]

To cross my legs. To get up off the floor without help from a piece of furniture. To wear a belt. To tuck in my shirt. To play with my grandkids (once they get here). To put on my pants without falling over. The list could go on, these just come to mind immediately.

[FluffySaysForkIt! 823]

My why is...

I want to be able to do the gardening and horse back riding I love. Like a lot of people on here the daily "will I fit that" or "can I even do that" has got to go!

[ahillig 136]

6 hours ago, GradyCat said:

I don't know why, but I thought about what if I had a medical emergency and they had to take me on a stretcher to the hospital in an ambulance and they couldn't lift me because I was so fat? That motivated me to want to lose weight.

As a paramedic, you don't have anything to worry about with your current weight! I've had all ranges of ages and weights. Average weight of the patients I transport is about 250lbs. Our standard stretcher is rated to 750lbs and our bariatric stretcher is rated to 1600lbs. We can, and will, lift you!

[Jobber 321]

I couldn't fit in the buckles when riding the go karts with my kids and they were adult sized. I paid for my ticket, got my helmet, waited in line for 30 minutes, got to my kart and couldn't buckle in.

Then came the walk of shame back to return my helmet and wait for my kids to finish in front of dozens of people. It was humiliating.

By the end of this summer I hope to go back there like when Superman got his powers back in Superman 2 and went to beat the crud out of that bully at the bar. Total redemption...

[ahillig 136]

I am tired of being obese. I'm tired of having zero energy, tired of my knees hurting, and just tired of losing the same 40lbs over and over. I also want to avoid any obesity related issues like diabetes and hypertension. I just want to live again.

[Jolexis 203]

I want to be able to post photos of myself and my family without feeling secretly judged by my army buddies (I was active duty for 4 years) for how much weight I put on after getting out.

I wanted to ride rollercoasters again.

I hate the way plus size clothing looks on me. It was more a matter of finding things that covered all the lumps and bumps than finding things that I thought were beautiful and enjoyable to wear.

It was getting too painful to work. I’m an ER nurse and log anywhere from 5-6 miles a day during a 12 hour shift. I HURT after every shift. I’m only 28. This was horrifying to me.

I hated feeling judged by everyone everywhere I went. It’s interesting how differently people look/ treat you when you’re closer to a “normal” size.

Just a few of my many reasons 💁🏽‍♀️

[danieocean 260]

11 hours ago, Mikeyy said:

I think your hubby is underweight or very very fit... I'm 6'0 and my dr said my goal could be 185..

He's very thin. But I swear, his bone structure is really small. I've got a strong frame (My last name literally translates to the word LARGE in english HAHA!) and my family are all built the same, more broad and thin. That "I'm just big boned saying is really true!!! He's a type 1 diabetic and has a hard time packing on weight (the opposite of my problem) LOL! When we met I actually put 40lbs on him, he was very very thin. He's maintaining at 185 now and he's happy. Buying clothes for him is such a challenge. Most stores have "big & tall" sections for men, there aren't any "thin & tall" stores out there that I'm aware of. Luckily more places have been carrying "Large Tall" sizes, so it's been easier to buy him clothes that are long enough that he's not swimming in. There are pictures of him on my profile in my before picture. He may appear even smaller because I was so large hahahaha

[danieocean 260]

4 hours ago, KimTrim said:

I am looking into the VSG, I totally understand the sedentary life, working from home sounds great (and in a lot of ways it is) but I swear i can go days with only getting in 200 steps.

I can't wait to finally weigh even the same as my husband lol! I was super tiny up until I had my first kid, always around 135... now I am 284... looking forward to finding that body again.

I hope you get to hold that baby in your arms soon!! That would be the best reward for such hard work!!

I am really happy with my decision. It was the right choice for me and has worked a miracle so far!

I TOTALLY get it. My brother and I used to use our phones and look at the internal pedometer and there was one day only 3 steps were logged. Granted, my phone isn't in my hand every-time I get up, but STILL. I know there were days I'd walk to go to the restroom, walk to the fridge to eat and then take a shower and that would be it. My treadmill arrived today so I'm excited to see how the weight loss goes or if I'll put on muscle? We shall see!

I was the same, thin all my life...then before I knew it I was 299!!! You can do it and you will get to a place where your body is healthy and comfortable.

Thank you so much, I really hope so too. My heart aches every month, but I'm praying it'll just happen in time.

Keep me posted on what you decide and if you ever have ANY questions, know you can ask...I'm an open book girl

Lots of love and luck on your weight loss journey!!!

[koketika 33]

I went on vacation to Brazil during the summer of 2018 and was walking around with my friends and taking jumping pictures everywhere and my knees got so inflamed. So after many years of yo-yoing where on the up yo I would gain more weight, I decided it was time to do something more serious.

[danieocean 260]

6 hours ago, zombieskayer said:

My husband and I go to conventions twice a year, the second convention of the year is housed in an indoor Water park resort. SO if you stay on property if you're not doing convention stuff you can take time to go to the Water park. My husband is 180lbs and I was 284lbs at the time and we wanted to ride the water slides together. I was to big for EVERY SINGLE WATER SLIDE except the ones that had an 8 person raft. They all had weight limits of either 220lbs or 250lbs. He wouldn't go on without me (bless his heart he didn't want me to feel left out) but I felt like I was holding him back. I was blessed enough with that weight that we went to Disneyland together and I was able to walk around all day with no problems or getting exhausted but it was embarrassing knowing that I was holding him back from enjoying himself when we were at the water park just because I was literally to big to ride. It's also why other then Disney we've only been to one amusement park together because I'm always to big for the rides (probably not anymore tho!)

YOU GO GIRL! I remember I knew I was getting big when I went to California Adventure after not having gone for a few years and had trouble fitting into the seat on the "Soaring Over California" ride. Still took me 8 years to actually do something about it. I'm so happy for you, it's a great feeling!!!!!

[CelticBeautyEvolving 23]

2 hours ago, ahillig said:

As a paramedic, you don't have anything to worry about with your current weight! I've had all ranges of ages and weights. Average weight of the patients I transport is about 250lbs. Our standard stretcher is rated to 750lbs and our bariatric stretcher is rated to 1600lbs. We can, and will, lift you!

I can relate to the original post you are responding to...my SIL was found unconscious in her apartment several years ago, and the two paramedics (for some reason, both female, and small) were not able to lift her onto the stretcher (mind you, she had lost quite a bit of weight - she probably weighed 250 at that point). It was an awful experience for my then-husband, and they would not let him help lift her...

[TTU_FAN_19 8]

20 hours ago, KimTrim said:

Tell me your This is why story!

Here is one of mine from this past weekend ( I am in the beginning stages of this journey)

My husbands birthday is coming up and so I got us tickets to go see Jim Gaffigan as a surprise. We went to dinner before and were cutting it pretty close, the event was at the event center at a local college and by the time we were trying to park they were full. So we ended up parking about a mile away 10 mins before the show was starting.

A little background on my husband, he weights 160 soaking wet and walks an average of 10 miles a day at work. I on the other hand am seeing 282 on the scales these days and sit at a desk working from home all day.

So we are trying to hurry, and EVERYTHING is uphill, then once we finally made it into the event center we had to climb to the balcony. By the time we found our seats I was covered in sweat ( which totally ruled out taking any cute selfies before the show) I could barely breathe,my throat was on fire and my feet and legs were yelling at me... it sucked! I couldn’t even laugh at first because I was still hurting from breathing so hard. (Although once my body calmed down I had a great night)

The whole walk there and the whole walk back I just kept telling myself THIS is why! I can’t wait to free my body of all the pounds that keep me from really enjoying life. Next time it will just be a nice walk we share together on the way to a great evening.

Have you you had any This why moments? I would love to hear them

This is my why... I am a widowed Mom and I want my children to have the best memories of me that they can. I don't want my weight to be the reason we don't do things together as a family. I'm tired of being too heavy for the rides at amusement parks and waterparks, flying on an airplane and needing 2 seats, wishing I could be more active to only be more depressed when my body holds me back, tired of being viewed as lazy or sloppy because of my weight and the embarrassment of having to go shopping alone in the plus areas of stores. My weight has caused me to break my foot from falling when I wouldn't have, had I not been this heavy. My health has suffered greatly and the daily medicines are ridiculous to maintain the version of my current life.

Edited April 17, 2019 by TTU_FAN_19

[sideeye 1,440]

My why: I was completely exhausted from shouldering the casual, clinical, disapproving gaze of others for decades. Losing the weight's been great for my knees, my endurance and my shopping budget, but it's mostly been transformational mentally.

People who have never been fat genuinely don't understand that people observe you in public. It's like when someone wanders by in a particularly ostentatious outfit while you're sitting at an outdoor cafe and your gaze tracks them - sometimes you're thinking "that looks amazing", sometimes you're thinking "puce and mauve make that coat look like 70s upholstery". The gaze can be positive or negative but it's assessing. The difference is that people who wear loud clothing 1. usually do it because they want attention and 2. CAN TAKE IT OFF.

The incredible relief it's been to shed that constant monitoring is hard to express. I don't get quietly observed and judged wherever I go these days, and when I do feel people looking at me, I know it's because I'm put-together and look damn good, so it's not an oppressive feeling. And if I wanted to avoid it I could, by dressing slightly differently. The only option to be unmonitored when I was fat was to avoid other people.

I know some people had thicker skins than I did about this stuff. But man, I am glad that psychic weight is GONE.

[New&Improved 1,780]

22 hours ago, Healthy_life2 said:

his BMI is 20.6 not underweight - normal is 18.5 -24.9 - Your BMI at 185 is 25.1

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

Most people know BMI isn't the best scale even my doctor said that!

[Stella S 612]

Sideey well stated! Plus I added to the psychic weight and reduced expectations. I bought into that mound attracting bourse flies. I live and work in a very judgmental world where overweight is considered a pathology With weight loss I gave confidence to be more out there - more visible - and take more risks.