“My husband got a new job so we could see each other more. Things were going well until one day I randomly got extremely depressed. My husband left for work and I started thinking, ‘You’re fat, you’re ugly, no one loves you, and you aren’t going anywhere in life.’ I grabbed my keys, hugged my cat, got in my car, and started driving down the highway. This was it, this was the day I was going to commit suicide.”
‘I wouldn’t care if I didn’t wake up,’ I texted my husband. I planned to ram my car into the cement pillars under the overpass.’: Woman battling depression reminds us to ‘take it one day at a time’
‘Are you going to lose weight for the wedding?’ I felt judged for my shape, ashamed and humiliated. ‘Yes, I will be losing weight.’ Then came the moment where I found the dress.’
“I stood there semi naked, holding my breath. I stepped into the wedding dress. My consultant whipped the curtain open and my mom gasped. All I could think was, ‘Here comes my further humiliation.'”
‘She could’ve lost a few pounds and worn a cuter dress.’ I was fat shamed at my husband’s funeral.’: Woman loses husband to motorcycle accident, embraces body, ‘I love all 247 pounds of me’
“Just when they were about to put him in the ground, I heard it. It came from across the other side of the casket. A place I thought would be a safe zone. When grief hits you, I can assure you the last thing on your radar will be your weight.”
‘An ex-boyfriend said I was hotter because I was ‘so much smaller now.’ People would give me continuous complements like, ‘You’re so thin. You look amazing!’ I was actually miserable.’
“These pictures are taken about 10 months apart. On the left, I weigh about 140 pounds. On the right, just under 122. Peers I saw on campus or at bars would point out, as if it was the best complement one could give, how tiny I had suddenly become.”
‘He had a stranger over at my house where my kids sleep. My entire 10-year marriage was a lie. I left him without a car and without a plan.’: Woman credits husband’s infidelity with life- changing weight loss
“In one night, I found out I weighed over 400 pounds. I also found out I was pregnant and losing a baby in one breath. I am still working through those emotions. That moment was a severe wake-up call that I needed to change my life. I didn’t realize how much my husband’s infidelity had affected me until I stepped on that scale.”
‘He lit my insides on fire. So, I did it. I married him. My body signaled that something was off. I pegged it as nerves. I didn’t know about the pools of women.’ Woman breaks free from abusive relationship
“It was the same with everyone. The same love songs, the same pet names, the same date night spots, the same EVERYTHING. In a ten-day period, he cheated with 3 people. He played it off as him being drunk and stupid. I believed it at the time. I didn’t tell friends or family. ‘If I can’t even make a marriage work, what else will I fail at?!’ I kept it private, until things began to boil.”
‘I was over 400 pounds. I felt like a failure as a woman and wife. I lost jobs because I didn’t ‘look’ the part. When I’d walk my dog, people would scream things at me out their car window.’
“I had crazy mood swings and extreme fatigue. Yet, I ate super clean and worked out every day. I couldn’t lose a pound and would yawn through my workouts. I knew something else was wrong.”
‘She’s fat. It’s a good thing she’s nice. Otherwise, no one would pay attention to her.’ They both giggled and left the restroom. I stayed in the stall, frozen. I knew I needed to blend in.’
“I became aware that I was different from the other perfect, small, blonde girls. So, I hid my glasses, grew my hair out, and started dressing better. I realized I needed to walk tall, shift my shoulders back, and smile to draw any and all attention away from the rest of my body.”
‘You’d be SO MUCH prettier if you lost weight.’ I was 10. My siblings got juice, while I was only offered water. When we got into fights, ‘fatty’ was their low blow.’
“With a disgusted look, my own trainer asked, ‘Why are you SO overweight?’ I felt like I was just punched in my (fat) gut. I cancelled my gym membership and dropped out of high school. Ashamed and embarrassed, I just wanted to crawl in a hole and cry. I always felt in competition with my siblings.”
‘I came home to my husband moved out and my key next to his wedding ring. It was so crushing. As soon as we got back from our wedding, he shut me out.’ After split from ‘dysfunctional relationship,’ woman turns her life around and becomes full-time health coach
“When I was 15, I started drinking 2-4 drinks a night. At 21, I ate most of my meals at bars. Before I knew it, I peaked at over 200 pounds. But the more I got healthy and lost weight, the more it drove a wedge between me and my fiancé. ‘Don’t get too skinny,’ he said. He wouldn’t talk to me and it was really frustrating. I felt like he was discrediting my work. My relationship was built on negativity.”
