Your 'Ah-Ha' Moment
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Was 22, 5 months out of college and went to a health fair at my job-the nurse there told me my blood pressure and cholesterol were on the edge of being high. I had always been chubby but was at my worst weight ever. I knew I had to take control of my lifestyle. 3 months later my bp and cholesterol were where they should be-fast forward to 3 years later I still have pounds to lose but my health is my number one priority.0
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*When was your 'AH-HA' moment that made you decide, 'ahhhm okay it's time to do something about this weight?'
-My Ah-ah moment is when I told my college teacher that I couldn't fit in the "assigned" classroom seat (with the desk attached). TOTALLY embarrassing!
*What made a difference this time which differed from previous attempts to lose weight &/or get healthy? (motivation)
-This time, I am losing weight in order to be healthy while "shredding" fat. NOT doing this for other people or being obsess with only eating the "healthiest and blandest" food nor scale. I can eat whatever I want (without sacrificing my taste buds), only if it''s within my calorie range. Another major thing is, whenever I have a bad day, I talk to someone. I share my feelings and concerns to that person. Once I let my feelings out, I don't have the desire to stuff my face with food.
*How much impact do you feel that a correct mindset has on the level of achievement?
-I feel great about achieving small goals at a time. My mindset is completed different, now. Such as not feeling bad about myself when I eat and not sweating the small things. My daily goal (for now) is to stay within my day calorie range..then I'm good! I already lose 7 pounds!
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When was your 'AH-HA' moment that made you decide, 'ahhhm okay it's time to do something about this weight?'
For me, it was when I checked the scale and saw I was back to my post-pregnancy weight from my 3rd baby (at my heaviest without carrying another human). I knew it was time to finally say "no more" to the needle on the scale going up any farther. I'd seen what no eating discipline and no exercise had brought to other moms, and I feared I was headed in the same direction. And I was wearing a size 8 pants, which were getting pretty tight! For me, a short gal with a small frame, that was unacceptable.
What made a difference this time which differed from previous attempts to lose weight &/or get healthy? (motivation)
MFP gave me a way to set concrete goals and gave me a timeline of sorts for an expectation to reach my goals. The macros are extremely helpful in making wiser food choices. And my hubby bought a treadmill--running became the perfect cardio activity for me (eventually)!
How much impact do you feel that a correct mindset has on the level of achievement?
Seeing small amounts of success is a great catalyst, but the mindset must be solid and determined to maintain progress. A cheat day here or there won't hurt, but without the proper mindset to get back into proper eating and exercise, you will fall right back into the same habits that got you to an undesirable weight.
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RaspberryTickleChicken wrote: »
- When was your 'AH-HA' moment that made you decide, 'ahhhm okay it's time to do something about this weight?'
- What made a difference this time which differed from previous attempts to lose weight &/or get healthy? (motivation)
- How much impact do you feel that a correct mindset has on the level of achievement?
My final AH-HA moment (after many years of false starts & subsequent yo yo dieting) was May 2012 when I finally was diagnosed with Type 2 DM (never was considered pre diabetic but was told for years to lose weight).
The difference this time I think was finally realizing my mortality (already had years of hypertension & cholesterol/lipid issues & now 5 medications under my belt). The difference was ~ 3 decades of morbid obesity & needing to give myself a swift kick in the a** to get a grip on my life before it was too late. I think I finally 'grew up'.
Mindset: 100% for me.
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I knew I had gained 50lbs I saw how fat I was but had excuse after excuse: I have multiple back fusions I can't work out like I used to. I have hypothyroidism it's too hard to lose weight, I have damaged nerves in my leg so I can't run or do anything hard, THEN I went outside with my entire Squadron to watch one of our young Staff Sergeants who had lost a leg in Afghanistan attempt to run on his prosthesis he just got fitted with a day before. This kid ran in pain for a mile from his shop to our main facility. I knew THEN I was just BS'ing myself, so I sucked it up and went home, got my shoes on and went out for a walk/jog, it hasn't been easy and I have had setbacks but I think about that kid everytime I have an excuse
Love this.
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My Ah-ha moment was seeing pictures from my engagement party and not liking the way I looked in any of them despite the expensive dress and my hair and makeup being professionally done.
What made a difference this time was it was about me... not trying to impress someone else, not trying to make someone jealous... it was 110% for me. I wanted to not just lose kilos but also be more toned, stronger and fitter. I think what made it different this time was I've had a few major life changes currently and adding a clean diet and going to the gym straight from work (joined the gym and removed all excuses) just got lumped in with everything else. And you know what... I'm enjoying it! It's not a chore this time which is why I think I've failed previously.2 -
My aha moment was when my 4 yo daughter asked if I had a baby in my tummy - I sort of understood this as a lot of her friends in nursery were the older children and their mums were having their second children. What really did it was when her 8 yo brother said "no, mummy's just fat". At that point I got hold of some calorie counted recipe books, logged onto MFP and haven't looked back. In 5 months I had lost 2 and a half stone and have now maintained it for 4 months so am really pleased with how I have done.7
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My a-ha moment was being told there was literally nothing else that could be done regarding some health issues which result in a lot of pain on a daily basis. I'm allergic to GA and all opiates, so pain relief is limited and the only surgery that could help is out of the question as it HAS to be done under GA.
I knew endorphins were the only way to achieve long term relief, so I signed up to the gym and started a strength training program and swimming. Sure enough, the days I work out are the days I have significantly reduced pain - and I'm so tired I can sleep through the pain at night too!
I have a long way to go (was 252, now 237, goal 180lbs) but there's no rush. I have two weddings to go to this year, the first in late August and the other a few weeks later, and it would be fabulous to turn up looking and feeling like a million dollars - so I have that as my goal FEELING, not to get to my goal WEIGHT by that point. As long as I'm feeling better and more confident, more flexible, and in less pain, then I'm getting somewhere 6 -
I don't know if I necessarily had one ah ha moment. I had a series of them, usually seeing my picture. We took a trip to Disney world and every picture of me I just cringed and shortly after I started with mfp. I'm looking forward to another Disney trip this December being 80 pounds lighter. Also I kept having this experience of my heart doing this weird fluttery thing. I read it could be stress related but another part of me worried that as I entered my thirties that my poor health would start to catch up to me.
I think what made the difference for me this time was the cico mind frame. I haven't excluded any foods from my diet. I eat anything I want. I just eat less of it than before. Because of that, I don't find myself having intense cravings for foods that ultimately lead to me binging on them and then quitting all together. Also calorie counting makes me feel really in control. If I go crazy and eat tons of food one day and I step on the scale and see a two pound gain, I know now that the math isn't there. I didn't actually gain two pounds. It's so much easier for me to recover from that stuff now and just move on to the next day. The lifestyle I have now is something I could do forever. In the past my diet was so restrictive that yes I could lose weight easily but I couldn't stick with it.2 -
Okay I'm not sure this is a closed discussion or not, but I'm going to write anyway!
My first AHA moment was in 2011 ... I had played the yoyo game for years. Tried every diet out there, lost weight and then gained it back plus. My highest weight had been over 240 ... much to high for my frame of 5'4" (I thought ... recent measurement shows me at 5'2 1/2" which is even worse) ... I had lost about 70 lbs, but by spring 2011 it had crept back up to 205 ... at the same time, our doctor mentioned to my husband and I MFP. We jumped on it, were religious about entering our food intake and within a year I was down to 147 lbs and my husband was also down to 185 (excellent for his almost 6' frame) I maintained it for about two years and then minor life style changes and not being consistent recording on MFP and weighing myself took its toll and I realized the weight was piling on AGAIN! I was up to 175 and not liking what I was seeing in the mirror and in photos! I FINALLY had a second AHA ... what works? MFP! Early in 2016 I started recording again and added a Fitbit One to the equation (I had used a different device to track steps which had died.) I have a streak of 30 days recording on MFP, I have lost over 10 lbs. I have 15 to go to reach my lowest point again, which I plan on reaching and heading even lower. At my age, fitness is more important than ever. I am 74 years old and lead a very active lifestyle ... Keeping my weight down and staying physically active is critically important ... I know I am rambling ... kind of stream of consciousness writing!
Bottom line, even if you've had an AHA moment and then slipped, start over again.10 -
I'm 5'8" tall and female. I weighed two hundred pounds. That was way too much, when I hit that mark.1
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I knew I had gained 50lbs I saw how fat I was but had excuse after excuse: I have multiple back fusions I can't work out like I used to. I have hypothyroidism it's too hard to lose weight, I have damaged nerves in my leg so I can't run or do anything hard, THEN I went outside with my entire Squadron to watch one of our young Staff Sergeants who had lost a leg in Afghanistan attempt to run on his prosthesis he just got fitted with a day before. This kid ran in pain for a mile from his shop to our main facility. I knew THEN I was just BS'ing myself, so I sucked it up and went home, got my shoes on and went out for a walk/jog, it hasn't been easy and I have had setbacks but I think about that kid everytime I have an excuse
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Good for you!!!!!0
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I just stated back at WW for the ninth time after having my second daughter. I couldn't beleive it when the scale read 294 lbs. I had never been that big before. I had lost 40 lbs and seemed to be on the right track again. I had lost and gained 100 lbs twice before, once in my 20's and again in my 30's. I got on the scale that week and I gained 8 lbs. THAT WAS IT!!! I went home and cried my eyes out and I was done dieting. NEVER AGAIN! I walked into my bathroom and I smashed my scale into a million pieces.
I was so frustrated. I am smart, educated, successful. I knew the difference between eating healthy and eating crap. I knew how to cook, shop, count calories. I had read more books about weight loss and nutrition then anyone. I knew about good carbs, bad carbs, processed foods, high fat, good fat, low fat, high protein, atkins, paleo, south beach, vegan...yadda, yadda, yadda.
I went about my life and just did what I wanted to do. A funny thing happened...in a few weeks my clothes started to fit better. In a few months I down three sizes. I felt better and was becoming more active. Why? What was different? That was when my AHA moment came...IT WAS THE F%$KIN SCALE!!!!!!
When the scale read a good number I would reward myself...when it read bad I would punish myself...both with food. Suddenly without that F%^KIN SCALE I had to look for other indicators. The way my clothes fit. I was forced to look at myself in the mirror to notice changes. For the first time ever I had become in tune with my body. I realized how different foods effected me. I could recognize full. I didn't eat more because I had the points or eat less because I had too many. My obsession with food had started to fade. I had also learned to maintain my weight as opposed to constant yo-yo dieting. I no longer was good or bad. I made decisions about what I ate and owned them. And apparently I had learned a lot about how to eat healthy I just had to get out of my own head to implement it.
It took about 2 years but I lost 120 lbs and went from a size 24 to a size 8. The best part of my story is I have kept if off for 7 years. I use MFP when I feel my clothes getting tight and I need a reality check before I get out of hand but I never ever get on the scale unless I am at the doctor.16 -
I knew I had been gaining weight my senior year of college, but really didnt care, and I was too stressed with finals/ internships/ job interviews/ planning my after-college move to devote too much worry to the weight gain. Also, my tits had grown quite a bit and I was enjoying that aspect
It wasnt until looking at pictures from my best friend's grad party in June that I noticed how big I really had gotten. I was the biggest of all of my girlfriends, by a lot, when I had previously been the most fit. That was the wake-up call needed to put my health back on priority.2 -
The number on the scale (122kg). This confirmed what my family has been trying to tell me for ages.
I never really realized it physically because I was always lazy, never injured and only wore baggy clothes.1 -
I was about to have to go up another size - one I hadn't been to before.
I joined MFP because I wanted to use my own approach to losing weight and I joined a gym that was a block away .
I changed my entire lifestyle. That is the reason I'm successful.1 -
When I see myself in a mirror0
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RaspberryTickleChicken wrote: »I obviously have far too much time on my hands as another question out of sheer curiosity has been nagging away at me ... so here goes.
- When was your 'AH-HA' moment that made you decide, 'ahhhm okay it's time to do something about this weight?'
- What made a difference this time which differed from previous attempts to lose weight &/or get healthy? (motivation)
- How much impact do you feel that a correct mindset has on the level of achievement?
Here I'll start this one:- My 'AH-HA' moment was when I saw that my blood glucose level was 101 mg/dL and the normal range was 70-100 mg/dL.
- My motivation this time was not about making that silly little # on the scale go down, but it was about fighting off an impending diabetic future if I did nothing. The thought of all the complications that comes with diabetes. ie. kidney functions, amputations, blindness, etc. petrified me.
- For me, the mindset of 'oh I need to get healthy' rather than 'lose a few pounds' oddly took the pressure of me to 'loose X weight by X amount of time.' I looked at it as I have a lifetime to continue to reach for my goal. So the weeks where I was loosing mere fractions of a pound didn't bother me because progress was progress.
If I'm not posting this correctly in the correct spot I apologize. My aha moment was similar to yours except my glucose number this year was 124. My doctor said just lose 5 pounds. I didn't have a lot of body frame weight to lose but I have lost 14 pounds in a month and a half. My goal is to reach 180 pounds which is two pounds away and then maintain that weight while eating healthy.0 -
I wanted to lose weight for a long time but a mixture of heath problems, depression and not properly medicated hypothyroidism kept me from losing it. I had tried before to lose the weight from everything from Very low calorie shake diets and slim fast and intermittent fasting, weight loss classes and everything else under the sun. until my thyroid was properly medicated and my other health issues were sorted and I got into a positive mental state I couldn't lose the weight. Also seeing other people my sort of size on here and on youtube helped a LOT, since i could see it was possible to lose a very large amount of weight without Elite diet coaches and spending fortune at a private gym spa retreat. wanting to have kids and knowing it might not be possible and that getting pregnant at this weight would cause the kids harm helps me motivated to try but I honestly didn't think it was possible to lose it until i first hit 30 lbs loss. I had lost a load of weight and fluctuated up and down for a long time but never actually had a gradual maintainable loss. I always lost a lot then it would pile back on again. still scared that it will just stop and pile it back on again but i'm getting more use to my body fluctuations like how when its my time of the month i gain water weight and then lose it again quickly after. been slowly losing since October last year and I don't mind so much that its taking me a while to lose it all. I'm just glad its coming off regularly and repeatedly now,1
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What a great thread! I had two ah-ha moments. Growing up I was always skinny. Right up until my mid 20's. Then my weight started creeping up. I was diagnosed a type 2 diabetic in August 2008. I was my heaviest then, 214 lbs most of it showing on my belly and face. I was put on Metformin to help control my sugar. I battled with my sugar levels for several years. My pant size crept up from size 36 in 2005 to size 40 by 2008. My first ah-ha moment came when those size 40 pants started feeling snug and I realized I was in danger of going up to size 42. Something in me just snapped and I refused to buy 42 pants. My wife and I joined weight watchers and I managed to get my weight down to 190 and I went down to size 38. I hit my first plateau and didn't have the will to push past it so I stalled there. I actually maintained pretty well at 190 until March 2015.
In December 2014 I had my 2nd and final ah-ha moment. I went to the doctor for a check up and my A1C was 7.2. The doctor wanted to put me on a 2nd medication. When we did our research we found this drug was strongly linked with causing liver problems. In fact when I went back to the doctor six months later the doctor ordered that one of my blood tests be to check how my liver was functioning.
Again, something in me just snapped. I figured if the doctor was taking my diabetes serious enough to risk causing a second, potentially more immediately threatening health issue then i should also take it seriously. That winter was long and bitterly cold and I had plenty of cardio going out and shoveling snow. But when the beginning of March rolled around and the temp finally hit 40 degrees I started going out walking every day. At first two miles, then three then four. And then I slowly incorporated running. Around that time I also found MFP and started counting calories. Within a month I noticed my fasting sugar was coming down from averaging 120, dropping through the 90's, 80's, 70's even into the 60's. Once it hit the 60's I started worrying about my sugar going too low so I cut my Metformin medication in half. I tested my fasting sugar every day. Still in the 60's so on April 22nd, the day after my birthday, I stopped taking Metformin all together. My fasting sugar averaged in the 70's and 80's. It still averages that today. My weight started to really drop once I started running. I went back to the doctor in June and my A1C was 5.8. The doctor told me I don't need to take Metformin any more. He asked me how I did it. I told him it was through diet and exercise. He was almost as excited as I was and told everyone who came into the room that I'd beaten diabetes through diet and exercise. In October my A1C was 5.5. I've gone from size 38 to size 32 pants. My weight is currently 154.
I know this is a lifetime deal. I've made a vow to never go back to who i used to be. I run 3 or 4 times a week. Only averaging 2 to 4 miles but as someone who a few years ago couldn't run a block without breaking out in a cold sweat and being seriously out of breath I'm over the moon with where I am now. MFP made everything much simpler than it would have been otherwise. Maybe not easier. But definitely simpler.15 -
When I couldn't even bring myself to post my own engagement pictures because I looked so horrible in them. I decided that I wanted to be proud of my wedding photos. Here I am, 6 weeks out from my wedding and only 10 lbs from my goal weight 14
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It was about 4 years ago... I was doing up my belt and it occurred tome that I might have to buy a bigger belt... that thought horrified me... WHAT the HELL!!! was I thinking.. what HAVE I been doing to myself??? holy *kitten*... BUT it wasn't until 2 years ago... that I got serious about my fitness... having a doctor call you up on a Saturday morning and telling you that he got the results of your blood work and that you should immediately head to the emergency room because your blood sugar is off the charts... and at the same time having my vision begin to decline at such a rapid rate that I was needing to buy different reading glasses every week to keep up with the decline in my ability to see... th eonly bonus was that with the uncontrolled type 2 diabetes... I was loosing about 3 lbs/week and eating everything in sight...
well my weight hasn't changed much... and I am using the same belt as I was 4 years ago... BUT I have used the last notch on it a couple times this week and maybe I am in line for a smaller belt... I eat better... and exercise 5-6 times/week... and it wasn't long ago that I couldn't imagine how I was going to get 3 work outs in/week...and for those of you out there... who think they don't have time... I get up at 4 a.m. walk my dog ( I don't count that as exercise) get to work by 7:30... finish at 4:30 get home at 6... and in bed by 9... I find time at lunch and after work to work out...funny that when your life depends on it.. or your quality of life is in jeopardy you find the time...I spent years thinking that physical exercise was optional... it isn't...4 -
My AHA Moment- When my husband and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas and the day before departing I got on the scale to see it read 249- and I am just 5'5. I had a miserable time because I knew I couldn't go skydiving with my husband due to the 250 weight limit. I was embarrassed but told all I was scared. It was a horrible trip where the wives of the couples we went with wore cute clothes and I wore my XXL. I got back on MFP and decided to stop referring to my Fitbit as the Unfitbit as I previously did.
What was different: I have lost up to 50 pounds previously in my 20s (I am 43 now) before my kids and marriage- by eating like a rabbit and working out 5 times a week which I hated doing absolutely hated. It fell off quickly but the day I returned to normal life boom it all came back even faster.
This time I told myself I would only eat things I like, I would not deprive myself of anything just stay in my calorie limits. I didn't work out. Never went to the gym. I simply moved more with my Fitbit. I'm proud to say I recently did a 5k walking which over a year ago was unimaginable but I discovered something else- I don't have to get all sweaty and do intense workouts to stay active. I park farther away, I get up to get things instead of asking my kids...I log into MFP daily and am faithful and accurate as can be with logging.
In short- it was not a diet it was truly a shift in my thinking and a lifestyle change! I had weeks where I didn't lose a poun but I stepped off the scale shrugged my shoulders and moved on. Not like before and other attempts where I would get angry and go off my diet. This time there was no diet to go off of- this is how I eat all of the time.
State of Mind- Absolutely the mindset plays a heavy part! I have over the years known I had gained even more weight then when I was pregnant but even buying size 18 clothes didn't shift my mind. I think everyone has something that will give them that moment.
So here I am 100 pounds down in 14 months , slow and steady, achieving my goal not even concerned about maintenance- I know I got it because this is for life.19 -
My AHA moment was when I realized that I was bigger around than my 8 month pregnant sister (at the time). The other AHA moment was when I went to Costa Rica and was in a group with much older people from Finland and I was perpetuating the fat American stereotype by making everyone stop several times climbing up a mountain so I could catch my breath. I was even more unfit than my 100lb bigger than me ex. (Both instances were 5 years ago) Idk I've had many AHA moments. The last AHA was (2years ago) when I had starved myself to the point my hair was falling out and I saw stars getting out of bed and still hated what I saw in the mirror and I decided I didn't want to be that weak again.
This time I didn't focus on dropping the weight fast. I baby stepped my way here. I discovered eating right feels good. That exercising feels good too. That getting fit isn't just about being skinny, it's being strong and capable. I don't want to be either extreme again. I deserve to eat and I deserve to eat quality foods and not over processed, salty, sugary, deep fried crap. I deserve and owe it to myself to be able to run up and down stairs without too much trouble. Finding the middle ground has been a huge blessing.7 -
My ah-ha moment was gradual which led to small changes. I had had three back to back pregnancies and my body was exhausted and I had no time for myself! As my children grew a bit and became more independent I could take more time for myself.
In the past I was never overweight so I had not tried and failed or succeeded in loosing weight yet. I started learning more about how people actually lost weight and I just started with logging. Logging alone helped me drop twenty pounds. Then as I started to feel better about my energy level and stamina I started doing short exercise stints when I could find time and I went back to running (which had been my exercise choice prior to having children!) and I lost another twenty pounds. Now I am training for a ten mile race in November, just hit 8 miles on my last training run!!! Still slowly loosing but not much.
Guessing that a "can do" attitude helped me make time for myself, going from the cliche mommy focused mode to the whole person focused mode helped me succeed to this point. Including my husband and kids helped too-we all run now! We always are pretty healthy, I just ate much more of it all-this is my biggest area of growth, stopping the mindless eating!2 -
I looked in the mirror naked and was totally disgusted. Changing this time because of my age. I feel like I wasted a big part of my life being fat.1
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I imagined myself being 60 and still having to diet post vacation. It felt I can't do this anymore. That I need consistency and moderation even on vacations and holidays
I know the exact date I had this conversation with myself, loosing and regaining weight is sooooooooooo heartbreaking. I couldn't take the thought of doing another plan and go on and off plans.3
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