What experience ultimately convinced you it was time to make a change?

Kennkaru

I am very interested in hearing individual stories about what finally kicked your butt into gear for getting healthy, losing weight, or otherwise changing your body or routine.

Mine involves several days of skiing. During the ski equipment rental process, I was having trouble finding ski boots that fit right because of the size of my calves. I also found that my change in weight and body composition during the 5 years since my last skiing experience was making it very difficult for me to ski well, and made getting up after a fall all the more difficult. This resulted in three days of skiing in a painful, squashed, embarrassed, heavily distracted state...not being able to think about anything but how my body was limiting me when I should have been enjoying the experience.

What was it for you?

Sweet_Heresy

Seeing a picture someone took of me, and I didn't realize how horrible I looked until then. That was demoralizing, but it took a grappling tournament to realize just how outta shape I'd gotten. I almost threw up after my first match.

That was all the motivation I needed to lose the weight I gained back.

mztoni54

My younger brother (12 yrs younger) is diabetic,stage 4 kidney failure and i want to get healthy and try to give him a kidney. I am 100lbs plus from that goal. I have to lose and be off all bp, cholesterol meds and have a BMI of 25 or less. I know it means getting healthy and not hiding behind my weight anymore. I have a vision i can do it and not need skin removal. I need prayers. See it, believe it, recieve it.

SallyJones1985

My boyfriend having an affair with his stick thin ex who then gave me the nickname 'hippo'

Edited for typos

cwolfman13

Watching my dad go downhill really fast in his mid fifties and getting back some really nasty blood work a couple of years ago that suggested I was heading down that same path.

Fortunately my dad was able to see me make the changes I've made before he passed away at the ripe old age of 60; he was very proud, and that definitely helps me keep on keepin' on with all this good livin'. I do the American Diabetes Association Tour De Cure every year in memory.

Lasmartchika

Having to literally stuff my stomach fat into the jeans that were no longer fitting. I refused to go to a higher pant size.

healthygreek

I loved traveling but hated how uncomfortable I felt in my airplane seat. What a difference 60+ pounds down!

karen_fitzgibbon

Being called a fat ugly lump by one of my favourite residents suffering from dementia

flabassmcgee

Being diagnosed with thyroid disorder was an eye opener. I'd already been gaining since switching from retail to a desk job, then I started taking birth control again... The thyroid was the icing on the cake.

jnv7594

My daughter. I'm a single mother, and my daughter just turned 12. Several months ago I caught her crying in her room at bedtime after she thought I was asleep. When I sat down to talk to her to see what was wrong, she told me she was afraid of losing me. She thought I was going to die from being overweight and leave her alone. Of course, she had just taken a health class in school where they talk about the dangers of obesity, so I think that was what got her mind working. I promised her I would change, and I did. We started going on walks together first, and shortly after changed some eating habits. That was a little over 5 months ago, and I have now lost over 60 pounds. She even slimmed down a bit herself, even though she only had maybe a few pounds to lose. I made a promise...sticking to it. She's been so much happier. We play outside together when the weather is nice now, and she hasn't had anymore night time episodes of the "blues."

kingkongsong

The dreaded and very humbling "photo taken of me in a swim suit whilst on the beach".

goldthistime

mztoni54 wrote: »

My younger brother (12 yrs younger) is diabetic,stage 4 kidney failure and i want to get healthy and try to give him a kidney. I am 100lbs plus from that goal. I have to lose and be off all bp, cholesterol meds and have a BMI of 25 or less. I know it means getting healthy and not hiding behind my weight anymore. I have a vision i can do it and not need skin removal. I need prayers. See it, believe it, recieve it.

Wow. You have my respect.

GrammyPeachy

My beautiful little,(4 years old), grand daughter sweetly asking me why I was so big.

bulbadoof

i had my first panic attack. Chest pain, really bad. Felt like I was having a heart attack. Thought I was gonna die. Called my dad in tears.

I went to see my doctor that week after it, at 294 lbs 5'3". She ran some tests and told me I was perfectly healthy now (age 21/22) but if I didn't get my weight under control I'd have serious health problems in 10 years.

i still get panic attacks 6 years later, but it's easier to calm down when i know i'm taking better care of myself.

KareninCanada

Seeing my oldest starting on the path I have been on since I was her age.

47Jacqueline

I refused to go up another size.

jnv7594

bulbadoof wrote: »

i had my first panic attack. Chest pain, really bad. Felt like I was having a heart attack. Thought I was gonna die. Called my dad in tears.

I went to see my doctor that week after it, at 294 lbs 5'3". She ran some tests and told me I was perfectly healthy now (age 21/22) but if I didn't get my weight under control I'd have serious health problems in 10 years.

i still get panic attacks 6 years later, but it's easier to calm down when i know i'm taking better care of myself.

I have had panic attacks for over 20 years...had my first at 17. They can be horrific. I sympathize with you on that. Mine at least lessen in intensity as I lose weight, so I hope the same happens for you. They're still there, just not as severe.

mk2fit

I gained 50+ pounds after quitting smoking. Everything in my torso hurt and I asked my doctor if being overweight was so danged uncomfortable, why were so many people big? Turns out I have a hiatal hernia, hence the pain. She told me about MFP and here I am. I have lost 14 lbs in about 10 weeks and feel so much better.

emilyrigh

The way my old clothes look on me now. I love all my old clothes and I'd love to wear them again.... More confidence as well (which I'm gaining every passing day). I want my body to be healthier as well getting rid of my acid reflux and IBS.

JaimejWatkins

After getting pregnant with my son in 2009 by my delivery date I had put on over 100 lbs. My husband was deployment to Iraq and my thyroid that had been hyper before pregnancy and was perfect my whole pregnancy went crazy on me. After delivery I was then diagnosed with hoshimotos/ hypothyroidism. I was also diagnosed with pcos and many other health problems followed. After getting my gallbladder removed March 2012 I lost 45 lbs in 4 months. That showed me it was possible. My goal has been to try and have another baby. Finally after losing a total of 62 lbs over 2 years (350 to 288) I finally conceived it took 4 years of trying. The pregnancy didn't last I ended up in the hospital December 10th last year's and almost lost my life. I am thankful to be alive. I am now jumping back on the healthy wagon and my I'm doing it for myself and my son. I want to make sure I don't cut myself out of my son's life to early. I would like to stick around for a long time.

MB_Positif

So many, but a couple that really stick out are the fact that I was constantly telling my son, who was five at the time, no that I couldn't play with him. I didn't want to play sports or even get on the floor and play a game with him. Another was that I'm really short and I was on the verge of needing plus sized clothes and I had tried some on and the proportions were way off for me. I thought, "you just can't go down that road." Everything would have needed to be altered and I was simply done with buying new bigger clothes every couple of months.

bluesy8899

These stories are more poignant than I was expecting. I have a lot of respect for you all. I have two reasons. The first is losing a childhood friend to a stroke last year and refusing to take my relatively healthy but obese body for granted any longer. The second is that I'm finishing my masters this semester and going out into the job market. I don't want my weight to be a detrimental factor while I'm looking for a job.

wickedpursuit

Twice, now. The first time was before I moved to another state - new life, new me, all that. The second time was yesterday - when I realized I'd gained 20 pounds since I moved. I'm sure it could all be because of my birth control (Depo Provera can be nasty for that)... but I'm also sure it's nothing that can't be solved through diligence!

jessmckenzie2014

I'm not overweight but i realised i hadn't been looking after my health enough and needed to take better care of my internal heath when i was unable to keep up with my 2yo niece dancing to the wiggles

Silverdracos

You have asthma, the meds have done their best and you should exercise if you want to get any better.

yeah uh-huh

You have MS and we've found out that exercising regularly within your capabilities helps decrease exacerbations.

wow, that's great, I'll get right on that. . . tomorrow.

Your high level of fatigue is probably due to the MS, but we won't be able to tell until you lose some weight and take care of the prediabetes.

Who to the What Now? CrudNuggets. I don't wanna be an adult.
Fine.
Big Girl Pants are on.

carnivalnights

I honestly don't think I had an exact trigger. I didn't have a "final straw" moment despite being overweight most of my life and experiencing all of the bullying in school people here have mentioned, seeing how awful I looked in photos, knowing the health risks especially as I aged, my father being diagnosed with diabetes, my aunt suffering from thyroid issues, etc. And I guess I am very grateful I didn't have a terrible health experience as a wake-up call because I very well could have let it go that far. I just woke up one day in 2014 and decided to do a teatox (yourtea.com), and at the same time, I was feeling so good and so energetic that I decided to just start working out too and changing my diet and food tracking. I guess my "trigger" was finally feeling good, which was rare for me. I have struggled on and off with depression and panic attacks (as well as social anxiety at times) my entire life, and for a small period of time I felt myself come out of it - about a year after a devastating break-up when I was finally single after 13 years and finally focused on myself for once - and decided to use that new found energy and seize the moment before it went away and I lost the motivation again.

I know this sounds silly but the more time I spent on Instagram and food blogs (I've always had a passion for cooking), the more I became inspired to do this. I think the motivation was always there but I was very unsure how to go about executing it and just having that "pick up and start" moment; I felt so overwhelmed every time I thought about losing weight because I have more to lose than the average person. It's not just "the last 10 pounds" for me. But anyway, I was following lots of healthy food bloggers (Oh She Glows, for example), body coaches, fitness trainers... they were all giving me ideas for what foods I should be eating (a lot of trainers post photos of what they eat throughout the day which I found very helpful!), what exercises I could or should be doing, etc. I then started reading a lot more about diet and exercise on other sources. I think as my knowledge of fitness and health increased, so too did my desire to execute a healthier lifestyle. It made it less scary to have an idea of what I was doing before I was doing it, if that makes any sense. And then a couple months later I was seeing a nutritionist, which helped even more.

I've barely lost 20lbs in the last four months, and I have lost and gained the same one or two pounds so many times despite being so consistent... so it's been very slow and frustrating, but I am still as dedicated as I was when I first started, despite all the hurdles.

zyxst

The fat women shops didn't carry clothing (pants and skirts) in my size (6x in Canada). I had 1 pair of elastic waist jeans to wear for 1 year. 3 years and 150# later, they all carry 4x, 5x, and 6x, but not 16. I can't win for trying.

TheVirgoddess

Being diagnosed with insulin resistance.

I've lost 66 pounds and just got the okay on Monday to come off the Metformin.