What REALLY inspired you to lose weight?

Coolhandkid

I had a kid. And not being able to do the things that Dads do was just not on the table. Once you realize how important your health is its likely pretty late and its high time to get it done.

slp51

It was a suggestion by a very dear doctor. I'm 64 and grew up living with the after effects of polio. I have always been within the weight range for my height 5'4") but in my-then sedentary, high stress job, I packed on the pounds. About six years ago, I began to experience debilitating pain in my lower leg and foot (the left side...the polio side). It got so bad that my social life suffered and each night after getting home from a 12-hour day at work, I'd take Tylenol and go lay in bed nursing my swollen, throbbing leg and foot. I finally decided I had to leave my job, so I retired two years earlier than I had planned.

I had sought medical intervention and had a couple of surgeries (one where two of my left toes were partially amputated!). But nothing worked...until I happened on a surgeon and neurologist who work together to correct deformity in the feet. The neurologist determined I had severe nerve damage in my left leg and the surgeon said that a complex procedure he performs where he removes the damaged nerves and transplants human nerve tissue should resolve the pain. It was a 7.5 hour surgery but it cured the pain!!! The surgery was December 13, 2013.

In my follow up visits he suggested I embark on a mission to lose weight and get healthy. I needed a stable core and to gain muscle so that I could improve my gait and eventually toss the leg brace I wear. So, in March of 2014 I started my "body project." In a year, I was down 23 lbs. I'm so much stronger then I ever have been at the ripe old age of 64!

I have more strengthening to do and five more lbs I want to lose. But I'm having another surgery June 10 that will put me out of commission during my 6-week or so recovery. That's why I want those extra 5 lbs gone. The surgery will further strengthen my lower left leg and further improve my gait. Maybe one day I can toss the leg brace!

Now, (mostly) clean eating and regular exercise and strength training are the second most important things in my life (my marriage being first).

Liftng4Lis

The mirror and my muffin top

mwyvr

A photo like the first panel in this series? Having to buy size 38 pants for the first time (my belly was larger still of course)? Disliking every single photo I somehow landed in during last summer's vacation in Europe? Basically all of the above. When I started reviewing photos at the end of the trip in September '14 I asked my wife to start running with me. She kept me motivated until I could do it on my own, and I ran all through a wickedly wet winter. Still 17kg away from my goal but I'm not worried about getting there now.



The size 38's were my "aha" moment but the vacation photo reminder is what sealed the deal.

happyfeetrebel1

I just really love food. If it tasted good I ate it, I didn't really care, my husband was accepting. I also have an autoimmune disorder and about a year of prednisone just about killed any hope I had of losing a lot of weight. That drug is the devil, it was the best thing ever in terms of feeling better, but the worst thing for what I needed to do for myself to lose weight. Now I've discovered, that I don't even hurt that much without it, now that the weight is gone.

Childfree1991

Nothing specifically inspired me to lose weight at first. I just realized it had to be done when I was almost 200 pounds at 5'6 and a size 11-12. Ironically, the weight loss began during a winter season when I was recovering from a surgery. I was chronically depressed especially since a lot of females from high school who were fit, would bully me for being overweight. A bit over a year later I had lost over 60 pounds and am now a size 0-2, all from healthier eating, smaller portions, and weight training (no calorie counting). The funny part is those women who bullied me back in high school are now overweight, facing health issues, relationship/marriage issues, etc. A few also ended up with young unplanned pregnancies and were whining on Facebook. Oh BOOHOO. Karma's a &%*#!

TheVirgoddess

I have a brain condition called Chiari Malformation (it's a malformation of the skull which puts constant pressure on your brain stem, and blocks the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, it can make things like walking, talking and swallowing very difficult). It makes life in general, harder. The only fix is brain surgery.

Last year, on top of that, I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation and insulin resistance. My weight (232) was adding to a pretty heavy load that was already on my body. I figured I'd better take control of the things I could, to allow my body the best chance of handling the things I couldn't (the symptoms of my Chiari).

I didn't want to be a diabetic, I didn't want to be a smoker and I didn't want to be fat and sick. So I quit smoking, have reversed my insulin resistance, and have gotten my sleep, depression and anxiety mostly under control. 77 pounds down, 6 more until I'm at a healthy BMI for the first time in 11 years.

I feel better than I have in longer than I can remember.

IAmTheGlue

srschaffer1 wrote: »

I'm so glad I could see

IAmTheGlue wrote: »

You would think my Dad dying at 62 from Congestive Heart Failure would have inspired me to lose weight for good, or even my own cardiologist telling me that my heart can probably only effectively support maybe 130 - 140 pounds. You would think my heart going crazy in my chest randomly would have scared me into weight loss. Or maybe having to put my feet up for a full day or 2 to get the edema to go down after "doing too much" would have made me wise up.You would think that my hips, knees and feet hurting all the time would have given me the kick in the pants that I needed.

But, no....what actually did it is watching my mom's health deteriorate. She cannot get around well at all. For probably 20 years, she's had issues getting up off the floor. She's 70 and now she's having issues just rising from a normal chair. It scares the hell out of me. I started to struggle to stand up smoothly from a squatting position and it hit me. I'm turning into my mother. Her issues are going to be my own if I don't change now.

My husband has all these things he wants to do when we retire and instead of holding him back, I want to be by his side.

Maybe it was a combination of things, but in February I was hem-hawing about getting the Fitbit Charge HR and the Fitbit Aria scale. We were standing in Best Buy and I am saying it is $300 for the pair and thinking of all the things we probably really needed to spend that money on. My husband, who is the love of my life and best friend, said "it might just save your life". He tells me I'm priceless, worth way more than $300 & just generally being the best guy ever so we bought the pair.

Because of the price, and being cheap, I decided to use the scale every day so I get the most uses for the money. I weighed in at 300 pounds then (February 19th) and 263.7 this morning. I'm not stopping until I see 130. I will follow my doctor's guidance from there and possibly strive for 115. I love the fitbit and would suggest it for anyone who needs a nudge. It has literally been life changing.

This was a very great reason. My own mother jumped into gear when she started gaining a lot of weight then her mother died, her mother battled diabetes and the only reason this infection killed her was because of the diabetes. It was hard to watch such a strong woman lose herself but my mom has lost so much, she actually weighs less than me now, which is very inspriring because all of her siblings are bigger and have more health problems than her.

Thanks for telling me about your mom's success. I'm very happy for her and I'm sure that you are too!

meganmickmeow

mamapeach910 wrote: »

amwcnw wrote: »

Mine was similar to mama's ( Hi Mama!) last year. I was dignosed with ankylosing spondylitis. Months of high dose prednisone, countless pills plus humira. The breaking point was when I had to have fluid remove from my lungs. I have 3 boys that depend on me. I thought to myself I am never going to get better if I don't make a change to improve my health. I go in a few weeks to the rhemy and hope he starts reducing some pills 31 pounds gone:)

Hi amwcnw! AS is such a pain in the butt, and prednisone! YUCK! I didn't know you were on that.

You're a hottie now!

I have AS (and probable PsA too since humira cleared up my psoriasis and my finger pain... But as long as I'm being treated I'm all good

timtam163

Hey there everyone

A few things inspired me; in particular though, I was going through therapy and noticing all the negative stuff I'd been saying about myself, to myself, and to other people. I was being so mean to myself! I was my own mean girl! It made me stress eat and despite regular rock climbing, walking, and running, I was allowing my weight to creep back up. I once lost 20 lbs through diet and exercise, but I had deprived myself so much during that it was about self-flagellation rather than self-acceptance. When I gained all but 3 lbs of it back, it was one more reason to feel sorry for myself. So finally I decided to kick the extreme dieting and practice self-love in all parts of my life.

Seeing weight loss as an act of self-love rather than an act of deprivation was HUGE for me. And MFP has really helped me think about making healthy choices early on in the day. I'm even learning to forgive the few days when I go 600 calories over my daily limit; those do happen! But I'm 7 lbs down and with 13 more to go, I feel like I'm finally learning to be kind to myself rather than bully myself.

lautour

timtam163 wrote: »

Hey there everyone

A few things inspired me; in particular though, I was going through therapy and noticing all the negative stuff I'd been saying about myself, to myself, and to other people. I was being so mean to myself! I was my own mean girl! It made me stress eat and despite regular rock climbing, walking, and running, I was allowing my weight to creep back up. I once lost 20 lbs through diet and exercise, but I had deprived myself so much during that it was about self-flagellation rather than self-acceptance. When I gained all but 3 lbs of it back, it was one more reason to feel sorry for myself. So finally I decided to kick the extreme dieting and practice self-love in all parts of my life.

Seeing weight loss as an act of self-love rather than an act of deprivation was HUGE for me. And MFP has really helped me think about making healthy choices early on in the day. I'm even learning to forgive the few days when I go 600 calories over my daily limit; those do happen! But I'm 7 lbs down and with 13 more to go, I feel like I'm finally learning to be kind to myself rather than bully myself.

Beautiful!

KingofWisdom

I've always wanted to lose weight, but what inspired me to go out and buy a scale, join MFP, make a serious commitment to weight loss, etc. was me taking pictures of myself and being unhappy with what I saw. I also kept outgrowing my clothes because of the weight I was piling on, and that made me feel very ashamed of myself.

LiveLoveRunFar

The final blow was a photograph. I had been making very small changes to move more, due to health issues that the doctors couldn't figure out what was causing it (hip pain, can't walk for a month, tiredness, etc). I guess they no longer want to tell you...You are OBESE, you are not fat you are OBESE, and you are going to hurt until you are not or until you die from obesity. Get yourself to a nutritionist/to MFP and a gym. I was convinced I had gained 30- 40 pounds in 3 years due to stress. It was an extra 30 pounds by the end of the 1st year and the 3rd year it was 40 pounds. Never stepped on a scale that whole time, but those were the numbers. When I got serious and stepped on the scale, wow I was now up 50 pounds. BUT.... since I hadn't stepped on a scale to have a base number of how much I had gained....I was making up the gain numbers and believing them. Reality is, I'm now smaller then I was before I gained those 30? 40? 50? pounds. I have SOME of my old clothes that I used to wear before I gained the 30? 40? 50? pounds...they are too big. The truth is, I was hauling around 190 pounds on a very short 5 foot 1 inch frame.....I had 70 pounds to lose. That was October 2014. Now I have 31 pounds to lose.

srschaffer1

albalegume wrote: »

The final blow was a photograph. I had been making very small changes to move more, due to health issues that the doctors couldn't figure out what was causing it (hip pain, can't walk for a month, tiredness, etc). I guess they no longer want to tell you...You are OBESE, you are not fat you are OBESE, and you are going to hurt until you are not or until you die from obesity. Get yourself to a nutritionist/to MFP and a gym. I was convinced I had gained 30- 40 pounds in 3 years due to stress. It was an extra 30 pounds by the end of the 1st year and the 3rd year it was 40 pounds. Never stepped on a scale that whole time, but those were the numbers. When I got serious and stepped on the scale, wow I was now up 50 pounds. BUT.... since I hadn't stepped on a scale to have a base number of how much I had gained....I was making up the gain numbers and believing them. Reality is, I'm now smaller then I was before I gained those 30? 40? 50? pounds. I have SOME of my old clothes that I used to wear before I gained the 30? 40? 50? pounds...they are too big. The truth is, I was hauling around 190 pounds on a very short 5 foot 1 inch frame.....I had 70 pounds to lose. That was October 2014. Now I have 31 pounds to lose.

Congradulations! It is so wonderful to see others who were inspired, it surely inspires me even more! You are doing so well!

LiveLoveRunFar

Thank U! I am no success story yet, but I intend to be one. The best thing is I no longer hurt....and for anyone who has been sick for a long long time, when you get better you appreciate how well you feel...that's what its like for me every day now!

whatang

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

I have a brain condition called Chiari Malformation (it's a malformation of the skull which puts constant pressure on your brain stem, and blocks the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, it can make things like walking, talking and swallowing very difficult). It makes life in general, harder. The only fix is brain surgery.

Last year, on top of that, I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation and insulin resistance. My weight (232) was adding to a pretty heavy load that was already on my body. I figured I'd better take control of the things I could, to allow my body the best chance of handling the things I couldn't (the symptoms of my Chiari).

I didn't want to be a diabetic, I didn't want to be a smoker and I didn't want to be fat and sick. So I quit smoking, have reversed my insulin resistance, and have gotten my sleep, depression and anxiety mostly under control. 77 pounds down, 6 more until I'm at a healthy BMI for the first time in 11 years.

I feel better than I have in longer than I can remember.

Wow. You are awesome. Thanks for sharing your story.

SassyCassie90

When I was in high school, I was 5'7 and 135 pounds, but I never realized how great I looked because there were so many other girls who were way smaller than me. I have a bad habit of comparing myself to other girls and always thinking I don't look as good as they do. When I got to college I gained the freshman 15 (+10lbs), which was in part because of my new birth control. By the time I met my husband I was 150, and when I got pregnant I was 165. I always had bad eating habits, and when I got pregnant I let myself eat way more than I should because I was "eating for 2". By the time I had my daughter I was on partial bed rest and at 230. I could not believe I had let myself go like that, and instead of trying to lose the baby weight I decided to just deal and eat whatever I want. I tried to convince myself to be happy with how I looked, and it worked until I started planning my wedding. I couldn't believe I was looking at size 16 dresses, so my mother in law told me about a high protein low carb diet, so I made myself do that along with Jillian Michaels workouts, and lost 40 pounds in 4 months. Then I had my wedding and completely stopped watching my food. I knew my clothes were getting tighter, but I kept saying "tomorrow" I will do something. It wasn't until this weekend and I saw my reflection in a store window when I realized what I really looked like. I weigh 210 now, and my husband and I have decided to start trying to have another baby. I know I don't want to gain another 70 pounds with this pregnancy, so I am determined to lose as much as I healthily can before I get pregnant again. I also want to have more energy to take my daughter to the park and for walks. I had been dreading summer because I know she wants to go outside, but I don't want to leave the house. So I am only on day 2 of exercising and keeping track on MFP, and I am already feeling so much better. Instead of looking at other girls and wishing I look like them, I am telling myself that I WILL look like them and be healthy doing it.

Sorry this is so long, I am a bit of an over explainer sometimes