What made y decide to get healthy?

Tamm04

Oops my title should be 'what made YOU decide to get healthy?"

I remember gaining weight the summer before entering 5th grade. I gained throughout the years and my highest was after the birth of my 2nd daughter. My husband has always worked out, since he was a young teenager, so it'sstrange he married an overweight woman and watched her grow larger over the years! Yes, love looks beyond weight and to the person beneath.

Anyways, he had a talk with me one day (I can't pinpoint the date) about how sexy I am, he loves me, but wants me around a LONG time for him and the girls. He asked me to start losing weight and getting healthy. I didn't scream, argue or be upset. I took it with a grain of salt and thought about it a bit. I then realized I wanted more and needed more...deserved more! So did my family and those around me.

For me it's still a progress, 7 years later. I've taken time off here and there, but I'm still not at where I wish to be physically. It truly is a process.

What was your 'ah ha! I need to change this now' moment?

cindybowcut

Being diagnosed diabetic was the slap in the face that I needed and now I feel like a new person.

johnglenn1973

I saw a picture of myself and couldn't believe that was me....ugh.

eazy_

a breakup

junejadesky

I saw myself on a video someone had taken and could not believe that it was actually me.... from that moment on I changed my life.... 62lbs and 12 sizes gone!!!

Miss_Meliss86

My weight loss journey didn't originally start off as one where I aimed to lose weight, but had more to do with the fact that I was having some severe stomach issues and could not pinpoint what it was. Neither could my doctor. I decided to do some research on my own and opted for a healthier lifestyle and approach when it came to food.

I had gained quite a bit of weight in my first and second year of my undergrad and didn't feel all that comfortable in my own body. While I was doing research into my stomach issues, I also did some research on fitness. I decided I wanted to be able to bike long distances, swim far, and run without feeling like I was going to die. The weight loss is a by-product of all this. It wasn't a diet, but more of a lifestyle change. I love the way I feel after a good workout/run/bike ride/swim/etc. etc. and couldn't picture myself sitting on a couch in front of the TV as my main means of entertainment.

MagicalLeopleurodon

we thought my mom had a heart attack. my papaw had one at 36, my mom ws 42. i had gained since overcoming anorexia, and was going from hypoglycemic to prediabetic. i pounded energy drinks and stackers. My wake up call was the same as my moms. We were doomed to repeat history. three generations of heart disease was tyrning into four and five.

my mom is now 65+lbs lighter, and im at 21% bodyfat. i found out i have a cardiac arrhythmia-it would have killed me if i hadnt changed when i did.

JenniferCirba

Turned 49 last week. I'll turn 50 next year. I have the time now. All our children are flying on their own. It's my time and I need to take better care of myself. Starting today.

cupcakes_and_cardio

I was feeling completely miserable ALL THE TIME; to my fiancé, my daughter (which is not right) and with myself. I saw pictures of myself and I couldn't believe how big I looked. For those reasons and for the biggest reason of all, for my little princess

kirstyfairhead

My riding instructor tactfully told me that I would probably progress more with my riding if I were fitter. I was also surrounded by lots of slim young ladies and 'to be fair' wasn't looking great in jodhpurs.

1 year later I'm 35lbs lighter, can run 5 miles and have just started lifting.

I can also spend an hour trotting and cantering without going purple, so all good!!

prdavies1949

My wife took this photo. When, how, did I get so big?

Patti1023

For me, as I put on weight over the years, I didn't notice even notice the small gains. A few years back (probably 10 yrs or so ago) one day I looked in the mirror at my body (something I really don't do that often)... and was mortified. At that point in my life I felt like it was an insurmountable feat to try to get in better shape, there are too many foods I like & don't want to completely give up, my mom & practically every woman in my family is overweight (might be in the genes, right? lol), I just wasn't ready to tackle it because I was sure I couldn't do it (for one thing, I knew nobody in my household back then would support me & it would be so hard to do it entirely alone). Since my divorce a couple years ago I started thinking I was finally almost ready so I created an acct here but didn't start using it, then last year I knew I was ready to do whatever it takes (as long as I didn't have to completely give up certain foods). I started logging for a couple weeks just to see how things looked, I've always said "I don't really eat that much" and was surprised to discover that although I wasn't eating a lot, almost everything I was eating was high calorie / high fat, etc.

Overall I think my "aha" moment was - not a lot of quality single men would want an almost 50 yr old overweight woman, there really aren't a lot who are willing to look beyond the first impression to see the inner person. Combined with that was my own mental picture of what my life was going to look like as a single woman. My parents are retired and my mom is very large, she just sits all day on her couch, gets no exercise, etc. I knew that was NOT what I wanted so if I didn't want that to be me in 30 years, I needed to re-invent myself, & the new me had better be in better physical shape & not a couch potato.

majica8

A couple of things. I've hated pics of myself for years but never had the motivation to do anything. I've also had no confidence for years but again never had the motivation to do anything. I've also always felt that it's just me, my family. My brother is bigger, my mum is, grandma, he brother and dad etc. It always made it seem like a massive task (which it is, but it seemed impossible before)
We went to Oz for 3 weeks a year ago and I gained some weight, I think for the first time ever I was over 17 stone. That was a bit of a kick of in the right direction. As well as getting fed up of hating myself.
The biggest reason, and this may sound high-school-ish or something, was a guy. Pretty much fell in love with him, but he was (and still is) just an amazing friend, one of my only friends tbh. I'm not and never have been doing this to impress him, he's taken and happy, but I felt like my lack of confidence was making me miss out. I'd never want to go anywhere or do anything because I was too scared. In the end I got more scared that my lack of social interaction with him (and anyone else) would lead to me losing friends. So that plus the other things gave me the motivation I needed and it's still going strong

Gdeeaz

I decided to lose weight and get healthy because I realized that my life was passing me by. There are a lot of things I don't do because of my weight and that is not the way I want to live anymore.

ForumSamurai

My love-handles didn't properly accent my rhinestone Speedo.

Ladina1990

my moment was when i took a picture with my fiance and realized that my arms and stomach was getting larger, then i took a before picture and it startled me at what i was seeing, i couldnt believe my fiance was sexually attracted to me, granted yes i did have a child and it took a toll on my body, but i realized that i wanted to be so much more then just the responsible mom, i wanted to be a sexy one

blissy_girl

bump, so I can read the responses later. :-)

Confuzzled4ever

Ending up in the ER with vertigo and a host of other issues and having the diagnosis of "no known origion" and the doctors shrugging thier shoulders.

Did it for me.

gsmithnp

I love the title of this thread: "get healthy" rather than simply "lose weight." For me that's what it is--getting healthier. If the numbers on the scale go down, that's just a bonus.

I found that I was getting winded trying to keep up with my girls on a walk. I would end up with back and/or neck pain just from picking up a large bag of dog food (would end up getting two of the smaller bags so I wouldn't hurt myself and end up with a migraine after). I felt tired and sluggish, and irritable, all the time.

Well, after being at this off and on (mostly on, but with some breaks thrown in), I now have more endurance, though I'm still not quite where I want to be. I'm definitely stronger (the other day I lifted that same big bag of dog food out of the car and slung it under my arm like it was nothing). While I'm still tired a lot of the time (hey, I have three kids and a full-time job) I'm not as sluggish and irritable, and my migraines are fewer. While I'm still not at my goal weight, and I know I might never get there, I'm OK with that because I feel better than I have in years. Best of all, I hope I'm setting a good example for my daughters.

davidlo421

.. When my son asked me if I was pregnant.

sisterparker40

Age also is a motivator for me. I just turned 40 and want to shed some of these pounds.

dnunny70

I am not enjoying my life the way I should. It hurts to walk, to run, to play with my boys--to clean my house--to cook.
I am tired all the time. I dread going to the store, mall, amusement parks. I want my life back.

I just had blood work done and my levels were fine. Looking at me, you'd think I had high cholesterol and diabetes. I don't, but I do have high blood pressure--which sucks. I hate that I'm on meds. My goal is to get off of them. Diabetes runs in my family-I do not want it!!!!!!

4_Lisa

Watching both of my parents go through medical issues late in their lives that could all have been prevented. I don't want to put that on my kids, or not be able to enjoy the later stages of my life because of health issues that don't need to happen.

crimsontech

For me, I was really just getting to be too large to fit into normal human life. When I didn't fit into one or two restaurant's booths, I reasoned they were abnormally small. But when it got to be where I couldn't fit into most booths and had to get a table, I knew I was getting too big. Two years ago, I flew to Oregon in First Class and could barely squeeze into the seat.

I flew to Oregon again a week and a half ago and fit into a normal Coach seat on Southwest Airlines and I could even tighten the seatbelt a couple inches. No more seatbelt extenders!

katiej080810

I am doing this for myself and for my family. For my children who deserve to have a fun energetic mom who will run around in the yard and play tag and be silly with them rather than a mom who sits in the shade with a book and gets irritated with them when they interrupt because she is mad at herself for not losing the weight and not having more energy. For my husband who loves me as I am and supports me but who deserves a healthy wife. Yes he will still tell me I am beautiful and want to be intimate but deep down I know he would enjoy it more if I was at a healthy weight. I know if the situation was reversed I would not be as attracted to him and that is just being honest.
Lastly I am doing this for myself. I deserve more than this feeling that I am trapped in my own skin. It sucks knowing that I could fit into so many clothes in my closet if I would lose weight but instead I am forced into only 2 pairs of pants that fit and feel uncomfortable in them anyways. I wasn't made to live this way. I am ready to shed the pounds and start living the full life that I always dreamed of.

Jaulen

I saw a picture of myself and couldn't believe that was me....ugh.

^ This

And my bloodwork came back and instead of being just below normal for BP and cholesterol, I was now in the mid of normal range.

Samstan101

40 years old and my knees felt 60 (still do but I'm hoping that over time it'll improve), I wanted to get back into the hobbies I had when younger such as kayaking and try new stuff like SUP Boarding but my size limited what I could do and how I felt (basically totally unfit and knackered after 10mins). I was kidding myself that I could do what I wanted without getting fitter and dropping a considerable amount of weight. There was a very real risk that I'd get my ar** stuck in my own kayak!

12 weeks in I'm 32.5lbs lighter but more importantly I'm already a hell of a lot fitter. My first gym session literally 2mins on the elliptical trainer and I was blowing like a steam train. I can now do 30mins with relative ease (HR peaks at around 140). I have a long long way to go but this time feels different mentally. I'm not on a diet, I'm getting fit & healthy, I feel like I've found a routine I can live with.

admegamo

Being diagnosed pre-diabetic and seeing my blood pressure go up and up.

Sonja917

My biggest "aha" moment came watching my mother trying to get around (she is also overweight) and struggling to do so. The fact that she has a hard time breathing just walking from the recliner to the bathroom says it all to me. I've seen her struggle and also become dependent on me for a lot of things. I do not want to be that way with my son. I want to be around for a long time and I want to live life and enjoy it. I don't want to sit at home all day by myself and not be able to do anything (like my mother).

As I said I want to live life and enjoy it, and in order to do so I don't want to have to worry about whether or not my butt is going to fit into a sit at a movie theater, or a booth at a restaurant, or if I can get on the rides at an amusement park. Am I too heavy to go parasailing or ziplining??? So in order to be able to do these things I have to lose weight and just overall become healthier and live a healthier lifestyle.

Besides I now have 2 little granddaughters and I want to be able to play with them and be able to breathe while doing so.

Csengure

My first practical lab in mortuary school. My group of five had a complicated first case (long bone and skin donor) but the other table had a morbidly obese woman. I would estimate she was close to if not a bit over 400 pounds. Her arteries were so shot that trying to raise and inject through any of them was extremely difficult as they had little elasticity left and were packed full of granules of crap (technical term!)

At one point I looked over and saw the instructor trying to raise a femoral; her hand was in this woman's thigh well over wrist-level. That was the breaking point for me.

querida78

Losing my bestfriend at the tender age of 35 to cancer. She left behind two beautiful young boys, whom she will never see grow up.
We're the same age and i also have two children. That was a wake up call that life is too short and that i needed to change NOW!
Because i was pregnant at the time i had put it off until after i had my third child but unfortunately i miscarried. After that i started eating like crazy and i gained more weight. It's been a few weeks now and enough is enough! As of today (my first day at the gym) i'm saying goodbye to my overweight self and hopefully i will live long enough to see my children grow up...