Was Your Inspiration a Photo?

anxietygirl

Did anyone find a photo of themselves to be the thing that really got them into gear on this, after everything else couldn't keep up the momentum?

I did.

I had been trying to get into better shape, off and on, for two years. My friend very recently had a baby. She took this photo of me holding her daughter the day after she was born:



I saw that photo when she texted it to me, and I went home and cried.

I thought, no. I can't look like this in photos any longer. I can't be the 'fat friend' who hides in the back of photos, I can't be that person who wants to untag myself from every photo on Facebook anyone ever takes of me, I can't do this anymore. This is me holding one of my best friend's baby daughters - this should be a happy photo, and instead it's a photo I can hardly stand to look at. And that's not okay.

And that's what made me sign up to MFP and start really buckling down on trying to change my activity level, the foods I ate, and the way I look. The next time a friend of mine has a baby, I want that picture to be one I can cherish without critiquing "how fat I am" every time I see it.

And I'm working on it!

When I lose motivation, I try to look at this photo and remind myself of why I'm doing this in the first place.

Did anyone else have an experience like this, where it was kind of a specific picture that made you think "NO MORE" and finally buckle down and stick to it?

For reference, me right now, after I'm down about 19 pounds:



I don't see much difference yet, but my husband swears he can see it in my face and waist area. Also the pants I'm wearing in this photo are very lose and that is AWESOME TO SAY.