What was your catalyst for weight loss?
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High Blood Sugar Control1
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I didn't really have one big moment, it was more like several small ones. I had been trying and mostly failing to lose weight pretty much my entire adult life. The two biggest realizations last year that helped get to the point of finally taking weight loss seriously was 1) hitting 189lbs with my weight steadily increasing, meaning 200 was rapidly approaching; and 2) my size 14 pants were getting awfully comfortable and my size 12s were getting awfully snug (the ones that still fit). I decided that I REALLY didn't want to get to 200lbs and keep going up in clothing sizes. This was particularly true since my husband and I were starting to discuss family planning and I didn't want to start a pregnancy being obese.2
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For me it was knowing that I was going to graduate nursing school in a few months and I could barely make it through one 9 hour clinical day. I wondered how I was going to handle 12 hour shifts several days a week. I was also planning my wedding and my husband and I want to have kids. I want to be the healthy, active Mommy. Not the tired, sleepy Mommy. 49 lbs. down and 53 to go to get to my original goal. Then I'll see how I feel.
I love seeing how people made the decision to change their lives. Good luck everyone, keep up the good work!!2 -
There were a couple. The main two were 1. rapidly approaching the end of grad school and realizing that I could not be almost 340 lbs and get a job in law enforcement, and 2. I have this picture of myself that I call "the saddest smile that I've ever seen." I could just see how unhappy and trapped I was inside my body at that time. It makes me sad (and grateful to have taken control of my life) every time I see it and remember how I felt.5
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For me, it was when I was applying for voluntary life insurance. The nurse came and took blood and weighed me and went back to the insurance company. I was then told that because of my weight I would be charged $40 more a month than my husband would be! I was 65 pounds heavier at that point and knew I needed to lose weight, as I was uncomfortable, etc., but this was the catalyst. Up until that point, my life insurance always came through my employment, so health checks were not required. I was appalled and I'm stubborn, so I started this journey the next week!3
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britishbeau wrote: »What was that moment when everything just clicked into place and you could finally lose some weight.
Ive been wanting to diet for over a year. I always thought 'ill start monday' or give up after a day, but always hated myself for getting fatter and never losing. This week i was looking for motivation, like pretty much every other week, when I saw one pin on pinterest. No photo, just words.
Being fat is hard.
Dieting is hard
Pick your hard.
and eveything just fell into place. something clicked in my brain and i went out and bought vegetables, this week i have actually eaten vegetables instead of letting them go moldy in the fridge as usual, and ive lost 2lbs already. What was it for you? a picture? a situation? something someone said? I would love to know.
Being fat isn't hard. it's easy. That's why a lot of the world is obese. What clicked in me this year, I honestly couldn't tell you. I just wanted to finally show how hard I've worked. People always saw me running and working out, but I wasn't getting anywhere with it because I wasn't changing my diet. So vanity got the best of me I guess but this new found love for how I am changing my body for the better keeps me going.2 -
First time around it was seeing a "2" as the first number on the scales. This time around it was buying a bike to commute to work and then realizing how much fun it is and how eating less and cycling 5 times a week plus running can really speed up weight loss. 10 pounds down in 2 months pretty happy!!!1
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The birth of my first granddaughter. After my divorce my daughter and I had been making some changes, not buying processed foods, not eating at fast food restaurants, making more meals from scratch, and I had lost some weight by doing those things. I had pretty much eliminated sodas instead drinking unsweetened ice tea and continued to drink lots of water--my first choice for something to drink. Even though I had lost some weight doing these things, I was still on medication to control my blood pressure, high cholesterol, and began taking insulin for diabetes. When my first granddaughter was born I realized I needed to do something more if I wanted to be around to watch her grow up and to be able to do things with her. I have had a little set back and slow down since I have remarried and my husband has taken over cooking dinner. His only means of cooking is frying, try as I might, I haven't been able to get him on board the "healthy" eating train!1
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Random wednesday morning mid february, fed up my clothes didn't feel comfortable everything was digging in. Sucked it up and weighed myself, saw I was the biggest I'd ever been. Booked in for a boditrax scan for the following week at the local gym, found out I had nearly 30kg of fat sat on my little 5'4" frame.
3 months today exactly, I have lost 10kg of fat and 0.6kg of muscle
I have done more these past few months then I have in years, went snowboarding, been swimming, taken up skateboarding, willingly went to the gym to run, bought a Fitbit Surge and have my own barbell at home. My poor pooch has never walked so much, I go 6-8 miles everyday.
MFP has helped me to re-educate myself about food and its nutrition, I also actually drink water now! Something I would never ever do, hated it; only juices, milky sugary teas and coffees before. I believe if you 100% try, you can not fail
so that's what I did and I am so grateful to myself for making that decision back then!
Something that stuck with me: 'You can either wake up sore tomorrow, or sorry. You choose.'
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My son poked my beer gut and asked when is it due. Blood tests were getting into the range of cholesterol and blood pressure medication being needed in the future. Entering mid 50's I decided it was time to act and got a Fit Bit and a logging Wi-Fi scale. Found MFP because Fit Bits Calorie counter was lame. Once I realized this is just simple math and the scale started moving I was hooked. I thought "I got this" and dropped over 50 pounds. Cholesterol down 50 points and blood pressure normal. I look and feel great and took up running and being more active in general. I keep saying "this is not a diet, its a lifestyle change. Diets stop but this goes on forever"2
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no_day_but_2day wrote: »britishbeau wrote: »What was that moment when everything just clicked into place and you could finally lose some weight.
Ive been wanting to diet for over a year. I always thought 'ill start monday' or give up after a day, but always hated myself for getting fatter and never losing. This week i was looking for motivation, like pretty much every other week, when I saw one pin on pinterest. No photo, just words.
Being fat is hard.
Dieting is hard
Pick your hard.
and eveything just fell into place. something clicked in my brain and i went out and bought vegetables, this week i have actually eaten vegetables instead of letting them go moldy in the fridge as usual, and ive lost 2lbs already. What was it for you? a picture? a situation? something someone said? I would love to know.
Being fat isn't hard. it's easy. That's why a lot of the world is obese. What clicked in me this year, I honestly couldn't tell you. I just wanted to finally show how hard I've worked. People always saw me running and working out, but I wasn't getting anywhere with it because I wasn't changing my diet. So vanity got the best of me I guess but this new found love for how I am changing my body for the better keeps me going.
It's easy until the extra weight causes health issues and then your life can get very hard, very quickly. Being overweight for me was easy, until I faced a high glucose number caused by the extra weight and the possibility of T2, which has already killed several of my relatives. That's when being overweight got real for me, and that's when I realized I needed to change how I'd been doing things. There's lots of people who have to deal with weight related diseases and conditions, which makes their lives very difficult.
Now several years into maintenance, reflecting back I don't consider the weight loss phase hard. But maintenance is a b**ch
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For me, it was when I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep, and I was literally just unhappy. My bed was creaking every time that I moved :'C1
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I was always the "curvy" girl...and I liked it. Until I saw a photo of myself on my 27th birthday and realized: I was more than curvy: I was considered obese and my cholesterol #'s were out of control with a family history of high blood pressure.... I. HAD. TO. CHANGE. ME. So I did.2
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I saw a terrible photo of myself (on the internet, sigh), and realized I had no appropriate clothes for some work stuff I needed to wear suits for and 0 desire to get any clothes that would fit me. I finally decided things had to change.2
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Most people see themselves as heavier than they are. I never think I look as bad as I do till I see a picture and see the lack of definition in my face, the bigger arms ......it's total vanity but it makes me eat less and move more so it works.
This is me. I'd put on some weight and I was annoyed at how my clothes fit (or, I should say, at how they DIDN'T fit) but I just wasn't really seeing it, until we went to see my FAVORITE band, and it was a small gig and they had a meet and greet afterward. I met the band members and I have pictures of myself with the lead singer and with the drummer. And I HATE those pictures so much. My face looks weird and I have a double chin or something going on and there are bulges in this shirt that seriously didn't fit me anymore but I was wearing it anyway and just oblivious, maybe, or in denial. Until I saw that picture of myself, with my favorite band. I wanted to love that picture, and I hate that I hate that picture. I want to show off that picture, and at the same time, I never, ever want to see it again.
So I guess that was the "wake up" moment. I didn't even have much to lose, really, I just wasn't myself and I wanted to get back on track.
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I've struggled with my weight for most of my life & would often get thin by yo yo dieting & then would gain it all back with interest. I was doing it for the wrong reasons, "I want to look good at so&so's wedding," "I want people to find me attractive."
This time around is so different. I got a puppy, a German Shepherd, & he is a handful! He is constantly going, needs lots exercise or else he acts up. I had no choice but to start walking more: exploring trails, exploring my neighborhood, socializing him... I got a Fitbit in January when my boyfriend & I were renovating our house... Even then, I was lucky if I logged 7000 steps. Now, I average 12,000. Movement is a priority.
On top of that, I can't tell you how much time I spent researching dog food!!!! It dawned me one day that if I spent as much time trying to keep myself healthy as I do my pup, I could kick this obesity. So, I started making healthier meals for myself & my SO. Greek yogurt & fruit for breakfast, a light lunch, and a veggie-heavy dinner.
Health is no longer an option, it's a priority & I think that has made an enormous difference.1 -
I had tried so many diets and jumped on so many fad bandwagons. Each and every time, I had something that triggered my motivation to try and lose weight. Sometimes it was encouraging sayings, others it was feeling just rock bottom bad about myself by the way my clothes fit or looking at pictures of me. I spent years trying to lose weight and had so much denial that the real way to do it was not a magic pill, or diet, or home fitness dvds. Though those things worked short term, I couldn't maintain that lifestyle forever. The weight always crept back up and I ended up feeling discouraged, like a failure, and a little broke!
I'd been a member of chain gyms before where I would pay the monthly membership dues but no one could care less if I was there or not so I found plenty of excuses not to come. Eventually, it ended up just being a deduction every month for something I NEVER did. Just another waste of money.
I decided to join a local gym earlier this year where the owner takes it upon himself to really try and help his patrons achieve their goals. It was a little more expensive but it has completely changed my life! I started on the equipment, he showed me how to use every piece and gave me a workout plan to follow. When I started to skip gym visits, he messaged me on Facebook asking where I was. This made me feel a little ashamed but also really encouraged me to come back! Now after eating per his recommendation and working out regularly and actually pushing myself to do it, even on days where I don't feel like it, I'm seeing big results. THAT is where my true motivation has come from, knowledge is power, you have to put in the time and work for yourself.2 -
My clothes don't fit and I can't go to work naked.4
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Your genitals look much more pronounced when you are slimmer
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I had nothing to wear to a party. Nothing fit. The Dress I wore at the 11th hour barely zipped and I wore a cardigan over it to hide my back fat and arms. 12/29/12 was the date. 12/31/12 I joined a gym and did my first work out and began watching what I eat.1
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lemurcat12 wrote: »I saw a terrible photo of myself (on the internet, sigh), and realized I had no appropriate clothes for some work stuff I needed to wear suits for and 0 desire to get any clothes that would fit me. I finally decided things had to change.
The ill-fitting clothing situation has always served as a reality check for me. When my clothing would get too tight, a sort of anxiety would set in, as I refused to just surrender and go out and buy bigger clothes instead of addressing the underlying issue of my weight gain.2 -
A few things...
- The Doctor told me I needed to move more.
- A picture a friend posted of me on Facebook. I was sitting down, so it was a view of my back, and I was shocked at how bad I looked. It was a wake-up moment.
- Pure vanity. My biggest sizes (12) were getting really snug and I didn't want to have to buy a size bigger than that, because I'd never been that big. If I had to go shopping again, I wanted it to be smaller sizes. I now wear 4/6.
I should add, reasons can provide good motivation, a good start place, but sometimes they aren't enough to carry you through. Motivation is an emotion, and us humans can be fickle about emotions. Finding a way to do what I needed to do in spite of how I felt on any given day was what saw my goals through.
Cool topic.1 -
Fast food made me do it.
We ate Chick Fil'A one night, just a regular nuggets, fries, lemonade. I felt like garbage afterwards. Looked up the nutrition info on their site and realized I had eaten an entire day's worth of calories, fat, sugar, and sodium.
"I am getting healthy!" I thought. Not as a weight loss deal, or even for myself. I was just mad at the way I felt, and how I had bought into the American way of life of calories and low movement. I joined MFP and bought an $18 Jawbone Up on eBay. I've lost 43 lbs this year, as a big middle finger to the fast food companies. Weight loss is a side bonus.3 -
For me it was being in the hospital for a week with blood clots in my leg and having my doctor tell me that if I didn't come in when I did I probably would have loss my leg or potentially my life. That was in 2014 and now two years later I'm 125 lbs down and ran in three 5k races, 10k, and now weight lifting7
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Pictures of me before I gained weight kept appearing on my timehop app and I got so sad because I realized I used to look pretty nice back. I just want to be happy with how I look again.1
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"Think of where you could be if you had started a year ago today."[/quote]
This one thousand times over. I would always get so frustrated with how slow weight loss is and lost and gained the same 10 pounds over and over and it seemed so futile sometimes. And then I realized that if I just stick to it, in one year I will be able to look back at where I started and it will be a difference that I can see.
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I've always yo-yo'd. I lost 60lbs a few years ago but with the stress of university I put it all back on and then some.
I was inspired by my coworkers to join a local gym that does HIIT + Strength classes. The gym offered a "Life Change" program that taught not only about exercise and proper form but about health and nutrition. The class ended up actually being life changing... and here I am 7 months later.1 -
arussell134 wrote: »A few things...
- The Doctor told me I needed to move more.
- A picture a friend posted of me on Facebook. I was sitting down, so it was a view of my back, and I was shocked at how bad I looked. It was a wake-up moment.
- Pure vanity. My biggest sizes (12) were getting really snug and I didn't want to have to buy a size bigger than that, because I'd never been that big. If I had to go shopping again, I wanted it to be smaller sizes. I now wear 4/6.
I should add, reasons can provide good motivation, a good start place, but sometimes they aren't enough to carry you through. Motivation is an emotion, and us humans can be fickle about emotions. Finding a way to do what I needed to do in spite of how I felt on any given day was what saw my goals through.
Cool topic.
That was perfectly said. You might have the desire to change but you need to have the will to change. To want to better yourself. You can't just think change, you must do.1 -
I held my nephew's had as he passed from cancer. I realized that life is fragile and short - for all of us. If I am lucky enough to be alive, I want to actually enjoy my life.
I wasn't enjoying life as an overweight person. I've lost 23 pounds so far and I am amazed at the things that are easier for me know; like, walking up the stairs in my own house, bending down to pick something up off the floor. I didn't realize how much the weight was affecting my every day life until some of it started to disappear.3 -
Pictures never lie. I'm talking spur of the moment, candid pictures. Not perfect lighting and skinny angles.
So in college, my roommate snapped a picture of me and then the roll of film was developed (yep, back in the day), it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had put on 24+ lbs and didn't really know how terrible I looked until that point. Lost the weight and I've kept it off besides times of being pregnant
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