At what point did you decided you needed to change?

Brittspady

I like to dwell on my reasons why when I want to give up and eat all of the chocolate (aka right now) and thought it would be cool to hear other people's reasons.

14 months ago, I came back from New Zealand and at that point had kept up my fitness and healthy lifestyle for almost 6 months by then. I moved three times within 2 months and developed anxiety and depression. Gained 46 pounds in less that a year. I only noticed this really because I was going through my Fitbit's weight history and was just astounded. It was kind of a reality check and then I remembered how happy I was when I was able to achieve weightlifting and running goals and I missed feeling and being healthy. A month late I am down 4.4 pounds and I have a lot to go but I am accomplishing so many things and slowly overcoming my anxiety.

cwolfman13

When I got a bunch of bad blood work back and my doctor told me that if I didn't change the way I was living I was going to be in pretty big trouble pretty early in life.

Also, you can have some chocolate...I generally opt for dark chocolate as it has more nutrition...but I have some small chocolate almost every day.

loulouowens

When I cried because my husband booked an holiday abroad, not tears of happiness tears of fear - fear the plane seatbelt wouldn't fit!!!

crooked_left_hook

When I had to buy bigger jeans.

In the last 4 years I've changed jobs 1x, moved 4x (one of them 2000+miles), got a divorce, started a relationship, moved my BF 2x, traveled to China 3x, survived a 4500 person layoff, lost 3/4 of my friends to job relocations due to said layoff, spent 1 year healing elbow and wrist injuries (opposite arms), AND my dog died.

*deep breath*

The last two years I was eating out 3/4 of my meals and not exercising at all. I surprisingly only gained 7lbs but it was enough to know I was spiraling downward and I didn't want to have to lose 30-40lbs like the last time I had to lose weight. My snapping point was when I couldn't wear my favortie jeans and had to buy the next size up. My only choice was to lose the weight because I simply could not afford to rebuild my wardrobe.

I've lost 8lbs since Jan 1 and just started transitioning to maintenance. I fit back into my jeans, I'm working with a PT to strengthen my joints to avoid injury, and I'm running again. My life has settled down some and I'm happy to just feel NORMAL again. Did I mention that I'm saving $600 a month by making my own breakfast and lunch? Yeah, you read that right...$600. PER. MONTH.

Obviously I am empathize with your moving stress and feelings of anxiety. My best advice is take each day as it comes. Learn to let go of the things you can't control, and focus on the things you can (like your health). Some days will be crappy but remember, at midnight you get to hit the reset button and start over tomorrow Feel free to add me as a friend!

middlehaitch

When I saw a candid photo of myself Christmas 2008. I was frumpy fat and 50+. Not at all what I felt like on the inside.
Joined calorie counting site and an aqua fit class that week. Transformed to fun, fit and 50+.

Now I look more like what I feel like on the inside sexy, sleek, and sixty+ (haha, not really but I liked the fff vs sss)

Cheers, h.
I always made sure I could fit a little wine and something sweet in.

ConnieT1030

For me it was a certain number on the scale that triggered the thought process, it scared and disgusted me at the same time. It wasn't that day I started on weight loss- it just triggered the start of it brewing in the back of my mind. As i mentally added up the negatives/losses/cons from the weight I was at, (my previous mindset was "weight was just a number, however you are happy is fine"), considered the difficulties it caused me, it rolled around and built up in my head for a few months, then one day walking around at walmart, in the plus size section again, all of that mental process finally boiled over and I didn't want to have to buy *one* more of those %^*$#@ kitten &^%$# plus-size ugly tent shirts from walmart ever again!
I started trying to cut down (crash diet) what I was eating immediately, for a few weeks to a month, then realized I needed to know how much *exactly* I should eat, looked up calorie guides on the internet, then tried for another month or 6 weeks to find and then track those calories by hand on paper, then decided that was too hard (I lose paper almost faster than i can finish writing on them), so needed an app, and then went hunting for a good app, had a couple false starts but settled on MFP, and been there since October. So, I did lose weight before I got on MFP but not particularly safely.
Funny thing is, even though I remember the moment it all came together, I couldn't tell you what day that was because it didn't occur to me to try to write it down.
I hope that's what you were looking for, OP

polvirl

When I started wearing holes in my jeans where my thighs touched. And only buying 1 or 2 pairs of jeans at a time, since I knew they were going to wear out fast.

When I started getting weird spots on my thighs where the fabric rubbed my legs raw.

Not being able to cross my arms across my body comfortably or bend over easily.

perfect_storm

When my dr told me my weight gain caused me to be prediabetic and also looking 7 months pregnant

estherdragonbat

When an attack of cellulitus (my first) led to lymph edema. Basically, my left calf/shin swelled up and erupted in water blisters which didn't heal and required nursing home-care visits to change the dressings and multiple courses of oral antibiotics. A referral to a vascular surgeon led to a diagnosis of refluxed veins in my lower body and getting told that, in addition to needing compression stockings, if my legs didn't have to carry quite so much... me... it would help manage the condition. And yes, that's 'manage'. It's not going away. Any time I get a cut or a scratch or anything on that leg, it takes forever to heal and is prone to infection. And I live in fear of building up a tolerance to antibiotics. (That weeping wound that took months to heal? The bacteria only responds to one of the more commonly-prescribed antibiotics and it took three courses to clear up.)

Basically, I lose the weight or I'm going to have a lot more issues causing me grief.

Machka9

After moving numerous times, travelling the world for 8 months, and dealing with some health issues, life finally stabilised and settled down, and I had time to focus on my cycling again.

Only, I now live in a very hilly area and cycling up the hills with the bit of weight I had put on was difficult.

Plus I had outgrown a particular cycling jacket that would cost quite a bit of money to replace.

So I lost weight.

Windrunner666

When I started getting pain in the lower back just for standing around and doing nothing. All of my clothes I used to wear 'loosely' started being too tight and I was fat on all of my pictures.
My heels began hurting more and more and I started getting out of breath more easily.
I think of this everytime I want to binge on something:
-eat whatever you like, just a portion
your tongue receptors get used to the taste after 2 bites so you don't need that whole chocholate. And you can always save it for later.
-if you buy a chocholate, buy only one and ration it out. I'm always too lazy to go to the store just for junk food, so this worked for me.

liwilson09

I realized I needed to change when I couldn't climb the stairs in my house without getting tired. I joined the gym in July 2015, and in December of that year, I bought a plane ticket to Seattle as a treat for when I reached the 50 pound mark. In May, when I was to fly out of Detroit, I still hadn't hit 50 pounds, but I was hovering around it. All of the walking and hiking I did finally pushed me over, and I had lost 60 pounds by the end of the summer. I took a break from the gym and gained about 20 pounds back. But I'm now on track to shedding it off (and hopefully more!) again.

TxTiffani

I've been a bit overweight my whole adult life. At 5'0 and 30-40lbs overweight. I think I've always seen a thinner person in my head than I actually am. I saw a very unflattering picture of myself from behind and I was blown away by the fact that that's what I look like to other people....that has not made me perfect but it definitely got my butt in gear!! I've also always wanted to sit on my hubs lap and not feel like I'm too heavy or for him to be able to pick me up without throwing out his back:P #goals

fitoverfortymom

Seeing pictures of myself and the scale tipping over 250.

DietVanillaCoke

When I was in the car with my BF one day and he stopped rather upset to tell me he thinks I'm going to die with the lifestyle I was living. Then I booked an appointment with my GP and he basically confirmed it.

BlueSkyShoal

When I went into a Macy's fitting room that had THE most unflattering lighting ever. I looked at myself in the mirror and was like "aw hell no." I had been in pretty deep denial before then, like "well, if I suck in my stomach as hard as I can and really press my fingers against my ribs I can feel them, so I CAN'T be fat!" Erm, yeah, right.

Anyway, that was many years ago and was the start of a lot of yo-yoing. I actually got within ten pounds of my goal at one point, after doing a very active summer job. But I gained back to my original weight, then gained even MORE after a breakup that sent me into a spiral of comfort eating. The scale hit a certain number, and that renewed my determination to get fit.

CaladriaNapea

This probably sounds pretty horrible, but I stayed for about a week with a friend of mine who is pretty severely anorexic. I have always vacillated between overweight/obese since puberty, but after two years of teaching my weight had increased another forty pounds on top of my previous overly-much padding. All to say, I spent a week with my friend, during which I ate pretty much like her (since it felt awkward to go back for seconds much less thirds . . .). I didn't know what my weight actually was prior to that trip, but I'm pretty sure I lost at least a couple pounds that week. That trip made me think a lot about my weight and also just how I eat (and cope with stress through eating). When I got home, I sucked it up and stepped on the scale for the first time since before teaching. That number made me frustrated with myself enough to get back to logging in MFP like I had when I lost weight in college.

ruqayyahsmum

After spending more than a decade trying to lose weight but getting bigger and developing alot of odd symptoms i was diagnosed with several auto immune conditions and told if i didnt shift weight i would be lucky to live another 5 years.

Shifted 13 stone and fell pregnant. After a horrendous pregnancy, giving birth 15 weeks early and caring for an oxygen dependant, breast and tube fed baby, barely sleeping ive gained back 4 stone. Time to get it gone again now hes a year old

rachelr1116

I was skinny as a kid and teenager but gained weight after I got married and started a desk job. I really had just resigned myself to the fact that I was a bigger girl (I'm tall, 5'11") and just would never be small again. I would go shopping and never find any clothes I liked. I was convinced that all clothes had just become ugly and horrible and just weren't cut to fit me because I was curvy.

But, I also sew (and do historical reenactments) and realized that I was having trouble finding sewing patterns big enough for my measurements and my corset that I wear when reenacting was getting so small I barely had enough string to tie a small knot to close it. The corset problem really was my turning point. I didn't want to have to buy or make a new one so I decided I'd try to lose a little bit of weight so it would fit better. I'm still going to have to make or buy a new one but now it's because mine is too big

Emily3907

Infertility. I have struggled with my weight my entire adult life and I have PCOS. Weight has always been a struggle for me, but being diagnosed with infertility and now being at the point where we have to move on to IVF, it finally clicked that my weight was holding me back from things I want in my life. I know weight loss may not be a magic cure to infertility, but it will sure help the IVF process be more successful. (It will also make a *hopeful* pregnancy less risky and more enjoyable/comfortable.)

amy_kee

Lots of nice stories!

For me, I finally got myself together after 14 years of weighing over 300 lbs. How it happened was that I decided to type a personal blog about my weight loss efforts/failures. When I did this, the truth just "flowed" within me. I was totally honest with myself, and typed about what I was going to eat to lose my weight. I just set my mind to it and am totally committed. I thought what worked for me in the past, and I decided to revert back to that eating behavior.