What was your "moment" that pushed you to begin your weight loss journey?

iRyanS

What made you realize that you had to lose weight and get healthy?

For me, my moment was when I realized I could no longer stand for an extended amount of time without any sort of pain. It was embarrassing and quite frankly miserable. Simple things like standing around a bonfire were excruciating.

What was your "click" moment? Anything specific, or was it a culmination of things?

thmheh

Just got back from vacation, we usually do a lot of small hikes. For the first time ever I had to let my husband and daughter go on to one of the destination points without me because it was too steep. Going to hike the Grand Canyon next year, so if I don't drop at least 50 by spring, I may not be able to.

AJ_G

I was gaining more and more weight, and I was wearing a pair of dockers shorts, and the front button popped completely off...it was a sign

adortiz1990

I lost my daughter about 8 years ago almost 9. I’m a high risk pregnancy. I’ve been wanting to try for another but I realize I cannot go through that heartache again. So the fitness journey it is! 💜

Rocknut53

It was a culmination for me. Taking meds for high cholesterol and GERD, knees hurting, then finally my hips screaming at me when I was going up stairs in spite of hiking several days a week. At that point I was wondering if I'd be able to ski without killing myself. I have a history of yo yo dieting and finally decided I had to fix myself. I'm 64 now, at my goal weight and all of my issues are gone. No meds, no aches other than self induced ones from over doing things at times. I regret not doing this many years ago.

Diatonic12

Pain is the precursor to change. I started in 2014 and it took well over 2 years but there's no such thing as the finish line with the maintenance.

rolandmuts

Doc told me i needed to lose weight because of high blood pressure. I don't want to get caught up in the health insurance system to pop more pills to counteract this. So let's see if i'm in time to let Nature help me out.

Trish2187

I stepped an the scale - I knew I was gaining, but it is completely out of control, I won't live like this any longer.

Stephlamon89

I stepped on the scale and saw the highest weight I've ever been. I've been teetering around 200 for about 7 years but this is the first time I haven't been able to keep control. I have to get healthier before my health gets worse.

roderick2464

Thay said my knees needed to be replaced and I said well who is going to take of my 80 yr old mom with bad problems so lose 80-100 pnds
And well that's were im at srarted 330 may 25 today 311 With help from phentermine 37.3 &topamax premier protein shakes could lose more if I quit drinking lol like that gonna happen well might have to liver pretty hammered from what the scan said say la ve

MarziPanda95

My 'moment' was when I realised I could. I was hospitalised a few years ago for a couple of days. Not for anything to do with my weight - my immune system was attacking my blood platelets. But whilst in hospital I was too nervous to eat much. I realised I'd gotten through the day on a normal amount of food. I realised I could survive on that amount of food without being particularly hungry. Plus, I was 95kg. They gave me oral steroids, 1mg per kg of body weight. Except they only had them in 5mg tablets. Anyone who has ever had prednisone knows how gross those little pills taste! And I had to down like 20 a day! I vowed that if my ITP ever got bad enough that I had to take steroids again, it wouldn't be 95mg.

PangPangPrincess109

The big moment was when I was in the doctor's office. She had just officially diagnosed me with PCOS, then gave me a booklet that could tell me all about it. I skimmed through it, but suddenly came across the section about how it could potentially cause infertility (worst case scenario, but I didn't want to take that chance). That same visit, I'd clocked at a whopping 287lbs and knew this was time to make changes.

kettiecat

Husband signed up for a Spartan race and wanted me to do the smaller Warrior Dash with him for a future “date night”.

CarvedTones

Candid photo in profile without my gut sucked in.

ford0605

Mine was a series of "aha" moments that all kind of came together. I was a few months from finishing grad school (read: no exercise and many drive thru meals) last October when my dad had a heart attack. He's made a remarkable transformation, but I still wasn't ready to commit. A few months later in February, I learned I had Hashimoto's and needed to get my weight under control if I wanted a second healthy pregnancy in the future. My endocrinologist offered to jump start my journey with adipex in April. He wrote it for 3 months but I only took it about 5 weeks. While it was a great start to knocking off the weight, I've been off of it for a few weeks and I've never felt better! I owe my mindset and dedication to the example my dad has set. When people ask what I've been doing to lose, I just reply, "trying not to die of a heart attack". I'm down 20# and training for a 5K with my dad in August!

dfranch

I had to call in sick to work because I went to a party the previous day and I ate so much I was sick all night. I knew I had to change my eating habits and not just a temporary diet. Lifelong changes.

amusedmonkey

It was a series of events. The person who walked our dog was busy, so I decided to walk him myself. It took me 2 minutes to be out of breath and I huffed and puffed my way back home cutting the walk short.

This event made me more aware of how hard it was for me to get up, That standing on my tiptoes to reach for something was something I couldn't do (the weight just pulled me back down), not being able to breathe properly when I tied my shoes, and many such things.

Later that week I had my annual checkup, and my blood sugar came out too high. If there is one thing I absolutely hate it's to have to limit my food choices. The idea of having to control carbs my whole life in order to avoid or delay some of the scariest things that could happen with uncontrolled diabetes made me decide that was it.

And here I am, my first (and hopefully last) dieting attempt. Blood sugar normal now and I can run.

FibroHiker

First time: I looked at my youngest child who was then 7 years old and said, "I can't blame this extra weight on pregnancy any more."

This time: The pain in my joints and not being able to move freely, unable to do little things like reach under the sink to retrieve an item from the cabinet.

KKishaA

When my scrubs got too tight. Then it occurred to me the only things in my closet I could wear anymore were stretch pants. No bruno.

AveriaKyle

When i was rejected by someone for being fat and flabby. So, i wanted to be fit and toned and watch her eat back her words one day.

tonianne730

When my big pants started getting tight!

estherdragonbat

I got a genuine obesity-related health issue. Not one that gets as much attention as heart attacks or T2D, but the veins in my legs collapsed under the strain of my class three obesity. My extra weight was (as I understand it from the vascular surgeon) compressing my lymph ducts. So, when I got some sort of cut or scrape or bug-bite on my leg, first I developed cellulitus. Then lymphedema, culminating in 1) a weeping wound on my leg that required daily nurse visits for dressing changes, 2) being banned from walking during the couple of months before I got to see a vascular surgeon because all my GP knew for sure was that I had an infection, the leg had to stay cool, and moving around would warm it up. 3) Multiple courses of antibiotics. Which frankly scared me because the one that did the trick? Apparently was about the only one that the bacteria was susceptible to. Which left me worried that more infections would lead to my building up a tolerance to the treatment. (At this point, I tell my doctors not to prescribe me antibiotics unless I actually need them, but not 'Well, we don't know yet if this is an infection or a virus, but we can start you on antibiotics now, just in case').

Oh, and also, this condition can be managed, not cured. The treatment? Compression stockings and weight loss. I decided I didn't want my life to be swollen infected legs and building my day around when the nurse was coming to visit. (It seems minor unless you're dealing with it, but because the dressing couldn't get wet, I had to time my showers for when I knew the nurse was on their way. And every now and again, the call would be 'I'm just pulling into your driveway now; are you home?' Which meant having to put the shower off until tomorrow.)

ClaudiaDawn2

When my son was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, his doctor sent him to the local bariatric center to help him manage his weight. I went with him for support. When we met with the personal trainer at their fitness facility, I suggested various activities that we could do together as encouragement. The personal trainer said, in a polite way, "You know, you could join the program and work out right along with him." So I did! That was exactly 1 year ago today and I have lost over 50 pounds. I'm eating healthy now and exercise 5 days a week (7 when I was in training for the two 5K's I've walked in the past 2 months). The Nurse Practitioner told me I should only shoot for 10 more pounds, but I'd like to lose 20 more.

EddieHaskell97

How does putting down the fork constitute a "journey?"

Emlorraine1

I stepped on the scale. I didn’t realize how much weight I had gained until I checked. Been working on my weight since then.

snickerscharlie

When painting my toenails left me breathless.

peachvine29

I was sent to a liver specialist due to very very slightly elevated liver enzymes. My doctor thought that it was due to autoimmune liver disease. The specialist told me I probably had a fatty liver and needed to lose some weight. I was about 55 pounds overweight and had been overweight a long time. That made me get serious about losing weight, though I tried in the past through eliminating food groups, which didn't work very consistently. That was the first time a doctor told me I needed to lose weight for my health, and I started thinking about it as more than a cosmetic issue. I am happy to say I am down 25 pounds since then!

mamasara2

Realizing I was larger than most of the people in my family. These are people who would point at me seven years ago and say "she's got her stuff together." Now they all look at me sideways and try to push fad diets my way.

I'm chronically tired too. Ready for that to stop.

So many self help gurus out there go on and on about how weight has nothing to do with self esteem. BS. I had much higher self esteem when I was thin.

But this time, I want to be thin and fit. Before, I was thin but not fit.

str8bowbabe

Damn full length mirrored closet doors right across from the shower! But hey it worked!

Bendiz_

The thing that really made me do it is kinda silly. I was trying on rugged light blue jeans and it really made me realize how much I had gained and how much it impacted my choice in clothes. I'm not gonna let my weight define what kind of clothing I wear, this is the end of that. I used to wear hoodies everyday, but now I'm getting more feminine clothes that compliments my body more. My confidence is coming back and I own rugged light blue jeans now, so it works for me

Sharon_C

My oldest daughter's high school graduation. I only owned one dress that fit (it was ugly and black) and when I looked at the photos I was appalled at what I looked like. Right then I decided I needed to stop gaining weight. Note, that I did not tell myself to lose weight, but to stop gaining. My first, and really only, goal was to stop the weight gain. Kinda sad.

I Googled how to stop gaining weight, found My Fitness Pal, started counting calories and 6 years later here I am. Twenty pounds lighter (I was 30 pounds lighter but switched from a retail job where I walked 8 hours a day to a desk job and stupidly didn't lower my calorie intake).

I discovered weight lifting and have packed on some muscle and I haven't looked back.

PS - I find all of your stories so inspiring