What was YOUR final straw to finally make a change?

MrsDogLady

Everyone has a reason, right? What was the final straw? Mine - a pair of pants I use for work suddenly had a split in the hind end. My wardrobe was rapidly becoming more limited, putting on a bra after a shower was more like participating in a pro wrestling match. It was January 1st. So I grabbed my best GF, we are both here - and I'm down 16 lbs since Jan 1.

MrsDogLady

I wanted to add, I read a lot of the remarks in the Community area - gives me motivation to keep going!

88olds

I thought I was going to die. And soon.

That or a debilitating stroke.

guil0095

Pictures! You know when someone takes a photo of you, and you see it, and your like "woooooah, that's not me!" That was my moment to make a change!

P.S. congrats on the 16 pound loss! That is amazing!

RelCanonical

I straight up couldn't sleep because I was so uncomfortable in my body. It went from being a struggle to having sleepless nights, and one night I just couldn't take it anymore.

nbrady001

I just decided why not get in shape? You feel and look better. It was time. Every healthy person does it I can too.

debrakgoogins

This picture that was taken of me when I went zip lining with my son was my last straw. It broke my heart. I look like Shamu in the harness that moves him from one to another.

MrsDogLady

debrakgoogins wrote: »

This picture that was taken of me when I went zip lining with my son was my last straw. It broke my heart. I look like Shamu in the harness that moves him from one to another.

Pictures....yes they sure do have an influence, I hate the one from my last reunion, didn't help matters I was on the end and the camera stretched out everyone on the sides of the photo! Zipline - you go girl!

greg24551

The final straw for me was not fitting in my clothes also. Also, I went in Vacation and I really was upset at myself for letting myself go, the pictures got me. I’ve been hitting the cardio hard and have lost 10lbs so far. This is a journey that requires support. Sadly, my better half is not interested in joining me but I’m hopeful. Keep up the hard work everyone, it will payoff!
If anyone wants to add me, feel free. . I look forward to meeting others on the journey.




Start weight: 234
Current weight: 224
Goal weight: 195

arishayla2016

For me it was seeing a picture of myself. It was shocking to see how far I had let myself go. I looked round and bloated. So mad at myself.

elisa123gal

I have skinny legs.. I'm tall.. so I focused on that..and ignored how I looked from the side and behind. Then..a photo that showed me head to toe.. I realized my midsection was rotund..I looked like the Tasmanian devil. That was late December 2017..I started Dec. 28th...and by Feb 2018 I had most of the weight off..and by April all 40 pounds off. Last fall on vacation I saw a picture of myself.. I was content, because I looked normal, not fat at all. even as self critical as we are of ourselves in photos.. I thought.. "you look just like yourself!."

It is worth all the work.

cwolfman13

about 6.5 years ago I went in for my annual physical. My blood work was horrible...my triglycerides were so high that they couldn't determine what my cholesterol was...pre-diabetic...blood pressure through the roof, etc.

My Dr. was pretty upfront with me and told me that if I didn't change things around I would likely be very sick, if not dead in my late 50s or early 60s which wasn't particularly surprising as my dad passed at age 62 because he never took care of himself and I was going down that same path.

At the time I had a 2 year old and a new born, so getting my *kitten* together was a no brainer.

brookielaw

I think it's my tiny human, who is now 3 and a half. It wasn't the fact that I was at one point staring 400 lbs in the face. It wasn't the fact that everything hurt, all the time. It wasn't being at the deepest end of the fat lady stores, it was Little Bit. She was hitting her milestones early and copying everything I did. What good was I going to be as a parent sitting on the couch? It's bad enough that having her in my 40's meant that I was going to be confused for her Grandma, did I need to act like one? I needed to keep up with her. I needed to lead her by example. I needed to BE there for her.

BethWilliams24

Seeing myself in a mirror at Macy’s in December last year! I hadn’t realised how big I actually look!

francinefig

My son spent 2 weeks in ICU last summer and almost died. (He's back to healthy now!) That didn't have anything to do with me or my weight, but it really jaded me and helped me to put my priorities in order and realize I needed to start taking better care of myself. Rather than doing a crash diet and losing 30+ pounds and then quickly gaining it back like I always do.....I started just trying to make healthier eating choices, eating a little less, and also making the gym a priority. Even if I don't do a hard workout every time I am there, I show up and do SOMETHING. I have NEVER been able to stick to a gym routine for this long until now. So far I am down about 20 pounds, have added a lot of muscle and am feeling great.

GummiMundi

My doctor putting me on high blood pressure meds. That was the wake up call to losing weight.

siamsmb

Dr. told me I had to be put on meds ( high blood pressure) and I was told I have a a fatty liver due to being overweight. ☹️

PepeLPew

MrsDogLady wrote: »

Everyone has a reason, right? What was the final straw? Mine - a pair of pants I use for work suddenly had a split in the hind end. My wardrobe was rapidly becoming more limited, putting on a bra after a shower was more like participating in a pro wrestling match. It was January 1st. So I grabbed my best GF, we are both here - and I'm down 16 lbs since Jan 1.

-I hit 40 this year and told myself enough was enough. I have a 2 year old son who looks up to me. I don't want to be huffing and puffing after him later.
-My old man did zip for his health when he was alive. Sitting on my *kitten* was what I learned at home.
-I lost a colleague to cancer several years ago. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Still not over it. Ever since then I try to eat as healthy as possible and exercise daily.
-I lost 35 pounds years ago by pushing myself as hard as I could. It was a great feeling to break myself of that mold and be reborn.
-Mental health - when I lift or exercise I feel amazing afterwards. Total stress and anxiety buster.
-Fatty liver that I want to reverse.
-Lifting and being active while eating carefully are my goals now.
-So much in our society tries to bring us down that is destructive: politics, fake food, fake news, fake relationships, technology. Most things these days are manufactured, over processed and fake. We are straying so far away from what is real, and healthy. And we wonder why mental health issues are on the rise. Watching what I eat, avoiding garbage food, exercising and limiting technology is all uplifting.
-What's even scarier than disease is how it's easy to settle for things once life gets hectic. I did that in my earlier days and packed on the weight. Fighting back one pound after another, through clean eating and being active is how I resist.
-When you make a commitment to be healthy, exercise, get fit, and watch what you eat, it takes action and will and makes you a bit of a rebel in this day and age of packaged food and media. Rather than settling, the fight is worth it and I admire everyone who gives it a shot.

domeofstars

My jeans being tight and not being able to wear dresses i love because i can't do the zip up or its tight around the roll of fat on my stomach
At least i'm doing something about it now and making positive healthy changes! Feels great to eat healthily and i have lots more energy now, and i'm sleeping better (not too excessively!).

time4thebell

Mine was last year when I came across my pregnancy book for my oldest son and I only weighed .4 ounces less THAN THE DAY I DELIVERED HIM!!! It’s not baby weight, he’s 23! 🤷‍♀️

EliseTK1

For me it was running a 10k and struggling badly the whole way through. I had avoided weighing myself for a long time, but once I did I realized I had gained about 12 lbs since I'd run a marathon earlier in the year. I was at my highest weight ever. You truly cannot out-train a bad diet.

Also my husband was within ten pounds of me, and when we met he was 75 lbs heavier. That really scared me because he's still a wide-shouldered, muscle-y guy.

The reason the changes have stuck so far is because I know this is for life. No more yo-yoing. I feel consistently good nowadays and am very invested in continuing this lifestyle. So far I've lost about 14 lbs in 3 months- fast enough to keep me motivated, slow enough to be healthy and permanent. I have about 20 more to go. I know I'll get there.

estherdragonbat

I lost the Russian Roulette spin and got myself an obesity-related complication. The veins in my legs collapsed under too much me... which impacted my lymphatic system. Suddenly I had a weeping wound on my leg that wouldn't quit until about 12 weeks of antibiotics (it took some time for them to find the right one; when they did, it took three courses to clear it up), daily visits from homecare nurses to change the dressing, being told to rest the leg as much as possible, to the point where they wanted me taking a taxi (I don't drive) to my doctor's office, six blocks away—until the vascular surgeon cleared me to walk again.

The condition is controllable, not curable. And the main ways to control it? Compression stockings and weight loss.

I didn't want those 12 weeks to become my normal life.

That was 108 lbs ago. I'm about 10 lbs from goal now.

gcibsthom

I saw a photo of me and didn't recognize the fat guy in the picture. That is how strong the denial was. When I saw that I knew I had to make a change...

maverick4x4

5 lbs did it. I hit a weight 5lbs higher than previous high, which was 20 years ago and when I was much stronger. I'm a long time gym rat (4-5 days/wk) and usually just tweak my diet a little to stay in my 'norms' but with age I've lost muscle and gained fat and that little bit more was just not acceptable.

So I got a plan from a lady at the gym and set some goals to get shredded. First I'll cut down to a certain target weight, that based on my history I should be pretty lean at, and then once there, decide what to do based on my body comp. Maybe cut more, maybe gain back muscle if needed? While I'm "in the mode" I figure I'll take it as far as I can.

Very happy so far with the progress. 20lbs in 70 days and 10lbs in the last 30 days. Strength is staying fairly consistent. Seeing some changes in the mirror.

Funny part: biggest goal was to lose the "moobs". Not even really focused on the handles or gut, I just want to be able to wear a tank top. I was actually surprised to discover that my waist was shrinking. Isn't that the first thing most people check?

39flavours

I just became really uncomfortable in my body. The fat I'm carrying gets in the way of me doing the things I enjoy, I don't like to go out or dress up, I can't do the sports and activities I like, sex life completely non existent, energy levels low and I realised I was becoming depressed and reclusive so I'm determined to change it and get my life back.

besmith11

There were a few final straws that made me change.

1. Both of my nieces, ages 15 and 4, said I wasn't fun anymore because I couldn't play with them like they wanted. (Tag, going to the park, etc.)
2. My glucose levels were not within normal range and was diagnosed with pre- diabetes. I saw how my grandma died of complications from the disease and it scared me.
3. I saw a picture of myself and I bawled my eyes out.

I am glad to report that all my levels are within normal range! I can play with my nieces like I used to do and I even allow people to take pictures of me. I used to hide and I feel so confident now, I even got a fairly extreme (for me) new hairstyle and color!

MrsDogLady

WOW such inspiring stories! I'm a yo-yo since forever. Lose 60 gain it back, repeat, ... I want this to be the last time.

Dawncdx

I tried on my shorts from last summer and realized that, no matter how hard I tried to cram myself in there, its just not happening. I also vowed not to hit 300 again (was down to 197) and, yet, here I am. I'm tired of being fat.

seltzermint555

I had three separate ones along the way.
First (2007) - saw a photo of myself at a work event and didn't like how I looked. Changed a few things in my diet.
Second (2008) - went on a trip with my boss and couldn't keep up with her on stairs in the train station. Started exercising a LOT more from then on.
Third (2013) - after literally years of improvement and down by about 50 lb, I hit a bit of a "plateau" and heard that my then-boyfriend's best guy friend lost 60 lb in 9 months just from going pescetarian. I'd gone vegetarian for an entire year and lost just 7 or 8 lb in that attempt to get healthier and lose weight. So that ticked me off for some reason and just made me feel really competitive & annoyed... and only then did I decide to try calorie counting. Lost almost 100 lb doing that and reached my goals.

adotbaby

I watched a BBC documentary called "Obesity Postmortem " and that was my wakeup call. My son had recently told me about MFP, and I checked it out, and liked it. Now, almost a year later, I'm down almost sixty pounds and five sizes, and have never felt better. I have about 15 pounds to go for my goal, and am confident that I will succeed. Reading posts here has helped me immensely; I feel like so many people are going through the same struggles, and that motivates me to keep with the program. My MFPeeps are amazing!

LeanButNotMean44

adotbaby wrote: »

I watched a BBC documentary called "Obesity Postmortem " and that was my wakeup call. My son had recently told me about MFP, and I checked it out, and liked it. Now, almost a year later, I'm down almost sixty pounds and five sizes, and have never felt better. I have about 15 pounds to go for my goal, and am confident that I will succeed. Reading posts here has helped me immensely; I feel like so many people are going through the same struggles, and that motivates me to keep with the program. My MFPeeps are amazing!

I watched that documentary, too! I’m trying to lose ~5lbs to get back to my “happy weight” and have never been obese, but it was FASCINATING to see the effects of obesity on the ENTIRE body.

The “Aha!” moment for me was 25yrs ago when MY PARENTS told me I had gotten fat! Around the same time I saw a photo of myself at a wedding (wearing a bright yellow dress - wth was I thinking?!?!) and realized I was a fat *kitten*.