Besides yourself and a mirror, who gave you a wake-up call?

MissFuchsia

The realisation that I got out of breath walking up a flight of stairs at the age of 23

tomwatso

My father having a stage 2 cancerous growth in his colon. The recovery was not smooth. I saw vomit up green bile and had to take care of him. I love the old guy, but he never hit the gym. He is and was a blob of crap on a couch.

I also found out I am hypothyroid during his time of illness. I made sure I did not make the same mistakes. I sought treatment. I found a new primary health provider. I wanted better. When I started, I was 238 pounds. Now, I am 199 pounds.

luckyshilling

I learned to ignore the mirror.

Now, when I saw a vid of myself doing one of the dancing games on the Wii, daaammmn, that opened my eyes.:noway:

AliciaStinger

The first time I lost weight, my wake-up call was knowing that I needed new clothes but getting depressed every time I went to the store. I was up to 207 pounds, size 16 pants, and I could no longer hide my flab in XL shirts. In reality, I didn't look all that big - but at the time, I felt horrible. I lost 35 pounds, and kept it off for two years........and then it took one surgery and three months of being sedentary to gain most of it back

This is the second time. My wake-up call was seeing 200 on the scale again. I'm embarrassed to wear most of the clothes that I was looking fab in this time last year. I'm really struggling to lose this time around, but my goal is be back to where I was (and perhaps a little more toned) by my birthday in January. I have an event in January I want to look good for, and then hopefully I'll lose the other/final 30+ pounds by this time next year. EDIT - Also, one of my friends really likes taking pictures, and I'm the biggest one in group photos. I'm not sure if that's different from the mirror. I'm not that big this time around, either. I'm even okay with what I look like...just not when I'm wearing clothes or in group pictures with thin or medium-sized people.

Good luck to you all - great stories!

rachael726

Back in Dec 2012, a friend/coworker asked if I wanted to run a 7k..well lets just say that I was no where near running capabilities. I toyed with the idea for about 2 weeks, then finally decided to commit to it. She has been the only person aside from family that makes sure I am on track. She left our agency in May and since then I send her my weekly weightloss. If I forget, I get a text asking where her weigh in is. She also keeps me motivated along the way. @ 50 lbs down, she got my hair cut and highlighted. @ 75 down, we are going to get massages together. I'm only 9 lbs away from that damn massage LOL

I owe her my life...literally.

Arsenal1919

Ever so true.

Here I am, about 19kg lost, and one of the negative pr1cks at my Tuesday night men's gathering said, last night, "Look at RW, He's consistent ... been fat for 20 years ... he'll always be fat ... can't help it."

I was burning with anger. This bloke who has known me since the 1980s surely must have noticed that I am the lightest he's ever seen me.

- - -

"Hell, no," I thought, "I am doing this for me and my longevity and my grandkids ... not for some ignorant pr1ck mouthing off in a bar."

I smugly shifted my thoughts to, "well, he's not beaten nicotine or his gambling addiction that's ruined his two marriages and several relationships and caused his long-suffering kids to avoid him."

"I am working to change me ... and it's working ... he's just ignorant or jealous in some way ... F**K HIM!"

Derpina7

Getting into commercial/fashion photography, lol.

Arsenal1919

Yes, seeing photos or videos of oneself taken by others can be a real eye-opener to the soul of an obese person.

I tended, in the past, to be "inside me looking out". Now I study how I look in the picture/video evidence others send me of family gatherings or social events.

mab33

My mom, my mother-in-law, everybody in my family, really. I put it on so incredibly quickly, everybody has been worried about me. I don't blame them, I'm worried about me too.

rainbowbow

my mom thought it was necessary to remind me i was "really letting myself go" and "you cant even do X exercise anymore".

kfavulous

i made a sex tape with a hot, buff hockey player....watched it, just about cried at the jiggles.... i'm still banging him, but am kinda self conscious about the waist....

Factory_Reset

my husband and not in a good way

red_road

I was going to a concert with a guy i had a crush on and went to the stores with my mom and sisters to find a cute dress to wear. Everything that i could squeeze into looked terrible on me. Before i had gained all this weight i was used to dresses/skirts generally being a failsafe since they were so flattering. I left the store with nothing, got into the car and promptly starting crying hysterically. My poor mom! Talk about an awkward situation. Its not like she could comfort me and say that i wasnt fat, considering i couldnt fit into anything. She just looked really sad and after trying to comfort me, drove to the only plus sized store in our town. I was officially plus sized. That was my wake up call.

TiffieLand

My pictures, I always hated to take pictures because I look chubby and ugly in it. I been avoiding it for so long. Recently I saw pictures of me (of course taken w/o my consent by my friends + forced to lol) I knew it is time to do it and do it seriously because I can't stand that fat tummy and legs.

paperinacup1

Ex-fiance. Told me straight out that I may weight has gotten out of hand. She was extremely high maintenance and refused to sugar coat anything. But her rudeness made me think about it.

aprilscott11

My children made comments about my weight all the time. Kids are not afraid to call fat fat.

kimcain2545

Hi there...I just joined....I got this site from a nutritionist at the hsopital. I have diebetus and I am over weight. I am hoping to loose about 20 pounds or so by January as it is my birthday then and I will be the big 50. In the meantime, when I went to the nutritionist yesterday, things were eliminated from my diet. Yikes!!! I think I'm gonna starve.!!!! (It's all those nice fatty yummy things that I really have to cut right back on). So, if anyone has anything to comment on here to me or any advice, please do:)

caramelgyrlk

When my doctor wrote several prescriptions(GERD, HBP and Diabetes) and told me I was killing myself along with taking that dreadful look in the mirror. I knew I was unhealthy all along, yet I was in denial.

Michelle_dirtracer

No one every told me I was overweight, I wish they did!! I was actually obese.

thefragile7393

I had to get a physical for a local temp agency....when I saw the weight on their I about fainted. The only time I had been that heavy was when I was pregnant with my second and close to delivering. My eating disorder had been in remission for a while so I felt like I could just do whatever...I was depressed and unhappy with my life. But seeing that number was enough to make me realize something was wrong, and I needed to face my issues. Unfortunately it meant that I would be triggered big time when I started MFP, and I was out of control again with the purging....so I went to see the nutritionist at work who helped me get back on track but in a healthy way, and help me to start facing the disorder again so I can be healthy and lose weight safely and eventually maintain the new weight, and keep being in control of my disorder instead of my disorder and feelings and emotions controlling me. Seeing her every two weeks helps me keep on top of this.

quiltlovinlisa

About 15 years ago my husband said something hurtful, out of concern for me. I was at my highest weight of 266.

I've had babies and health stuff pop up but my health is finally sorted out and my babies aren't babies anymore so I can focus truly on me. My decision four months ago was entirely mine being uncomfortable in my own skin. At 241, I was awfully close to that dreaded highest weight number, I never want to revisit again.

So, no excuses, it's all up to me. It's my journey and I want to be healthy.

Pollart77

When i realized that what i thought was looking good was just look heavy. Power lifting was my life until a disability changed my life. I got into sculpting my body instead and noticed i liked it much better. I always dreamed of abs on my body.

I always dream of the abs on your body too!

MommaSherryB

Actually it was two things...No one ever said anything about my weight. Being overweight is somewhat the norm in my family.

1.) I was on the scale at physicians office (in a clinical trial for 18 months) and just happened to look at my weight and a chart posted above scale. For my height and weight, it said my BMI was 37 (Obese Class 2) It took a few days to sink in. I thought I was just a little fluffy.

2.) Following up with primary physician and after blood work, was told my glucose has been consistently high - impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)

I was told to go on a low glycemic diet.

Strangely again, I was never told that I was obese and needed to lose weight.

hep26000

Went bathing suit shopping with my skinny sister. I knew I was overweight but it just opened my eyes and I wanted to feel confident. I have lost 15lbs in 2 months. My ultimate goal is 10-15 more pounds. My 30th birthday is in December and I would love some new clothes and some great pictures feeling good with my family and friends.

sorcha1977

Nope. Family members' comments just made me more stressed out, which caused me to binge and fueled my social anxiety. It was a vicious circle.

Besides myself and the mirror, my boyfriend was a huge catalyst. He never, ever said a word, and he was always SO nice about making sure we went to restaurants where I could fit or buying aisle seats at Wrigley so I could sit on the edge of the seat, but I felt bad that he had to make those concessions and take my weight into consideration. I also couldn't keep up with him, so he had to walk a lot slower and stop frequently to let me sit. This made our trips to Chicago really hard, as we couldn't do as much, and I was in pain to the point of tears by noon. It was awful.

I promised him I would be the fun, exciting, active person I was before we met, someone he'd never had a chance to meet. He's already made comments about how much faster I walk and how I run up and down the stairs when we ride the L (Chicago's mass transit). I can also sit in the seats at Wrigley just fine, so we can sit anywhere we want. He's been very supportive without being judgmental, and it's awesome.

My family... meh. My mother told me I shouldn't brag about losing weight until I'd lost "60 pounds or something really impressive" (this was back when I'd lost 25 pounds and said something on Facebook). She used to harp on me even when I was only 10 pounds overweight - heck, even when I was a kid and she was the one giving me cookies - so I'm learning to ignore her any time she mentions my weight. I showed my parents some comparison pictures at Christmas, after I'd lost 40-ish pounds, and everyone else was super excited and complimentary, while she said, "You still have a long way to go, though." I'm not sure if it's jealousy or if she's just super-critical or a bit of both, but ugh.

camila_scl

I wasn't happy with my weight for years, even though I was in the normal BMI range, I like my weight to be right in the middle of normal range, but I have been close to overweight for a long time. My wake up call was when my BMI changed to overweight and I was trying on my biggest jeans and having trouble fitting in to them. Then I got to the scale. Next morning woke up and started MFP (for the second time, been here for 2 months now, losing really slowly but losing

glitteratthesea

As many people here: pictures. In the mirror I looked small and good, but in the pictures? Oh blob no :noway:.

Second, I was tired all the time, had to sleep at least 15 hours a day. So went to the doctor, did a blood test and it said I had Amnesia. With a 5.2 mmol/l I was near the bigger problems. So I needed to learn to eat again actually and MFP helps me a lot with tracking!

amelia_atlantic

My favorite dress. It was too tight in all the wrong places.

This was a dress I wore on every plane ride on every beautiful trip I took last year. It was the most comfortable, the most flattering to my body and the most trendy thing I had. Now, it's basically suffocating me.

I know how to do it. I've been way heavier. Consistency breeds results. I just have to remember that.

BEAST MODE ON.:explode:

Turnaround2012

Took a company picture and out of 15 people.. I was the only "fat" one in the picture. I did some research, took a bodyfat test and it turned out I was nearly 33% bodyfat. I have a long way to go.. but I am moving in the right direction.

KIMBAILEYWILLIAMSON

A co-worker, she lost weight and it gave me the incentive to try and also decided it was time to start taking care of myself have always looked after others and neglected myself. As far as myself in mirror still don't like that but feel better with weight loss.