What was the moment? When did you decide to take back control?

bombshellinprogress

mlrtri wrote: »

I unfortunately have had multiple “moments” in my history of yo-yo weight loss/gain. This time - I have been doing a lot of video conferencing for work (thanks Covid-19). I saw myself on the screen over and over. I realized that I was fat. I always had excuses before but this fact was indisputable on the screen. Then I got down about it. Then I decided I either needed to find a way to be ok with it or find a way to fix it. I don’t think I can find a way to be ok with it. So I am fixing it.

This is sooo me!!

neelWantsMore1

When I was looking at guns thinking maybe I was better off dead for being fat single and alone. Got out of that dark place and the weight loss journey began.

BrianTSpaz

My "moment" was when I started experiencing health problems similar to a friend of mine who is in their late 50's early 60's. I was 32 at the time blood pressure through the roof, back always hurting, tying my shoes was a challenge, I couldn't keep up with my 9yr old son and I was/am his only provider/caregiver. My doctor told me if I didn't do something I was looking to have a stroke or heart attack. August 2018 I started going to the gym and now all of my aches, pains, and health issues are gone. I found that I actually like lifting weights. Also mental health wise the gym helps keep me balanced. I was 345lb when I started my journey now I'm 200lbs.

enzen7

9 and a half years ago I made a simple change to my diet (cut out sodas) and went from 330 to 255 but I never took the time to also develop good eating habits. Simply cutting thousands of empty calories from my weekly diet let the weight fall off with the activity level I maintained at work. A year later I got re-org'ed into a new position and the activity level dropped dramatically. Even though I was no longer drinking a ton of empty calories I had never changed what I ate or even cut back how much I ate so the drop in activity let the weight come piling back on. Over the course of the next year and a half or so I gained back everything I had lost with interest. My weight stabilized around 355 and stayed there for the next 6 years or so and I flirted with depression. I wasn't happy with myself. I was no longer dating because I didn't feel good enough about myself and had no confidence at all.

I started trying to eat better in Dec 2019 by cutting back how much I ate. I had been drinking soda again so I started to wean myself off it again. Heart issues and strokes run in the family for me on both sides. I'm staring down a double-barrel shotgun of things that will kill me before I'm 60 (I'm 32 right now) if I don't make any changes. When my dad passed in Feb this year at 57 from heart failure it thoroughly drove home the point and made me wake up and get serious. I spent a lot of time reflecting on the person I had become mentally, emotionally, and physically and realized that I wasn't the person I wanted to be and needed to take steps to work towards that.

~2 weeks ago I signed up for MFP and started tracking what I ate. I also started walking 2-4 miles daily. My first daily weigh-in I was 312. Yesterday it was 303.8 and I've been under or just over my daily calorie goal not counting exercise every day since I started. I've got a long way to go to get in shape and I'm not sure exactly where my weight will settle at because I'm going to start weight training and I want to lift super heavy (600+ squat/dead, 300+ bench, 250+ press). I'll probably end up somewhere around 270 (I'm 6'5" with a broad frame) but I'm not really all that concerned about a number on a scale in the end because the ultimate goal is developing habits that will ensure a lifetime of health and fitness.

That takes time but I'm 100% committed and I will get there. There is no giving up. The only way is through the work.

BigMamaLynsey

Looked at myself in the mirror and I just hated myself so much, made me cry really. I hate the sight of my body. I stepped onto the scales and just shocked how bad my weight was getting, fed up with thinking about food daily, sick of the cravings for junk food. I love food but I also hate it. I eat because it makes me feel happy but then it's making me miserable too. I just want to feel comfortable in my own skin, I already suffer with anxiety and social anxiety. Cannot stand being looked at. I hate feeling out of breath from just going up the stairs too. Been battling with my weight for over 10 years now.

johnnylakis

When i woke up in the middle of the night because i couldnt breathe

stormy_destiny

About a month ago I stepped on the scale. Got off and hopped back on hoping it was a mistake; as tears rolled down my face I realized that THAT number didn’t magically appear, truth was that I had actively participated in destroying my body, And Destroying my health by smoking, and eating like absolute *kitten*. I am less than 30 years old, and I feel like if I don’t do something RIGHT NOW I won’t make it to be 65. Although I don’t (to my knowledge) have diabetes or heart disease it runs in my family, as does cancer and other health problems. I cried that day because Neither one of my parents lived to be 65 and one of them died due to the round about complications of being obese. I couldn’t believe I had ignored my health so much that I got to this point, that I had cared so little about myself that I completely lost control, honestly- I was disgusted with myself. So I decided right then and there that I don’t want this for myself. So I made a change. I had to. I decided I would give 110% to bettering my body, my health, and my mental state. I spent hours soaking up as much information as I could on nutrition and finding out how to make this goal of mine attainable. That night I printed out a nutrition guide and went to the store before I could change my mind. I started meal prepping, I started weighing out my food, I follow my nutrition guide like it’s a bible and I log every calorie to MFP even if I mess up. I’m holding myself accountable for it. I decided to get a gym membership. I still have no idea what Im doing, but I’ve been there at-least 3x a week doing it. Even if I look ridiculous sweating buckets on the treadmill and fumbling with the machines, at-least I’m there, and at-least I’m doing something. I wake up in the morning and go over my goals, not that they’re huge or impressive, but they are important to me. I find them imperative in reminding myself why the hell i’m doing this. I have found people that have been where I am now, I found people that are willing to work out with me, and I found people that are willing to teach me things about nutrition. I’m doing my very best to soak up as much as I can. I can’t afford a professional nutritionist/trainer but I’m working with what I’ve got and MFP has been incredibly helpful. I want TO BE HEALTHY more than I want anything, because I feel like I am literally fighting for my life. I can’t explain it, but I know in my heart that If don’t make a change I will die, and I feel like I have hardly even lived.

Sandysphat

Blood pressure

tonygermano2

At 435 pounds at 41 years old, even though I'm 6'3", I pretty much had those moments every waking moment of my life. Constant pain all over my body, clothes not fitting, not being able to keep up with two little kids, a SECOND blood pressure medication added, not being able to buy a small, manual transmission car becuase I LOVE driving, fearing death and not being there for my wife and kids, etc, etc, etc... You name it, I had those moments almost every second of every day.

Im now 45 pounds down. I know I have a long road and I'm not sure what's keeping me going. However, I know that recently, this quote I came across..“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons” has really resonated with me, and become something of a mantra that I keep saying to myself when I'm fighting cravings, old ways of thinking, or just the demons. It actually re-motivated me because the lay-off from work and the stress and sadness that came with the pandemic had me really down, and moving away from healthier habits.

AprilFire04

Last week when I decided to put my navel piercing back in (just to see if the hole was still viable after 5 years of not having anything in it). I had inferior jewelry in, and leaned over the sink to rinse after cleaning it...and my belly hung over that edge no problem. I'm spending time now to clear my entire MFP history so I can start fresh.

dragonbeat359

Visually it was seeing myself on video walking around. It was so hard to realize that is what I look like all the time to other people. Internally the last straw was realizing that I'm on my way to being diabetic like the majority of my family has been my whole life.

Rooya_K_J

Let me first say - reading other people's experiences is very insightful. We are never alone in our struggles and aspirations.

I've been overweight for the past 8 years. A lot of unhappy and difficult life experiences contributed to my weight gain as I was almost always very stressed out. I also have a sweet tooth. I got to a point where I just accepted that this was who I am, although I was not happy about how I looked and always wished I could lose the weight.

I did try to lose weight a few times, but my efforts didn't last more than a month. The latest moment for me was when I saw a picture of myself standing next to a friend at a birthday party. I was mortified. I also noticed that she looked at me with judgment when I was leaving the party - and that stuck with me.

So I decided to start using MFP every day and exercise every day. During quarantine, I'm not driving around trying to find fast food places to eat at, I can control what I eat at home. I don't have to drive to a gym, I use "walk at home" exercise routines in the comfort of my living room with my kids playing around me. I've been consistent and I am noticing my body feels so much stronger. The weight loss is slow, but I know it will be steady! I won't give up this time. I'm done with having kids (I think) so I'm not put off by the idea that I will gain weight back the next time I get pregnant. This is the time.

I should also mention - I started taking an antidepressant two months ago. Depression (even high-functioning depression) means you just don't want to do anything beyond the bare minimum of going to work, cooking, taking care of the kids. My medication has given me the energy and desire to get up and get moving. I am so glad I took the step.

ttfnweight

Back in 08 I exercised away 40lbs. Back to 135 for my 5’7” frame that I had been my whole life. I felt good. Then I remarried a man that drank and food was was his love language. And steadily all my hard work I let slip away. Since that time, I’ve tried and retried to start myself up without success. Then I was on YouTube and heard a talk where the speaker asked “if you had a friend that you kept trying to hang out with, you’d ask them to join you and they always said yes, but when it came time to show up...they always bailed on you with excuses. Would you continue to ask them to hang out? No after awhile you’d stop. So stop bailing on yourself. When you make a promise to yourself, keep it. If you set the alarm, get up!”
It reached me. I realized that’s what I’d been doin for a very long time. So I told myself. 140 by Aug 31st! I was 171 when I started. I want to be 140. I am 166 currently. I have 3 months, I really want to see success this time.

renriqu1

Being diagnosed with autoimmune at 34 and therefore coming to the stark realization that if I want a good quality of life in my later years I would need to completely change my eating and excersie habits. So far, I walk everyday and eat an anti-inflammatory diet. As a result, I've lost 20 lbs with probably will aim for another 15lbs so I'm at good BMI.

Karen_can_do_this

I had a sore hip that had been playing up on and off for a few months. Finally I went to see my doctor. He wasn't there, so I saw a locum. He told me my sore hip was a direct result of my being overweight.
That day I went home and my husband had bought himself his 3rd carton of Jack Daniels for $90 that week. I thought to myself that if he can afford $90 for alcohol, I can pay the $130 for the 12 months noom membership.
From that day onwards (21st december) I have steadily lost weight.
I have lost almost 15kgs and have gone from a tight size 16 to a loose size 10.

hanweky

Just tired of being looked at and treated differently than others my whole life. Of course all of my friends are beautiful and size 0 and I look like the fat friend next to them. Hated looking at myself in the mirror, I looked horrible. I want to come out of lockdown a more healthy person. Hasn’t been too long, but clean eating really does a lot for you mentally.

Annie42019

As I said in a post by that name “ I went on a cruise and lost 73 pounds”. I had 2 big ah ha moments. First the lovely hostess at the restaurant on the ship had the temerity to imply we were the same size when she was clearly like 75 pounds overweight....

Oh yeah, I guess she’s right.

And then all the 300 pound people around...is that where I was heading?

I started cutting all my cruise ship meals in half and Walked around the ship like crazy and lost about a pound that week. Got home, found MFP and proceeded to lose 72 more pounds in the following 10 months . I just had my one year anniversary of maintaining the loss losing another 2 pounds over time and am down 75 in total.

lilithsrose

I went to a small family cookout on Memorial Day and my MIL took a picture of me and posted it on Facebook. I knew that i had been slowly gaining weight for the last few years, but that picture really made it click. I've been tracking my calories since.

I haven't lost any weight yet, butI have been fairly consistent with my tracking. My activity was down due to quarantine. I'm finally back to work and I feel like I have more control since I don't have the ability to eat whenever or whatever I want, plus I walk an extra 2k-3k steps a day. I'm hoping to lose a pound or two by the end of this month.

JenW70503

I had lost a bunch of weight before having my youngest child, and since he was born, I've not been serious about diet and exercise. I realized I'm now 5 pounds heavier than I was at my previous highest weight, and looking at pictures from now and 60 pounds ago really showcases how much I've put on. I decided enough was enough, I can't go on like this or I'll get to 300, and I really don't want to do that to my body.

runningfitz

I knew I was gaining weight for a while but wasn't too concerned. Until I took advantage of a sale during quarantine and I bought a pair of shorts where the size should have been loose, or at least comfortable. When they arrived a couple weeks later, it was a TIGHT squeeze That's when I really realized I'd gone up 2 sizes, possibly 3 and I couldn't handle the idea that I might need to get double digit pants. That was when I decided I needed to clean up my act and stop eating/drinking as if there were no consequences to it.

sakurablossoms82

That happened last weekend when the scale was working again and decided to weigh myself after monhts. I thought I gained a little due corona because my jeans where more tight. But I was shocked how much I had gained since the last time I checked. In my mind I always gave myself a maximum and I was way passed that so it made me really upset. So I decided to stop drinking coke, don't eat donuts and other unhealthy, way to sugary snacks. But I also wanted to keep track of what I eat in a day so I learn how much I can eat and I don't eat too little. So far it's going well.

I have been overweight for most of my life and I have done diets before, some worked, some didn't. I have been wanting to lose weight for quite some years now but after my last failed diet I lost the motivation till now.. And now I finally want to eventually have the body I dreamed of for so long. I never will be skinny but to be able to fit into an M instead of an XL and have a healthy weight is enough for me.

Liam680

Sine the lock down I have been enjoying far to many comfort foods. Then I noticed my pants were getting hand to button and then u voting the scale and realized I had gained back all the weight room had lost when I was last watching carefully. Then I went to the dentist and as part of new screening they checked my blood pressure and it was very high and I take medication for that so that was the moments I realized I had to turn this ship around and change course. So I started tracking and making changes the next day.

ChrissyChickie

Notreadytoquit wrote: »

I was dying from untreated lyme disease. Had been taking the vodka cure for three years to self medicate. Went for my annual physical and the paper said OBESE. Slapped me sober.

Gave up alcohol. Lost 10 #'s. Got a better doctor, and treatment, went back to gym ... lost 20 #'s, switched to logging and real life exercise lost another 15#'s. After almost a decade of logging and moving I weigh what I did 40 years ago. I am fit, trim, enjoy food and cooking, and my friends on MFP.

A fan of real life cardio exercise, I could tighten the jiggle with some weight training. I'm looking for new friends who log and exercise. I can't get friend request to work on my tablet so please feel free to friend me. Thanks. Enjoy your Saturday all.

ChrissyChickie

Hi. What have you done to help your lyme disease?

durhammfp

Taking care of my dad in the last few weeks of his 10+ year battle with Alzheimer's disease.

sirjamerie

It might sound a little strange buttt... Accepting myself. Not hating my body anymore. Finally accepting that this is me and I can love my body and want it to be smaller. I can love myself at a bigger size.
I just have so many bad examples around me of people that hate their weight no matter how thick/thin they are. I think I needed to break that chain reaction and fully be okay with the way I am "now" as a not goal, not working towards being perfectly skinny.
Somehow 100% being okay with how my body is helped me start to lose weight.
I'm not going to ever be perfect. I'm not going to eat veggies every meal. I'm still going to have chocolate every day, just not a big bar but a little one. Small changes every day add up. I don't have to be perfect, I don't have to lose 40 kilos in a month. All I need to do is take it one day, one hour at a time.
So yeah, I decided to take back control when I finally was a hundred percent accepting everything there was about myself. I keep reminding my grandmother realizing at 74 that she's had a distorted view of her body her entire life. I don't ever want to be like that.

m3lodym4ker

When I realized that a year and a half after moving to a high elevation area I still couldn't catch my breath after walking up a single flight of stairs. I was well past the acclimation period, so it was definitely my physical condition to blame.

brianna788m

When I couldn’t fit my clothes & I started to get out of breath really quick I was unhappy with myself

jajenkins1978

I was walking across the parking lot after school one day talking to a parent and I tripped over a curb. I fell and landed on my right side cracking a couple of ribs. I thought myself, if I didn't weigh over 400 lbs, the ribs wouldn't have cracked. And to add insult to injury (literally) I could not pick myself up, the parent had to help me. So embarrassing! I was already a Type 2 diabetic and when I went my doctor about the ribs, he wanted me to begin doing insulin shots because my A1C level over 9. I was scared and didn't want to the do that, so I told my doctor that if my A1C level wasn't lower and I hadn't lost weight when I came back in 3 months, then I would do whatever he recommended. I began by just making smarter food decisions, I still ate out daily. Then a couple weeks later I joined MFP for the accountability, resources, and support of like minded individuals. I've lost 19 lbs in about 5 weeks and rarely get takeout.

forruths

After losing weight 5 years ago I had knee problems and the weight crept back on. I love hiking but realised a month ago how much I’m struggling because of my weight. Holding myself accountable now and logging on mfp everyday and the weight has started to come off. It’s going to take a long time so slow and steady.