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

mightybunky

Translated kilos to stones, looked at myself again - that's not "just a muffin top", that's a stone and a half of flab...

xxxSheilaxxx

I got laid off in mid March. When I went back to work in late May, my work clothes didnt fit. I kinda said I was gonna lose weight then but didnt really try very hard. I was still drinking energy drinks and soda when I stepped on the scale right after my husband and realized that he was only 15 lbs heavier than me. That was last week. It completely changed my mindset. I started logging and haven't had an energy drink or soda since then.

stevehenderson776

I stepped on a scale for the first time in over a year and it just about rolled back around to zero. The scale went up to 300. I said, "There it is, Steve. Almost too fat for a bathroom scale. A brand new low."

1poundatax

When I faced the fact that the weight isn't healthy for me. I have 2 friends who have each lost 35+ pounds on different programs. They look and feel so much better and I knew I wanted that for me too.

amart4224

I started working from home due to coronavirus in mid March. It made it much easier to avoid food temptations and gave me extra time in my day (that was formerly taken up by the commute to the office) that I could exercise. BUT I was wasting the opportunity - for the first 4 months, I neither ate healthy not exercised. Then in mid July, I sat down and thought "if I had just started eating right and exercising back when this all started, I could've been halfway to my goal weight by now." And I thought, well, if I wish I had started 4 months ago, the next best thing is to start now.

Johanne1957

As many here, I started telework in March, stopped my 7k daily walk to and from work and completely fell off the wagon! Some of my clothes don't fit, the others are tight! Time to start logging again! I worked too hard to get where I was to have to go buy larger clothes!!

californiajuls

Today...

Thinking about being on a diet is not the same as taking action. I have been thinking/planning for over 2 years now and it's time to get serious. My fitness pal works if you work it. I am proof since I lost 60 lbs in 2017. Little actions lead to big results and that is true for either weight loss or weight gain.

tnh2o

Getting old isn't easy. Carrying extra weight just makes it harder.

LunaTheFatCat

When my children were toddlers. I really felt I had to set the right example to them. This was back in 2011 and this is when I came here first and lost the weight successfully.
Unfortunately I feel off the wagon big time over the last 6-8 months, so I'm back in the MFP saddle now.

AlexandraFindsHerself1971

I finally stepped on the scale and saw 296, which is near enough to 300 for me to have been mortified, horrified, and filled with the desire to Do Something About It. That was in January of 2020. Yes, the Year of COVID.

And, despite moving and dealing with mental health issues in both my partners and myself....
Despite no gym because COVID
Despite no walking due to traumatic arthritis in my feet...
I have lost 40 pounds between January and August. Down from a 22 plus to a 16 straight in jeans.

I still have about eighty to a hundred pounds to go. But the forty has made a huge difference in my life. I can go up and down stairs several times in a row. I can stand longer to cook and clean, and do what needs doing. And this week I started strolling down the street with my boyfriend. Not for exercise. Just to be out in the nice weather and nice neighborhood we moved to and enjoy the evening and each other's company. That is something that I want to be able to do for the rest of my life, and if I have to weigh, measure, and log everything I eat for the rest of my life? Small price to pay for being able to walk with the man I love.

selawson729

GreenValli wrote: »

I got serious about losing weight the day my picture was on the front page of the newspaper. It shocked me to see myself and have other people see me on the front page. I weighed 250 lbs. I have lost 70 lbs, but it has taken several years.

So relatable! I had a matching moment and it takes away from what should be a proud or fun moment. I was on stage with a coworker accepting something for our company at a big event to kick off the summer 2019 series, my first year with them and I wish I could have been comfortable with those photos. I didn't want anyone to see them actually and I felt embarrassed. This year was supposed to be my comeback and I was so ready but COVID ...bummer because I lost 80 lbs and finally wore shorts all summer after years of covering. Size 8 shorts.

selawson729

This day. This photo in the tank top. Hiding from the camera at my dads bday lunch then trying to crop this to look decent for social media. I never wore that shirt again either. One year ago exactly.

Deviette

Honestly it was getting back into the office. I'd been semi "watching what I eat" since around the end of January. Except I wasn't really, but I was very slowly losing weight. And then covid happened and I was working from home, stopped doing judo, then was furloughed. And the number started creeping up. And my mental health was really taking a big hit and finding any motivation to leave the house was hard. And I was bored so I've nibble. Not on "unhealthy" things, but a little bit here and a little bit there, and then the weekly takeaways crept up to twice a week. I'd stopped cooking more complex meals for easier, generally more calorie dense, less stressful meals. And the number creeped and creeped.

And then I got pulled back into work (remotely), and I'd reached a bit of a turning point with my therapy, and the Judo club was able to open up (no contact mind). And I stopped that number from going up.

And then they asked if people wanted to come back into the office and I said yes. And suddenly logging seemed manageable again. So suddenly I'm having to prep my lunches rather than browse the fridge when it come to lunch time. I'm getting ~3000-4000 more steps a day, without even trying. I'm hefting the motorcycle in and out of the garage every day and I'm riding it. My work/life balance is much better (as when I turn off the computer at work, it stays off until the next morning) and so I'm actually doing stuff in the evening.

While there was a day when I said "Today! Today is the day I start" it took me more like a week to really ramp up to it. Logging consistently and not binning out an meal's logging because it's a difficult log, or because I think it's going to be bad, or because lunch was a literal bag of doughnuts and I'm feeling guilty about that.

Ecosse2018

Congrats on getting the job.
I decided enough is enough when I discovered that I had regained 16 lbs of the 27 which had taken me ages to lose. I looked in mirror and saw a little plump person, sort of round, whereas last summer I was quite svelte. I have only been successful when I cut out anything with flour or sugar, so I am climbing back on the bandwagon till I once again am happy with my appearance. Let’s just do it. 😎

imgwendolyn2015

sunshine12303 wrote: »

when my husband served me a half bag of ravioli because he told me he knew I would eat it. he does this all the time.

Mine used to put candy bars under my pillow. Who does that??

bb_levi

This photo. I had done a weight loss program with a friend but I said that I did it for her and not because I needed to lose weight. This was my after photo. I was wearing a pair of mens sweatpants I had bought the year before because none of my clothes fit anymore and I had been too embarrassed to buy womens clothes in a size that fit.

I had never seen my body from this view point before and it just made me realise that I was deluding myself about being fine with my body. Seeing this photo was when I decided that I was going to step back from the diet/binge cycle and just treat my body with respect.

In the two years after I took that photo I slowly lost weight and have mostly maintained since. I haven't always felt 100% comfortable with my body but I try to always be honest with myself about it and not get into that "I've given up" mindset that got me to the place in this photo.

Diatonic12

springlering62 wrote: »

This isn’t a “take back control” moment. I’ve already done that.

This is a “strengthen and resolve” moment.

If you haven’t had your moment yet, allow me to share this one.

I visited a morbidly obese, close elderly family member today. They are bedridden from diabetes, and receive 24/7 care at home, including diaper changes and feeding, since they lost use of hands and arms as atrophy moved up their body from their feet, due to lack of use .

To my horror, there was a large bruise on their forehead,”which the nurse anxiously explained was due to this person being so large, that the night nurse lost her grip trying to roll her over at night and the patient whacked their head on the hospital bed rail. (Which, I might add, was the first thing I guessed when I saw the bruise. I know how well this team cares for my family member.)

Ask yourself. Is this the future you want for yourself? Being trapped in a bed for years? Being fed whatever someone feels like cooking you and having to be grateful for it? Having to ask someone to answer and hold the phone for you? Being stuck in an endless, endless loop of TV crime drama and infomercials? Being attached to a tube and having someone you met an hour ago know wipe your bottom and change your diaper?
Wiping out your family finances and worrying what will happen when the savings are gone and the house has been sold? Placing this burden on your children? Being constantly angry, depressed, perpetually needy?

Wishing you had lost weight years ago? Well, as I had to tell them, it’s a little too late for that now.

I don’t mean to sound cold, but if anything would ever motivate me to stay on track, this was it.

Springlering. Yes.

I threw all of my Before photos into the bin. I know. I know, but I'm still happy about it. There's some missing time but I still don't care about those photos. I always had the Befores plastered all over the house with no corresponding Afters.

I flipped the switch because doing what I'd always done would get me what I'd always gotten. Mostly nothin'. Those Before photos were always taken at a time when I felt I'd reached the apex of rebound weight gain with friends. They were a way of holding myself up to the light and saying, 'Just look at what you've done to yourself now'. They inspired nothing inside of me but the reminder of the misery that comes from eating it all back.

I don't want anymore Before photos. I only want Now and waaaay into the future.

As you know, so much of this stuff is mental. This is my 2nd time and it was far more difficult than the 1st time. First time I was dieting by automatic pilot and remote control, just like my eating, that's why it all went down the drain. My head was not engaged in the process.

The brain doesn't care if you eat it all back. The brain doesn't really care what you do as long as you satisfy it with immediate gratification and food rewards. The brain loves it when we entertain ourselves with playfoods. The brain will go along for the dieting ride because it knows that somewhere along the line it can convince you throw the towel in and start all over again. For the rest of your life.

I made a choice not to wait until I was standing at the gate Before I made it all the way to my After. I wanted to reach my dream weight and that desire was greater than entertaining myself with playfoods. I'm not going out like that.

Slow and steady wins the race. Dropping it like it's hot only digs you into a much deeper hole with food. I have to think everything through with focus and consistency so it will stick, keeping my head engaged. Using my head besides something to part my ears with.

rlf27

For me it was when my now ex-spouse was having an affair with another women, long story short I started taking care of me and now I am in a good place. I still have a ways to go but I am not fretting over it......

michelle_FR

Today! This is my moment.

BillInColSprings

Early this month. I was recovering from my 3rd spinal surgery since March (yes, third). Long story short - I have osteoarthritis, and that results in bone spurs up and down my spine - realistically, the only way to prevent them is to lose weight to relieve stress on the bones, and get in better shape.
I was complaining that I was gonna have to sit out hunting season this year, because I realistically cannot ride my ATV until these surgeries heal. I already missed ski season due to back problems. My wife told me I should just sell my ATV, that I'm not gonna be able to ride it anymore with my back problems. That's when it hit me, unless I lose this weight and get in better shape, I was gong to have to start dropping my favorite activities, and that's just not something I'm willing to accept.

1poundatax

For me it was being diagnosed as pre-diabetic. It was realizing that if I lose weight I have a better chance of surviving COVID. It was learning that vaccines are not as effective in obese people. It was hating that I struggle to get up and down from the floor when I play with my 2 year old granddaughter. It was having a closet full of beautiful clothes that don't fit. It was being ashamed of how I look in pictures. It was realizing that I want to be here for a long time and have a good quality of life and that wasn't going to happen if I did not take control and work to become healthier.

adrienne2934

I hear my six year old say to me "mommy you're not chubby" after hearing my daily gripe about gaining weight. All of my clothes are tight and I complain about it daily. I don't want her to pick up my body shaming habit. My weight gain is a daily inner struggle and I'm looking to end the struggle.

jrh_this_better_work

I weighed myself on Sunday, and I was 198 - that's WAY TOO CLOSE to the 200 threshold. I passed that on the way down a few years back and do not want to pass it going the other direction.

slytherclawpride

I had a couple of wake up calls:

1. Seeing a picture of myself at a birthday party (I didn't know the picture was being taken). I wanted to cry.
2. Admiring someone's guest bedroom, then sitting down on the bed in front of the sliding closet doors that were also full length mirrors. One look at myself, and I was coming face to face with the truth.
3. The one that really got me was shopping for new capris one summer, and discovering that I had gained to a size 22. I was shocked.

I made a plan right then and there. Though it took me about 7 or so years, I'm finally in the normal weight range, and at a weight I feel comfortable at (though I'm debating right now about whether or not those last 5-10 lbs. are really that important).

Bigslimbelly

Mine came during lockdown, after eating just for the sake of eating made me look back at how I've been eating the last few years, takeaways nearly every night. I then realised I'd gone from a 34" waist to a 40" waist and a large size t-shirt to an extra extra large t-shirt. Then came the scales, 242lbs. I was disgusted with myself. I needed to change. As soon as lockdown ended I put my new lifestyle into gear and am now starting to see results!

jamloche

Quasita wrote: »

I had this quiet moment after cooking what was a planned self-sabotage binge, which I used to do often... I would buy a lot of stuff to eat in order to eat until it hurt because I thought I was unlovable. I was already fat, I was always going to be fat in the eyes of others, and I was always told that I would not be wanted because of it. I had a moment of clarity where I realized that it wasn't about food addiction or any of the classic stuff people would blame, but rather about hating myself and a manifestation of a long-standing eating disorder pattern.

Realizing I was participating in self-harm was the first moment. The second phase was about knowing that I would live until I died, and that certain things make living more miserable than others. One of those things was being bigger than any clothing store could clothe. I decided that I might as well make the time between now and the day I die the least miserable.

I can't say that had I know ahead of time just how much it would cost me to chase this goal aggressively that I would still have chosen to lose the weight in this way... but I can say that discovering the root as being self-harm and not an addiction to food or compulsion to eat (as soooo many people assume you have to have in order to get as fat as I was) really opened up a whole new wave of repair in my life, including a pathway to being more mentally healthy overall. Losing the weight I have lost is one of the few things I can point to in my life as a tangible and obvious representation of the change in my self-esteem and value.

I think this may be my moment. Reading this comment right here. Binge eating is self-harm.

mousie1973

Getting Lyme disease last summer and now fighting to get back what i had lost... and getting married this past july to an amazing man and wanting him to be proud to have me on his arm (he already says he is but i want to be proud to be on his arm)...

Branawesomer

Didn't want to enter my 40s at the weight I was at. 6 week mini cut helped me shed 17lbs and I feel great. Been on this weight loss thing since 2013 and have lost 65ish in that time, but its been a huge up and down. I'm done seeing the scale go up. I have a final goal of 140 and I'm close to it. Plus wanting to start a business on helping people get their *kitten* together and help them achieve their goals helps. I can lead by example, and show that it's okay to fail. It's all part of the learning process.

pizzafruit

I took a long hard look at recent pictures of myself and had nothing but negative thoughts about how I look. I couldn't find one thing I liked about myself. For so long every morning I'd look in the mirror and think and/or say out loud "I hate you". That in turn taught me to not see what was right in front of me; that I'm worth the effort and time it will take to be happy and healthy. I'm a pro at self-sabotage. I also convinced myself I had an eating disorder. The truth is I saw what my body was carrying and decided I deserve the junk I enjoy and 130 pounds is impossible to lose. I've been a member of MFP on and off for over 10 years. I still have that 130 lbs. to lose; the difference is this time I've learned to love myself as others do.

Jelaan

I realized that I had been avoiding seeing a friend for months. I had gained 20 lbs since I last saw him 6 months ago and I feel that my looks have aged at the same time. I am ashamed for him to see me like this. I am working on losing the weight and have lost 5lbs so far, the aging is part of life and I have to accept it. We are friends and the problem is mine not his and he is non-judgemental but also want to look and feel good for myself.