What was your "moment"?

greenhudler

Hey everyone!
I was reading over some blogs and success stories this morning and realized that most, if not all of us, had a "moment" that changed the way we thought about things. Most of us can pinpoint the moment we decided to make a positive change in our lives in order to lose weight, get fit, or whatever your goal or journey may be. I'd love to hear what your "moment" was

TCD01

Hi,
My moment was..

I'm the typical fat guy who has always said. "You know what I've tried everything to loose weight, but nothing seems to work" I have tried a bunch of stuff, but never really anything that has worked for me. I used to work out for 3 hours a day going hard. But I would still keep eating garbage(burgers everyday pizza hotdogs etc mostly processed junk). So as expected I did not notice any positive change. I actually put on more weight. So yeah I tried everything but to eat right.
-- One day I went in for a work required physical/health examination, and the doctor told me that I would need to have a sleep apnea study, and that my urine protein levels where way too high; which indicated kidney damage. I also had a huge risk of diabetes. I weighed in at 345 lbs that day. Naturally I failed the physical, and could not work there in the shape I was. I felt devastated by this news.
-- A buddy of mine who works with me, and is a bodybuilder/Personal trainer was with me that day, as he took his physical too. After he passed his physical. He saw the look of disappointment on my face, and right then and there. He outlined to me what I need to do. He told me to stop eating breads pasta rice sodas sugar etc. I was too increase my protein/veggies levels and do exercise 2 to 3 times a week. My exercise was to be short, but intense in nature.
-- I was doing this for a week and a half, and bamm in that small amount of time I had lost like 4 lbs. Too be honest I didn't do as much exercise as I should have. I was online googling how eating more meat helped me loose weight, and came across a site on paleo. I read on why exactly I should avoid the breads and those carbs. It makes a lot of sense. I decided to give the highly restrictive(by todays dietary standards) Paleo lifestyle change a try.
-- 2 more weeks go by, and after eating Paleo style and small amounts of extreme exercise I feel great and I lost a shirt size! Then 2 months later I go re do my physical, and I come to find out that I'm healthy; well considering my size haha. There was nothing wrong with me. The doctor said my bp is super healthy, and that my sleep apnea b.s risk is gone. Doctor had me do a sprint on a treadmill a bit, and checked my heart rate. He said I'm as healthy as a horse, and too keep doing what ever I have been doing. I passed! I was hooked on Paleo!
-- The first couple of weeks where tough as I fought through my sugar addiction, but it was sure damn well worth it. Paleo was the best lifestyle change I could have made. At first I only wanted to get healthy, but now I can see myself actually getting in shape. It's awesome! Now I grunt like a caveman and say hell yeah....

TripleRadiance275

When I finished breastfeeding my triplets exercise became a way for me to get out of the house and have some me time. I've never looked back.

nofearbebravelive

This is not my first time on the weight loss merri-go-round, not by a long shot. But this time, it was two weeks ago. I received an email saying that it was time to register my 8 and 5 year old for baseball for the Spring season and since it will be our second year I know that it will be hot, that there are hot dads every where and that I am a single mom. (not that I am looking, but it's nice to be looked at) And last year all I wanted to wear were shorts and take tops so I counted backwards from opening day and it was just over 90 days/13 weeks. So I set my up thousandth xls spreadsheet, did the calculations and made minor adjustments per week.

I missed goal this week, but it only motivates me more for next week.

I have some size 4 clothes that I love from the last time I reached my goal that I want to wear and this time I will maintain my goal, this time, I will be strong and this time, I don't have my douchey ex-husband telling me that he won't be attracted to me if I get any more muscle. This time, it's just for me.

The day I make goal and I have the body I want, I have a t-shirt that I want to wear already, it's a goofy t-shirt, it has love-a-lot care bear on it. I know that sounds stupid, but that's the shirt that I bought the same day (although before) my ex-h told me I looked like a dude and he didn't think he could be attracted to me. For the record, I didn't look like a dude and I should've punched him with my "dude muscles" and left, instead I died a little inside and betrayed myself and gained back all the weight I lost and I lost my heart that day. Next July it will be ten years since that day, and I would like to be where I was then next July and just continue to be the best version of me.

benum21121

My moment: I realized that if I want to move forward professionally in my field and do what I want/feel/need to do, then I HAD to change my ways. I had lost weight before, but had gained in all back. I was tired of feeling like a failure. I was ALSO tired of feeling held back by an unsupportive spouse- I had tried to get us BOTH 'on the wagon' again and again for two years.. after failure after failure for both of us, I realized that I had to do this for ME- nobody else can. I had to do it. It was literally a conversation that went 'I'm doing this with or without you. Jump on board or get out of the way.' That was 283 days ago.. I've been on MFP every day since, I've lost almost 60 pounds, and the list of physical activities I can complete is ASTOUNDING, including a 1.5 mile run in 10:24- my personal best (not bad for a fat guy!!). I'm am NOWHERE NEAR where I want to be, but I am well on my way.

TCD, I'm glad you had that moment- this is life-changing. I need a change-up, and the Paleo might be the right thing for me! I'm glad to see your successes so far!

aarar

I had an exact moment. I had been spiraling out of control for a year and a half and gained back nearly all the weight I lost for my wedding (65+lbs). This is on top of a lifetime of yo-yo dieting, binging, starvation diets etc.

But it was September of last year when I was at a restaurant with my family and my wedding ring was so stuck on my finger I was afraid it would have to be cut off. I spent 10 mins in the bathroom running water over my finger to try and get it off. I joined MFP the next day and basically my life changed forever. Weight loss stopped being about a number on the scale and became about my health and well being.

TCD01

Thanks Benum. Yeah Paleo is freeking awesome! I feel so much better since.

Best regards =]

CamillaHerold

My moment also came after a visit to the doctor. I was weak, miserable, aches and pains all over, frequently sick, totally sedentary and unfit, and 200 lbs. It was in April, just 7 months ago. After I described my symptoms, the doc said he thought I probably had fibromyalgia and referred me to another doctor. I remember a sort of burning anger that started up right then, that grew in intensity. I knew in my heart I was not that sick, I was just being LAZY and I wanted some other explanation for my condition. I realized that only I could change the situation, ME and no one else. By the time I got home I had made up my mind: Hell no, no more doctors, no more diagnoses, no more drugs. I thought about my weak condition and what I could possibly do to lift myself out of that deep rut. I sensed that exercise was more important for me than cutting calories at first, something to get my metabolic engine fired up again. For years I had read and heard about how good walking is, low impact, reasonable calorie burn, sunlight and fresh air... It was a no-brainer. So I put my running shoes on and went out for a walk around the neighborhood. I only lasted 15 min, but my fuse was lit! Since that day I've increased my distance to 5 mi and time to 75 minutes and I walk 5 to 6 days a week. I've lost 33 lbs, drink lots more water, and cut a lot of junk out of my diet. I have some health issues but no sign of fibromyalgia anymore.

embaudin

I had lost weight before and had looked better than I had in a looooong time. But after having gone through some surgeries followed by a period of depression - I had gained all the weight back and then some!
The moment to fix things and make it a permanent change was when my business partner's 6 yr old son (who had seen me at my best), turned to his dad and asked if I was pregnant! It was horrible - its one thing for friends and family to notice and comment, but its another thing when the innocence of a child makes that kind of observation.

alienrite

I went on a hike that I do annually and almost collapsed just doing just half of it. Before that, I had ignored the fact that putting on socks and shoes was becoming a noticeable effort. Having to stop the hike showed me how my weight was stealing my ability to live...both scary and shameful. MFP was just a step to try and understand why I "couldn't" lose weight and seemed destined to add 3 to 5 lbs each year. Not only did I figure it out but my life is so much bigger and I simply live more each day now that my size is appropriate. The most surprising comments I get now is how much younger I look. Who would have thought?

smokeytex74

I recently turned 39. For about 6 months before, I had been extremely depressed and upset with life, to the point that if it weren't for my daughter and my parents, I would have just ended it all. I would wake up bitter and resentful of being a single mom, having to work full time, and not being able to do what I want to do in life. I was tired of being tired and I hated my job, I hated myself, I hated the way I looked, and I hated everything else about my life. I had been told that I needed to go to the doctor and get on medicine, but making just above minimum wage with no insurance there was just no way that was happening.

Three days after my birthday, I had the epiphany that I was an emotional eater. I made a list that I call "I know, but".. a few lines goes like this... "I know I'm loved, but I don't feel it. I know that I am not alone, but even in a crowd I feel alone. I know the proverbial glass is half full, but it seems to be half empty."... I kept writing everything I was feeling. "I know, but..." even things that I hadn't admitted to myself before I wrote. Afterwards, I read and reread the list. It was an eyeopener to say the least. I started eating better. Whenever I get stressed or anger, I walk until I have those feeling dealt with instead of eating. I started walking daily, going from barely able to go for 10 minutes. Now I am up to about a hour, depending on the weather, and have added stair climbing by utilizing the stairs at work. I have worked up from about 10 squats and standing push-ups(using the counter at work) to 50 each and adding more daily. In eight weeks, I have lost 9.4 lbs. I am not satisfied with this loss as I was hoping to have had that doubled, but such is life. I will continue on this road because I do not want to go back to that place I was eight weeks ago.

greenhudler

So happy and grateful to see all the responses so far! How inspiring

I have mostly had issues dropping weight since the birth of my third child. I gained far too much weight and after he was born I couldn't seem to get the weight to drop below 155 (the heaviest I had been outside of my three pregnancies). And I know that isn't being obese or anything, but I was considered overweight for the first time in my life. About four months ago I decided I was going to commit, and I was in the gym every day. I was eating well...for like two weeks. I had dropped down to 149 and was so proud of myself. I can't remember what happened, but I started to back track. Next thing I knew I was not only back up, I hit 160. That was moment number 1. I knew I had to make a change. My best friend's husband and I began jogging every other day. I still wasn't eating as healthy as I should have been...not by a long shot. I began keeping track of my calories and exercise on MFP. I loved reading the "You will weigh _________ in five weeks" at the end of the page when I submitted for the day.

It was that same thing that made me hit my BIG moment. I had a day that would have been a fairly normal day for me in the past. I ate a huge salad for breakfast, then some chorizo tacos for lunch. Then I went out to eat for dinner, more chorizo tacos and a huge thing of chips and salsa at the restaurant. I even ordered sopapillas. Even though I knew I had eaten a little bad, I had no idea how bad until I went home and put everything into MFP.

Not only did I go well over 1000 calories over what I had wanted to...
That little phrase popped up...."You would weigh 164.4 pounds in five weeks"

Complete shock. I was in complete freaking shock. I just thought, "This was a normal day for me not even two months ago...that's more than I weight now!" Looking back it shouldn't have shocked me, I look at pictures of me from a month ago and realize that I'm just so....wide. When I look at myself I thought I looked thin...but when I see it from that perspective...*shudder* I can't believe I let myself get that way.

I've been doing great ever since. I just hope it sticks this time -- I think my test will be the holidays! :P

moya_rargh

Two stages to mine:

Stage 1. I was 4.5st overweight (I was 16st) after piling on 'da beefe' following a road accident. I'd gone from a 32" waist to a 36" waist in my jeans. I was miserable. I felt like a complete mess. When I bought my first pair of 38" waist jeans I realised that enough was enough. As soon as I was medically cleared to begin training again in 2011, I grasped the opportunity with both hands.

Stage 2. This year, my partner left me and got with a much younger man - then this summer a woman who I was attracted to found out and has pretty much stopped talking to me completely ever since as a result of discovering this HORRIBLE, OFFENSIVE knowledge. I took it really badly at the time as a real testament to my unattractiveness.

I then decided that if I really am that ugly - to the point where I am expected to pretty much skulk in the shadows, hiding from women, then I might as well prove them wrong by getting in pretty decent shape. My mentailty has already changed since then and my motives for training are much more positive and 'selfish' in a good way. I've lost a stone since October 12th and I aim to keep cutting until my abdominals are completely visible and then bulk back up from under 11st to between 12st7 and 13st. The aim is to be as muscular and fat free as possible, despite hitting my 40s

L4gym

When I finished breastfeeding my triplets exercise became a way for me to get out of the house and have some me time. I've never looked back.

Wow, that's awesome! I know hard work, but still kinda cool. Grats!

SusieCuteYay

My birth mother nearly fainted when i told her i had eaten 2 turkey drum sticks and 2 thighs in one day, saddened i (googled) looked for the calorie counter here and discovered it wasn't that bad! She has complained about my weight a lot, and i grew up dieting because she was dieting!

I do think its better to have a good personality than a good body, but this world is so blind, they rely so my on exteriors, that its like one can barley even get a job without being deemed by society as 'BEAUTIFUL'. And though i don't buy into the lies i know i must survive, and be prepared for what ever comes my way, so that if i can get a handle on my weight my health will also improve.

greenhudler

When I finished breastfeeding my triplets exercise became a way for me to get out of the house and have some me time. I've never looked back.

Wow, that's awesome! I know hard work, but still kinda cool. Grats!

Agreed!
I've breastfed three children, but not at the same time and that was hard enough haha :P

Jacson53

You all inspire me. Thank you!

My moment was a pair of ice blue eyes.
That is also my motivation when I feel a fade coming on.

cookn_mama

My moment was when I saw my dad laying in bed dying of complications of diabetes. He was always thin but diabetes runs heavily in our family. He couldn't talk, couldn't eat, high fever, couldn't feel his legs and his tongue was black. His pupils where huge due to the fact that he had deteriation of the retina due to diabetes.
I thought,"I don't want to end up like this!" It is time for me. I need to get my act together and loose weight, take care of myself. No one else will. I don't want to poke my fingers everytime I eat.

Sharon_C

My daughter's high school graduation. I was looking at pictures and all I could see was how fat my face was and in every picture I was hiding behind someone. I hated that it was such a happy, proud "mommy" moment and all I could see was my fat. The next day I decided to do something about it. I didn't find MFP until a month later and I've never looked back. My first goal was to lose 5 pounds (I thought I'd start off easy), then I moved it to 10 and then 30. I have 3 more pounds to go to reach my 30 pound goal. I'm kicking around the idea of doing another 5 pound goal, or maybe going into maintenance for a few months then starting back up again. All I know is that my son is graduating from high school this spring and those pictures are going to be a whole lot different from my daughter's pictures.

bellevie86

Hmmmmm my moment. Well I was rather thin til I was oh around 15. I went on birth control and developed really crappy eating habits, and from that age up until last year I managed to gain 80 pds. It came on so slow and gradual that one day I went "holy *kitten*, this is not cool". The problem was at this time I was in a reallllyyyy unhappy relationship with a guy that was so dependent on me for happiness that I never had time for myself. I left that relationship but still managed to put on weight. I was dating and hanging out with friends, and drank wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much beer. My breaking point was when the new guy I was in a relationship with me dumped my a** and I realized I needed to spend sometime by myself ON myself. My parents and sibling had newly become vegetarian as well. Took on some of their new eating habits and discovered Insanity. From there I went on to lose 35 pds, travel, go on cruises, heal emotionally and now here I am, happy and healthy-er than I was yesterday. Also have a man that loves the ever lovin crap outta me

seltzermint555

I usually think of my "moment" as the time I was walking up the stairs at the Amtrak station totally out of breath and worried about my swollen ankle and worried about fitting into the Amtrak train seat (I fit). I was at 307 lb, my all-time heaviest. I was with my 130 lb supervisor who was not out of breath. I was used to being 260-270 lb and feeling healthy & energetic despite my obesity...this was new and very scary to feel this way. That's when I started to change. Even though it was very very very very slow, that "moment" set me into motion and got me back to normal-for-me.

My next big "moment" was when I was lying on the sofa with my now-husband, then my boyfriend, feeling totally loved and supported and attractive but also frustrated that my better eating habits weren't causing me to lose weight. I casually asked him (since he's lost a LOT of weight in the past and is very fit and healthy) about what he thought I could/should do if I wanted to lose weight. I felt, for once, no shame or embarrassment about this. He told me "Well you weigh this much and your body needs 2,700 calories to stay there, so you could use one of those online calculators to count calories and find out exactly how much of a calorie deficit you need to lose pounds". I didn't believe that. I figured I ate FAR less calories than that. I started writing all of my food down in a paper log and thought "this all looks really healthy and good with just a few 'bad' items now and then, must be something wrong with my metabolism!" And then a few months later, after a weekend at a car show and seeing photos where I still looked a lot fatter than I felt...I joined MFP and bought a scale and got serious.

MysteriousMerlin

Sigh. Mine was finding out that while I didn't have a miscarriage, I had scared the nurse practitioner enough with my blood pressure that she sent me to a doctor that same day. She was afraid I would have a stroke...at 31. :sick:

Found out I was hypertensive and type 2 diabetic. What the **** had I been doing the last ten years? Apparently not caring.

I was successful in losing 50lbs after that. Then...I worked for a horrible excuse for a person, on top of still not getting pregnant, and I stopped caring again. Put back on 38 of the 50 I had lost.

Now we're 5 years into trying to start a family and it's a last ditch effort to lose 25-30lbs just so I can take clomid. My cut off date is my 37th birthday, which will give us about 5-6 months to keep trying after that. If not, I honestly don't know. Invitro is not something I want, neither is adoption (don't start with me. Just don't.) I can't guarantee myself I won't have a melt down. That's what scares me the most. I'm typically a calm but cheerful person, but when I get low, I get really, really low. I don't know. I just...don't know.

fotofreak01

November 3rd I held a baby shower for a friend's daughter. Someone took, and posted a picture of me sitting at a table. I was disgusted. I knew I was big but it didn't sink in how big until I saw that picture.

yumbinkbugonrox

My moment began in November 2012. I wanted to purchase health insurance so, you know, I could be healthy. The guy at the insurance place was slightly condescending, but whatever. I needed to go in and get a physical done. So I did, and the scale told no lies...I waited patiently for several weeks to hear back from the insurance company, and I didn't....so I finally called and the guy told me that their risk department determined that I was too risky to be covered at the lower premium. I felt mortified, angry, and disgusted. And then I realized I had to do something. So I decided that this year, I was taking my health seriously. I began in January 2013 and, I joined MFP in March 2013. I have lost 54 lbs. MFP has been such a godsend. I read the community quite a bit, I look for inspiration and humor from others. I am grateful for MFP this thanksgiving!

I sort of went through this period of resentment towards my past over the past few months where I would think, "Damn, why would I do this to myself? How did I let myself get to this point?", but I've worked on self-forgiveness so that I can continue this path and try to reach "one-derland" by January 2014. I'm only about 6lbs to go...I CAN DO THIS!

yumbinkbugonrox

I started writing all of my food down in a paper log and thought "this all looks really healthy and good with just a few 'bad' items now and then, must be something wrong with my metabolism!" And then a few months later, after a weekend at a car show and seeing photos where I still looked a lot fatter than I felt.

Also this!!! I had to take responsibility for what I was putting in my body. But I had to drop the shame first. Shame never works.

_db_

Ending up in the emergency room in hypertensive crisis after visiting an urgent care center because I'd been feeling run down for the past few months and not getting any better. My BP was 212/143 (IIRC). I'm not sure if it was due to chronic stress at work, having not slept much (or well!) in the past four months, terrible diet, genetic predisposition for hypertension, 3-5 drinks a day...or some combination. In any event, I visited a doctor after that ER incident and my BP was very high (150/100) so she put gave me some BP meds, but they caused by BP to go so low at times that I'd almost pass out when getting out of my chair (90/50 or less).

I did some research and found that managing BP via diet and exercise was more effective than any drug, and here I am.

My BP seems to have improved significantly in the past month or so. It still spikes on occasion, and I'm still trying to figure out what triggers that, but it's averaging 123/84 for the past week, so it seems the diet and exercise is working...oh, and not having more than 2-3 drinks an evening, because having 3+ drinks pretty much guarantees elevated blood pressure the following day. And I thought I was having my regular 3-4 daily beers to "relax". It seems too much of a good thing for my head isn't such a good thing for my body.

777rock

that is an awesome story...good for you!:happy:

tropicaltiger

My moment was when I didn't even want to be in any pictures-I couldn't walk up steps-my legs rubbing together--and almost to big to fit in a chair-I said enough is enough-I started writing it down-going to the gym-I didn't like what I saw-so its been 5 years and today I can run up those same steps I couldn't even walk up -and I am half the size of the chair-I lost a whole person

lisamarietn1227

my moment was seeing a picture a friend took of me...hadn't realized how out of control my weight had gotten.

CrusherKun

I had two of them....all this year. The first was when I quit smoking back in February. My son was outside with me and picked up a cigarette butt and imitated daddy. That was the end of that!

The second, was on 10.21.13 - doctor showed me my latest test results, and my A1C was at 7% and he officially labeled me as a diabetic. Month later...down 22 lbs and dropped 20 pts off my BP.

fishermanmatt

It was my 37th birthday. It was a holiday and I didn't have work to occupy my mind. I was sitting at home feeling lonely and depressed and without any sense of optimism that things would ever improve. I didn't feel like I had any options left. Giving up and ending it all was one option I was prepared to take. I decided to give the whole weight loss / getting fit / getting happy one last hard try. At least that way if I did decide to end things I could do so without any regrets of never making an honest effort at it.

The rear is history.

I made small changes to begin with. A salad for dinner. A short walk for exercise. Eat better, exercise more. Eighteen months later and things are going great. I'm busier than every but having the absolute time of my life. I'm down 175 pounds and wake up every day ready to make the most of it. I have goals and plans for the future and I've found the joy in trying to reach them.