What was your "moment"?

poedunk65

I was in a large business meeting with those small folding chairs. When I stood up it stood up with me!.

g82green

A picture. I was tagged in a friend's picture on Facebook. That person is not ME!

dcjackson50

I've had several, started the weight loss journey many times,....but most recently it's been pictures and the changing season from Summer to fall. Nothing like pulling out your warm sweaters and coats to discover they do not fit !
I've purchased a few items out of necessity but refuse to invest in a whole new wardrobe.

Instead I am taking the "Lifestyle Approach", and really focusing on better eating habits etc. to improve my overall health. Other failed attempts saw me working out like crazy,.....but for a week or two only then fizzling out fast. I also focused on ridiculous amounts of cardio and then thought I could eat take out or sweets because I earned them !

I recently discovered that diet is far more important to weight loss and nutrition is my top priority. I want to make it through the Holidays without gaining but enjoying traditional family foods, and then have a slow and steady road back to the old me !

There's a closet full of "new " clothing waiting for me when I get there :-)

Jenn_N_SC

I had been avoiding full mirrors, scales, and taking pictures for years because I knew I had gained due to a long battle with depression. My moment was when my 10 yr old snapped a picture of me. I looked at it, and said, "Who the hell is that?!?!" Also the dr had just told me a few days before that I either had to change my habits or go on cholesterol meds. I was already taking blood pressure meds. Between these two things, I knew I had to do something that could help me live a longer, more healthy, happy life. This was March 27, 2013. Since then I have lost 79 lbs, avoided the cholesterol meds, dropped the blood pressure meds, and am now living a happy life. I couldn't have done it without MFP & friends!

fullersun60

I didn't want my weight to start with a 2. I joined MFP at 198 lbs.

lthames0810

Mine was when I had a wedding to attend and had no "nice" clothes that fit anymore. I had been wearing ill-fitting clothes for a long time and wouldn't shop for new things because I hated how I looked in the dressing room mirrors. Also, I began to make excuses to not attend social gatherings because I didn't want to be seen. With much complaining and many tears, I got something to wear to the wedding simply because it fit, not because I liked it.

In the car on the way to the wedding, I was apparently visibly dreading the public appearance and my husband call me out on it. He said that I looked good in his opinion and the outfit I got was very nice looking, but if I wasn't happy with my appearance, then do something besides hide from the world. He also said that if I thought I was unlovable, then eventually no one else would either. It made the light bulb come on in a big way.

I need to be happy with myself the way I am, as he is, but also to love myself by taking better care of my health. I do want to lose weight but I need to also be willing to proudly be myself however much I weigh. I have a whole new appreciation for the brazen self confidence shown by the heavy women that boldly wear bikinis at the beach for all to see. So my new philosohpy is to take good care of my health, but also to BE MY BRAZEN SELF!

SupermanRitz

Sometime February 2006, grade 11, age 16. No girl would ever consider dating me, was being made fun of. Sitting at 228lbs and 30% body fat.

jennifer_417

I had a major turning point early in my weight loss journey. I decided to take a day off from logging and eat whatever I wanted. Basically, giving myself permission to binge. But...I couldn't do it. I ate a lot, and went way over my allotted calories that day...But I just couldn't not log. That's when I knew I could and would do it. I'm still here almost a year later, plugging away.

jillianbeeee

These posts are so inspiring! I knew I had been packing on the pounds and I had been feeling drained and tired. We took a trip to see my son graduate from basic training and the drive was really long. My back, feet and body hurt like heck. I had no energy to do the things everyone wanted to do. Then the moment came. We had a picture taking at the Alamo and BOOM! I looked at it and did not recognize the women in the photo! (the pic is in my photos, in the grey shirt) I was horrified. I had no idea what to do about it and frankly I did not have the energy. I logged into MFP and recorded my weight not long after that. I was at 180! But still did not do anything about it. A few months later, the weather getting warmer, my daughter and I were laying by the pool and she snapped another photo of me! I again was horrified! My size 14 bathing suit was tight and well, lets just say it was not flattering. I had forgotten about MFP and was surfing the internet and found it again. I went to set up an account and was told I already had an account. I logged in and stared at my earlier weigh in and decided to do something about it! We were planning a trip to Montana for the fall and I just knew I could not make my family suffer ever again with my complaints and tiredness on another trip. It was time to take action and take control of my life. My beautiful family was so supportive! By the time we took our trip I was walking 6 miles a day, running for the first time in my life, gave up diet cokes, drinking my water and watching my food intake! I was down to a size 5/6 and feeling wonderful! My cholesterol was back on track and my depression has started to subside. I hiked Glacier national park and Yellowstone without getting tired and the family had a wonderful time! My afternoon naps had turned into afternoon walks! I am now a size 3 at 123 lbs and charged more then ever! This year will go down in my life as one of the best. I changed my life, my family, my health and my future! It was possible all along but I just had to do something about it. (most of the newer photos I posted here on MPF were from my trip)

JaniceCunningham

I'm retired and have lost and gained weight over the years on various diets from Weight Watchers to Optifast. When I turned 58 I just eat as much as wanted when I want to the point of all the weight I had lost exercising and watching what I ate came back plus more. I noticed I had less energy and was unable to wear the clothes I wanted to wear and had been diagnosed with type II diabetes. I had been thinking about lap band surgery and had even gone through the steps of making that happen but a doctor told me about myfitnesspal. I tried it November 19th and have been with it ever since. I started a weight management program with my primary care physician too. This is something I have never done before and the accountability is the thing that has been missing before. This past Friday was my first time I view my weight and I had lost 3 lbs and had lost 5 lbs the week before when I went to see my doctor. This seems to be the tools I needed.

JaniceCunningham

I'm retired and have lost and gained weight over the years on various diets from Weight Watchers to Optifast. When I turned 58 I just eat as much as wanted when I want to the point of all the weight I had lost exercising and watching what I ate came back plus more. I noticed I had less energy and was unable to wear the clothes I wanted to wear and had been diagnosed with type II diabetes. I had been thinking about lap band surgery and had even gone through the steps of making that happen but a doctor told me about myfitnesspal. I tried it November 19th and have been with it ever since. I started a weight management program with my primary care physician too. This is something I have never done before and the accountability is the thing that has been missing before. This past Friday was my first time I view my weight and I had lost 3 lbs and had lost 5 lbs the week before when I went to see my doctor. This seems to be the tools I needed.

ConnieJewell

My moment was when my doctor mentioned my weight gain several times during my last physical. She had never said anything before and was usually very "understanding" as to weight gain. I'm 9 pounds into my 25 pound weight loss.

Goal179

You can read all about mine here.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Goal179/view/how-a-roach-saved-my-life-596707

It was sad, but true.

AusAshMommy

I had always known I needed to work on losing weight, getting more active again - I love walking, and walking downtown on the Riverfront or on the beach became too much I was like "Ok maybe we need to think about this..." I was working then to slowly overhaul my eating making small swaps in my lunch choices, then a trip to the Dr for a physical planted the seed when she told me my cholesterol (good) was up and then a month later we had biometric screenings at work and the nurse said the same thing, only she added that if I added more exercise into my daily regime I'd lose the weight and the cholesterol numbers would come down...BAM it hit me like a tons of bricks - it's time for a change!

About a week later I started walking after dinner, taking our Dog with me, the first night I could only go half-way around the neighborhood, but I worked up to all the way around, all in all 2.9 miles and roughly 35-40 mins (depending on the doggie ;-)) then I added in ab/strength work, and now that it's dark when I get home I now do aerobics/strength training at home.

Those ah ha moments come to us all at seemingly random intervals...the medical professionals were the bird chirping in my ear.

tm82001

My moment.....On July 11, 2012, my 2 year old nephew passed away. Sadness and depression do not adequately describe the pain that his parents, the family nor myself was going through. My drug of choice has always been food, so I turned to it for comfort and for a full year ate anything and everything I wanted. I got to 184 pounds, which is the heaviest I had ever been without being pregnant.

A year later, I was sitting outside in my yard holding the last toy he had ever played with and honestly asked myself how was I honoring his memory. The only conclusion I came to was that I wasn't. He was lively, spirited, and loved to run, walk, go to the beach and I was a sad overweight sloth. That day was my moment of truth...

Lisa_Rhodes

I have been overweight all my life. When I thought I was trying hard to lose weight, I actually wasn't; I was trying to take the shortcut so it wouldn't be so hard bc in my mind, it shouldn't be hard. In the Spring of 2012 was when it hit me. I tried a couple of diet pills and had adverse reactions to them and I got so upset and fed up and had a talk w/ myself. I look at these people (at the gym or in magazines) who workout, eat right, look awesome and have amazing confidence and realized it may not be an easy road to travel, but it's going to be worth it. It took me 14 months to lose 60lbs and right after I lost that weight, I got pregnant. I'm no where near done, but I know now that while gaining, I need to make sure I'm eating right and exercising for not just my health, but for my baby boy as well

JoelleAnn78

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... breastfeeding ONE child was a struggle for me. You might be my hero! Great job nursing your babies! :flowerforyou:

alpine1994

My moment came when I saw a picture of me show up on Facebook. I was sitting between two skinny girls and I looked awful. I looked so uncomfortable and big. I knew I had to change and I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I joined MFP, made sure to add lots of friends and get the support I needed, and the rest is history. Those skinny girls now ASK ME for nutrition/fitness advice. BOOM.

PS - The picture that changed it all is the one with the red and white striped shirt.

contingencyplan

When I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation beginner skills course and realized how much my obesity was affecting whether or not I could learn to ride a sporty motorcycle well. This was in fall 2008. I didn't really start to make good on it though until late spring/early summer 2009.

jblackjr

Wow, where to start. I guess the large part of my weight gain all started in 2009. I got married in Nov 2009 and was laid off in Dec 2009. People say your first year of marriage is the hardest and we had unemployment to throw into that mix! Top that off with making the decision of getting pregnant becuase surely in 9 months time one would be able to find a job... Well Dec 2010 rolls around and still no job.

This does a lot to a man, especially one who was raised with the idea that a man should be a leader (not as in tell your wife what to do, but more of an example setter) and a provider. I felt like I was failing at both of these and all I really did was sit at home look for a job hide away into some video game and eat. Depression set in pretty hard and in the midst of everything going on my mind went to some pretty dark places. Suicide was something I thought I would never ever think about, but when you feel like a complete failure in everything and you think that death would be the best escape for the people you love it begins to some how seem to make sense. The only thing I kept thinking about though is my child that was on the way and how very much I wanted to be a father, I hung in there depressed and gaining weight.

I admit once my beautiful baby girl got here I was in love, and although I was still jobless being able to be a stay-at-home dad was pretty cool and I started to find happiness again. It was about 3 months after my daughter's birth that my old boss (the one who had to lay me off) called me and said they had a new position opening up and asked if I was still unemployed. I jumped at the opportunity and took the position. Things started to look up and about a year after being employed my wife and I decided to make the jump and bought our first house, got another dog (we got our first dog while in our old house) and things were moving forward and life was pretty good.

One thing though, I was 6'3" and 250 lbs and in pretty bad health. My doctor told me I was hypertensive, my cholestorol was high and I needed to be put on medication. He gave me some samples and told me to come back in a few months. High blood pressure!!! I was at the time 26 years old, how the hell do I have high blood pressure??? I have a wife and a child who needs their husband/father to stay around for a while. I had a daughter who needed her dad to be able to get outside and play ball and tag and dress up in pink tutus and dance ballet with her across the living room, paint nails and wear makeup, eat pretend foods and be king of the castle. I needed to stick around so I could ease her first heart break and walk her down the aisle. 160s/120s was unacceptable and being on medication was not an option for me!

So the decision was made, it was time to lose weight, be healthy and set an example for my child (soon to be children) that would last a lifetime! So the journey began, in Feb of 2012 I decided to lose weight, get fit, be healthy and strong. Not only for my kids but for my wife. I didn't want to be the kind of spouse that got comfortable with the way he looked and stop caring. I wanted my wife to look at me each and every day and think that I still got it. Two things I started, first I started counting calories and noticed that my weight started coming off, but I didn't want to be just skinny, I wanted to be in shape. So in May 2012 I downloaded the 5K runner app and worked my way up to that 5k mark, but I didn't stop there soon I was running 10ks, then a 10 miler and soon I hope to complete my first Half marathon. But running wasn't enough, sure I had some amazing cardio capacity but that came with a downside, I lost muscle as well as fat, so about 5 months ago I started weight lifting and have fallen in love with it!

With that all being said from 25 years old when I got married to 30 years old now I have seen some amazing changes in my weight, my mind set, and my life. I had lost from 250 to 194 and since have gained some weight back due to the lifting but I'm sitting comfortable at 210 and am probably in better shape than I have ever been! My BP is in the normal ranges and life is great! I'm sorry for the very long story, if you read it then a cookie for you! If not... I don't blame you