What made you see the light?

juanpegler

I thought this would be interesting.
I am sure most people on here have been victims of the yo yo dieting.
My question is. What made you realize that it is a permanent lifestyle change instead of a "Diet" that will last a few months then you can eat what you want to again.

Next question is, everyone has that moment when they say, this is it I am changing, or that was the last straw. What was that moment for you?

jenchamb1

Feb 11, 2013...had to go on blood pressure medication. Down about 65lbs and hope to be off medicine at some point.

csmullins78

It was a combination of things, but the main catalyst was a health problem. (Sad but true).

Francl27

Last time I went on a diet, I was 21, and realized it wasn't a diet I could follow in the real world, and put back on everything plus more. So I knew then that the next time I would lose weight, it had to be with a diet I could follow forever and a lifestyle change... and it took me 14 years to be ready to give up my lifestyle.

What convinced me is my doctor appointment last December. I always thought I was 200 lbs, but I turned out to be 213 (although 5 of those were because I was on steroid for a week earlier), and she did all kinds of tests, including an EKG, because I was obese. I was 35. It kinda freaked me out. So I decided I'd do it soon... really enjoyed the Holidays, then finally it clicked mid January and I got started.

Frankly if someone had told me I didn't have to completely give up all the things I love, I might have done it earlier. I just always associated losing weight with eating clean. What a mistake it was.

simsburyjet

I always exercised but still had a spare tire... my wifes words..
I was leaving work and they had some free food out. I grabbed some and then went to an exercise class. I felt so sick
I literally looked in the mirror and was disgusted. That week at work they had a biggest loser contest posted so I joined. . I lost over 20lbs in 10 weeks came in 2nd won 200 dollars and have kept it off for 3 years.

Rocbola

It started as a temporary trial run, and i never imagined that i would stick with it, and eventually cut meat, dairy and oil out entirely. I liked the way i felt, so i just kept doing it.
Who doesn't like feeling younger and full of energy?
Who doesn't like watching the weight fall off effortlessly?
Who doesn't like recovering faster from being sore?
Who doesn't like have better cognitive ability?

lucan07

I saw a photo of me at my grandsons christening on my profile 308lbs, 10 months and almost 100 lbs down I gave my youngest daughter away and although not happy yet I am no longer embarrassed!

AmyRhubarb

I got tired of stopping and restarting, after being on various fitness sites/apps, restricting calories and going for high calorie burns with exercise. Finally decided that the starting over really sucked, and regaining the weight wasn't an option either, so I made the decision to make the reasonable and sustainable life changes that I could stick with. That was around two years ago - and switching to the TDEE method helped tremendously! :drinker:

ronrstaats

I don't know what it was. I mean I knew I was huge but I never felt bad (health wise). Back in 2004 I was over 400 pounds. The wife and I started doing Adkins (when it was all the rage) I dropped down to 270 pounds. Over the years I yoyo'd between 270 and 330.

On Jun 1 2011 I just said I had enough and started low carb (my own plan)I was 335 and in a year weighed 185.

Collier78

Weighing in at 305 after the birth of my 3rd child and realizing that if I kept going, I wouldn't be around to see her grow up...Being categorized as a Type II diabetic during my pregnancy and not wanting that for myself. ( I have since lost enough I am no longer considered diabetic)

Hearts_2015

bump

jeannemarie333

Thanks for the topic - excellent! bump

cici1028

Hmmm. The moment that I knew I needed do DO something was Christmas of 2008. My brother and I got in a huge fight and he called me fat. I knew it was true but I also wasn't ready to have it thrown at me like that. That January I tried Jenny Craig. I stopped when I realized what was IN the food (nothing you could pronounce) but I will say I learned portion control right then and there. Then I joined MFP and gradually lost 50 pounds over two years or so.

It wasn't until I joined MFP that I realized this is for life... not for now or for the short term. When I embraced the changes and decided to just gradually change things, the light went off. And now I walk by fried chicken without even missing it. Your taste buds DO change with time. It's amazing. The best thing is that when you know you're eating for life and not for the here and now you just naturally steer away from the foods that will make you feel bad and choose the ones that make you feel good! (If fried chicken made me feel good the next day, I wouldn't walk on by!!)

Lizzy622

the doctor wanting to put me on yet another medication. I said no and never looked back. I am off everything now except my thyroid replacement pill. I still have a long way to go but my blood tests are coming back much better than when I started. Around the same time my mom found out she was diabetic. It was extra incentive to get my health in control.

DoingitWell

bump

juanpegler

It is so great how a lot of us share the same reason. Yet our own little twists make them soooo different.

MFP is where I realized that I would have to keep watching what I eat forever. Reading the success stories where most of them say how they are working at it to maintain.

Where I realized that I need to start doing something is when simple things like tying shoe laces are a hard task to do.
I still have quite far to go. But with the MFP community at my side it doesn't feel like a mountain ahead of me but rather a new adventure.

Proud to be part of the community! Good Job Everyone.

alisonlynn1976

The "eat back your exercise calories" thing is what made me realize that this is easy. I'm basically creating the deficit I want to lose about a pound a week by exercising. Because I don't feel hungry and deprived this time around, this is long- term sustainable.

The thing that pushed me to do something about my weight was being on the verge of needing to shop in the plus-size department. My initial motivation was that I wanted to be able to wear better clothes.

joyswift3

I'm hoping I'll stick to a healthy eating, exercise plan now!! Success spurs me on, when I start gaining weight I tend to give up and then have to start again. Perseverance is what I need

Railr0aderTony

For me it was a year ago last fall, after my father passed away. I was at the funeral and everything seemed fine. I got home and one of my nieces posted some pictures from the reception on facebook. I was looking through them and it hit me, "OH HELL NO" that is not me, I am not that big. Well i was that big. I knew i was big, had not been able to use a normal scale in a long time. Well I was over 370 without a doubt, I started losing some before joining MFP, It was not until I ordered the cattle sized scale at home that i was able to find out where my starting point was.

here is that pic

RECowgill

A nurse in the ER.

AverageUkDude

April 6th 2012. Holiday pictures uploaded onto my pc, couldn't believe it was me.

eksero2k

My roommate started hitting the gym, figured if he could do it then so could i!

hastingsmassage

Friend told me I was fat, and I am grateful for that...I got very angry with her but she was right, lost 120 lbs this year.

MzzFaith

Health reason was running into a diabetic where I was going to need insulin, and overweight. Ready to come off oxygen.

colortheworld

Had a bad accident that had me on steriods and pretty much sitting for weeks. Hit my highest weight ever, and was like "oh helllll no."

Zekela

I wanted to be as good as the other karatekas in my dojo.
Also, I had a running partner that was on a better diet than I was... eventually she got faster than I was (after I corrected her form and all... the nerve), so to keep up with her, I had to ensure my body was properly nourished. I'm no clean dieter be any means, but I have come a long way.

svsl0928

A reminder that God had spoke to me in 20005 about lacking self control in what I eat and a 2nd BP med added. Now I am down 38.8 and am down to 1 BP med with its mgs reduced 50%.

katieme

I realised I needed to commit to a lifestyle change rather than a diet after I spent nearly 2 years losing and gaining the same 14lbs and never being able to get anywhere near my goal using meal replacement diets. It hasn't been easy but I feel like I'm on the right road mentally now which is translating to losses on the scales I think that I've messed up my metabolism a bit with crash dieting but realising that I dont have to be starving/dizzy/exhausted to be losing weigh has been the most important thing.

Bad food still calls to me but now i have will through correct nourishment to avoid temptation.

Jmoss4852

I saw pictures of myself from 5 years ago, before I started dating my current boyfriend. I went from this ridiculously healthy lifestyle to not caring so much about what I ate/how I looked. I never really thought it was that much of a difference, but when I realized
I had gone up 4 jean sizes, I knew something had to change.

I'm so happy to say I'm on the way to getting that size 6 body back!

I did go back and forth with random diets/diet pills for awhile, but it's always nice to see progress that you've made without the "extra help."

Therealobi1

My roommate started hitting the gym, figured if he could do it then so could i!

mine is similar. my friend joined weight watchers. she made such an effort to lose weight so it inspired me to do the same. I didnt go down the ww route as didnt want to pay to step on the scales. luckily i found this website.

seltzermint555

I think my story is a little different than most who have dieted again and again. I have never truly dieted. I always avoided the topic of my weight with friends and family and would have been embarrassed to join something like Weight Watchers or openly read the Atkins diet book...stuff like that always seemed so humiliating for those around me, especially if they tried and failed.

For most of my adult life I have just eaten whatever. I was always over 240 lb, though.

I did try to change my habits. When I reached a much higher weight than normal (307, my all-time high) due to a sedentary job and eating out WAY more often, I made a conscious effort to include a LOT more exercise in my life. That was a success. I also made sweeping attempts to "eat better" which were pretty lame, I realize now. For example, eating frosted shredded wheat with 1% milk, coffee with agave & non-dairy creamer, and oj, was a high sugar breakfast every day. But I thought "it's better than grabbing McDonalds biscuit or a Sonic burrito". Maybe not much better.

What really changed for me was joining MFP. I was so frustrated at totally changing my lifestyle (in my view) over 4 years and only getting down to 262 which was basically my "usual weight". I realize now it's pretty cool that I did lose 45 lb and keep it off over that time. But it wasn't what I hoped to achieve with all of the perceived changes in my lifestyle.

MFP showed me where my calories should be and how to make the connection between exercise and food consumed. I know a lot of people might scoff at this but I truly believe that I was confusing my body by eating an erratic cal total each day. For example, if I wasn't that hungry there were days I ate 600-800 cal and walked 4 miles, and days that I would have easily consumed at least 3,000 cal between large portions in restaurants and between meals Starbucks lattes. The "math" of MFP is what helped me to get down to my current 208 lb weight in 8 months, which for me is awesome because I have not seen that on the scale ever. I was about 220 at age 15-16 and I'm 37 now.