How you started/what motivated you to start losing weight

Transformer711
Transformer711 Posts: 55
in Getting Started
Hi everyone! I'm fairly new to the MFP community and I was just interested in what prompted people to lose weight and if they've tried (and failed, like I have before). What really got me going was my trip to Nigeria this summer. I lost 7kg over the space of 6 weeks through pretty much not eating (P.S I am absolutely NOT condoning not eating as a method of weight loss!!!). Whilst that method is frowned upon, as it should be, it did make me realise that it was possible for me to lose weight. Before then, I'd tried intense exercise regimes, cutting out carbs, no fats, etc, but nothing really worked. Thank God for MFP. :happy:

Sooo, just wondering how everyone else got started? :smile:
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Replies

  • 88lbs2lose
    88lbs2lose Posts: 17
    At first to look and feel better. Now for my health
  • sarahslim100
    sarahslim100 Posts: 485 Member
    a photograph
  • jenovaprojekt00
    jenovaprojekt00 Posts: 15 Member
    A girl :)
  • heather4949
    heather4949 Posts: 80 Member
    Me too....a photograph.....thought I looked so good....but there was the evidence in front of me....and I was looking at what everyone else could see, so had to take off my rose colored glasses off.....the best thing that happened to me this year was starting here...
  • gmthisfeller
    gmthisfeller Posts: 779 Member
    A woman!
  • Nomatterhowsmall
    Nomatterhowsmall Posts: 17 Member
    I had a pretty unhealthy view of appropriate weight and body images as a teen. I went through Weight Watchers and lost 35lbs, but was losing hair and blacking out and eventually gained all the weight plus more back.

    I joined MFP after a goal with my sister in law to lose weight together. At the time, I also knew a woman in her early 30's suffering from stage 4 breast cancer that was caught when she had lost weight and noticed lumps in her chest. I didn't want that to be me (knowing that cancer can effect anyone no matter their health/fitness level) I needed an escape from sad stories and the stress of my job. I started counting calories, going to weekly zumba classes and I began the couch to 5k running program. Running was a great escape. I did 8 weeks through cold, windy, and rainy conditions. There's something so magical about running outdoors, the treadmill at the gym only was used when I couldn't bare the weather.

    I took the journey slow and steady and took about 10.5 months to lose 30lbs. I have kept the majority of it off now for 6 months, and have ran 4- 5ks.

    I must say, it feels great!

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  • jlar09
    jlar09 Posts: 99
    In October I ate three pieces of cake when I could have very easily just eaten one. So now I am here.
  • Sashoi
    Sashoi Posts: 295 Member
    What got me started was finally getting on the scale. Once I saw 305 I knew I had to make a change.... I didn't officially start till July 1 though. I joined MFP in February thinking I was ready but never got started lol. Now nothing can stop me and I can't wait to see where I will be by next August.
  • lmproved
    lmproved Posts: 3
    Deadline,events,the fact that if I didn't change something this would continue.
  • ponycyndi
    ponycyndi Posts: 858 Member
    My pants no longer fit...and I couldn't afford a new wardrobe. So I killed two birds with one stone-eat less, lose weight and wear the same pants.
  • AphelionG
    AphelionG Posts: 4
    I could tell I was gaining weight, but didn't know how much weight I had actually gained. I found my scale in a box in my garage this evening and weighed myself. I gained a lot more than I thought. Now I'm here!
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    A glucose number in the pre-diabetic range.
  • LaurenEileen74
    LaurenEileen74 Posts: 142 Member
    a picture of me at my friend's wedding...yikes.
  • KelGen02
    KelGen02 Posts: 668 Member
    A picture of my husband with this girl I have never seen before? Oh wait, that's me?? WHAT???????? Funny how the image in the mirror didn't come even close to the image in that picture... :cry:
  • RonnieLodge
    RonnieLodge Posts: 665 Member
    A 10kg weight gain/putting 10cm on my waist measurement in 2 years after moving back to my home country.
  • skcardiog
    skcardiog Posts: 316 Member
    My friend joking ( or maybe not joking ? ) about getting a wide angle lens to take my photo .
  • lintino
    lintino Posts: 526 Member
    Borderline high blood pressure and glucose measuring in the pre-diabetes range.
  • kjm_723
    kjm_723 Posts: 66 Member
    I realized one day that I was eating because I was bored and not because I was actually hungry. I didn't actually think I looked bad but I knew I was feeling bad. So I started that day by throwing away whatever it was I was eating and a couple weeks later through my sister I found mfp. Yesterday was 365 days of logging for me and I've lost 70 lbs. And today I ran a mile in 11mins 46sec!! A year ago I would've considered running a mile a complete and total physical impossibility. I also ran 2 5k's this year. I can't believe what I have accomplished.
  • nmncare
    nmncare Posts: 168 Member
    I knew I had gained weight.. But it came down to an embarrassing posted to social media. That and I want to look amazing when I move back home to London in a few months! I am planning on continuing when I am there as well. :)
  • micervera
    micervera Posts: 114 Member
    Seeing my triple chin on a picture. That was an eye opener.
  • alienrite
    alienrite Posts: 314 Member
    I was losing my mobility and ability to live the life I wanted to; in particular, I had to bail on a hike I do every year because I couldn't keep up. My biggest key to success was focusing on being consistent over being perfect. I was more interested in creating healthy habits than results. The end result is I got the results but the true success is that my way of life, my routine, supports a healthier lifestyle. We all suffer from a lack of motivation and cases of "not feeling like it". Don't think of it as a failure, when you are not feeling like making the smart choices and doing the right thing, this is when it is most important to push towards what you choose to do rather than what you feel. Following what feels right is why we are all here...the cool thing is that if you push through, the feelings do start aligning with your goals but it takes many many week and months.

    It is very doable thing but it takes time so be patient, understand you won't be perfect but perfect isn't what it takes to win the war. Just do it every day and you'll find yourself slowly drifting towards your goals. For me, I even managed to exceed my wildest dreams but that's probably because I didn't used to dream big enough.
  • vniemo2
    vniemo2 Posts: 25 Member
    Did not really get dressed for 2 months after shoulder surgery. When I decided to get dressed my jeans and T shirts no longer fit. I had gained around 35 pounds in 3 months. Went from a 2X shirt to a 4X
  • Laura3BB
    Laura3BB Posts: 250 Member
    I realized one day that I was eating because I was bored and not because I was actually hungry. I didn't actually think I looked bad but I knew I was feeling bad. So I started that day by throwing away whatever it was I was eating and a couple weeks later through my sister I found mfp. Yesterday was 365 days of logging for me and I've lost 70 lbs. And today I ran a mile in 11mins 46sec!! A year ago I would've considered running a mile a complete and total physical impossibility. I also ran 2 5k's this year. I can't believe what I have accomplished.

    Wow! That's so inspiring!
  • Laura3BB
    Laura3BB Posts: 250 Member
    Bikini holiday pictures for me
  • HRode82
    HRode82 Posts: 1 Member
    What is the couch to 5k running program?
  • sburns12066
    sburns12066 Posts: 8 Member
    I had bought a pair of pants online in a bigger size than what i usually wear and when they came in they were tight. I knew I never wanted to go up to the next size, so I began!
  • post191rickdye
    post191rickdye Posts: 23 Member
    Around 2006 my wife started measuring her food intake and working out. She started running half marathons and I was the husband that followed her from race to race. She lost a LOT of weight and felt great. During the summer of 2011 I stepped on her scale and saw that my weight was at 199 lbs. I weighed 150 lbs when I got out of the Air Force (20 years ago.) What happened?!? I didn;t want to be 200 lbs so I asked my wife to tell me what exercises to do. She said, "I would love to exercise with you, but 1st monitor your food for a week." I started using her food scale and logging with MFP. Wow... I found out that I am a compulsive eater. I eat when I am hungry, bored, stressed... I was almost snacking non-stop!I put myself on the caloric intake that MFP recommended and drank lots of water. I still had my cofee in the morning and Coke Zero at lunch but not three cups of coffee and 5 Coke zeros. My snacking cut way back but as long as I was drinking water and eating my normal foods at meals I didn't feel deprived. I lost 20 pounds in a few months! Then I started walking... After a while I started running. While I will probably never be able to say that I "enjoy" running I can say that I have gotten to the point where I miss it when I have to skip it for too many days in a row. I have now lost 65 lbs and kept it off for over a year. I have run 4 half Marathons with my wife and a handful of 10 milers. You can do it... just please stick with it.
  • E_Brault
    E_Brault Posts: 362 Member
    I started to help a loved one. Together we were over-eating partners in crime. I did not want my better half to have the dire diseases associated with obesity. I knew I would soon have very debilitating disorders, if I did not stop my over-indulgences. Now that I have found the perfect person for me, I want to enjoy life. I want both of us to be able to hike, bike, camp and boat. I want to see more of nature and enjoy, not feel out of breath and confined. I have had a little taste of what life could be with the right person and I want to enjoy it all. I want a healthy lifestyle. I don't want to watch tv and see everyone else having fun. I want to live. It is these thoughts that have driven me to want to lose 80 pounds.
  • chatty826
    chatty826 Posts: 47
    Almost reaching 400lbs. It shocked me and I decided to start making a change. I hoped if I did then my mom who was morbidly obese would try too. I lost 60lbs and lost my mother, she died three years ago and in that three years I shed (and have kept off) 165lbs. It is a daily choice you make to live the best life possible. I do it because I want to be very old with kids and grandkids and I never want them to feel like my death was preventable. Sadly eating too much can put you in an early grave.
  • mackemom
    mackemom Posts: 277 Member
    a picture...I look at it all the time now...was taken on a phone, so it's there wherever I go....:)

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