How you started/what motivated you to start losing weight

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Replies

  • 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.
  • 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....:)
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Originally a picture. I mean I knew how much I weighed, had mirrors, bought clothes. But that picture :noway:
  • What got me started, actually, was that I got sick. I went severely hypothyroid five years ago, then last year I was told I had high fasting blood glucose by my doctor, and then I just...tanked. This whole past year I've been exhausted.

    I "thought" I wanted to lose weight but weirdly, none of the vanity motivations, which used to get me moving, were working. It wasn't that I didn't care, it was just that they didn't give me that final push. I guess I just felt too tired to do anything about it.

    Then I learned about gluten tying in with hypothyroid, and I eliminated gluten...and then finally I took my pre-diabetes in hand and went lower-carb (not VLC, about 50 g carbs/day). I finally feel healthier and yes, I have finally lost weight.

    Good luck! Different things work for different people.
  • KetoBella
    KetoBella Posts: 141 Member
    For several weeks I was having stiffness, pain and weakness in my knee causing me to limp around for a bit. I heard for every pound of weight you lost you'd take 4 lbs of pressure off your joint. Now that I have lost 23 pounds and the about 100 pounds of pressure off my knee I no longer have the issue. I am sure taking off the additional weight I have to lose may prevent knee replacement surgery in my future.
  • jenimc13
    jenimc13 Posts: 20 Member
    What is the couch to 5k running program?

    Here's the link the couch-to-5k program I'm following: http://www.c25k.com/

    Im on Week 5 and loving it so far. I can't wait to be able to run 3 miles without stopping!!
  • Naaer
    Naaer Posts: 212 Member
    I got on the scale and said "Nope" I'm not getting any bigger than this! That's what started this last summer...


    Reaan
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    Health...I could give a rats *kitten* what the number on the scale is. I care about what my blood work says and what my BF% is. I initially came here to track my nutrients and decided I should probably reduce my BF% to to help my blood work out. Last year I was well on my way to an early grave with the kind of blood work I had going...now, it's not perfect by any means but I'm in the normal range for everything and improving by the day...that's all I really care about...I want to be alive to watch my kids grow up, I could care less about fitting into a size whatever or what the scale says.
  • soupandlettuce
    soupandlettuce Posts: 114 Member
    Someone asked if I was expecting :sad:
  • Kerrygirlinmaldon
    Kerrygirlinmaldon Posts: 32 Member
    Trying like mad to get into a bridesmaid dress for a wedding. I was so stressed about messing up the brides plans. I did get into the dress but decided longer term I needed to lose weight. Someone suggested working with a personal trainer haven't looked back since.
  • mitchiejo
    mitchiejo Posts: 179 Member
    Two things made me decide to lose weight.

    1. None of my pants fit any longer
    2. Someone said to me you gained weight, just don't gain too much.

    It was a good decision because I began to eat healthier and started incorporating strength training in along with my cardio.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    i read this. and i watched the video at the bottom.

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/08/31/is-it-really-worth-it/