When was your last straw that made you want to change?

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Replies

  • janupshaw
    janupshaw Posts: 205 Member
    My husband got deployed overseas & lost 25 pounds since he was getting regular exercise. Now I weighed the same as him. That was humiliation enough to get my *kitten* in gear! I lost 30 pounds before he got home, & have lost a total of 45.
  • kingscrown
    kingscrown Posts: 615 Member
    When the scale said 246 pounds and I realized I was nearly 250 pounds!!
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    The "need" for back surgery and the fact that I was told I had to lose in order to get it. I was in such pain, I could hardly walk a lot of the time let alone exercise and I thought it was a lost cause. then I found MFP and the boards and learned that all I needed was a caloric deficit to lose the pounds. So I created one, and as my ticker says I have lost now over 50 pounds - and somehow don't "need" back surgery any more because the disc that was bulging so badly, isn't any more. I still have 60-ish pounds to go to be at the weight I envision as ideal, but now I know I can definitely do it.
  • nursekirsty
    nursekirsty Posts: 110 Member
    At work at few colleagues were looking at my family photos - and a few were asking me what happened and how had a put on so much weight

    One also asked me if I worry when my partner goes out for a night out ???

    I have no concerns about my partner we have been together almost 12 years and have a great relationship but I don't like that people think that I am fat and unattractive and I don't like what I see in the mirror anymore either - time for change x
  • blankney94
    blankney94 Posts: 95
    A couple of things made me change.

    1. I was only one digit away from the overweight category on the BMI index. A BMI of 24 heading towards 25. (Now I'm 22 yay!)
    2. My jeans were stuffed tight. Sitting was uncomfy and I'd have to undo the top button sometimes. Not comfortable at all, and I refused to move into the next size up either. Now two months later that pair of jeans just about falls off me!

    My journey so far has been hard work, but so rewarding and worth it!
  • Glitterhips
    Glitterhips Posts: 9
    I'm a mother of 4. That's the first one and you would think it should have been the most important but my eldest is 12 and I've been fat for most of his 12 years, poor lad. I lost over 6 st after my third son. Yaaaay! Except I did it in 6 months by eating 500cals a day (maybe) and exercising daily. I was miserable. This time I'm determined to lose the weight by doing something that I hope is lifetime sustainable. The final straw this time was really coming out of the shower and being caught of gaurd by my image in the tall mirror. When you truly relax, don't breathe in and don't look for the best bits the weight hits you smack in the face. I'm a heffer. It's a fact. But it's a fact that I can change.

    I am going to change.
  • akhety
    akhety Posts: 1
    It's been building up to this, but it really, finally made me realize I need to lose weight when I spent over $300 to buy and ship some pants to me in Japan and they don't fit. My fat bulges around it, and I'm sure the seams will burst if I try to move around too. I couldn't even fasten one of them. I certainly don't fit into any of the pants here, but I should be able to fit into my normal size pants from back home. Adding to this, I try not to look in the mirror anymore and I have a lot of trouble finding clothes that fit me well. Health-wise I seem to be fine, but I'm tired of feeling fat all the time. And I'm not one to waste $300 worth of clothes.
  • JuciLuce
    JuciLuce Posts: 2
    What a great question.
    I just put this on my "Introduce yourself page" but my dad has dementia and his tact button is now faulty.. he told me over christmas what a "large' lady I was, and it damned near broke my heart (silly old fool I am, I know).
    Anyway, onward and upward. That's my defining moment, for sure. That and I feel like Im about to go pop…

    I reeeeally wanna get into my old clothes again too. I hate them just siting in the wardrobe with me wearing baggy old rubbish!
  • Siannah
    Siannah Posts: 456 Member
    I had to decide to either buy larger size clothes, or lose weight. Went for the latter but still had to buy new clothes - smaller sizes! :laugh:
  • Nightfall30
    Nightfall30 Posts: 112 Member
    Being nearly 180 lbs at a height of 160 cm at age 16 - with the number elevating because I pretty much refused to eat healthy & feared exercise, I stopped fitting into women's clothing, my blood sugar levels (ugh genes) were already elevating, yo-yo dieting...well, that's what started it. I'm motivated to finish the weight loss process (I'm 21 now) now because I realised I'll never be so young again, now is the time to look the best I possibly can.
  • DoNotSpamMe73
    DoNotSpamMe73 Posts: 286 Member
    Epilepsy -hyperventilation makes it worse so I need to fitter and for vanity which has dwindled as I gained weight without realizing is also a factor... Knowing exactly what goes in and what burns off with exercise has really helped. 8 kilograms lost so far, 20 left to go (goal is 60kilograms) and I have overalls to avoid buying new clothes. I should probably take progress pictures...
  • mrdee0
    mrdee0 Posts: 4 Member
    I've just wrote a post in the introductions and saw this. So I hope its okay to repost my text here- but it is very relevant to the topic as I explain what has started me on my path to healthy eating and weight loss....:

    I'm 37 and need to lose weight. I never thought I would ever be in this position. Up until 10 years prior I was a slim guy with a great body. I was the kind or person people would say was fit and I was always complimented on this and the fact that I could eat what I liked and not gain weight. I liked how I looked in the mirror it was great. As I started to do better at my job and started to jump from one great job to the next the money started to increase. I didn't need to think twice about eating at the best places and slowly my weight started to pile on. I think I was in denial this was going on, even when I was spending on clothing which were increasing in size every few months and a belly was starting to develop and get bigger and bigger.
    A couple of events have made me look at myself and what I'm doing to me. My one uncle died due to heart issues related to his weight. Another uncle suffered a stroke last year. I realise now that I'm going to go the same way if I don't do anything. I had one last high calorie unhealthy meal on the 31st of December. 1st January I decided will be the first day of my journey back to healthy eating and exercise. I have basically told myself it's either healthy eating and exercise or death in a few years. Maybe it is overdramatic but I need the shock to my thinking or I will carry on as I always have.
  • tweetypixx
    tweetypixx Posts: 65 Member
    After Christmas and got on the scales and I was so annoyed at myself that I had gained back all that I had lost the months before. I realised that I had to drastically change my lifestyle. My mum is also type 2 diabetic and it scares the hell out of me that it could happen to me also if I don't start to lose the weight.

    I want to be able to do things with my son and not feel puffed out all the time. This time I am more determined than ever as I was so angry at myself for letting me gain it all back.... New year, new start.
  • pluckylass
    pluckylass Posts: 7
    I have a bad knee and I'm used to it hurting every evening when I get into bed. However, lately it's been hurting badly by lunchtime, and both knees ached by bedtime. I realised that I was now so overweight that it was putting me in this near-constant pain and losing the weight has made such a difference to that. Now even the bad knee can go days without aching.
  • itsfruitcake
    itsfruitcake Posts: 146 Member
    Starting to wear longer tops to cover up my hips because of my saddlebags. Wearing only long sleeves because of my huge upper arms. Sore armpits because the arm holes of most of my tops and dresses were too tight and chafing. I've never been skinny, but I was generally happy with my shape, so when I started to "cover up" and struggle with wearing what I wanted to wear, I got really annoyed.

    Also, feeling generally unfit, weak, unhealthy, and depressed.

    I didn't make that decision from one day to another, but after a few months of feeling awful, I knew I had to do something.
  • otter090812
    otter090812 Posts: 380 Member
    Two things:
    - I've been to two funerals this year of people in their 50s and it's given me a real sense of my own mortality.
    - I went to a high-wire assault course with my colleagues. I'm a powerful lass, and I went round that course feeling like Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But then I saw the photos from the day and realised I looked more like the big ball that was rolling after him!
  • SehrA85
    SehrA85 Posts: 4 Member
    I wasn't able to keep up with my son and I hated being the same size as my husband. I realized if I kept going the way I was going, I wouldn't be around for my son when he gets older. That was a real eye opener for me. I'm not where I want to be yet, slowly getting there.
  • stargazerkittykat
    stargazerkittykat Posts: 3 Member
    My 42 year old friend died of a massive heart attack. I am fifty, so don't want to go there.
  • MissJazzie14
    MissJazzie14 Posts: 60 Member
    There are a lot of stories out there that I can relate too but I think the true reason for me is my nephew. I love my nephew more than life itself and he told me that he wants me to take him to sixflags and ride some rides with him. Last time I went to six flags was in 2009 and although I could fit into the rides back then it was a struggle. I have put on a lot of pounds since then and I don't want to go to the theme part knowingly i can't fit into a roller-coaster seat. In his eyes, I am the cool Aunt but it hurts me that I can't do things with him due to my weight like Go Kart Racing, jumping on a trampoline without feeling I am going to break it. So I am doing it for him and myself but he is my motivation and he keeps me going *tears*
  • angelamangus1
    angelamangus1 Posts: 164 Member
    Mine was last summer while visiting the beach in August. I was embarrassed to take my cover up off and go in the water and play with my children, so I sat around and watched them. I did finally take the cover up off but only went in the water once, I felt ashamed of my body.

    While leaving my children said they were sad that I did not have any fun and just sat by the beach towel & umbrella. That was my WTF is wrong with you moment. I started making slow changes and finally late September I joined MFP. This summer I will be out there playing with my kids, enjoying family time.
  • CardinalKoolaid
    CardinalKoolaid Posts: 11 Member
    The first time around (when I first joined MFP) I had a 'eureka' moment one day when I realised I was unhappy with my size. I haven't always been overweight, but I was very active when I was younger and ate exactly what I liked without any consequences. The moment I started a desk job the pounds piled on.

    I lost around 40lbs and was SO happy with the way I looked, but I stopped exercising due to some health issues... slowly but surely the weight has crept up again.

    Just before this Christmas I put on a pair of jeans which used to be loose only to discover they were tight, so I'm back to MFP with vengence!
  • Miss_james1990
    Miss_james1990 Posts: 214 Member
    I've battled depression for the past 5years! After giving birth in 2011 I managed to get my weight down. I looked and felt fabulous! My partner would just randomly stare at me and tell me how beautiful I was and how I was glowing . I just want to get back to that! No one should hate themselves I realize this now and know its upto me to put it right and lose some weight re gain that confidence :)
  • deanibop
    deanibop Posts: 2
    Growing up I was a skinny kid but aged 17-18 I ballooned and I have been 20 stone plus since I but always had manual jobs with no problems at all, One day last year aged 29 and weighing in at 25s 9lb I felt light headed so went to my GP to find my blood pressure was 169/116 which is borderline stroke apparently so I decided there and then that from January 1st 2014 I was going to lose 10 stone and its happening if my body likes it or not :)
  • Doresoontobehealthy
    Doresoontobehealthy Posts: 189 Member
    Mine was on vacation back in September. I was heavy and miserable and knew it would affect my trip. The plane ride there and back was horrible. Not only didn't I fit into the seat, the seat bar which didn't come up cut into me making it painful. Next was when I went snorkeling. We had to change boats and they had to hoist me up into the boat like a huge whale. So embarrassing. Such a beautiful experience and my weight kept me from truly enjoying it.
  • getitamb
    getitamb Posts: 2,019 Member
    When I busted the zippers put of all
    My size 14 clothes bc I was in denial.
  • collegegirl713
    collegegirl713 Posts: 189 Member
    My moment hit me when my husband started talking about having kid number 2. I weight 238 lb for the first one and was trying to lose weight after she was born, but it was a year of deaths for me. Both my grandmothers and my mom who had been in the hospital for awhile. She went in with a skin/blood infection and her diabetes made the situation worse. She went to a rehab facility and was ~2 weeks from coming home when she threw 2 lung clots due to being in a hospital bed for so long. It took some time for me to get serious, but a couple months back my husband started talking about kid 2. I DID NOT want to go through another pregnancy obese AND my daughter is getting really active and I love being able to keep up with her. I need to be/stay healthy for my family, so they don't go through what I have gone through. :frown:
  • 1113cw
    1113cw Posts: 830 Member
    Two things, really..

    1. NOTHING in my closet fits anymore and I don't have the budget to buy bigger clothes
    2. Tired of feeling chubby, no energy, getting sick all the time... HAVE to get back to being healthy again.
  • Miffylou
    Miffylou Posts: 307 Member
    I was on medication for some health issues which I'd had for many years. One of the side effects of the medication was migraines. Over the years my weight went up and the migraines got worse. When I was at the doctors to have the prescription refilled I was told by the doctor he would not refill the script as due to my weight and migraines with a combination of the medication I was on I was now in the high category risk of having a stroke. Not a good thing to be told at 41.

    I haven't lost all the weight however am pretty close to my goal and couldn't be happier. I now focus on eating healthy and being fit as I love my lifestyle. I'm also in the middle of training for my first half marathon.

    Best of all I no longer need the medication and no more migraines. ????????
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    My husband could fit in my pants. Literally.
  • ctalimenti
    ctalimenti Posts: 865 Member
    A few things:



    Never had a weight problem until my forties, then it started creeping on. Jeans started getting snug. Hard to move around in bed and especially pull up to a sitting position.



    One day I sat in a wine tasting store and watched women in their 50's walk by and noticed how overweight and out of shape they were.



    A few overweight friends/coworkers in their 50's advised, "I looked like you in my forties too and if you don't get it under control now, you'll look like me."

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