What was your wake-up call?

Krista916

My "before" picture! I was absolutely mortified when I saw myself if a sports bra and undies! I couldn't even believe it! I was so shocked because that's not what I saw when I looked at myself inthe mirror. Then I just felt really shameful that I had let it get that bad and I felt absolutely AWFUL for my husband! That's not what he signed up for when we got married.

jsj024519

I like food.

KristinaB83

Don't remember where I heard this, but it was thinking about it that made me get off my *kitten*:

"You'll never be as young as you are right now"

Made me realize that losing weight wasn't going to get any easier when I got older, and my skin sure as hell isn't getting any more elastic than it is now... So what am I waiting for?

conniemaxwell5

I saw this quote: "If it's important you'll find a way. If it's not you'll find an excuse" and it jump started something in me. It motivated me to lose weight more than anything else ever has, as well as pretty much eliminated excuse making in any area of my life.

Jin_m

My wake up call was seeing my mother-in-law in the hospital for congenative heart failure. She's not the role model people would expect, she self medicates and never cares about what or how much she eats. Hearing the doctor say she would lose 8 pounds (of water weight) in 3-4 days was unreal, then hering her weight, HIT ME. She was only 45 pounds more than me! If I had guessed her weight, I would have said she was 100 pounds more than me. Hearing she was just 45pounds more than me and 8 pounds of it was because she wasn't take her water pills sent me running to join the YMCA.

No way, am I going to be 30 years younger than she is and looking like she does! I need a picture of her for motivation! Just thinking about it makes me want to run to the Y for a zumba class.

sandip69

Not being able to catch my toddler, increasing pain in my arthritic hip, elasticated waist bands and not being able to see my winkie when I peed

MizzIcy

My wake-up call was going to my closet after trying on six different outfits and realizing that no matter how many more outfits I tried on, everything in my closet was the same size, but too small or tight for me to wear.

ChaoticMiNd

I quit smoking. For two years (minus one brief spell) I had ignored the weight gain, LIVED in sweat pants or stretchy pants with long sweaters etc. It got so bad that I developed 5 ulcers, couldn't breath hardly, my knees were useless, EVERYTHING ached. I was in denial and would stand on my Dr's scale backwards so I couldn't see the truth month in and month out.
I was diagnosed with fribromyalgia and put on meds...I gained another 10 lbs and the symptoms weren't really going away. I finally faced the scale on January 3 and to my horror it was 253 lbs. I started bawling right there in the Dr's office. Nope NO MORE. From that point on enough was a enough. I even told my husband my true weight...I had NEVER in 13 years told him that, even when I was slender.
I knew the garbage I was putting in me was causing not only gain, but the pain and medical problems I was having, I suspected were from the food choices I was making. I cut out white bread, pasta, and 80% processed foods. Probably a bit more, but I like over or underestimate where appropriate lol. Anyway, I'm making better choices and not over eating and making changes I can live with because enough is enough.

dawnawoodward

When I tried fitness pal and actually kept track of my calories. I could not believe I was eating 3,400 calories a day. I honestly had no idea. I have several reasons for wanting to lose. My new grandbaby that is on the way, for my health and happiness. But I also realized that I have control of it. I decide when I eat. And I refuse to diet, I dont believe in it for me really. I just choose to treat my body as a machine. I have to fuel it , and I want the best fuel. It is really portion control. I won't put any food I want off limits I just use portion control. I have honestly realized that I started looking at some foods and being like no way....that is too many calories...I want this other..it is almost a game to me, to try and keep the breakfast and lunch calories even and lower than the dinner / supper calories.

yarmiah

My Dad dying of cancer at age 64 and Mom dying of an aneurysm 3 months later, also age 64.
Not weight related but I knew I wanted to get healthy asap and not put my kids through losing parents too young.

natalie_journey

The scale and pictures! Ugh!

jhellwig828

I went to my dr for a basic appointment and when she took my blood pressure she was in shock. She said it was so high I was in stroke territory. That was it for me! At 32 years old I didn't want to be dependent on blood pressure meds for the rest of my life. She gave me 90 days to make lifestyle changes and see if it went down. I went back to that appointment 28 pounds lighter with completely normal blood pressure. All of my other panels were good too.

Adc7225

Several things one being a conversation with my Dr. where he was quite excited about that fact that in 15 or so years my weight had only flucuated about 12 pounds. I got his point from a medical standing, his argument was 'how many people do you know from high school that have only gained 12 pounds since high school!' Yeah! but I was only 130 in high school, been out more than 15 years. After having a really discussion about MY health (one not based on a chart plastered on the wall) we came up with a goal for me and though I didn't start right then, I knew when I was ready it would happen.

My best friend started going to the gym and I tagged along with him one day. joined the next day, started changing my eating habits and one day a co-worker said - try this app!

wcorinne

Being sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, photos (ugh!) and the scale motivated me to get off my butt (literally) and do something about it! One month in, I've lost almost 15 pounds, my clothes fit better, I look forward to getting up at 5am and going to Boot Camp class three mornings a week, no more indigestion or feeling bloated and defeated. I haven't felt this good in a long time.

lindanewland37

I have been obese my entire adult life but always pretty functional until my knees both gave out - no cartilage in either one and need a double knee replacement but the dr. won't do unless I lose at least 100 lbs. I gained more weight due to inactivity and felt worse and worse. When I started getting out of breath just getting dressed, I finally dragged myself to the doctor and found out all in the same week that I had extremely high blood pressure, diabetes and significant heart disease. That was about 8 months ago. I managed to lose 30 lbs in 2013 just by changing what I was eating. My blood sugar is normal now due to my dietary changes and my blood pressure is normal now with medication. My heart disease has improved with medication and my lifestyle changes. In 2013 I was focused on what I was eating and now I am refining that to how much I am eating. Like my profile said, I am not yet ready for the big dirt nap so change is the menu of the day.

Sxy_Mace

I'm another one who had a "photo" wake up call. My husband and I were at the grand opening of a bar with some friends and pictures were being taken of all the patrons. Needless to say when I found our picture on their Facebook page a week later, I about died. Something snapped in me finally and I realized that as a 28 year old woman, I had no business looking like that. My weight may have not been that horrendously high but on my 5'4" frame, weight is proportioned so I look probably 20-30 lbs heavier than I am, easily. From that night on, I vowed to change it and a year and a half later, I'm happy to say I am over 30 lbs down and most importantly am in a daily habit of working out, making more conscious food choices and have regained my body confidence that I haven't had in over a decade.

ajewellmom

Mine was a visit to the bariatric surgery clinic for an information session. Hearing how horrible that surgery would be and how I would be limited to 900 calories pre-surgery and MIGHT get to eat 1200 daily calories some day long in the future was enough for me to decide that was not the route I wanted to travel. I want to have the occasional beer and I LIKE drinking water with my meals. I am also terrible at remembering to take supplements and this would be a permanent thing post-surgery as well so here I am.

sentaruu

Mine came when my fiancé and partner for 6.5 years walked out on me out of the blue on January 5th 2014 to be with another man. I don't know that it was a much as a wake up call to lose weight, per say, but more of a kick in the rear for me to try to better myself in general. I really didn't pay attention to the weight loss until a week or so after of not eating when I decided I needed to make something positive come out of this all and started paying more attention to my health.

lisabinco

My wake-up call was in 2010 when I was hospitalized with pneumonia, had knee surgery, developed high (scary high) blood pressure, and was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I should not have been surprised. I had regained the 50 pounds I'd lost a few years earlier, plus 10 more. That extra weight had started to take it's toll. Diabetes and complications from high blood pressure are endemic in my family; my mother has been injecting insulin for several years now. I was determined not to succumb to the same fate. Through Weight Watchers (a previously successful program) and now with "Eat To Live," I have lost 50 of those pounds and am no longer on any medication whatsoever. Life is good again.

lisabinco

"If it's important you'll find a way. If it's not you'll find an excuse."

Great quote! Thanks.

DesDawn24

Mine was when my so-called "fat clothes" started to be tight on me... THAT is a really crappy feeling. Then I weighed myself, which I had avoided doing for about a year. I cried like a baby that day, and haven't looked back!

_HeartsOnFire_

I went to Ireland for 3 weeks. Realized what I wanted, though when I came back I tried going back to eating/drinking crap and my body rejected that. So it hit me that I was ready to change and my body was pushing me and encouraging me to do so.

MYhealthyjourney70

Oh I have many but the big was when I had to start wearing a CPAP machine when I sleep because I stop breathing when I sleep.
Other reasons are the expense of buying plus sized clothes and not being able to keep up with others when walking.

aquarabbit

Met a girl at the beach wearing the same bathing suit as me. I thought she was a little bit slimmer than me, but I also thought she was a bit taller and smaller chested. It wasn't until we met each other in the bathrooms and I caught a glimpse of the two of use in the mirror that I realized that her height and chest size about matched my own. But I was much larger than her. It made me really realize just how much weight I had put on. I finally faced the scale and I was one pound away from crossing over from overweight to obese. I realized I needed to change. So I did.

NatalieLJ

With me, I have a certain weight that I creep up to, and once I reach it I'm back on the healthy eating and exercise kick. I'm still in the 'healthy' range at this weight, the top end though, but I can feel the extra weight and I hate it.

foreverslim1111

:laugh: :laugh: :blushing:

Mustgetbuff

I had two moments that contributed to my wake-up call.

The first was that I went on a mountain bike ride with my family and new boyfriend on Thanksgiving. I ended up getting out ridden by an eight year old and I was furious at myself for being incapable of keeping up with the group, not to mention how embarrassed I was that my boyfriend was seeing me at my worst. At the end of the ride, I started making excuses, telling myself I was just a bit out of shape, that my bike wasn't as high tech as everyone else's, that the trail was too rough and sandy, etc.

The truth didn't really sink in until I went for a medical check-up two months later and saw 175lbs flashing at me on the scale. It was the heaviest I had ever been and I was so ashamed. I started turning my health around the next day.

credessa

When all the simple things now required grunts and groans....tying shoes, picking things up off the floor, etc...time to do something about that!

Vivh1765

I have been a yo-yo dieter for years. There have been many times when I vowed to 'diet for the last time'; 'change my attitude to food'; etc. etc. But every New Year, I would start a spreadsheet - and I have them all going back 6 years. I lose a stone over a few months, then in the next six months put it back on - and then put a bit more on towards the end of the year.

I looked at all the spreadsheets and realised I was several stone heavier than the last time I was really shocked by my weight. I would love to weigh now what I vowed was too heavy 4 years ago. I decided I could do something about it now - or in 2 years time look back at pictures of me now and wish I was 'this thin' - i.e. about to cross from overweight to obese.

Cakewalk25

I work in a job where I have to wear suits every day, and all my suits were fitting TIGHT after Christmas. I was in denial and didn't want to weigh myself, but I finally did and I had gained 10 pounds over the course of a month! It was a good wake up call as I had slid into some pretty unhealthy habits due to always having a good metabolism that never gained weight no matter what I ate.