What Was Your "Aha!" Moment

misserin122

Mine was when I got my wedding photos in May. Although I don't have too much to lose, this is still the heaviest I've ever been and I didn't like the way I looked in those photos. It finally clicked, so I joined MFP a couple weeks ago and I'm doing better than I have in the past 2 years!

baby_bokchoy

What Was Your "Aha!" Moment

I think it was back in 1985. Somewhere around that time frame.

Oh man, my kind of pun. Excellent!

tanyoshka

When I got winded teaching my cousin how to serve a volleyball. You shouldn't have to struggle to breath after swinging a single arm. Started jogging the next day and 6 weeks later ran a mile straight for the first time in my life.

jessieleah

"eat clean" for a few days before I got tried of it and binged on chocolate.

Reading this post as I eat chocolate right now! Haha. I can't give it up. 0:)

I don't honestly know what it was for me. I got serious about it a few months after my last break up, though. I'd lost 20 or so lbs about a year before that, then got into a relationship and gained it all back and then some. I'm not sure there was any real "aha!" moment this last time around. I just realized I really, seriously needed to do something about it because I didn't want to be overweight my entire life.

And here we are almost a year later! I still feel like I have a long way to go, but after counting calories for months, I've finally started trying to actually watch the kinds of foods I eat. Less carbs, more nutritious foods. And now I'm in a new, healthier relationship with a great guy who motivates me to work out. I'm now on month 2 of p90x thanks to his support when I've never followed an exercise regimen in my life before. I've never felt better.

BEquality

I have been wanting to eat better for a long time, but never really followed through on it. My weight has stopped me from doing a lot of things, but I still never really put in the effort that I wanted to. When I saw friends post about amazing healthy food, infused waters, great workouts, I envied them a bit and wished I could do that or be where they were in their fitness journey.

My biggest "Aha!" moment was last month, I think.

On June 12th, 2014, I was due to "walk" for my Certificate in Cosmetology. I'd bought my cap and gown at the end of May, but didn't try it on until the evening before "graduation". To my horror, I felt like I was trying to fit into a sausage casing or something. The gown was the right height for me, but did not fit at all... I don't know why it was so small (OSFM = average sized, I guess), but it sucked to not fit into it. After a bit of panic, I went into my college's bookstore the next morning, before graduation rehearsal. Luckily they had ONE "XL"-style gown left... it was for a shorter person, but it fit me so I was happy.

That happiness lasted until I saw the "professional" graduation pictures e-mailed to me a few days later. I felt horrible... the larger gown made me look so big and uncomfortable. (I should've also put makeup on, but I had opted not to. I'll explain.) (I'm considering buying a copy of those pics for "before" shots, but I might just stick with my at-home ones... I don't know.)

On Wednesday, June 18th, I started officially logging my food here on MFP; my first day of logging exercise was probably the next day or so. Unfortunately I did not weigh in that day due to not having a working scale, but I might not have been emotionally ready to weigh in yet anyway (due to high # numbers getting me depressed in the past). So I started my MFP stats on the guess that I weighed at least 350. A digital scale was purchased that weekend, and I weighed in on Monday, June 23rd. Not only had I overestimated my actual weight, but I overestimated it by a lot -- by 53 pounds to be exact! (Wow, I didn't know if I would ever say that on here.)

My goal is that by June 2015, when I am done with my units for my AS in Cosmetology and 3 other AAs, I will have lost enough weight to have to have my mom or a tailor help me take in my gown drastically. (I get to buy the hood and tassel for my degrees, too, but that's not relevant here.) I want to be fit and healthy... and THEN I will also have the inspiration to get dolled up. Since I have a certificate and a California license to be a cosmetologist, anyway! :P

My second major goal is that I will be able to finally join the military (US Army or Navy) like I have thought about and wanted to for years.


I could go on but I've already rambled on a lot here. Oops.

BEquality

(Holy crap, I really did type a lot. I'm sorry. )

Saramelie

My Aha! Moment was 3 weeks ago, laying in a hospital bed, with an IV in my arm and a heart monitor on my chest, thinking about my two amazing 2 and 4 years old needing their mommy and my husband asking me to do something before it is too late and that he fells like he will be a young widow...
Luckily, it was not a heart attack, and I don't want it to be, ever! I want to live long, healthy and happily, and be the best mom and wife that I can be.

Summer2k14

My "Aha" moment was when me, my boyfriend, my friend and her boyfriend went to shop for clothes for a school project. I also had to buy another outfit for a movie I was in (All She Wishes Jan 15, 2015 as the photographer..:) ). Anyways, me being the biggest of us 4, my boyfriend found a nice outfit for me, and I couldn't even get it over my legs. I ended up sweaty and heard a couple of stitches rip. He stormed out of the dressing room and became angry, complaining about how I am "too damn big" to fit it. They laughed, and he was pretty pissed for a good 10 minutes. Confidence: destroyed.

emkelsall

My aha moment came about 2 weeks after I quit smoking (after 25 years) . I took a deep breath...I mean a REALLY deep breath. I thought to myself, "been killing yourself for 25 years, bout time you started living!"

I started exercising and eating so much cleaner. I am healthier than I have ever been in my adult life!

beth0277

My 4 year old has started calling me fat. I realize he is a child and doesn't understand the gravity of his words (though I try to tell him how hurtful words can be) but I had an AHA moment when I realized, he is right. I am fat. Other people he describes as "fat" (it's a new thing he is doing) ARE fat. He will look at someone on tv and call them fat and he is right. So it's not as if he is using that word for anyone. I finally realized he is right and it's time to do something. It's one thing to think you need to lose weight but still look "okay" and a completely different thing to be told, blatantly, straight faced, without meaning to hurt feelings by a child. Definitely an AHA moment.

CAC911

My aha moment hasn't really been one particular moment, but many put together. My family has a long history of being over weight and many family members have type 2 diabetes. As if that wasn't enough of a kick in the butt, my best friend who used to be overweight in elementary school has just finished university to be a dietician. She has changed her outlook on life and now is very fit and healthy. In the past year I have been living on my own while attending University and have had on accountability for the food I have been eating. No one was there to watch me or judge my food choices, and along with being lonely I made very poor food choices. In the past year my mother, who has been overweight my entire life, has dropped over 40 lbs. She now fits in clothes I used to and her old clothes are now being passed on to me. I have stayed at the same weight for about the past 4 years (even though it was an unhealthy number I thought this was a good sign). In the past year I have gained about 10 lbs and no longer feel comfortable in anything I own and I am sick of being the "fat" one in the family. I have made my goal to be at the healthiest weight possible by my 23rd birthday (which is over a year away). I never want to deal with the struggle of type 2 diabetes and the other side effects of being overweight. I want to enjoy my life, have children, and be a healthy woman as I grow older. I do not want to stay at this weight and waste my life anymore!

mountainrun73

My "Aha" moment happened about a week and a half ago when a man at the gym asked if I was pregnant. Ugh!

kgotstyle

"eat clean" for a few days before I got tried of it and binged on chocolate.

Reading this post as I eat chocolate right now! Haha. I can't give it up. 0:)

I don't honestly know what it was for me. I got serious about it a few months after my last break up, though. I'd lost 20 or so lbs about a year before that, then got into a relationship and gained it all back and then some. I'm not sure there was any real "aha!" moment this last time around. I just realized I really, seriously needed to do something about it because I didn't want to be overweight my entire life.

And here we are almost a year later! I still feel like I have a long way to go, but after counting calories for months, I've finally started trying to actually watch the kinds of foods I eat. Less carbs, more nutritious foods. And now I'm in a new, healthier relationship with a great guy who motivates me to work out. I'm now on month 2 of p90x thanks to his support when I've never followed an exercise regimen in my life before. I've never felt better.

That's great. Glad you found a supportive partner and the "better eating" piece came in time. I'm hoping for the same:)

kgotstyle

My "Aha" moment was when me, my boyfriend, my friend and her boyfriend went to shop for clothes for a school project. I also had to buy another outfit for a movie I was in (All She Wishes Jan 15, 2015 as the photographer..:) ). Anyways, me being the biggest of us 4, my boyfriend found a nice outfit for me, and I couldn't even get it over my legs. I ended up sweaty and heard a couple of stitches rip. He stormed out of the dressing room and became angry, complaining about how I am "too damn big" to fit it. They laughed, and he was pretty pissed for a good 10 minutes. Confidence: destroyed.

I'm so sorry he was so rude to you. I hope you can find people who can support you better. You got this!

bciloveme2014

When the doctor put "obese" on my chart after a physical. Lost close to 80 pounds and got that off my record !!!!!

Same here. When the doctor told me that I was overweight because my BMI was 25, I was 14 pounds overweight.

Jennkies

I felt tired and bloated all day long. No energy to even chase my son around. I've lost 13 pounds in 6 weeks as I just did it an have stuck with it! Only 15 pounds and a lot of strength building to go!

EatingAndKnitting

Mine was seeing 300 pounds pop up on the scale at the doctor's office. I've never been that heavy before and I knew I had to do something. A week later I got my blood tests in and my A1C was 6.8 (6.5 and up means diabetes). The diagnosis wasn't a shock, because I knew I was fat and both my parents have the disease, but it still really motivated me to get serious. I'm getting more and more serious every day, I'm getting a food scale this week, have taken up exercise and am determined to get my diabetes under control.

I'm having a rough day today, but I won't quit!

I actually did lose 70 pounds on Weight Watchers many years ago, but I gained back all the weight, so here we go again. This is the last time I'm going to be this fat though.

Menix8

I've had a couple "Aha!" moments. The first was in regards to how out-of-shape and inactive I was. I was only 163 lbs, and at 5'10", that's a pretty average weight for a young female. But I couldn't run far, and I had very, very little muscle. I had just graduated college and hadn't yet found a job, so it seemed to be a perfect time to start working out. I had absolutely no excuse anymore, so I started the 30 Day Shred and have been exercising ever since. I now lift weights three times a week, run 10 miles a week, and just finished an epic four day hike through the Andes mountains (I NEVER would have been able to hike uphill for four days three years ago!)

About a year after my fitness revolution, a waitress took a picture of my boyfriend and I at our fancy anniversary dinner. I was mortified at the image; I looked so much bigger than he did! That was my second "Aha!" moment, when I realized that exercising wasn't enough, and I HAD to overhaul my diet if I wanted to look different. That was two years ago. I've since lost about +5% body fat, and gained maybe 10 lbs of muscle. Exercising is part of who I am now, and I make healthy food choices more often than not. I've made a lot of progress in three years, and often need to remind myself of where I started.

ddkphotos

last summer when I stopped fitting in my skin... literally felt like I couldn't fit anymore. let alone not fitting in my clothes... all time high of 225.5... not going back there!!!

smashy_smashy

In 2009 I was at what I thought was the heaviest I'd ever be, at 5'5" and 189. I didn't want to hit the 190+ mark, so I'd started working out, eating more sensibly and going on 3 mile runs, 3 nights a week. From the end of February 09 to about the fall of that year, I'd lost 34+ lbs and was feeling good and looking good around 155-152. I started a new relationship at that time, and the weight just crept back on.
I was back to 184 last summer, and was once again attempting to work out regularly, but that got derailed after some family health issues got me sidetracked.
My sister started using MFP recently and has lost 9 lbs in a month and a half. I wanted to be on a similar track, so I joined MFP too! I'm at my heaviest EVER now, at 204 and I'm absolutely fed up. I would catch glimpses of myself in mirrors or in reflections of windows while out and about and it really made me realize just how far I've fallen.
My goal is to get down to 160 and re-assess. Ideally I'd like to weigh 142 or so, that's what I weighed in high school when I mistakenly thought i was fat. I'd give anything to weigh that little right now! I'm on my way!