Remember the day you said enough is enough?????

lily1972

Love these posts! Some of them really made me teary!

My "enough is enough" moment came just after my husband logged in a profile for me on mfp at the end of Feb. this year, saying: "I really think you're going to like this application; you should try it!"... About three days later, we were visiting with my in-laws and my 14-year-old asked me to step on the scale before him "just for fun"... I was shocked to see that I was shorter and had a smaller frame, but was a couple of pounds heavier than him!!! I thought: "There's something totally wrong with this picture!" - especially considering that I thought I was looking pretty good, although I was often tired and out of breath and my clothes were tight again.

Then my "ah-ha!" moment came when I was looking at some success stories on mfp! Two people made me realise with their before/after pictures after having twins, that not only could I look good after having 5 pregnancies, but I can and will look fabulous!! (Domestica and 1fitmommaoftwins)

I want to thank everyone who knowingly or not have helped me on this journey: your stories, experience, pictures and motivation have been incredibly helpful! Lots of love! :flowerforyou:

JMJohnson1005

June 2010. We just moved into a new house and I was said enough is enough I am ready to be healthy!

wjkirby

Mine was back in March when I stepped on the scales at 251. I beat the 200 pound barrier once about a dozen years ago and even started running marathons. I got down to 168 pounds. Then knee trouble stopped my running for a lengthy time and I got lazy and gained...and gained. 200 pounds came again and went. When I stepped on that scale at 251 I had this thought come into my head. I am now half way to 300. Well no freakin' way! I set my goals to get back to running and I'm now down to 224. I'll beat the 200 pound barrier again and this time I plan to stay under it!

disappearingact206

11/17/2010 ...after being asked by Southwest Airlines if I was going to fit into the chair!!! ugh how rude, but I thank them now!!!

kunibob

January 2008, when I stepped on the scale at the gym, thinking I'd gained about 10 lb, and saw that I had gained 40. That was a rude awakening!

More recently: early May, when I finally got a working scale and saw that I was 12 lb over my maintenance weight, when I had been aiming for +/-5. Oops! Decided to take a bit more off this time, too.

skinnyrache

This last Saturday when I went to go try on some summer shorts and capris, and none of the size I had selected (which was already bigger than I wanted to be) would fit! I refused to even try on a larger size and vowed then and there that things would change. For the last several weeks I've felt sluggish and fatigued, and I knew it was because I was being way too lax with my diet. I never considered myself to be a poor eater, but I have been too generous with my portions and done way too much rationalizing when it comes to desserts. Plus, I've been way too lazy in my workouts, stopping when it became uncomfortable. The fitting room experience was enough to put me over the top and commit to a healthier lifestyle. From here on out I am going to do what it takes to feel confident in my own skin again!

fuego84

After the new year this year I new I had put on a lot of weight over the past year and a half so I started eating a little healthier but didn't do a whole lot in the exercise department. My true awakening was this past Sunday, June 5th. Horses have been a huge part of my life for almost 10 years now and last year I moved away from my horses and became very sedentary. It's been two years since I've been able to ride for one reason or another, nothing ever physically keeping me from doing it. This Sunday I went to ride my horse after two years and I couldn't get on, not even with the help of a mounting block and my fiance trying to push me up. I completely lost it in the middle of the arena. This was something I LOVED to do and I wasn't able to get on. I eventually did get on by climbing the fence but that was a huge awakening experience. I am more motivated now than ever to get my act together! I absolutely, positively cannot go on living how I have been.

lloydrt

at the Drs office , 2010, I think it was Jan, and saw where my triglicirides were at 100, ...........diabetes starts at 110 ,so that was my wake up call
Im now 140 lbs lighter and have triglicirides of 81 , and continue to drop weight and tri count........Best decision of my life. I added years to my life...........

the_chad

May 9, 2011 - Two and a half years after being diagnosed as diabetic, I lost partial vision in my right eye. They said optic nerve stroke. To help prevent it happening in the other eye, I have to lose weight, control my blood pressure, watch the sodium and sugar, plus I stopped smoking cold turkey on May 9. If I had 'been good' and followed my doctor's advice since 2008, I would be in better shape and the eye would probably be okay. That was my 'I better do something now' moment at the age of 39.

Many thanks to my friend and workout partner Cris. She stuck with me through the good and bad and is a bottomless source of encouragement... whether I want it or not.

crystlgrn

July 2010. Had to do the walk of shame at an amusement park because they couldn't get the shoulder harness buckled. I love amusement parks. I decided that I wasn't going to let my weight stop me from doing what I love any longer.

annalobdell

Mine was December 6 2010. My 8 year old son was at the doctors getting his yearly check up when I decided to jump on the scale just for ****s and giggles. My youngest at the time was just a few days over 1 and I figured maybe 300 pounds. Imagine my disgust when I saw the number 343. WHAT! When did I get that big? When I had left the hospital a little over a year earlier I had weighed in at 290. I used to always say that I never understood why I was so fat. I didn't barely eat. At the urging of a counselor I began to track all the food I put into my mouth and realized exactly why I was so fat. I was, without even really being aware of it, consuming more than 3,000 calories+ daily. I often skipped breakfast and lunch, but would spend all afternoon and evening bingeing. I have since come to realize that I turn to comfort in times of high stress. I joined in January and I have gone up and down because of different reasons, but now I am serious about sticking to this. I can do this and so can you. Thank you for sharing your stories, they are truly inspirational.

hmiller2011

3/12/11 : The day i gave birth to my daughter I was OVER 200 pounds...the heaviest I've ever been in my life!

PurpleCoookie

Last Month, I was shopping with my roommate and it was really hard to find clothes for my size. She picked out some clothes and looked so cute in them while I looked like a blob in mine. I'm fed up being the fat friend I want to try on clothes and dance in them in the mirror instead of throwing them back on the hanger. She always told me you're not that big stop freaking out and I always thought yes I am!

dia77

like,like,like!!!

BettyMargaret

Mine was when I couldn't fit in the seat at the movie theater! That was embarrassing! Thank goodness it was DARK in there! I was 297 in all my glory! Feel free to add me! I'm game!

BettyMargaret

For as long as I can remember I have been overweight; morbidly obese to be exact. I can remember seeing those words on a doctors report in '88, when sent to Halifax when I was pregnant for my daughter; seeing that word was a shock to me, obese was bad enough, but seeing "morbidly" attatched was an OMG. You would think that would have been a wake up call I needed, but no.

In '88 my daughter passed away from SIDS. With numerous failed attempts with diets over the years, my bad habits and emotional eating continued. The secret of how much I weighed to family and friends was kept, and at times even a secret from myself. When one doesn't fit into store bought clothes or can get on a normal scale, you build a life of hiding, avoid it, therefore the problem doesn't exist.

I ended in the hospital with a ruptured appendix that nearly killed me, (I was 445 lbs then) and subsequesnt appendectomy later in the fall of '86. It was late that fall that my brother told my mother how much I weighed, he had heard it (as well as other stories the surgeon boasted of) around the supper table at his friends house. The friend's mom was a surgical nurse in the OR where I had had my surgery. I wrote the hospital, and never heard anything back. My faith in doctors needless to say diminished.

In "92 I was rushed into emergency surgery for what they thought an incarcerated hernia, but when opened up, found a very large abcess, which remained open to heal. I was in the hospital 10 weeks... then my father passed away and I then was let out and went back to emerge daily for dressing changes. Still had a hernia. I had lost some weight in the following year...but as always gained what I had lost and then some.

In September of 2009 I reached my biggest. The exact weight I am not sure, but looking back I would have to say I was at least 550 pounds, if not more. Being laid off in January and having been in emergency the day before with pain due to the hernia; it was revealed that my gut was fully outside my abdominal wall. The doctor had told me that if I was to be rushed into emerge with a perforation, they would be able to open me up but not close me. So elective surgery was a must and he would put a referral into Dr Klassin in Halifax to see me. My health was in bad need of a turn around. I went home, got on my diabetic diet, watched my bloodsugars, took my insulin, and then after a month of not hearing anything I called the doctors office. I inquired of the referral, of which I got the run around, and in throwing a fit finally got a response that they would call Dr Klassins office for I wasn't allowed. I never heard back. and being fed up, gave up and began to eat whatever i wanted once again.

On Sept 25th 2009 my life changed. A wake up call on health issues that will forever be burned in my memory. My husband of 25 years was diagnosed with High Blood pressure, High Cholesterol, Diabetes and Penile cancer. He had an immediate amputation. Lymphadenectomy followed, he then had a heart attack, went into cardiac arrest, paddled back, heart cath/stent put in, genital edema, subsequent surgury for what they thought a perineal abcess but found to be a reoccurring tumor of the kind before and had mestates in the lungs. Curtis passed away July 14th, 2010.

In helping Curtis get his diet on track, diabetes & cholesterol controlled, I too hopped on the band wagon and have been on ever since. Eventhough I have had my moments, they are short lived for I am determined to keep this path I am on to a heathier me. In September '09 I was on 90 units of insulin in the am and 80 units at night. Today I am on 22 units in the am and 11 units at night, and am fitting into 3x clothes I can buy in a store!

I started seeing the doctor regularly the end of July, in which she got me into see Doctor Dzierzanowski who referred me to Dr Ellsmere.

Finally on Tuesday Feb 22nd I received a call from Dr.Ellsmere's office on Feb 24th.

Dr. Ellsmere said he would put me on the Weight Loss Program, and once 30 pounds down (was weighed in at 430lbs) I would have the first surgery so to lose weight. Then once down to 250 I would have a hernia repair. He said in two years I will have this fixed. I was to get the website url and read all I could, and Diane would call me with the date.

Well since then I have lost the 30 lbs the Dr wanted...and more. I am off blood pressure meds. Have done my 3 week trial liquid diet.. I walk daily and follow the plan. I have my first appointment with the Weight loss team next week.

It's been a rough few years and although my husband is no longer able to walk this journey of healthiness with me..i walk alone and will continue with it. .. Ive lost 175 pounds (if not more) so far and I will continue on this road to healthiness.

Your strength is astounding, your losses are so great, still you continue on. I'm so sorry for your losses. I'd be happy to walk along side of you.

CommittohealthCHANGED

It was january 2010 in the doctor office. I was getting my results from my yearly check up. The doctor stated he needed to do more test because my test was abnormal. I also discovered I'm a anemia and was sent home with iron pills and a new apointment date. Well I didn't return to the doctor office until november 2010 weighing in 42 pounds lighter. I was determine not to have a big pill box fill with pills to take. Oh yeah I never took the iron pills just incoperated more green veggies in my meals. Well my second test was great results. I didn't need iron pills, cholesterol, and blood work was normal. I still take a low dose blood pressure pills, but Hell if that is the onlt meds I have to take I can deal with only one med. Everytime I see my doctor he states how proud he is that I lost the weight.

withchaco

What a great thread, filled with inspiring stories, page after page. In Korea, they say that when you get started, you have already won half the battle... Reading about how we all got started is just as inspiring as the more conventional success stories.

unsuspectingfish

I can't remember the exact day, but it was shortly before I found and joined MFP, which was May 1st (funny how that worked out). I went into 2011 intending to get healthy, but that sort of fell by the wayside. I kept getting sick, which is rare for me, and I wasn't getting better. I was using my inhaler a lot more often that I used to. That was about when one of my fellow overweight coworkers was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I thought to myself: yeah, NOT gonna happen. I went home that night and started making up a diet plan, then I bought a whole bunch of fruits and veggies the next day. I found MFP shortly thereafter. I haven't gotten sick since then, and I've been feeling progressively better as a whole. Also, I've only had to use my inhaler ONCE in the past month and a half.

pinkgigi

wow you are all so inspiring.

nsblue I have so much awe and admiration for you, yours is just such a story of inspiration and hope.

My wake-up call was a few months after my husband died. I knew I was unfit and fat, and had a fitness test for a personal trainer, and found out I had terrible blood pressure. I got really fit and lost 22 kgs, but put 1/2 of it back on last year when my son had cancer.

This year I realised I had put on 4 kgs in 2 months and I didn't want to be fat for my son's 21st birthday. I lost 6 kgs in 6 weeks, and am continuing to try to get back down to my goal weight, now hopefully for my 50th birthday in September.

Love and hugs to all

GG

aybee77

My most recent turning point was December 2010. We had our company Christmas party. While we were eating they showed pictures of us in team morale events for the year. I saw the pictures of myself and felt that I looked huge.

ljb82

For as long as I can remember I have been overweight; morbidly obese to be exact. I can remember seeing those words on a doctors report in '88, when sent to Halifax when I was pregnant for my daughter; seeing that word was a shock to me, obese was bad enough, but seeing "morbidly" attatched was an OMG. You would think that would have been a wake up call I needed, but no.

In '88 my daughter passed away from SIDS. With numerous failed attempts with diets over the years, my bad habits and emotional eating continued. The secret of how much I weighed to family and friends was kept, and at times even a secret from myself. When one doesn't fit into store bought clothes or can get on a normal scale, you build a life of hiding, avoid it, therefore the problem doesn't exist.

I ended in the hospital with a ruptured appendix that nearly killed me, (I was 445 lbs then) and subsequesnt appendectomy later in the fall of '86. It was late that fall that my brother told my mother how much I weighed, he had heard it (as well as other stories the surgeon boasted of) around the supper table at his friends house. The friend's mom was a surgical nurse in the OR where I had had my surgery. I wrote the hospital, and never heard anything back. My faith in doctors needless to say diminished.

In "92 I was rushed into emergency surgery for what they thought an incarcerated hernia, but when opened up, found a very large abcess, which remained open to heal. I was in the hospital 10 weeks... then my father passed away and I then was let out and went back to emerge daily for dressing changes. Still had a hernia. I had lost some weight in the following year...but as always gained what I had lost and then some.

In September of 2009 I reached my biggest. The exact weight I am not sure, but looking back I would have to say I was at least 550 pounds, if not more. Being laid off in January and having been in emergency the day before with pain due to the hernia; it was revealed that my gut was fully outside my abdominal wall. The doctor had told me that if I was to be rushed into emerge with a perforation, they would be able to open me up but not close me. So elective surgery was a must and he would put a referral into Dr Klassin in Halifax to see me. My health was in bad need of a turn around. I went home, got on my diabetic diet, watched my bloodsugars, took my insulin, and then after a month of not hearing anything I called the doctors office. I inquired of the referral, of which I got the run around, and in throwing a fit finally got a response that they would call Dr Klassins office for I wasn't allowed. I never heard back. and being fed up, gave up and began to eat whatever i wanted once again.

On Sept 25th 2009 my life changed. A wake up call on health issues that will forever be burned in my memory. My husband of 25 years was diagnosed with High Blood pressure, High Cholesterol, Diabetes and Penile cancer. He had an immediate amputation. Lymphadenectomy followed, he then had a heart attack, went into cardiac arrest, paddled back, heart cath/stent put in, genital edema, subsequent surgury for what they thought a perineal abcess but found to be a reoccurring tumor of the kind before and had mestates in the lungs. Curtis passed away July 14th, 2010.

In helping Curtis get his diet on track, diabetes & cholesterol controlled, I too hopped on the band wagon and have been on ever since. Eventhough I have had my moments, they are short lived for I am determined to keep this path I am on to a heathier me. In September '09 I was on 90 units of insulin in the am and 80 units at night. Today I am on 22 units in the am and 11 units at night, and am fitting into 3x clothes I can buy in a store!

I started seeing the doctor regularly the end of July, in which she got me into see Doctor Dzierzanowski who referred me to Dr Ellsmere.

Finally on Tuesday Feb 22nd I received a call from Dr.Ellsmere's office on Feb 24th.

Dr. Ellsmere said he would put me on the Weight Loss Program, and once 30 pounds down (was weighed in at 430lbs) I would have the first surgery so to lose weight. Then once down to 250 I would have a hernia repair. He said in two years I will have this fixed. I was to get the website url and read all I could, and Diane would call me with the date.

Well since then I have lost the 30 lbs the Dr wanted...and more. I am off blood pressure meds. Have done my 3 week trial liquid diet.. I walk daily and follow the plan. I have my first appointment with the Weight loss team next week.

It's been a rough few years and although my husband is no longer able to walk this journey of healthiness with me..i walk alone and will continue with it. .. Ive lost 175 pounds (if not more) so far and I will continue on this road to healthiness.

Wow! Reading your story is both inspirational and heartbreaking. Sorry to hear of your losses and challenges with weight. Just stay focused on what you have already accomplished (which is alot!!). and you will reach your goals.

rockonerin

I don't remember my exact date but I will never forget the moment - sitting in my living room with my boyfriend, his best friend, his best friend's girlfriend and a bunch of other male friends. The friend's girlfriend was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but just as DUMB as a box of rocks! Everything was "Oh my gawdddd-a!" and "WOW!! Me tooooo-a!". The other male friends were MESMERIZED. The fact that she had nothing to add to the conversation but a toss of her hair or a giggle was apparently of no concern.

I sat there and thought "Damn, if this hot, stupid b*tch can get so much attention, think of what I can do being smart AND beautiful."

iHEARTcardiacnurses

May 27th, 2011 I realized that it had been five years since I was raped and was finally healing enough to be able to look myself in the eyes in the mirror. I spent five years feeling less than human. Fast Forward to September 22rd, 2011. I had done every diet that was available aside from surgery (Atkins, South Beach, WW, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Grapefruit, Cabbage Soup, etc etc). It was the day before my birthday and I sent that *kitten* who hurt me to prison. September 23rd, 2011 I turned 23 and I told myself that if I didn't lose the weight that was my shield against that *kitten*, then I'd get gastric bypass. I'm scared of surgery so I started September 27th 2011 and here I am Winning myself back with every pound.

speedycakes

2005 I'm not sure the exact date. I was 15 years old 5'8 and just hit 180 pounds. I had to change something before i entered the 200 realm. I got down to 135 in 2 years, could have been faster but I didn't try that hard. Now back up to 150 after a recent move looking to lose just a bit more.

rockonerin

May 27th, 2011 I realized that it had been five years since I was raped and was finally healing enough to be able to look myself in the eyes in the mirror. I spent five years feeling less than human. Fast Forward to September 22rd, 2011. I had done every diet that was available aside from surgery (Atkins, South Beach, WW, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Grapefruit, Cabbage Soup, etc etc). It was the day before my birthday and I sent that *kitten* who hurt me to prison. September 23rd, 2011 I turned 23 and I told myself that if I didn't lose the weight that was my shield against that *kitten*, then I'd get gastric bypass. I'm scared of surgery so I started September 27th 2011 and here I am Winning myself back with every pound.

Wow, incredible story. Congratulations on your personal successes and seeking justice!!

StaceG1986

The end of January 2010, looking at old/recent pictures of me and just feeling disgusted, and from getting out of breath even just moving about in the bath! Disgusting! :noway:

I joined here on the 29th Jan 2010!

kagenw

10/12/2011

My wife had just finished her weight loss kick and was feeling really good...at least enough to hold a mini intervention between the two of us. I have struggled with a bulging waistline for more than 6 years and knew I had to lose weight, but wasn't entirely ready to do it wholeheartedly.
For some reason, this time I actually decided to make the change. With the back pain i'd been feeling for months, the threat of Diabetes, and the lethargy I'd been feeling, it wasn't hard to make the decision. So, knowing that I needed to make a change in my diet to be able to make a difference, I asked a coworker to tell me of a website where I could track the amount of calories I was eating. Well, long story short, I found MFP and got so much more than a diet log. This site has probably had the biggest effect on my weight loss than anything else I've ever done. I'm now at a weight level than I haven't been at for nearly 6 years.

NJBialek

4th June 2011 I weighed 20 stone (280 pounds). I felt ill, couldn't sleep comfortably, suffering from aches and pains attributed to being overweight. Six months on I weigh 14 stone 10 pounds (206 pounds) and feel a lot better.

SmallerBecky

I don't have a specific day. I have been up and down the same 15 lbs in the past six years and 15 more than that for another four or five years before. A lot of people would never call me "overweight" and compared to the people around me, I was always "the skinny one" so I kind of skated through for a long time. I actually thought I looked pretty good most of the time. And I have always had spurts where I would be very active and conscious of being fit and then periods of 3-6 months where I would slack off or had a lot going on, stressing me out. The timeS that got to me were when I would see a particularly bad angle of myself in the car's side mirror (my belly and arms) or when trying to get dressed for a nicer occasion. I've REALLY hated buying clothes for the past two years! So I've mostly just worn the same old T-shirts and jeans for a long time, especially since I don't work outside the home. I've just hated getting dressed. The love handles, the flab on the arms...I just about started crying in some fitting rooms and left without buying anything. This summer I finally went to the beach a lot after having two little ones and not going for about four or five summers in a row, and I was completely disgusted trying to find a swimsuit that fit. I wouldn't even wear a suit to the lakes nearby; I sat on the grass wearing clothes and watched my kids play in the water. I would only wear a suit and get in the water at the BIG lake (Lake Michigan) because people could spread out far enough from each other there and I felt I no one could get a really good look at me...and if they did, who cares because they were most likely people I did not know, since I was far enough from home!

To be honest, I think the only difference this time, what will make it stick, is that I'm finally done having kids and they are easier to care for (more independent) and my teen daughter has stopped getting into so much trouble. It's the circumstances. Yes, I can honestly say that what fouled me up every time before was that I let obstacles get in my way. I got absorbed in the problems that were going on around me. I would be lying if I said that if something very time and attention-consuming came up, I wouldn't start to slip. I think that is a very big issue with moms especially. We are just geared towards taking care of everyone else first. In fact, it's sad, but how many of us look at a mother who is fit and wonder how much of her children's attention is being sacrificed for her to look that way? It's still something I struggle with. I have to remind myself often that a fit, healthy mom is much better for her kids than a mom who is always tired and crabby and depressed from not being her best physically. Besides, I work out when my younger two are sleeping and my older two are doing their own things (iPods, hanging out at friends' houses, playing on the computer, watching movies). It's one hour a day, and they don't even miss me!

I think the final straw in really committing to this, this time, though, was that over the past year I have thought more and more about how much better everyone COULD be in every aspect of their lives. I have been disappointed in the people around me for various reasons, and I realized that the ONLY thing I could do about it all was to make sure I do MY best and set a good example! I'm not just trying to get down to "X lbs." I am eating what my body needs to function and perform a good workout and stay mentally sharp, I'm exercising to a degree that makes me sleep and feel better every day and keeps me from catching all the germs around me, and I'm feeling happy about my accomplishments!

Sorry for the book! LOL