The moment it clicked...

MissTizz

Hi everyone - I was wondering if some people wouldn't mind sharing the stories about the moments in life where you just knew you had to make a change! Some might be positive and some might be negative- but I'm just curious about what it took to get everyone started on their goals! I'm having a horrible time quitting the excuses and doing the hard work!!!
Thanks!

staceyo1211

For me this journey started off as a bet at work. I knew I was overweight, but just didnt have the modivation to do anything about it. One day at work several girls was wanting to try HCG drops. All I read about those drops it didnt seem safe to me so I told them to do the drops and I was gonna do it the right way, diet and exercise. Im very competitive so that is when my modivation kicked in. As of today I have lost 24 pounds and the others havent lost any. One girl gained 10 pounds. Im so proud of where I am today and so glad that I started this journey.

greeneyed84

My last pregnancy was my eye opener. I went up to 199lbs and had to be induced b'c of hypertention. I lost almost all of my baby weight within a couple of months after birth, except for 7lbs. I tried several diets, only lost a few lbs, gained them right back. Then friends told me about MFP. I joined and I LOVE it! I don't have to starve or deprive myself anymore to lose weight! I am working on getting my BP down, it lies in my family & I really don't wanna follow.my grandma's & mother's footsteps

gnalani

This is going to sound SO CHEESY, but my best friend and I had a movie night and were powering through an oreo pie. I was at my absolute heaviest and didn't feel great about it, but it wasn't even a thought in my mind that maybe I should go on a diet and lose the weight. We were watching a musical and the actress spun around during a dance number when it clicked. My friend and I must have rewound and played that spin a hundred times. We kept saying, "Look! Nothing moves on her! Nothing jiggles!" LOL. We tried spinning and I remember feeling like the hippo ballerina on Fantasia. Something in me wanted to be elegant, graceful, and thin like the actress and I think for the first time I also truly realized how obese I was compared to her.

ahartery9891

Hmm. Well there were numerous things that came into play and kicked me all at once.

1) I started getting winded after climbing the stairs at school. 2 flights of stairs, carrying a pile of equipment, and I had to take a break at the top. I didn't understand what was going on, but I just felt there was nothing I could do. Between going to school and work, I didn't have time to work out.

2) I saw myself on-camera for a story I had to do. I was wearing this purple shirt and all you could see was lovehandles and horrible skin. I remember that day, where I only had a couple hours of sleep. I think I was at 214... the heaviest I had ever been.

3) I was stressed out and tired constantly. I bickered with people, and was in a terrible mood all the time. I saw a couple friends that were going to the gym and just thought I didn't have the time.

4) The final nail in the coffin? Seeing myself in a bikini a couple summers back and thinking "When did I get THIS big?"

After finishing school and figuring out where I was going to be, I decided I wanted to join the gym with my friend Stacy. I thought it was great, but I noticed that she only wanted to go once or twice a week. I started running at home and going to the gym more than she was.

Now, I'm 189 and still pushing to get back to 180 You can do this!! Your body wll start to crave exercise eventually, and you will want to push yourself further

ninyagwa

I had a similar story as one already up here. I heard about a work challenge that another group was doing, and asked some co-workers if they'd be interested in starting one, so we did, I won that one. Then I went on vacation, and gained 13 lbs back, and when I came back I decided to join another weight loss challenge, I didn't win because some people on the challenge were already really thin and lost a bunch of weight (unhealthily, one girl passed out at work because she'd been running every day and only eating yogurt). I do really well though, and I've been chugging along ever since.

tap1964

I see you're 23. Let me tell you about my struggle with weight. When I was in High School I was able to eat everything and only weighed 165 lbs, was very active and burned every calorie. Then my life started. Married with 3 daughters and a job. Still thought I was active keeping up with my kids, but did slow down, including my job that included sitting for several hours a day. The weight was easy to put on, didn't help that I love to cook and eat. I told myself that I would get busy and start to lose the pounds sometime in the future. Life keeps getting in the way, there is always an excuse, celebrating this that or the other thing. Daughters got married, the last one moved out last year. I finally made up my mind to do something about it when my wife and I decided to take a trip of a lifetime for us, a cruise on the Rhine River. The problem, it's harder then ever, there are more aches and pains that don't tend to go away. I'm 46 years old, twice your age, wishing I was young again and had the energy that I wasted partying, eating and being lazy. I told myself that I would never weigh 250, I started tracking my food and exercising when I reached 255. I have lost 23 lbs, so far, still have a lot to go. I have found along with a friend that it is just a lifestyle change of eating habits, you don't have to kill yourself with exercise, just track your calorie intake and increase your activities. Start now, you'll enjoy life the best you you can be, don't put anything off. Start making good choices with food and live your life to the fullest. I had to give up several things in my life because of the weight that broke my body down. You can't get back the lost time. I hope this motivates you a little bit.

nikki8marie

There were two moments for me. The first one was when I was watching the Biggest Loser (love that show!) and this girl was told she was pre-diabetes and she was about my size. It really hit home. I didn't want to get sick when it was something I could prevent. The final straw was when I weighed in the 270s. I realized that I was 30 pounds away from 300! I was so upset that I think I cried most of the night. The next day I started making changes. It's been slow and I stumbled a bit near the holidays but I never want to see those numbers on the scale again.

time2runnn

When I found a bunch of Weight Watcher journals in the closet and noticed every. single. time. I gave up I gained 15+ lbs than the journal before. I am right now at the weight I was in an August 2005 journal!! Who knew the next year I would weigh 322 after giving birth to my 2nd child and then for years fight just to stay under 300? That's when I realize I needed to do something for real as so many "Monday I will go a on a diet" had come and gone again and AGAIN.

Tambalina

When my sister in law (who always weighed about 80 lbs more than me) and I went shopping, and she was trying on smaller sizes then me!!! That's when it hit me. I thought, "When did THAT happen!?" The next day I made a change, started to eat better and started exercising daily. I've only been at it for a couple weeks but have already lost 10 lbs - doing it "the right way" - not starving myself - and actually trying to get healthy, not just skinny!

Kat120285

My profile says it all.

The highest my weight has been is close to 140 at 5 ft 2 and a half inches. Granted to most everyone this is nothing. For me it was a lot, especially since my upbringing for the most part, had been about healthy food.

My family has a pretty rough history of health problems and that has and always will drive me to be healthy.

pouringraina

It clicked when I finally realized that me hating what I look like isn't going to change it. I had to take action if anything was going to change.

appleofmyeye

My profile says it all.

The highest my weight has been is close to 140 at 5 ft 2 and a half inches. Granted to most everyone this is nothing. For me it was a lot, especially since my upbringing for the most part, had been about healthy food.

My family has a pretty rough history of health problems and that has and always will drive me to be healthy.

I am 5'2" and was close to 140 at my heaviest, too--it's definitely not "nothing" when you've been small/fit/healthy all your life! Petite people show weight gain much faster than taller people. I know that my extra 25lbs translated into four whole dress sizes, where on a taller gal it might only amount to one or two.

My turning point was when a student put his hand on my belly and asked if I was going to have a baby. In my head, I thought, "Hell, no! I will NOT be mistaken for a pregnant woman!" So I joined MFP.

Beastiephile

Mine is something really simple, but really eye-opening! After hating what I saw in the mirror for so long, feeling worthless when the clothes I want to wear don't fit me, and complaining that everyone around me is thinner, prettier, better than me, etc....it suddenly hit me: I can do something about it! Lol, that's when I was like, why am I living this miserable life when I can change the way I look? I can change how I eat, I can be healthy.

There's no reason anyone has to live that way, you just have to DO something about it. If you don't, nothing will ever change.

DonnaJones7

You are so right! I'm also in my 40's and it is HARD to be motivated. It's HARD to do the right thing. But it has to be done.

Jentrin03

For me the click was when I turned 27 and realized I wasn't far from 30. I want to be healthy before I reach 30 and I now it isn't gonna happen over a few months so I figured I start now so when I hit 30 I'll have all the right habits.

You can do it!!! Good luck and we're all here for you.

X_C_X

For me it was when i had a misscarriage back in Dec of last year, ive always struggled with my weight, food and i have a very emotional relasionshipi was happy getting married even tho i was big but i still feel happy with some of my wedding photos, but when i get to thinking and think about the what if's and what did i do, i start thinking that maybe i had the mc because of my weight, i am at my heaviest now and have had 2 very perfectly healthly children, so thats my motivation behind it all! I'm happy with fat pictures as long as they dont end up on facebook lol!

get_it_gone2012

My friends decided that when we had treats, and some were left over, that I could eat it because I was bigger, so I obviously wasn't full yet (not intentionally, they're great people, it was just what happened).
And being the only one who doesn't get hit on when we go out. Made me realize that, yes, I really had gotten that bad.

LOVEthighSELF

I see you're 23. Let me tell you about my struggle with weight. When I was in High School I was able to eat everything and only weighed 165 lbs, was very active and burned every calorie. Then my life started. Married with 3 daughters and a job. Still thought I was active keeping up with my kids, but did slow down, including my job that included sitting for several hours a day. The weight was easy to put on, didn't help that I love to cook and eat. I told myself that I would get busy and start to lose the pounds sometime in the future. Life keeps getting in the way, there is always an excuse, celebrating this that or the other thing. Daughters got married, the last one moved out last year. I finally made up my mind to do something about it when my wife and I decided to take a trip of a lifetime for us, a cruise on the Rhine River. The problem, it's harder then ever, there are more aches and pains that don't tend to go away. I'm 46 years old, twice your age, wishing I was young again and had the energy that I wasted partying, eating and being lazy. I told myself that I would never weigh 250, I started tracking my food and exercising when I reached 255. I have lost 23 lbs, so far, still have a lot to go. I have found along with a friend that it is just a lifestyle change of eating habits, you don't have to kill yourself with exercise, just track your calorie intake and increase your activities. Start now, you'll enjoy life the best you you can be, don't put anything off. Start making good choices with food and live your life to the fullest. I had to give up several things in my life because of the weight that broke my body down. You can't get back the lost time. I hope this motivates you a little bit.

very moving story!!!!!!!!

djthom

My life has been spinning out of control and the enormous stress of it had started causing me to have chest pains & heart palpations more & more often. I have 4 wonderful kids that totally depend on me, I knew things had to change. I decided it was time to take charge of the things in my life I had control of, like my health. I started making little healthy changes in the way I eat. Then I started walking. I have always found walking to be the best stress controller there is. I've been at this for almost 2 months, and I feel so much stronger already! I have learned while you may not be able to control some of the crap life throws at you, you can control how you react to it. Sittin on my butt crying or shoving junk food in my mouth was not going to fix anything, it was just making it worse. Life's what you make it and at 50 it's time I start living life on MY terms!

dengarrett

Lots of events that led from from one to another, but one signficant moment was when I about blacked out in a store due to irregular heart beat. I had ignored my health for too long.