Your "Aha!" moment

kwrecks

I am beginning to think the reason why this whole thing is so difficult for me, is because I haven't had that moment that a lot of people have, where they say "I saw this picture of me, and I just knew I had to change!" or "I went to the doctor and saw the scale, and something just changed in me where I knew I had to do this!". I know I'm a big girl, and I know I need to lose the weight....but often, I don't know how to stop my cravings long enough to stick to my plan.

What was your "aha!" moment, and if you didn't have one, how do you stay motivate??

UponThisRock

Someone commented how small I was in an old photo.

lisy28

Seeing a picture of my self and being liek WTF i let me self go - i was literally DISGUSTED in my self

not a good thing to be

sdwelk11

stepping on the scale one day when i was at my heaviest. I stopped the cravings by drinking lots of water and i eat every 4 hours 4 times a day and stay under 400 calories each time

Helloitsdan

I met a guy who was 2 years younger than me buying banquet frozen dinners.
He looked 6mos preggo and i thought he was in his 50s.
Thats when I decided to loose weight and GET IN SHAPE!

HannahMarieMcDougald

When I got worried about being 28 years old and may be having to take blood pressure meds...I don't want pressure meds!

Elzecat

last February I was talking with a friend who is about 10 years older than me...I was complimenting how she looked in a particular outfit...she commented that she had started running, quit smoking, and dropped 30 pounds. I was really inspired by her efforts, and got on the treadmill that night...for the first time in years. I don't know why it took me 10 years of being overweight to get to my aha moment--I grew up fit and skinny, although I didn't have to work that hard at it. Now I do.

Added incentive: went to the doctor for women's annual exam today, and was HAPPY about being weighed for a change! LOL

mlbanks

I sat down in a desk at the school I work in, and it was an uncomfortable fit. I decided that if it's to the point where my weight is making me uncomfortable, it's time for a change

paulaGetshealthy

It took me about 6 months of waking up every day and feeling disgusted with myself. One morning I just said to myself "it ends now." I got up, hopped on the treadmill, and haven't looked back

mgmlap

...I went to a new doctor..who finally diagnosed me properly..it was awesome to know that the issues I was having werent all me..and the fact that my husband keeps a photo of me which is 15 yrs old....and he loves that photo...

AggieCass09

its not so much an ah! moment for me, its more of WHY i want to reach my goals (getting stronger and running faster)...i make collages to keep me motivated and i set numerical goals with deadlines that keep me focused.

no excuses, just do the work!

happymiche

I heard someone refer to their unhealthy lifestyle as a "slow suicide" and they were not going to let that happen. I realized that by eating so much and being so inactive, I, too was committing a slow suicide. I realized my life was worth living and I WANTED to live, not let the food control my destiny. But listen...sometimes you don't need an "aha" moment....losing weight is never easy, whether you had that moment or not. Take it one day at a time...you've already decided you are going to do this...time will pass anyway, why not make the most of it and change your life? Best wishes!

paulaGetshealthy

It took me about 6 months of waking up every day and feeling disgusted with myself. One morning I just said to myself "it ends now." I got up, hopped on the treadmill, and haven't looked back

Ephena

I was looking at my little girl one day (she's five now, four at the time) and realized that she inherited my body structure. She and her brother who is two years older and pretty skinny (he was actually under-weight for a while and the nutritionist and I had a really hard time getting him to put weight on) were within 3 lbs of each other. She falls into the at risk category for her height and weight. There are a couple of contributing factors with her weight but the fact is I'm her mother and it's up to me to do right by her, not make excuses. I knew I had to make changes to my body and my lifestyle so that I can teach her how to take care of herself and not battle her weight like I did. My parents set a terrible example (I love them but it's the truth, we learn our habits from our family) about healthy eating and lifestyle and I don't want my kids to struggle with that. I knew I had to make big changes and make them right away, tomorrow wasn't gonna cut it anymore.

Good luck, you can do this!

juleseybaby

I had a couple. First - having to wear an extender in an airplane because the regular seatbelt would not fit. :noway:

Second - I was unable to help save a life. I couldn't donate a kidney because I showed as morbidly obese on their chart. :frown:

You don't really need the 'a-ha' moment though. Sure they help - but you are already here!! You have already made good decision # 1. You know what needs to be done. You need the commitment. You need to find a pal and hold each other accountable.

Yes - those 'a-ha' moments of mine were a kick in the seat - but they do not keep me coming back for more. I can probably fit in the regular seatbelt now. So why should I keep losing? How about after I get to the obese or overweight category... I could stop there right? Nope. Well, maybe in the overweight category. I will know when I get there. Sometimes those charts don't make sense.

It's a feeling inside... a vision I have of me fitting into NORMAL clothing, chasing my kids around, never having to take insulin or blood pressure meds.

You can do this. How bad do you want it?

vz11

I took a different approach. I have tons of fat pics of myself yet i still ate. A week and a half ago I had a moment where i wrote down how i felt. Bullet points of why i thought i stayed fat. I came to the conclusion that it was all mental. As a kid i was limited on sweets sodas, etc. So when i got to college i was FREE & ate what i wanted. And turns out couldn't stop. To me not eating what I wanted meant I was in trouble or trapped now though I see its not that way. I need to stop to make me happy. feeding myself whatever only made me more sad and angry with myself. So i stopped. I've cheated (not going to lie) but its not like before everyday. I've lost 4lbs so far and i will just keep going. I hope this helps you!

vanillasugar

I'm not sure I really had an "aha!" moment either, but maybe it could be considered as such. Basically I knew I was overweight, out of shape and feeling like crap all the time. I had no energy and was getting lazier by the week. But believe it or not, I actually was happy with myself overall. I just got where I didn't like the way I was feeling. When my mom said that she needed to lose weight or she was going to become immobile, I knew she meant it. And I also knew that I was heading for that same thing if I didn't change something.

So, long story short, we decided to start working on becoming healthier together and motivate and encourage each other. One step at a time. Started out doing little 5-10 min exercises (walking for instance) and making one healthy choice at a time. Like choosing grilled chicken at McDonald's instead of a cheeseburger. We started MFP at the same time and just made it a goal to stay at or under the calories it gave us to work with.

When I first came here almost 2 years ago, I was very jealous of the posters who would have tickers saying "30 lbs lost" or "80 lbs lost!". I felt so far from there and wanted to be there already. I just remember thinking, well, it takes time to get there. You can quit now because you feel bad that you're not there yet, or you can keep going and be where they are in 6 months or a year. I stayed. I have lost almost 85 lbs and my mom has lost 115 or so. I've been struggling for the past month or two but still sticking with it and just taking it slow. My mom's favorite motivational quote is "losing weight is not a race...it's a journey." And I guess that's how we are both approaching it. Good luck with your journey :flowerforyou:

santini1975

I used to consider myself "curvy" or "voluptuous" or any other word heavy women use to convince themselves they don't look bad. It's all B.S. and we secretly know it. But on a cruise my fiance and I went on a zipline excursion. Because of the speed you can reach flying down he line, people were divided into groups based on weight! I wanted to die. I (and the other overweight folks) were asked to stretch our arms and legs out on our way across the line so we wouldn't get too fast and have a hard landing! My fiance and other average sized people could just sit comfortably and ride down. I returned from the trip and got a treadmill because I was too embarrassed to go to the gym. I posted "fat pictures" of myself on the monitor of the treadmill, on the firdge door, or anywhere else I needed to be motivated After a few months of walking briskly EVERY day and eating Nutrisystem I got my gym membership and work out at least 5 times a week. Think of working out like brushing your teeth- it's something you HAVE to do, not something you TRY to do.

jugar

Some days it's "aha". Some days it's "oh no". Some days it's "dammit" but I have reached a point of working at losing many times. I think the worst was getting to the place where I did not enjoy anyone touching me -- all I could think is that it must be gross for them. It's still a battle not to take it easy and get comfortable -- more about keeping up the exercise than anything else. So instead of thinking of the aha I just try to keep the "it's worth it!" in mind. Who needs a good reason that came in a flash one day?

kwrecks

Thank you all for your answers. I just need to stop the excuses, because honestly, that's all it is. I need to stop coming up with reasons why it's not working, and everytime i have those thoughts, i need to eat something healthy, or work out and get those thoughts out of my head.