What gave you that final push to start this journey?

waldenfam2

I was diagnosed with diabetes at 31....sigh. Neither of my parents have it because they've never been morbidly obese, but my grandma does and she's had part of her foot amputated, had cataract surgery, and is now on dialysis. She also hasn't had feeling in her lower legs in 20+ years, I don't want to be like that, nor do I want to be dependent on medication to keep my blood sugars under control, hence the healthy eating and exercising.

aprilgicker

I was at a friend's b-day party at a restaurant, I got up to go to the bathroom, and hit a pole with my butt. when I got back I saw how wide the space was from the chair in front and the pole. I had ordered a burger I didn't eat it. I claimed illness. Which I wasn't far from!

beskimoosh

Over a period of about 2 weeks I got told FOUR times that it didn't matter that I was bigger, that I was pretty for being bigger and things like that. None of this was meant nastily, it was just people giving THE WORST compliments ever.

When I was done crying (and whinging, and shouting), I realised that I wasn't "bigger", I was obese. And really, if I wanted people to stop making comments like that, I could get off my bum and do something about it! I started the first week of January, so far I'm 30lb down.

The thing that keeps me going is the fact that I can't wait to see peoples faces when they see me again. I've had a few people be shocked at how much I've lost so far, and that is definately spuring me on! Also, my boyfriend has been talking about marriage, and I want to be a toned, happy, healthy bride!

skinnyBellgirl

For me, there's a certain weight that whenever I get to, it triggers a "You've got to DO something" button. So, I started again. THIS time, I'm going to keep it off and never get to that trigger again.

skinnyBellgirl

My new rules -
Rule 1 - you can't complain if you're not doing anything to fix it
Rule 2 - No Excuses


LOVE this!!!!

Monkeyrhea

While watching the Biggest Loser my 5 year old son said that he wishes I could go on there and get skinny. I didn't realize that he noticed just how fat I was.

Abigaillee15

I have a twin sister who has always been thinner than me. I once weighed 30lbs more than her in middles school and 20 lbs more than her in high school. After going away to college I was looking at pictures from the summer. I was SO unhappy with myself. I sat at my computer and cried. I wasn't happy being unhealthy. So right then I went to the gym, and six months of a healthy diet and exercise I lost 20lbs.

Unfortunately that was a year ago and I have since then put back on TEN of the pounds. I am not as energetic as I was when I was lighter. I know I'm not fat (19 year old female, 5'5", 130lbs) but I felt better about myself when I was 120lbs. I had energy to DO things. I felt invincible. Yes losing weight means looking better, but I honestly want to do it to FEEL better.

You only live once. Live with confidence.


I am currently hoping to reach my goal weight of 120 again before summer.

Add me as a friend and we can help each other through our journey to a healthy lifestyle!

Good luck to everyone!

libby328

My dad found out his kidneys were failing! He has been diabetic since I was born. Had multiple strokes and been in the hospital more times then I could count! Right now he is solely surviving on dialysis! I have never been obese but he has been as is everyone on his side of the family. I can't save my dad and give him a better quality of life but I can make sure my two boys never have to see be going through this at 50-60 years old! God willing I will be here till my grandbabies get married! I made the choice to be better for my kids, because I never want them to go through what I am going through watching my dad slowly pass!

yeowiepower

working a full time job i put on a whole heap of weight which i ended up losing in 2010 while volunteering in nepal for 4 months and then backpacking afterwards walking aout 15 km a day and eating healthy will do that to you.... i promised myself i would never let myself get back to the way i was, but one day i just jumped on the scales and realised i was nearly back to my weight before my trip.... i put on somethig like 20kg in 8 months.... im only 5'8 so it really shows.... just couldnt believe it. although my g/f will never say i know she found me more attractive when we first started dating.... so if not for me, its definitely for her!

lexie2005

There was a couple of things for me, my first hubby passing away (non weight related I add) at 32 made me realise life was just too short to not enjoy every single minute of it. I also wanted to be able to spend proper playtime with my son which up until last October I couldn't do. I am nearly 6 months in now & 4 stone lighter, I have to lose another 3.5 stone but I know I will get there.

Helloitsdan

Everyone said I looked great but the next week I had to buy 38x30 pants for work.
I've always worn 30x30s or 32x30s.

Now i'm looking for 29x30 =D

Also I met a guy who looked like he was in his 50s buying Banquet dinners because they were on sale.
I was buy similar stuff.
Anywho...he was a lot younger than me but because of his weight and the **** he's been eating he looked like he was in his 50s.
That night, Jamie Olivers food revolution came on and something clicked in my head.

Now i'm trying to help people lose weight.
=D

BoatReadyBody

I love my mom with everything I am but when I started to have to borrow pants... That and although I just had a baby in Sept and quit smoking the Sept before my husband tells me all the time how fat I am. I am doing it for me but it is going to feel good to show him.

conniehv40

Nothing big made me "get it". Just a bunch of little things. Dad from nursing home to grave, hit 50, shopping with 2 thin daughters and hating what I look like in the mirrors, bad back made me start a weight training class to work with the instructor to not hurt my back, starting drinking more water, added another cardio, started inputting food and woo hoo-5 pounds lost and now I am cutting my food a little bit more!!!!

Good luck

jennifer52484

My Dad passing away at over 400 lbs this year and having only 2 caskets to choose from not to mention we were unable to cremate him since most creamatoriums don't have the capacity to do his size and it would cost us a small fortune to send his body to one able to do it. Also going into WalMart to buy some new shirts and finding that I only fit into the 5X made me burst into tears and realize how much I hated who I was on the outside.

This made me tear up alittle. I want to give you a hug. I hope that you continue to stay strong and focused on your new lifestyle.

darthbambi

I just didn't feel comfortable in my own skin anymore. I was tired of feeling like I could do so much better. I guess the final straw was when I had to buy a new swimsuit and looked at myself from behind in the mirror in the changing room. I was shocked and just thought, holy flab, Batman! It wasn't me in that mirror. I've lost all the excess weight I put on during my pregnancy and am trying to tone up now

Lolli1986

My now-ex boyfriend tried to stage an intervention! He tried to say things like 'but you know you're too heavy for your height' when i was still within healthy bmi! raging. he told me i needed to cut out all the crap i was eating... when i was not eating that much crap! i joined mfp to log what i was eating to prove to myself that i was NOT overeating.

the worst part was that I put on the weight because i went from being a very fit runner to walking only a couple hundred metres at a time - with a LIMP - due to an injury that i had for a year! I was waiting for surgery. I put on 10kgs while with him during that year, and because I was at the low end of healthy bmi pre-injury I believe that a large portion of that weight gain was unavoidable. (i probably could have stopped 4kgs or so though).

You don't get to be sedentary and fit. The two are mutually exclusive.

Anyway, after I had my surgery (a week after breaking up with my ex), I was able to start losing.

MFP has definitely been a useful tool in helping me to lose the injury weight.

LisamarieBond14

I went for a job interview and didn't realise that my black trousers had a hole in the crotch area. I went to get some new ones on my way and the only ones to fit me were a UK16. I've always been a 10 top and 12 bottom (big hips) and even got down to a 10-12 bottom once. That was the final straw for me.

I always thought, "Oh, I'm OK" because I can hold the weight pretty well but when I weighed myself and was over 13 stone, and borderline obese, I knew I had to change.

I want to go on holiday next year and feel comfortable enough to wear a bikini without looking around and wondering who thinks I'm fat. I want to look, and feel, like a princess when I get married and I want my partner to look at me and think, "Wow, my girl is hot!" Most imporantly, I want to be able to have children (I know I'm not at major risk of infertility but who knows where I could have ended up?!) and be healthy enough to see them grow up and be able to play basketball or tennis or whatever with them!

Edit to add - Also, when I got my Graduation photos back, I was distraught - I looked huge. The same with the photos from my step-brother's wedding. I was absolutely gutted! It's almost as if I didn't realise how big I'd gotten...

jestersvk

After getting my own car when I turned 18 I started to drive everywhere partially because I love driving and I had much more time when I didn't have to wait for the bus and then spend ages in it on my way to town. This caused that over the years since, my already near 0 physical activity went even lower and I started to puff up...
It was getting worse with the years and I was my worst last christmas (no wonder) when I started getting random chest and heart burns and all my (already) XL shirts started do become even smaller. I didn't start then though nor did I make a new years resolution....

It wasn't until 2 weeks into january when I was driving home (I live in a dorm and drive home only once a month) with a good friend of mine and since it was a 3 and 1/2 hour ride we had a long time to talk. Somehow the conversation came to a point where I said that I would want to see myself through the eyes of a different person (looks and personality - ).... I meant it more rhetorically but she instantly started to point out different things that I could change, like cut my hair loose some weight buy new clothes....

And that made me think. I couldn't really sleep that night thinking about what she said. And right then and there I decided to "start a new life" the next day. I know it sounds cheap but I really woke up the next morning started MFP and exercising and now am 35 pounds down and have another 35 before me. And I haven't had a craving for junk food or sweets since....

jestersvk

I climbed on the scale one day to see a number looking back that would have put me in the morbidly obese range. Granted, it was late in the day and I was weighing myself with clothes and shoes on, but still, that was a number I just couldn't abide by. I began working out the next day and found MFPthe next week. I am really looking forward to the day when my BMI puts me in the overweight range rather than the obese range!

I was the same... first time in a long time I stepped on the scale I thought I could die of shame right there (even though no one else else was in there). Now 3 months later I'm in the overweight range (not proud of it) feeling and looking a lot better and now I can't wait to reach a healthy weight.

valenief

The scale reading above 180 , my 3 year old asking why I had a big belly, my hubby asking if we were having another baby, not being able to fit in any of my cloths not being happy with my self!

lomajess

When I weighed myself and was 198 :sad: , the highest I've ever been :noway: , I hated avoiding pictures too; always throwing someone in front of me or standing behind the crowd... but I've lost almost 10 pounds since I started & is excited to lose more! have offically hit the 180's phew :bigsmile: I am going to continue till I hit my goal weight; not quite sure where I want to be, all I know it has to be below 150 with a health BMI.

sbjmorgan

To be honest, I just realized I wasn't happy with myself. I wasn't the person I was even just a few short years ago and I was tired of never having energy.

This time, I'm taking baby steps to start my journey. It's different this time.. I am ready. I want it. I can do it. I don't want my daughter to ever remember a time when mommy was just a slug on the couch or something, lol, I want her to remember us always going on hikes, out to walk, playing tag, whatever. She's 7 months, so that gives me about a year and a half to lose the giant amount I want to lose and do it for good. I know I can.

ChristineS_51

Weight has been sneaking on for years, but after Christmas I hit 98 Kgs and thought I am NOT going to go ANY higher. I did not want to get to 100 kgs. (I am 167cm / 5'6 1/2).

I started using MFP properly (I joined a few months ago but just wasn't motivated) and now very happy that I am learning about managing my weight, and losing and it's not hard.

rbrannock

In 2010 I was at my heaviest of 205 lbs after having my 2nd child. I started losing weight in Oct of 2010...I had lost 30 lbs by Feb of 2011. I stopped running on the treadmill due to things going on in my marriage and us buying a house, so once again, I let myself be last on the list. I gained almost all of those 30 lbs back. January of this year I was so disgusted at myself for gaining it back and tired of feeling lazy all the time, with no energy, and I left like all I did was eat.....! I also saw pics of myself at my sisters wedding in Nov and was repulsed.....pictures always are a wake up call. I told myself that I wanted a change, but for GOOD...not for just a few months when I met a goal, or went down a pants size...I wanted it FOREVER! Never again will I allow myself to gain all my hard work back. I like being healthier, and full of energy and wearing the "cute clothes."

cainie19

one day i was in the hospital for a check up and the nurse weighed me and told me i was almost 170 lbs (she said it in kgs first then translated for me!) and started discussing how to lose weight and how massive my BMI was. :noway:
so i vowed that the next time i go there i'll weigh at least 10lbs lighter. i go back on the 16th april and i've lost 9lbs already, so the new goal is 12lbs less. take THAT, skinny nurse. :smokin:

vidoardes

When through my wedding photos and was devistated that I allowed my friends and family to see me at my "ugliest" weight on my happy day! :sad: I knew someday I wanted to "remarry" my husband again...this time thinner and healthier!

This is the same for me, I am pretty camera shy anyway so I didn't see myself alot, but I couldn't avoid it on my wedding day (last september). The last 6 months I have hated having to keep looking at the wedding photo's with every relative be cause I look so big... that was my push.

That and the talk of having children (which will probably happen in the next year). I don't want to not be able to run around with my kid, or not be able to carry them 'cause I'm to weak and tired... that scares the bejeezus out of me.

kristen6022

When approaching the option to buy a size 16 pant in 2010. Size 14 is something I'd approached before, not 16. So I cut out fried food and soda. Lost 5-10 pounds, fit back into my 14's again. Then I figured if I really watched what I ate I'd lose even more. I went from 190-165 without even exercising. Now I'm buying 8-10's and it's fun to shop again! Now, I'm a very healthy weight, with a new goal of 157 and killer legs. Let the squats begin...

melb2003

For me, it was a small build up of things, one right after another. I had a miscarriage last year, and the emotional toll of that, I just kept eating and eating. Finally a couple of things, I was taking a shower and it hurt to manuver in the shower, and at Xmas dinner, my sis-in law was taking about someone from high school and she cracked a joke about how they probably never buy real pants and they probably live in stretch pants....low and behold, I was sitting there right next to her wearing stretchy pants. :noway: After that I decided that if I'm in the prime of my life, I'm screwed. Went to the gym and threw away all the unhealthy food the next day.

bethybear8990

My push was a week of unfortunate events. I have seven reasons and they are all equally as important

Day 1) My fiance showed me a video of tough mudder and said he wanted us to run the race together. I said, " ewww why would anyone think that looked fun." I did not think that I would be insulting him. After giving it a lot A LOT of thought, I decided I wanted to run the race with him. I NEED to run the race with him. I can't explain why, I just know it is super important. We even have a team set up now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh5HdPM_QuE

Day 2) I realized that I only had one pair of jeans that fir me. I have been living in my fiances work out clothes.

Day 3) I got called the sister with the personality AGAIN. I am so tired of being the "fat and funny" kind of girl.

Day 4) I saw pictures of myself when I was in Paris two years ago. I was about 45 lbs lighter then and looking back, I was really attractive, even though I thought I was super fat. I miss looking like that. ( Also on day 4 I started telling someone how to make something and it started with, " well, you take a stick of butter" and a joke was made about you know you are a big woman when...)

Day 5) I stepped on a scale and realized I have NEVER been this big in my life. NEVER. I started to think that my step mom was right by always berating me about food, and saying I was going to get fat. ( I was a size 12 then and in high school)

Day 6) My mom was who always fit was disabled in 2002 in a car accident. She told me that she wanted me to love myself and take care of myself. I want to be able to help take care of her, and I have to be fit to do that.

Day 7) After having a bad food day I took a shower. When I opened the curtain there was the fat women looking at me. She had stretch marks and a fat face. Her thighs were huge and she looked so miserable. ... I was looking in my mirror. I broke down crying. That COULDN'T be me, that SHOULDN'T be me, but it was. The I remembered my fiance saying, "You are one of the most self conscious people I know, but you don't do anything about it." I realized I had been making excuses for myself and that I had to do something, or I would never be able to run Tough Mudder, be the pretty sister, or take care of my mom. I want to feel good about myself again, so I am going too.

If you have made it this far, thanks for reading. :blushing: :flowerforyou:

GlenWalterGal

I was at a factory outlet in Orlando this January and went to my favorite stores as I do every year.

This year was different, I did not even fit in a size 18 (I had been creeping up gradually to eventually end up in a 16). But, to not fit in an 18 was devastating, I had to start going into stores that specialized in plus sizes and the styles I had always liked, now looked terrible on me.

That did it for me, I could not even stand to look at myself. When I came back, I re-discovered MFP and got into it seriously.

I went back to the same factory outlet this March and fit easily into all 16 size clothes and even a few 14. WOW!

That little victory was all the motivation I needed to continue. I'm still on track and working towards my goal to get back into a size 12.