What was your "Gotta Change my Life "moment ?

WildAngelJoy

I gained 30 lbs. in 2008 after having cellulitis in my feet and legs...I was bedridden for 2 months and for over a year could barely stand let alone do walking/exercise. I didn't overeat, I even discussed diet with my doctor, I was just so sedentary that the pounds came on. I hated the way I looked, especially in pictures, the way I felt and people actually were commenting how much weight I'd gained (I found that rather rude, I would never say that to anyone!!).

I managed to lose 18 lbs. then got sick again. I held my weight until earlier this year, I got pneumonia and put on Prednisone for my asthma...10 lbs. came back on. When I got better, I realized that on my impending birthday (this last May), I would be 2 years younger than my Mom when she passed away. Her death was directly related to being overweight, sedentary and having been a smoker. She died way too young!! I wanted to honor her and live a longer, healthier life. A friend and my doctor told me about MFP and I joined a few months ago. I love it and have learned so much, made changes to my diet and am exercsing over 30 minutes daily....not to mention meeting many wonderful, motivational friends

wanderinglight

Many of us hit a moment in life when we say:" Enough is enough I can't take this anymore. I have to take control and change what is before me. " If you dare to share your "AHA" Moment please feel free to here .

Your story may help someone else and in sharing you may be able to forgive yourself for having neglected your self for too long. But realize in that same moment you opened you eyes and heart to decide to give your self the gift of health.

I will start by sharing mine. On June 1, 2012 I went in for a annual check up. Feeling good about myself because I had been doing so much gardening, landscaping, and working hard despite a bad knee injury the end of April. Walking on my own for two weeks without crutches or a walker. I was "PROUD" .

Well I weighed in and was elated I was 296 pounds I hadn't weighed under 300 in 6 years. WOW . I had them reweigh. Same result. Mu DR congratulated me on dropping weight he had never seen me under 300 to 325. I exclaimed again I still can't believe it. Wanting to make me feel better he said where their are two witnesses go get on the other scale down the hall and confirm it to yourself.

I went down got on the scale and it wouldn't weigh me it maxed at 350. Very confused I went back to the room and told him what was happening. He said you didn't do something wrong let's try again. We went back to that scale it wouldn't weigh we went to the first scale it said 296. Then he took me to the Dr's office down the hall and it couldn't weigh again.

As you can imagine JOY to utter DEFEAT in minutes. He sent me to the hospital then for blood work and also to be weighed on their scale that can weigh to 500 lbs. I recorded 370 pounds. 370 Pounds I was broken as a person. I apologized to my husband. Cried and realized how much I really didn't want to accept being over 300 even definately not 370.

My Dr then told me about my fitness pal and I promised to try. My husband and son decided to try to. My husband has to lose 40 lbs and my 26 year old son weighed in at 431 he wants his life to take control too. He had recently lost 15 pounds after starting a new job and had been weighing himself on a pallet scale at work.

These are life learned manors that we must all change. God willing we will achieve this. My first grandchild is due on Sept 14 and I really want to be around to watch him grow up.

47 years old and a lifetime of being overweight and I have finally hit my "Awakening". 6 pounds down so far. Many to go but I am on my way!!! For all of us just beginning may God give you strength and may next year we all report on miraculous results. .

You are very brave for sharing your story. It made me sad and inspired at the same time. I'm so glad that you have decided to make this change in your life because you are WORTH IT and now is the time! You have the chance to be in the best shape of your life at 50. You can do it. Never, ever give up.

JennyDee2012

Thank you you are right I am worth it. The results are showing. I am thankful for MFP. They take the excuses of it's too hard to count calories out of the way. My husband and I went out to dinner last night at a nice restaurant. We tried a Talapia Fish dinner with Asparagus and brown rice and salad with a house special vinaigrette dressing. When we told them to bring an extra plate we were going to share the meal I told her we were watching our weight. I was shocked when they brought the meal on two plates already divided and the plates both nicely garnished. I thanked them for that consideration. These were some new foods for us and the flavors were wonderful. Our bill was affordable and we realized so many times in the past when we have gone out we probably did eat two portions as in america a full plate usually means just that. When we put in the calories after we got home we were amazed how few calories that wonderful meal was. Don't be afraid to ask to split a meal people want you to suceed. This restaurant will see us again.

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joannaorgovan

Mine was February of 2011 when I saw my wedding photos. I said to myself "who's that fat a&$?!". I knew I had gained weight since I met my husband (was a size 8 when we met and my wedding dress was a size 16) but I didn't realize how big I had gotten until I saw those pics. I figured I was around 200 pounds or so. I started eating better and when the spring came started walking and doing Pilates. I joined the Biggest Loser contest at work right before Thanksgiving of 2011. I discovered MFP this February and started using it. It's helped me so much in reaching my goals! Now I'm a size 8, down 50+ pounds and have tons of energy compared to where I used to be!!

BarringtonFinbarNash

i really did not hit a moment of "i have to change this", i was allready at a platue in my life, but due to some heavy drinking years have a bit of a beer gut to me.

i knew dieting was not for me and loathed the gym's as they seemed over priced, but lacked the motivation to do anything about it.

then a freind introduced me to this site and it showed me a nice tracking system and that i could do it in small stages and then once again platue out, this i liked as a paln and so i reknewed the thought to myself and thought i could work with it.

i have started off ok, but due to persoanl events in my life have not given me the kick start to my plan i would have liked, but i do however still plan to continue and will see what comes of this.

bluefox9er

At the soccer world cup in south africa in June 2010.

when my 'fat' friends started to mock me. ironic thing is, they were considerably more overweight than me, yet they didn't see this and relentlessly mocked me to the point I just walked away from them. their teasing and jokes were merciless and extremely cruel.

Now, it's nice giving those people a big,fat,juicy s**t burger with all the trimmings to eat a year later and watch them eat it, too. no more fat jokes. they are cruel. they were stunned, and I am not the sort of person to make a big deal out of this, but i bombarded them with every single fat joke and remark i could muster up...nothing against fat people..but everything against my FRIENDS. and i will continue to mock them until they understand what humiliation means so next time they will be more considerate about who they dish it out to. it's the only language these people understand.

Qskim

Bloody oath! But u know what? When you get where you want to b I bet u don't. I bet walking into the room n cing their jaws drop will b satisfaction enuff. N know, in that moment, I am whoopin and cheering u on!

Qskim

Oops just re read your post n u've already done it....should wear my glasses wen I'm making bets lol

NYAngel1089

I have had several moments. The first was after Christmas 2010. I hated the way I looked. My mom and I had begun WW. I had lost 10lbs and felt great! I knew it wasnt enough but I was feeling good. I went to my family reunion that August 2011 feeling good in my one piece dress like bathing suit and next to my cousins who were all in bikinis and small two pieces. I felt awful and gave up. I gained 5 lbs back. Then Christmas Eve 2011 my boyfriend proposed!!! My cousin took a video of it, and though I was super happy, I was disgusted by how I looked. I began January 3rd 2012 back on WW. My mom was "doing" it with me but not really. I ended up giving up again. Telling myself "If you dont like it, dont look!! My fiance loves me for me no matter what!" And he does, he always tells me I am beautiful. As the warm weather came in April, a co worker, who I always saw as larger than me, asked me where I buy my clothes because "we are on the same page." I of course told her because I am nice, but I went home and decided enough is enough. I couldnt do it on my own though. In the middle of May a friend I went to high school with and I began working out together and we both signed up for MFP. May 14- June 9th I have lost 6lbs. I am finally on the right track. My fiance has been eating better and exercising too, though he has lost more weight than me, but guys seems to lost it faster anyway. I know I still have a long way to go. I am 166 now and would like to be around 135. I have 2 years until my wedding and I promised my self by summer 2013 I WILL be in a bikini or a small 2 piece, what ever, havnt worn one since elementary school!!!

verodzrosas

I came to study in Spain and it really didn't fit me so I got really depressed and was staring to make some really bad decisions food wise. So after a lot of debating with my boyfriend because also i had some really bad intestinal problems we decided I should get on a vegetarian diet and that's were it all began. And honestly it has been great for me because having daily goals helps me keep focused and i used to study in a school where they made us write down everyday goals so this is like getting me back on track I love it!

peasantgirly

When I was 39 I vowed I would be thin by my 40th birthday. When my 40th came, I was even heavier than the year before. The lightbulb went off and I acknowledged I hadn't done a damn thing to get rid of the weight and it wasn't going to magically disappear. I realized that only I could make it happen.

This is what I live by now:

You don't get it by Staring,
You don't get it by Wishing,
You don't get it by Hoping,
You don't get it by Praying,
You don't get it Easy.
You get it by getting off your *kitten*,
and working for it
every second of every day
for the rest of your life!

33 pounds in 3 months, baby!! 80 more to go by 2/23/2013!

serenity216

When three different doctors told me I needed to exercise and lose weight or I would have a heart attack from all the stress and anxiety I was putting on myself.

steadk

I've had a few... let's hope this one sticks... My step dad passed away last Thursday from complications of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. He was 50. I'm 30. I want to live more than 20 years. It just shocked me out of some major self-pity and got my fat *kitten* back in the gym.

I'm so sorry for your loss. its very difficult losing a parent

CrazyHedgehog

realising that lots of shops didn't sell clothes in my size!

briannereynolds

I was on a website called Tumblr, and I asked my followers what sort of blogs they do not like. Someone said pro-ana and pro-mia. I had never heard the terms before, so I looked them up. I discovered that it was for anorexia and bulimia. I looked at pictures and read blog posts from these people. I realized, they starve themselves and puke up with they eat, and I can't even eat healthier? So on March 28, 2012, I started this journey.

raitch

We moved to a new town and I started seeing a new doctor. I went in for knee pain. After a bunch of tests she informed me that I had advanced osteoarthritis in both knees, probably because of my weight. She then said "you will need both knees replaced within 10 years, and no surgeon will do it if you don't lose weight, because you are too much of a liability." I was 280. The number had crept up slowly every year and because it was slow, I just buried my head in the sand. That was October of 2010. I have since lost 80 pounds and though I go through spurts of doing really well and then falling off the wagon, I've always kept one hand on the tailgate and managed to climb back on. I WILL hit the 100's one day, I swear!

Linbo93

I have had a billion "AHA" moments. I have tried and failed more times then I can count. I've always been 220-230. I got engaged in August of 2011, and both my fiance and I decided we would lose weight together. Even THAT wasn't enough for me to take it seriously.

Until the day after Christmas. Dec 26, 2012 I got on the scale at my parents house and saw 241 lbs. By far the highest I had ever been. I had felt like crap lately, I felt huge, tired, lazy, and overall just very unwell. That was the most recent "AHA" moment.

I resolved, yet again, to make changes and lose weight. I started searching for podcasts to keep me focused and give me information.

One day, I discovered Fat2Fit Radio podcast. This was my true turning point. This podcast completely changed how I think about food, calories, exercise and lifestyles. It broke me out of the dieter's mindset and shed light on all of the downfalls of fad diets. It not only exposed fad diets for what they were, it gave so much information on how to do it right, with success story after success story after success story.

Ever since then, I have never looked back. I changed my habits one thing at a time, never taking on a new routine if I wasn't sure I could keep it up for the rest of my life. I have dropped 42 pounds to date, and have hit Onederland this past weekend. The idea of "falling off the wagon" or quitting my diet isn't a possibility because this isn't a diet. You cannot fail a lifestyle. Even if I have a bad meal or a bad day, I know that the next day I'll just return to normal and it will all work out.

90% of what you do needs to be the healthy choice. The rest will even out over time. This is how I live my life now. Its easy, its maintainable, and it works!

Assassins_Angel

I recently went to visit my parents back in the uk, i couldnt fit in the seats i knew it was time to sort my weight out if i vouldnt fit in the plane seats anymmore it was embarrising

casi_ann

Jenny D

---

.>Thank you for sharing your story I'm lucky. I haven't had to experience something like that yet. I'm going to do my best to let your experience help me before it happens to me too. I know I was getting really close to not being able to weigh myself on many store bought scales that only go to 250 pounds. I started at 241.8 and have lost 4 pounds so far in only 3 days. Anyway, I've had so many gotta change my life moments, I see these moments every day, but, it is so hard to stop a habit i've lived with for years now. Food has become my best friend, and it is so hard to give up ones best friend. Some recent examples of I gotta change my life moment include not being able to find things in stores that would look good on me, having to wear size 22 in a body size that should be wearing no larger than an 8, when I see friends that haven's seen me in awhile, knowing I have to go to a wedding in 3 1/2 months and see my entire husbands family, every time i think i should go to the doctor for a problem I'm having I'll put it off because I don't want him to see I gained back my weight again for the up-teenth time. And the biggest one is knowing some day if I don't change I'm going to experience what you experienced.

vicmonster

It's taken me 2 AHA moments to get here. First was when I thought I was just a few lbs overweight and we had a health assessment done by our insurance - the body fat% put me in the obese range. Obese, wow. So I started tracking on mfp, walked every day and lost about 10lbs.

The 2nd came in a roundabout way but thank God it did. The radiologist that read my mammogram noticed that I my arteries were calcifying, even though that's not what they're looking for she alerted my Dr. The Dr initially blew it off since my cholesterol and all other related stats are fine. I went to the Cardiologist anyhow because I was scared and she did an ultrasound which showed my arteries are 50 -75% blocked...then she told me my vascular age if 68 and I was only 47 years old. That's when I kicked it into high gear, started running, changed my diet, lost 15 more lbs and now I've started weight lifting. I will get another ultrasound in the fall and hope to see a huge improvement!

jadesign19

My moments were a series of events. I won't bore u with the details but they are summarized like this;
Was told I was post partum depression when I gained 30 pounds in a year.
After 5 years and weight gaining steadily; I was diagnosed hypothyroidism and hashimotos disease.
After 5 years of working out religiously; Jenny Craig; weight watchers; south beach hit the max at 200 pounds
Started insanity workout and MFP in January 2011.
Marital problems started over my being overweight. My children asked "why can't you dress more like their friends moms (size 6's)
Lost and gained the same 8 to ten pounds for 6 months.
Family strife (not my husband) sent me into post traumatic stress in August 2011. After months of vomiting, sleepless nights and night terrors I started seeing a therapist who put me on anti anxiety medicine. Husband announced he would leave me if I couldn't get my act together.
Obgyn said im going to get a hysterectomy of I don't see any changes (tmi).
I am seeing an endocrinologist to get my hashimotos under control.
I am following the metabolism miracle diet and am on week 4. I am detoxed from sugar (that was a b#€$&).
I am doing the c25k program, and thirty day shred ( working my way up to insanity)

If I don't get my life, and health under control, I may have to get a serious surgery. I'm basically scared s!#tless. The idea of losing my kids and husband has made me push harder. I don't want them to see me as defeated, sad, and a hot mess. I don't want to be in my 60's or even 70's being in a scooter on a host of medicines. I don't want to be alone (I've already lost family and friends over the last two years). I don't want people to judge me by looks, in job interviews, first impressions, etc, thinking I'm "sloppy".
Nothing but ultimatums hitting me in the face. Thank god for MFP.
I'm usually a thread killer so this might be the last post. Thanks for listening.
This was cathartic spewing out a timeline:flowerforyou:

mommajolynn

When I realized I was almost the same age my aunt was when she had her heart attack. The doc said her weight caused. I don't weigh anything near her old weight but I don't want to take any chances...

And I start college in the fall. I don't want to be the fat nurse...

Also when my son said 'wow mommy your belly really jiggles' lol

I want to be there for my son as long as possible

BobbyDaniel

I had turned 39 and realized that 40 was less than a year away and I had managed to put back on 20 of the 30 pounds I had previously lost.

sgOkiozm

When my 32 yr old friend had a stroke. I stopped eating junk immediately, and started running. I'm only 26 and I didn't realize it could happen to someone so young. Time to get my life on track!

CassieReannan

I went for my first proper walk in months, realized I couldnt even hold it together.. I am only 19, and seeing my own mum deal with a stroke it finally clicked.

The scales were 115kgs at the doctor surgery whilst having a check up. Nurse shook her head at me and I knew I needed to change.

sherry9300

Feeling fat and disgusting and still not being able to stop eating Nutella straight out the jar. Something in my head told me this just wasn't quite right.

...well that, and the fact that my "fat" clothes were getting too tight.

mrsjs140

I have a long list of things. The first on that list was a recent surgery that I had that was made more difficult because of my added weight. Had I been a normal size the surgery recovery time would have been a breeze. Needless to say it wasn't. I was bed ridden for two weeks, and had I not had the weight problem that would have been a non issue. Secondly, I was diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, and even though there is nothing I can do about that I have noticed when I eat better I feel better. Then my cholesterol is high, my bone density is low, and I am seriously Vitamin D deficient. My main concern is improving my numbers. However, the one thing that pushed me over the edge, yes, believe it or not all of the above didn't, was seeing myself in some pictures that my mother-in-law had taking. I was ashamed of how I looked. I was ashamed for my husband. He deserves so much more than a thirty year old wife who is obese and in bad health. He is a hardworking, honest, loving, caring, HOT!, good man. He deserves so much more than what I have become. Realizing that what I had done was causing my husband to suffer made all the difference. I'm more determined now than ever to stick with this and get this weight off. I haven't set a time frame for myself because I'm going about this with portion control and increased activity. I know myself enough to know that restricting and exercise until my fingers bleed will never work for me. Good luck to you and your family on your journey, and good luck to all that are reading this.

poedunk65

When i got on a plane and had to ask for the belt extender!

tialynn1

I have been heavy since I was about 12 years old. I have lost weight before, but never stuck. It was mainly due to exercising and not eating healthier. Even last year around this time I had started exercising, but gave up when I lost 2 people close to me died 5 days apart. It just kind of threw me into a funk. I have gone through a lot of loss in my life, but never 5 days apart. I quit exercising at that point.
Then right before Christmas, I was walking past glass and saw my shape and thought oh my, I really need to lose weight. I said to myself, after the holidays I am going to start exercising again. One of the things I wanted to do to help in the weight loss was cut out soda out of my diet. But at the time, I need the caffeine (I don't like coffee or diet soda). I was working full-time at one job and about 24 hours a week at a part-time job and taking 2 college classes. I need all of the caffeine I could get.
Once I was done traveling for holidays, I decided to start and on January 4 I found out about this website. I joined on January 5. I haven't missed exercise any day since then. I have logged food almost every day except when I was away for Easter.
Since January I have lost 42 pounds. I know this is going to work because I just haven't done exercise, I have started eating better.