What did it take for you to want to make a change?

htmlgirl

For me it was multiple family members commenting on how I gained weight. I knew that I had, but when someone else notices... it really got to me.

rubytOU

sitting on the floor crying because my closet was jammed full of clothes i was too fat to wear.

HondaGuy30102

Sadly one of my biggest motivators to change is my health insurance cost next year will be based on our annual assessment. They put out an email this year saying that we could get discounts if we participate in the physical and review of our health, but in reality mine was terrible and they told me next year I would pay based on this. I guess this is fair though as I am sure I don't spend more annually then a healthy person at a normal BMI but still....

cpakim

Motivational speaker Anthony (Tony) Robbins states that we make a change because of pleasure or pain. We associate that we love something so much that we want to change to reflect that. For example, we are so goal motivated to look better to impress are former classmates at a reunion that you want the change. Or you have not associated enough pain to force the change. Meaning, you think you are healthy enough and you either don't mind buying bigger clothes or make other excuses that it's just not worth the challenge and some initial "pain" to make a life change. Meaning a doctor has not said to you do or die.

I turn 60 in October and after my last physical I've seen the "writing" on the wall. Combined with photos of me and my nephews and the recent question by someone else asking am I the grandpa, I've decided to get involved with the VA Hospital MOVE program and lose 30 pounds. When I accomplish this goal I will sleep better and have more energy. No drinks, pills or fads. Just eating properly with food I love and get plenty of exercise. When I accomplish my goal, I will be able to wear5 my wedding band again (I've been married 38 years) and it will be the first time in 20 years that I have been sub 200.

Be sure you are changing because you want to and need to. Not to impress someone else. If you are 30 do it now and don't wait. It's far harder to make a change at 60 than 30. Live now for you and your family.

Sabdavis

Health assessment at work gave us preliminary cholesterol, glucose, etc. as well as blood pressure, bmi and Body fat %. I did it to just get enrolled in the "contest" for the drawing for prizes, but got numbers back that scared me. They weren't awful, but they were on their way. My daughter was 10 months old and while I lost all but 5 lbs of baby weight already, I realized that if I wanted to see her grow up and make exercise a part of HER life, I needed to fix it. I don't want my daughter to remember me as FAT. I want her to look at pictures one day of me when she was a baby and say, "Wow, my mom changed her life for ME". So, I started and haven't looked back since the day of that assessment. Had another one 4 months later and got out of Obese range, got out of the danger zone for cholesterol and blood pressure is good. Even was told I have the pulse rate of an athelete now. Oh how things change. 9 months later, I'm keeping up with it and will never go back to where I was. While I am struggling to lose any more lbs right now, I do see changes in my body getting stronger and slimmer and I am trying to focus on that.

hosegirl

When my granddaughter said" Nana, Your butt is getting bigger." If I did notlose the weight control my blood sugar insulin was the next step. No thanks!.

kvanderbeek1

For me it was a heart attack in January at 40-years-old. I didn't have high blood pressure or bad cholesterol. I have never smoked. I was about 50 pounds overweight but the doctor said that shouldn't have caused a heart attack. I was told I just needed to get into better shape and eat better as I was lucky and I may not be next time. I have four kids. I want to see them grow old. I'm now eating better and working out. I have a long way to go but this site and seeing all the success stories is very motivating. Anyone needs friends, feel free to add me. The more help with motivation the better.

ber3023

Stroke level BP which put me in the ER, w/o insurance, a bill that sure wasn't pretty, that I'm still working on paying off almost a year later. The thought of having a stroke at 31yrs of age was pretty much my wake up call. With 2 young children, the last thing my husband needs to worry about is caring for me in the condition after a stroke.

Kim_S_G

I am a teacher. When school ended in May, I joined Pinterest. I found a lot of interesting activities on there that I wanted to do this summer. But, I can't crochet, can't sew and I don't know where my glue gun is. I saw a weight loss post, and said to myself, "Loosing weight is all about eating less and walking more. Eating and walking. I can do that."

RLDeShazo

Tired of hiding. I'm breaking down the walls; both physically and emotionally.

redcollins78

Amazing hearing everyones story, it all helps me to show a stronger commitment to trying to get myself together. I applaud you all and as someone else said, we are in the right place to make a change...nothing to it but to do it!!

missymuffet459

So many things...

I have had buttons pop off of clothes I was able to wear just last year. Nothing fits well anymore and I decided that it was better to lose and fit in them again then to accept my fatness and buy larger clothes.

Also I gain in my face very easily and could not stand the sight of my double chin. It ages me and I look like a big blob.

Bottom line is I just want to FEEL better and have the confidence to go out and enjoy my life!

susi819

Wow, you have come a long way in a very short amount of time. Awesome work! My mom is Type 2 diabetic. That did it for me!

redcollins78

Wow, you have come a long way in a very short amount of time. Awesome work! My mom is Type 2 diabetic. That did it for me!

Thanks so much!! I'm trying one day at a time.

kymivivid

I've been wanting to be back to my old self for awhile now. But I notices lately I've been taking inspiration from women I see with nice bodies like I used to have. I want to feel that again.

tinydancer4

Not fitting into my clothes anymore! I realised I was always wearing the same few things in my wardrobe - the very last items that still fit. I literally had only 4 or 5 complete outfits left...

I had two options - buy brand new clothes in bigger sizes, or lose the weight! And as I haven't got loads of money right now (and it seems a shame to waste my existing dress collection), I decided to lose the weight!

sundaywishes

My boyfriend was at 183lbs and 5'8" (kinda chubby but not largely overweight) when we started dating in July of 2010 and I was (a healthy!) 95lbs and 5'0". As we continued dating, he decided to start working out again (he played sports growing up and in college) and I guess I just decided to eat :laugh: ......I got up to 118.5lbs, my second highest weight ever (I was about 120lbs in 6th grade...stopped weighing myself after I saw that number though).

I started "for real" working out and eating better in January 2012, oddly enough not as a new year's resolution (started last fall but quickly lost any interest I had). I knew that my clothes had been getting tighter and I never liked anything in my closet. Hell, I even joked with friends about how you know you need to lose weight when your underwear is too tight! But what made me change? I went to a bridal convention with my boyfriend's mother to get ideas for our upcoming wedding (which we don't have a date for yet :laugh: ). Something just clicked and I decided it was time to make a lifestyle change--if I was going to commit to the biggest change in my life, next to having children, I could commit to losing weight.

After the bridal convention, I hit the ground running. I started doing HIIT, weight training and eating clean. I started out with 19-23lbs to lose and so far I'm down 9lbs :drinker: . I may end up weighing more than my "goal weight" beause I want to gain muscle in addition to losing fat. Honestly, I don't care if I end up back at 118.5! As long as I'm fit, strong, and healthy, th number doesn't bother me.

Oh yeah, and fitting into my underwear :laugh:

angieleighbyrd

It started to effect mine and my husbands sex life. Not that he was turned off, I was.

I didn't want to do anything because I felt like crud being that big.

dianniejt

Three weeks ago I was sitting on the edge of my bed, bottle of pills in my hand, ready to swallow them all. I was so miserable in my life. It is not the life I had imagined for myself. I started having kids 15 years ago and I have only been someones mom since then. I came to the realization that my stupidity would kill my husband and my children emotionally. I love them far more than I hate myself. So I put the pills back in the bottle and put on my shoes and went for my first real walk. I have walked every day since. I have decided that losing weight, getting healthier and feeling better is a way to escape some of the pain I am in. Mentally, emothionally and physically. I am making other big changes in my life like trying to get my first real job or else enroll in school. I refuse to be a prisioner in my own mind anymore. Walking is about all that I can do at this point but it is so freeing to my mind and my soul.

brentdaniels

I saw a documentary called "The Weight of a Nation" and it scared the crap outta me....dusted off the MFP account and gym membership the next day! 3 weeks in and still motivated.