What was your breaking point?

iSpeakLife

Hey pals,
I hope all is well. I am definitely going through a season of change in every facet and reaching some critical places in friendships, relationships, and with myself. My weightloss hasn't went right yet, because of some internal factors, but I am so confident it is going to happen. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, even though I'm no longer NEAR the tunnel! lol But, I posted this because I wanted to ask when was the day you changed your life? When was the day you KNEW this time you were going to do this and do it right?


Thanks for your help and blessings on your journey.

thedancingleper

When I stepped on the scale on New Years Day and realized I was close to 200 pounds. I was a girl who was used to being between 105 to 120 for the bulk of my life. This was not acceptable... and so that was the moment I snapped and said right, enough is enough.

TheEmi

For me, it was being told by my endocrinologist that 1000 calories a day was what I needed to eat to lose weight and that I might be put on insulin shots throughout the day rather than just my long-acting insulin. I want nothing to do with either of those! That visit motivated me to be more honest with how much I was eating and how I can get on track to lose weight and reduce my diabetes medications. (And, it would be fabulous to walk in to his office with better fasting numbers and reduced weight in September without spending every day hungry.)

chelsjb

I was starting my sons' baby books (7 years late :S) and didn't want to put any pictures of myself in it. It broke my heart! So with baby number three I am done being on the outskirts of family photos. And baby #3 is a girl...I don't ever want her to battle with her weight and I want to teach her, by example.

Keepingmygoal

The day I found out the guy I had dated for years, who I was still in love with, got engaged less than a year after we broke up. It killed me, but it's exactly what I needed to turn my life around.

camrunner

I ate a really big meal (12 inch Blimpie sub, most likely loaded, bag of chips and a big drink.) Then I felt gross and threw up. It all kind of hit me at once... I think that was the moment I realized how unhealthy I was, how little sense my eating habits made, and that was really all it took.

LoveDLady

The day I learned I had a medical condition cause by my weight. I figured to be having medical issues at 22, it was probably time to change.

JuneBPrice

When the fact that looking in the mirror makes me cry started to get to me.

audreytalab12

Weighing myself at the end of my first year of teaching and seeing the scale hit 198 was a huge wake up call for me. I have always struggled with my weight, but never weighed more than about 175 previously. I could not let myself hit 200 pounds. Also, literally trying on every pair of pants I own and realizing that only one pair fit-tightly.

I know losing weight will be slow. I know it will be hard. But, I'm still young and I refuse to let this be a problem for me in the future. It's now or never I guess!

ThatDarnZach

It wasn't a moment, it was the fact that I was HORRIBLY miscast in a production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" as the young romantic lead and my 250-lb self needed to look good in a skimpy toga. I got my *kitten* to the gym that night and every night until opening. That was last June and I've been pushing myself ever since.

Crochetluvr

It was May 16th of this year. I was trying on the bathing suit I would wear when the condo pool opened for Memorial Day. I got the suit up to the bottom of my thighs and it wouldn't go any farther. I bough the suit a year before because my other suit was too small. I sat on my bed and cried. That was the moment. Two days later, on the advice of a friend, I joined MFP and I haven't looked back.

gogojodee

It was my ex. And pictures that I saw - and my fave jeggings in size 6 that could barely go over my thighs.

munchlaxx

I knew I needed to change myself when I realized my "fat" clothes (of several years) were getting tight.

GeorgieLove708

I had sprained my knee and it wasn't healing as fast as my sprains normally heal. I live in a 2 story apartment, I have 2 young kids, I couldn't afford for it not to heal. I've despised the way I look for a long time, but for some reason spraining my knee changed everything for me. I've only been doing this for a little over a month, but it's the longest I've ever stuck with it. I know I can do this.

AShawneeF

When the fact that looking in the mirror makes me cry started to get to me.

^ this exactly.

scarlet331

What drove me to the breaking point that I was disgusted with myself. I would look at myself in the mirror everyday and I see a "unhappy overweight" person looking right back at me.I will avoid the mirrors at all cost. I wouldn't put no cosmetics on my face or fix my hair up nice. Noone did not want to take a photo of myself because of how I looked and if I had a photo taken, I would hide the photos from friends and family because I was ashamed of myself. I would avoid walking around the malls, and when I did go to the mall, I had to sit down because I was short of breath. I can not wear cute little clothing like every other women I know wears or enjoy my vacations without being tired. I struggled all my life with my weight. I couldn't figure out the reason why I would keep gaining more weight,no matter if I was exercising or eating right. It took a doctor to rule out that I had insulin resistance and that is the reason why I wasn't losing weight. This year, I said I had enough. I am still young, i can take control of my own health and I will be able to wear those cute little clothing. My main goal is to get into a bikini. I never wore one before and I will be happy if I get there. I will flaunt it off

Vonwarr

Stepped on a scale and it registered at 240. Made me go "WTF am I doing?!" and launched an all out effort to change.

CrystalDreams

when i stepped on the scale september 6th 2011 and it pointed to 295. for some reason that number did what looking in the mirror, ripped clothes and mean comments couldn't do. Made me start writing down what i ate and working out. now im 210 and need another breaking point =/

tanyaslosingit

I had a conversation with a friend of mine who was going through similar issues as myself: isolated in a rural community without friends/family support; a intellectually enervating job; weight gains that were causing health issues and; marriages that were in trouble. We were both unhappy; but during the course of the conversation we realized that in essence, we were not taking enough responsibility for our own happiness. We decided to imagine our future selves and work towards those goals. And you know what? In taking our destinies in hand, a lot of things took care of themselves :-)

lisalove37

Today was my breaking point, this morning actually. To fearful of stepping on the scale, thru the tears and self hatred I put my gym shoes on, fired up myfitnesspal and began with another Day1. I have chosen to comfort myself with food as my coping mechanism for the stress in my like and as a result I have gained probably close to 40 pounds in the last year. I will know for sure tomorrow. All of this is behind me as I begin my journey of loving myself and taking care of myself, today, right now, one day at a time.

CassieReannan

I was putting off looking in the mirror, eating myself silly because I was in denial. My fiance told me I was beautiful no matter what size so I used that as an excuse to eat a whole pizza, fatty food ect. When my mum had a stroke at the start of this year she told me to lose the weight, she didn't want me in a hospital bed like her. She wanted me to be healthy.

So I moved out and back into my parents as I quit my fast food job to care for her plus save money. I was starting my first semester of university (studying nursing), I was the biggest girl in every class I had and thought to myself HOW can an overweight nurse help people be healthy when they arent themselves? While on holidays I had a lot of time to think about my life and where I want to go. The one thing I was so unhappy about was my weight and one day I decided to go for a long walk. That long walk took me 45 minutes, with a lot of huffing and puffing. I was so unfit and missed my figure before I graduated high school. I walked to and from school daily, had a part time job and a social life. I wanted that back. I made a promise to myself to lose the weight. I walked back, joined MFP a few days later and started logging my food... And the rest is history. That same track I walked I can walk now in 30 minutes! I have lost almost 15kg since April.. and am aiming to lose another 20 to be at goal in the next year. :flowerforyou: I now am so happier, healthier and confident.

This is a life long journey, mistakes are bound to happen and a few bad days. Never give up on yourself!

iSpeakLife

Wow, this is definitely inspiring. Thank you sooooo much for sharing all these responses and I posted this just 40 minutes ago! Haha

There's so much power in testimonies, I appreciate it and am excited to read more!

KimWW

This is going to sound weird and corny.

My daughter and I were on a road trip in Missouri. A delay in our schedule meant we hit St. Louis at rush hour. For a lady from rural Mississippi, this was panic time. 70+ mph with just a few feet between our car and others. When we made it out the other side alive I had this feeling of "I can do anything!" and the next day it occurred to me that if I could drive through St. Louis at 5pm, I might be able to do other things too. Hey, I could eat a freaking salad for lunch, maybe even work out some.

rachellosesitall85

It starts when you truly want it to. I've stopped and started, etc. but recently, my breaking point has been that I've noticed that not only am I uncomfortable, I don't care much about my appearance when I used to never leave the house without a cute outfit, hair done, and make up on. I stepped on the scale and I'm inching towards my highest weight that I've kept off for 6 years. That and sick and tired of reading so many success stories wondering why I'm sitting on my butt instead of moving my butt and eating right so I can post my own success story. Also, when I don't even feel comfortable enough to be intimate with my husband. Those were all my breaking points.

iSpeakLife

when i stepped on the scale september 6th 2011 and it pointed to 295. for some reason that number did what looking in the mirror, ripped clothes and mean comments couldn't do. Made me start writing down what i ate and working out. now im 210 and need another breaking point =/

You can definitely do it! You've accomplished so much this far, push past your potential and move to progress Thanks so much for sharing, you are inspiring me!

Kenzietea2

I think once I realized it isn't quite as hard as I thought, and I don't have to starve myself to get results. Before MFP I assumed you HAD to only eat 1200 calories a day to get results. Not the case at all, you can still enjoy food and get to where you want to be.

VeggieKidMandy

my breaking point was when I saw a picture of myself standing next to my husband, granted he is thin as a rail, but next to him I looked ginormous!! Now I am thirty pounds thinner and I work out twice as hard everytime I look at that picture.

LishaCole

A photo of my double chin really got to me... followed by a photo of me looking all tired, stressed and huge next to my glowing skinny mini friends.

capriciousmoon

I was too big for men's size 38 jeans and had to start wearing 20W. When I checked my weight I found out I was up to 220 lbs and that's pretty damn big for 5'4"!

The thing that had me join MFP was not being able to fit in my jeans. I lost 100 lbs on my own and gained back 20.

EAlexandraB

I fissured the cartilage in my knee...getting up off the floor. :embarassed:

Now, I do have a connective tissue disorder, so this wasn't WAY out of left field, but as I sat in my bathtub doing one of many, many heat/ice cycles to try to get the swelling down, I very abruptly COULD NOT LIVE WITH MYSELF if I stayed fat anymore. So I decided: no more excuses. None.

Since then, I'm down 44lbs, and have missed only two workouts since March 1st - one when I tore my SCM muscle, and one when I had the flu. Around here, the ONLY valid reasons I allow for missed workouts are serious injury or illness. I eat mostly "clean," but allow other things ONLY if they fit into my calorie budget. And that's all it takes!

beachnik00

Mine was realising how much i hated photos of me going on Facebook - because i couldn't stand the extra fat I had put on, and how swollen i looked around my face and upper body not to mention lower body. When I looked back at all my pics i could not find one that I liked. When I'd binge eat and couldn't stop myself - when I looked at my calorie counters and realised i regularly ate about 1/3 more than I needed to every day - when I can't sleep on my stomach because my breasts make it too uncomfortable - when I can't fit into my 'fat' jeans anymore and I don't even know where my 'normal' ones are - when I think that summer is coming here in the southern hemisphere - when everything else in my life seemed to be in place but this one obsession is ruining my happiness and enjoyment of life - when I saw photos of myself surrounded by high school friends at a recent wedding and looked so bloated, I was embarrassed - when the scales hit 75kg, which they NEVER have in my life - when i don't feel like being intimate with my partner because I felt unattractive - when I wanted to clean up my diet because of ongoing colds and flu - when I realised I didn't want to go out dancing because I felt ugly - when I couldn't remember the last time I bought clothes because a) i could not face the changing room mirror and b) I kept thinking "i'll be skinny soon and I don't want to waste money" - when I bought a house and realised I couldn't afford to eat out and drink anymore - when I discovered and enjoyed one of the training apps on my phone - when watching the incredible bodies at the Olympics - when I realised I had been harping on the same theme for about a decade, and how much negative time and energy I had WASTED on worrying about my appearance - when I thought "life doesn't have to be like this".

Loved all your replies! Well done on all your achievements so far.