What was your bottom/ah-ha moment....

HeinzPrincess

Prior to my MS relapse last fall, my MS was my excuse for not doing anything I did not want to do.....

I had a relapse with my MS and was on steroids for about three months.
Even though I was careful about not giving in to the food cravings I still managed to gain twenty pounds...

That put me at 200.. (I had never been there). I could not fit into anything in my closet and I was not about to shop in the fat women's section..... I was miserable and every joint in my body hurt.. but I just whined about it and did notthing.
My then two year old grandson wanted me to read him a story on my iPad and he climbed up into the recliner and tried to sit with me, but we did not fit side by side.. so he sat on floor instead.. it broke my heart.
The next day I joined MFP and quit smoking..... that was February 2012. I am forty pounds lighter and my now three year old grandson, climbs up into the recliner now and says "Amma, Amma-- we fit ! We fit!!" and I say, that is because "Amma is smaller" and he says ' Yes, Amma is smaller and I am getting bigger" All the reason in the world for me!!!!!

That made me teary-eyed!


Mine was last winter. My bf's 9 year old daughter put her arms around me in a hug and said, "I can reach the whole way around!" My bf said, "Does that surprise you?" and she replied, "Yes, because she's fat!"

Vansy

I had gained 5 pounds back this year and I've been meaning to get rid of it. Last week [while out of town] I had eaten poorly and had a really intense workout and felt sick to my stomach and disgusting throughout the entire workout. That was my last straw -- enough is enough. So I'm back on-track and realizing the bad things I had been doing to my body. Hopefully those last 10 pounds will be gone in no time.

Sthrncupcake

This picture, my sister tagged me in on FB....I instantly cried at how I had let myself go! Started THAT day!

abnerner

I saw a photo of myself from a friend's daughters birthday party.

I can remember not only did I have the button on my jeans undone, I also sat up super straight in my chair to reduce the muffin-top I had. Needless to say it didn't work, the picture was posted on FB and I untagged myself....and I NEVER untag myself in photos.

I joined MFP 5 days later.

Skinny_Jeans_Soon

When my husband (who was also my first/HS Sweetheart) told me I was fat and he wasn't attracted to me any longer...sigh.

MaryRegs

when trying to tell my mother that her "simple" method of keeping herself healthy set off an explosion in my brain-I, too, had the power to get and stay healthy...started then and there....

LoosingMyLast15

i turned 40! seriously i hit 40 and was like forget this i don't want to be fat anymore i'm done!

bodiva88

It wasn't really a bottom. It wasn't really an ah ha. Two years ago my best friend sat next to me when I was getting ready to leave (I visit him and his family abroad every 1 1/2 to 2 years). He asked me, for them, because they love me and want me around, to try to at least get off the bus a block early. Or walk a block further to it. Anything to get me started in the right direction. And I wanted to do it for them, but I couldn't. This spring at my physical my dr. and I were talking about my new iPhone, which I love and she said, "You know if you love your iPhone so much, maybe this will work for you. It's working for some of my other patients." And she told me about MFP. So I downloaded it. But didn't start using it right away. Then I realized that I was starting to avoid things I enjoyed because I felt too ungainly. Or I worried when I was out about falling or tripping. And I realized this was only going to get worse as I get older. So 6 weeks after putting MFP on my phone I started to use it.

That was Memorial Day. I've gone from swimming 2 half hours a week to swimming 2 half hours and 1 hour and biking 2 half hours. And I set up for calories to lose 1 lb a week, but that's a lot of calories at my weight and my new activity level. And I reached out to my friends to see if anyone else was on MFP and there is a nice group who are banded together on this at various stages of the process. It's been easy so far. I know it will get harder. But I feel I finally have the tools and the will FOR ME to do this.

dsn1118

Mine was a combination of a few things.

1. I was running out of sizes in my favorite store.
2. The picture of me in my profile (left hand side).
3. The big one... my husband had noticed for at least the second time, that I wasn't wearing my engagement ring (which is slightly smaller than my wedding band). He asked me, "Don't you like wearing it anymore?" OMG, that about broke my heart and I knew I needed to do something.

So the ultimate gift to myself when I finally get to my goal weight, I'm getting both wedding band and engagement ring sized down. :bigsmile:

olee67

I tore my pectoral in January 2010 and that started the spiral. I was afraid to do anything to reinjure myself and the weight kept coming... I couldn't see it with my own two eyes, but, "playful" comments would come from my friends and I started to feel myself withdraw from life... On a whim... I took a picture of myself (the one in my profile at my biggest) and was shocked... What I saw in that picture I couldn't see with my own two eyes... It was then I decided it was time to get things turned around.

jenmurray116

New here, but wanted to respond....to put it out there in case I'm struggling and need a reminder....

I battled my weight in my teens, and all through my 30's...I'm 42 now and the change was building....first there were some horrific pictures of me at a wedding (you can practically see my stomach fighting to burst through the spanx) and the sudden appearance of a "double" stomach that I have never, ever had before. Then stepping on the scale and seeing the 200's - never, ever, ever did I want to let myself go like that. But, two weeks ago was my breaking point - I was born with messed up knees and have dislocated my left knee twice and had surgery when I was 15 (28 years ago). Thanks to genetics and how they did the surgery, I have arthritis in both knees, though worse in the left. In October of last year, my left knee swelled unbelievably and I went to the ER, to find out it was from the arthritis. Fast forward 8 months, with all of the above recent events pushing me to realize enough is enough - and then two weeks ago I had a bad fall. I was rushing to pick my son up and hit the edge of our walkway wrong. I don't know if I fell because my knee popped out, or if the knee popped out because I fell (sounds similar but one is much more worrisome). I slammed both knees into the driveway (really bad for someone who hasn't been able to kneel in 28 years because of the surgery) and then kind of fell over - I was screaming for my husband because I could not get up - and as he was just recovering from throwing his back out (and was 24 lbs lighter than me), he couldn't pull me. I had to roll over and have him help me that way. We went to the ER and I had to say out loud to the triage nurse what I weighed - it was awful and humiliating. But, the worst was hearing that between my two ER trips (Oct 11 and Aug 12), my left knee had severe degeneration and the arthritis had gone from "moderate" to "severe". In just 8 months. While I know I will need knee replacements in both knees, they want to hold off as long as possible - but at this weight, I am rushing it right along. I went to follow up with a new Ortho doctor and he said "losing weight would help. Your knees carry 6 x's your body weight in pressure on them".

And that was the last straw. I do not want to be on the sidelines of my own life because I couldn't control my eating or my weight. I never want to be mortified saying my weight out loud again. So, I am making myself and my knees a priority right now. :happy: The end result was a sprain in my left knee and a severe sprain and ACL damage in my right knee - so, exercise is limited to PT right now. But, as I'm allowed, I'll be moving more. Someday I will walk a marathon - maybe with my old knees, maybe with new one's - but I will do it!

muthrb

My daughter asked me fourteen months ago if I'd make it (i.e. still be alive) for her wedding. :brokenheart:
Two months ago we danced at it. :bigsmile:
Still going strong....:happy:

vcferlita

When my husband (who was also my first/HS Sweetheart) told me I was fat and he wasn't attracted to me any longer...sigh.

I bet he's not saying that now. At least he better not be.

Troll

My mom was hospitalized for what we thought was a heart attack....at 42. her dad had his first at 36. i was a chubby, wimpy recovered anorexic with no muscle and a HEAVY addiction to caffiene (so much so that i would collapse from shaking if i didnt get enough). We sat in the hospital room, her at 256lbs and me at 88lbs....and we decided no more. no more getting tired doing laundry or walking a flight of stairs. no more candy or soda or energy drinks. just....no more. that was three years ago. we are both healthier and happier than ever.

ronaldo4ka

I went to a gynecologist for my annual and was all healthy except she put "overweight" in my papers. I was like WTF and even cried a little at home..but started losing weight almost immediately

pcotter54

LOL, I'm losing "baby weight" and my baby is 23!

fit4lifeUcan2

DH got me a new vanity with an ENORMOUS mirror. When I sat at my vanity I saw my entire body for the first time and I hated what I saw. All those rolls hanging over my pants and my arms were so large! eekkk Then I went to the dr. and he said I was obese! what? me? I've always been skinny and now in just 2 years I went from a size 10 to a 14/16 jeans! Wearing suddenly an XL top. First I got my fitness pal and lost 7 pounds but it took me 3 months to get that off. Went to the dr. and he said one of my meds caused weight gain so he took me off the neurontin and in one week I lost 3 more pounds! So I joined WW and lost another 33 pounds! Down now a total of 40 pounds since I started trying to loose weight. I exercise ever day even it all I do is walk the dog. I'm so much happier than I've been in years!!! I go out now and talk to people, I"m a full time college student working on my degree finally, made the deans honors list, and I won 5 scholarships this year. Enough to pay for my full time tuition and books for the year!! I can't remember being this happy and healthy. I'm getting a lot of cheers and congrats from my kids and DH. Our 20th anniversary is Jan 2nd and I hope to be close to my goal by then of 155 lbs so I can wow my DH with a nice new outfit and some sexy unmentionables :blushing:

TashaeJanee

One day I was sitting in the living room watching TV with my mom (it was a Monday, The Bad Girls Club was on), and I realized that if I didn't get up off of my lazy *kitten* I'd be just like her one day. We were both sitting there drinking a Pepsi and eating our dinner in front of the TV, it was just disgusting.

I love my mom to death, but she's so unhappy with SO many things in her life and I honestly believe that all of her issues all come back and meet at her weight problem. I wish I could motivate her to get out and create some change with me, but I can only do so much.

fit4lifeUcan2

Prior to my MS relapse last fall, my MS was my excuse for not doing anything I did not want to do.....

I had a relapse with my MS and was on steroids for about three months.
Even though I was careful about not giving in to the food cravings I still managed to gain twenty pounds...

That put me at 200.. (I had never been there). I could not fit into anything in my closet and I was not about to shop in the fat women's section..... I was miserable and every joint in my body hurt.. but I just whined about it and did notthing.
My then two year old grandson wanted me to read him a story on my iPad and he climbed up into the recliner and tried to sit with me, but we did not fit side by side.. so he sat on floor instead.. it broke my heart.
The next day I joined MFP and quit smoking..... that was February 2012. I am forty pounds lighter and my now three year old grandson, climbs up into the recliner now and says "Amma, Amma-- we fit ! We fit!!" and I say, that is because "Amma is smaller" and he says ' Yes, Amma is smaller and I am getting bigger" All the reason in the world for me!!!!!

I know how harsh these treatments are on the body and it takes so long to take off that steroid bloat. I'm in remission and thankfully haven't needed steroids for a few years now. I hope you have continued success.

TinGirl314

I've had so many a-hah! Moments but I think the most important one was that I went to the ER Tuesday for chest pain and my EKG showed damage like after a heart attack.
They can't undo that damage.
So I've been busting butt to make sure that the other three chambers stay in place.