What was your moment of "enough is enough"?

RedsFan12

The moment I could no longer find my size in regular clothing stores.

willnorton

my best friend Petie died..... he was a 12 year old rat terrier...and died from complete kidney failure.... i have type 2 diabetes and this can happen to me real easy..

thanks Petie

NavyKnightAh13

I was getting married in 2011 and one didn't wish to be 243lbs, but when I found out I was pregnant I decided enough was enough, I need to be around for my son and my husband and didn't want to die at the age of 57 (my mom passed away at that age, my mother in law passed away at the age of 51, both from massive heart attacks). I lost 39lbs before I came to MFP (I lost weight during the pregnancy from what they feel was being active when I did was pretty much walk) and have lost another 22 since February.

gabriellejayde

I had a few:

One was seeing a picture of myself from a cousin's wedding. I was wearing a new dress that I thought looked great on me, but the picture showed an enourmous middle aged woman (i'm 45).

THere was a woman I worked with at the time and everyone always commented about us looking alike. She was definately chunky, and I assumed I looked pretty similar. ONe day she came in announcing that she weighed herself for the first time and was appalled at the number (which she said out loud) and was going on a diet that day. I went home and weighed myself and I was 20lbs heavier than that. SHe started losing weight and getting attention and I was jealous. (happy for her, but realized that I needed to do something too).

I am hiring some new people for my department at work and this average looking woman came in for an interview. One of the guys on my floor said we should hire her because it's about time they had some eye candy in the office. I knew what that meant between the lines. I've always been pretty and now I"m not.

Reneefit135

When a drunken coworker told me at the xmas party I was 'fat for a vegetarian' and then looking at photos and realising he was right. I will be at least ten kilos lighter at this years party.

Honestly, I hate telling people I'm a vegetarian b/c I know they are silently (and sometimes not so silently) thinking what your coworker said.

I can soooo relate to both of these posts. I was a vegetarian almost 4 years and i was gaining weight (totally my fault, filling up on carbs) Its embarrassing when you are known for a healthy way of eating and yet you are overweight.

aftergypsies

I binge'd on Arbys with my BF and felt sick. Prior to this I had been trying to at least use portion control but not well enough. On the way home I told him I wanted to lose weight for real and we bought a scale on the way back. After I saw that I was almost 300 lbs I knew it was time.

29andfat

My 'enough is enough' moment came a couple of weeks ago, when I realised that in four months of so-called dieting, I hadn't managed to lose a single pound.

Back in June, all I'd wanted to do was to lose about 5lbs to get back under 200lbs, back into lovely Onederland. I'd been in the 190s for years, and I just wanted to get back there because being over 200 meant that I was entering a new level of fatness that I couldn't deal with.

So a couple of weeks ago, when I reflected on my lack of progress over the summer, I just couldn't believe that I hadn't managed to get rid of those 5lbs. If I couldn't lose those 5lbs, how on earth was I going to be able to lose the 60lbs I need to lose to get to my goal weight? And that's when I thought - I have to do something different, I have to have an attitude change or something - and I finally realised that I HAVE to make some kind of permanent lifestyle change. I'd always ignored people going on about lifestyle changes - it was annoying to me and I always secretly thought I could just starve myself for a couple of months and lose a bunch of weight quickly, and then go back to my old eating habits (if I was just a little bit more careful).

But anyway, I've finally accepted that my weight loss will be a long process that can't be rushed, and that there will be ups and downs. Most importantly, I'm not abandoning my diet and starting over every time I mess up! Hopefully this time round it'll work out for me!

9thwardchick

My enough moment came when I had trouble buckling my shoes. I was sweating and I almost cried. I decided that I was too big and started exercising. Even at 7 pounds lighter, I have noticed a change. I love it :happy:

RetiredAndLovingIt

bump

positivepineapple

My moment was in June. My bf and i went to a resort for our 2 year anniversary and they ahve an indoor water park. i made excuses to not even go and swim or go on all the cool slides because i knew i would not look good in a bathing suit. that same weekend my bf took a picture of me standing in the hallway of the condo and once i saw it i about died!! i felt so ashamed that i was literally SO wide!! i oculdnt believe that thats how i truly look from another persons persepective.

all in all i just decided im sick of having to wear layers of shirts (the lacy kind), im sick of not being able to wear shorts and skirts during the summer, feeling super self-conscoius when we go on my parents boat, and quite frankly i feel incredibly unattractive in the bedroom, if you catch my drift.

i am doing this to better ME!!!

think about this: how long do you enjoy that naughty snack? whether it be a candy bar, ice cream, whatever your temptation is. how long would you say it takes to devour it? a whole 30 seconds? 1 minute? think about this now, how many minutes, hours a DAY do you think about how unhappy you are with your overall appearance and unhealthiness? for me, it would easily be all day long. that feeling is a constant in my mind! so is it really WORTH it to induldge in some yummy food for a whole 30 seconds when really all those yummy foods are the reason we feel this way OVERALL?? the answer is NO! Now if only we can all overcome temptation... its not easy in the slightest..

just food for thought:)

good luck with the weight loss and happier lifestyle everyone!!

Yeah same here.... I went on vacation with my boyfriend and I didn't want to post any of our pictures on facebook because I was embarrassed at the way I looked, and I didn't feel comfortable in anything I brought to wear.... And completely unattractive in the bedroom.

I was like screw this

hayleymc3

My moment of "enough is enough" happened a couple weeks ago. I lost 95 pounds and then gained all of them back except 28. I knew all along I was gaining the weight back but I didn't do anything about it until recently. Some of my reward clothes I had purchased for losing weight wouldn't even button, zip, or go over my head. I realized I was pretty much back where I started so I forced myself to weigh in. It was kind of crushing to realize I had come so far and just let myself go. I had been really close to getting under 200 and everything. As someone who has always been morbidly obese, fact that I almost changed my life completely but gave up shattered my spirit. That weigh-in has pushed me to do this again and not give up this time. And I won't.

jennagirl84

Hysterical. Girl, I can relate!!!

Janet9906

I woke up one day and was so miserable, I cut everyone out of my life. I decided I wanted to start living again. My daughter had 2 major surgeries, I let the stress consume me, once I found out everything was fine, I decided to work on getting control of my life again and I'm so happy I did :-)

MyPaperBleedsInk

Well.... it was a bunch of little things combined.....
When I realized that I took too long each morning to decide what to wear, because all I had was large baggy clothes to hide in, and I really didn't like them....
When I realized I was also wearing coats/jackets all the time, even in warm weather, to hide my body in.....
When my friend's complete loser and waste of life, of a "boyfriend" made some comments behind my back about my appearances..... I even remember thinking and posting online... "Well at least I can change to look good.... he's ugly on the outside AND the inside.... and you can't fix the inside."

Cassandrat83

My profile picture. We recently went on holidays once I got home and uploaded them I was stunned. I look like the before picture on those diet and exercise adds on telly. I have our wedding in one year, so it's time to focus on me.

jensauce

when i realized i didn't want to bump into anybody from high school or college cause i'd be embarrassed...i wasn't "obese" or anything, but definitely was (and still am!) embarrassed that i'd lost my figure.

only 18 lbs to go! i want to get there by christmas, and i'm actually enjoying the hard work i've put in...so hopefully my friends/family will notice a BIG difference when i see them for the holidays

ktmmom189

Nothing fit and I was not going to by a size 16

Sharon_C

My daughter's high school graduation. I looked at all those family pictures and I was embarrassed at the weight I'd gained. I knew then that I had to do something about it and whatever I did I had to STICK TO IT.

I vowed to myself to not give up, to not get discouraged and to push through whatever obstacles I might think are in my way. I also told myself that I was going to lose weight slowly. Too many times I've tried to lose weight fast and it just doesn't work.

Honestly if it wasn't for MFP and the great, supportive community, I might have given up. I have to keep telling myself that this is a lifestyle change. I refuse to beat myself up on unexpected cheat days and I refuse to give up because of those cheat days.

I'm loving reading everyone's stories. It's amazing what little things can change our lives forever, isn't it?

sunshine1992

When I realised if I kept going I would soon be shopping in plus size stores. That freaked me out really badly.

Just walking around was sometimes an effort, my feet would hurt and I would feel humiliated. I wanted to be able to walk without being in pain!

Oh, and I remember my boyfriend coming over earlier then expected and didn't leave me time to chuck out the 1.5L coke bottle that was full 24 hours ago away and he asked if I spilled it, he didn't even realise it was possible for me to drink that much.

eddysuchydvm

my friends mom wanted to gift all her daughters friends an outfit for Diwali (indian festival) and she bought me a size 24 when i was actually size 18.
to my face she was all apologetic and promised to return it and get me a proper sized one and i told her never mind, we actually had a good laugh about it.
then later i heard her talking to a lady in the living room 'dont know why she wants to keep it, what a waste of money since she wont be able to wear it' and the lady was like: 'oh, she'll grow into it'

i was so mad to hear that someone could say that.

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Glad you're showing them!!!

DexterDarko

I've had lots of these moments and alot of failures, but I think I'm more motivated to show what I did to other people then with myself, but I feel i'd be pretty happy with myself aswell.

fourgotten

I've always been fat. My size has varied up and down, but I saw my doc last year and was down 30 pounds from where I am now.

The day that finally did it was shortly after I got my job back, and saw a co-worker who's a VERY big guy. I realized that that could easily be me.

The same day, I saw a friend of mine who's a little heavier than I who was out walking. He was walking because his doc told him that he was at risk for diabetes.

In conjunction with the fact that my pants were tight and uncomfortable - even the biggest ones that I had which had previously needed a belt to stay up. I realized that I had to do something.

I quit smoking and decided to change my diet and routine. My friend and I walk every day, nearly three miles every day and I log everything that I eat now... even my bad days. I'm determined that I WILL drop to a healthy weight.

30theFASTway

It's always those photos, isn't it?

Seeing a photo of myself at a formal event with my husband. I was feeling pretty good, almost thin even... until I saw the pictures. Granted, my pose did add about 20 pounds... I still don't even want to be able to even look that big again.

repertoire

I was telling a friend about my mom passing away when I was 8. I commented that I didn't remember her and that it scared me that if I died today, my youngest may not remember me. His response will never leave my head. How old do they have to be before it is ok for you to die?

This broke my heart....

I'm doing it for my kids too. I want to be here for them for as long as humanly possible.

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bushidowoman

I saw pictures of myself and could not believe that was me. I stopped letting my family take pictures of me, for months. Then when I finally got up the nerve to step on the scale and plugged the numbers into an app I had installed on my phone, I saw the word "obese" in angry red letters next to my BMI. Not just "overweight"..."obese".
I don't think I'll ever go back there again. I am much happier at "healthy".

jxerickson

I would say that my defining moment was after a hospitalization at the end of August. I am a nurse and was injured while working in the ER. I was put on temporary disability in May and have been depressed at home, no real agenda and in pain. I felt that I was tied to the pills that the doctors were giving me and I would stay in bed all day at times. Between May and into August I put on about 30 pounds. I guess I ran myself down not sleeping at one point when my mother was sick and so in the hospital I landed, unable to breathe and sicker than I had ever been. I noticed that my blood pressure was high, and at first I thought it was just because I was hurting, scared, and getting albuterol. But the blood pressure never went down, and when I followed up with my doctor a few days later it was still high and my sugar levels were up to. I knew that this had to stop, it was from the weight gain he said. I knew right then that I needed to change. I did not want to take high blood pressure pills, and sure as heck did not want to be a diabetic. So I started to work out and threw away all of the bad foods in the house. The problem was finding a work out that I could do with my injury. I have 5 bulging discs in my neck and they are all torn. One of them is pushing on my spinal cord and narrowing the canal that the cord lies in. So I started yoga, water work outs, and walking on the elliptical or treadmill. I have never felt better. My energy is back, the pain is still there but I think that my improved mood has helped me deal with the pain. My husband is also on board with the diet and works out with me and we prepare meals together. I think that not only has this changed my lifestyle and is improving my health, but is bringing my husband and I closer together. Thanks for taking the time to read this long story.

Jennifer

Aviflora

I hate to say it, but my "enough is enough" moment was when I was on a vacation in Croatia with my (now ex) boyfriend. I was fine and secure in our relationship, and I know he was true... But a young lady who had eyes for him was not only much smaller than me, but was also immensely talented, beautiful, smart, fun, and sweet. I know better than to compare myself to other girls, but.. dayum, this girl had the entire package. And I felt miserable when I was with them.

I didn't break up with him because of her only, it was a few other things too. But it was my wake-up call. I learned that to be happy with someone else, I have to be truly happy with myself first.

xBrittanyK

Well it should have been when I saw 372lbs on the scale and knowing I was getting closer to 400lbs (I did actually start losing after this and got down to 320 but then went back to 352lbs). It should have been the day I realized I had a binge eating disorder (linked to my childhood) and I could easily consume 10,000 calories in a sitting and NOT throw it all up. It should have been when I realized I moved to a country that didn't have one store that carried sizes big enough for me. It should have been when I didn't feel pretty enough to be seen with my husband and purposely skipped out on command functions, picnics and nights out to not only save me the embarrassment but him also. It should have been when I was diagnosed with PCOS and told I'd need to lose a significant amount of weight before I'd be considered for fertility treatment. It should have been when I was getting winded just walking up the stairs. But, none of those did it for me.

What finally was my 'enough' moment? In January when I realized I'd be flying back stateside (a 24 hour trip with two 8 hour flights and a 4 hour flight) in 11 months by myself. No husband beside me so I could put the armrest up and have a little room. I was scared I wouldn't fit or they'd make me buy an extra seat. I was terrified. So, I decided to do something about it and started at 352lbs. It was pretty 'easy'. My husband had just deployed and I new I had 7 months where I could be as strict as I needed to and I lost 60lbs in those 7 months. I've now lost 73lbs this year and 93lbs since my highest weight. I've still got a month and a half before I get on that plan and I'm hoping for another 15-20lbs. I've still got a ways to go overall, but it's getting done!

I was lucky enough though that my husband never said a word about my weight. He never looked at other women, compared me to other women or said 'remember how you looked when we met 10 years ago'? He loved me unconditionally and told me I was beautiful every single day and I think that ultimately gave me the confidence to start. The funny thing? When we met, we were 15 and I weighed about 260lbs (yes, horrible, I know) and I'm only 17lbs from that now! I can't wait to tell him 'babe, I weigh less than I did when we met' lol.

shanice_22

I was originally using MFP about a year ago and lost about 1 stone but then the weight started creeping up and up again. I tried using MFP again but just wasn't as dedicated as I was a year ago. Then my defining moment came when I was sat on the sofa watching TV and eating lots of junk (can't remember exactly what I was eating, think it was chocolate teacakes and doritos). I looked down at my tummy and saw the flab and decided I didn't want to be like that ever again.

Another defining moment came recently when I went on a night out and none of my nice dresses fit. There is one dress in particular in my wardrobe that I've had since January and never worn yet. Tried it on and it's now too tight so I want to be able to fit into this dress by Christmas.