The moment that made you SERIOUS about losing weight?
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Mine was when I saw pictures of myself while playing with my daughter this summer....ugh awful sight!! And also the fact that I couldn't fit into my size 11/12 jeans anymore!! That was it!!! I set my mind to it and I made it happen!!
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Well. I weight 265lbs and signed up for a 10k trail run. I trained for it, set a reasonable goal that I wanted to complete it in under three hours and not be last, and showed up. I was massssively under prepared for what I was about to do, and while I achieved my goals of under three hours (2hrs and 54 mins, and three other people finished after I did and 200 dropped out at the halfway point) I was embarassed for myself. I seriously hated that I couldn't compete in a manner I found acceptable. People were telling me "Hey, you got out there and did it! You're awesome for showing up and finishing!" while well intentioned, made me feel even more freakish. Like, hey lets watch this fat*ss embarass herself. She thinks she can do these things and she can't. So I declared "Game On" on my body, and I fully intend to show up at this years Ugly Mudder 10k, ready to slay - so I won't be embarassed of myself anymore.0
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Buying clothes has been awful...I need new and found myself wandering into the WOMAN'S section, and not at all happy about it. My clothes are starting to loosen up, still going to hold off until spring and hopefully a shopping spree several sizes smaller. Not going to pressure myself to a number but hope it will be 2-4 smaller then now. I had to buy a few things for an upcoming trip and did not see a drop in size but was definitely not squeezing into them which is still an improvement. Besides bigger is better then poured into something unable to breathe.0
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From out of nowhere the thought of dying popped into my head.....all I could think of was how many pallbearer's would there need to be to carry my fat *kitten* in a coffin? I love my family too much to be an embarrassment like that, especially when I can take control and change it.0
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I was watching supersize me at the movies with a large diet coke and a family size bag of snickers chocolate bites. About half way through the movie I was putting one in my mouth and was like waaait a minute... this is gonna.... HOLY SH***T!
I threw both in the trash at the end of the movie. I went on a healthy diet, lost 20kg and got into a healthy bmi. then got a bit podgy over 5 years eating cookies in london.
but yah, that was a MASSIVE wake up call.0 -
I started to get in shape when my doctor spoke honestly and compassionately with me. My previously healthy, vibrant, beautiful 12 year old son died of seizures on 1/1/2004. My world fell apart. I didn't want to do anything. Sometimes I ate, sometimes I didn't, I ate junk, I didn't care. My physician acknowledged that he knows I'm grieving the death of my youngest son, but that my son would want me to have a good quality of life. And that's true. I owe it to my son, my surviving children, my family and myself. Life is a gift.0
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I was never not "serious" about it. From the moment I began actually giving a crap because I realized how much my poor overall level of fitness was getting in the way of being able to pursue fun hobbies, I simply began adopting strong nutrition practices and exercise and that was it. It was never a question of motivation. It was like I simply turned a switch on inside of me that said "okay, let's switch into weight loss/fitness mode" and that was it. It was just that easy. So I don't really relate to all these people who struggle with motivation.0
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Sitting in my doctor's office and listening to him once again tell me that they can't find anything more wrong with my knee even though it still hurts and remind me once again that I need to lose weight (after the surgeon told me basically there was nothing more he could do for me and just go back to my regular doctor) it suddenly occurred to me that I wasn't going to get them to take my reports of pain seriously unless I lost the weight and proved empirically that there was more to it than just that. I am 3 lbs. from the point where I was when I first met him 14 years ago and when I hit that mark, I'm going in again to have it officially recorded and get a full physical and ask for a new plan. I may still have 53 lbs. to go to final goal, but I think losing 62 lbs. (65+ by the time I go in -- 42 of those since my appt. in May should be sufficient to prove that I am cooperating with his theory and doing what I need to do and it's not going away!! Chorus of "toldja sos" ringing in my ears!0
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When someone i didnt even know yelled out " YOU ARE SO F---ING FAT" and then laughed and drove away
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After my sister's birthday party on May 5th...I was disgusted and revolted by the pictures of me. In one of the pictures, I was eating...enough said. I started the next day and haven't looked back. I joined this site a few weeks later and I'm happy to say that I'm 33 pounds down now. I still have a way to go, but I know I can do it. If I ever waver, all I need to do is look back at that pictures.0
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When I started waking up with edema and had tachycardia due to prehypertension. Also my family has history of diabetes. But it was not until I woke up one day with edema on my fingers and face. It was pretty scary!!!!!!!!!! They said it was due to my prehypertension. I would also get headaches due to it.
I have barely los 12 lbs but I haven't felt these symptoms ever again and my blood pressure is normal !!!
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Very simple...I am 43 and have been blessed with the gift of my daughter. I have to live for her. I have to eat correctly so she will. Everything else is extra.0
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I had been experiencing problems with my monthly cycle, and I learned that fat cells make their own estrogen. Since I started losing weight, my previous 3 cycles have run like clockwork. Another reason I want to lose weight is because my mom and two of my uncles have diabetes. My mom's is type 2 late onset type 2 diabetes, and it unnerves me just knowing that hers is hereditary. I want to completely "derail" the disease if at all possible (or, at the very least, "postpone" it for as long as I can). If that doesn't quite pan out, the disease might be less severe than if I hadn't worked out at all. If I need medication, I might require less.0
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I'm 22 and i've been self conscious about my weight and unhappy with myself since the age of 10! I always acted like it didn't bother me until my senior year of high school. When college came i had this stress put on me to be perfect and do well in school even though i didn't really want to and this stress led to me eating bigger portions, dining out a lot, and of course not exercising. In 2008, my then 1 year-old sister, was my job (i had been babysitting her since the age of 4 1/2 months) and she decided that my arm fat soothed her while lying in my lap to sleep...this was only the beginning! Not only did she pinch my arm fat but as ahe got older she would lift up my shirt and say "Sissy you're so jiggly" and jiggle my stomach. I tried to diet and exercise but would become bored and give up. Finally ,when she was 4 (last year), i decided enough was enough after she said "You know, you're very chubby." I was completely mortified....that's when i learned my family history so i decided i needed to lose weight and get healthy to lower my risk and be happy with myself.0
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When i realized the reason for me feeling yucky and diet/exercise not working was due to a fibroid tumor & was anemic, then had suergery and decided the tumor was gone & I'm on iron, time to get back into shape and eat right and exercise...
(I was 'bloateed' and fatigued 24/7, changed eating etc- it didn't help, so I gave in and just ate what I wanted and laid around, but withthe tumor gone and the iron taken care of, I need to undo the damage of bad eating and get back on the right path)0 -
pictures of myself...absolutely was this. In my mind, I am a lot cuter and smaller than what I look like in pictures! lol
It was a real eye opener.0 -
Memorial Day 2008....Found out my ex was cheating (again). It was drink myself to death or run and regain my life. I hadn't run in 8 years, but man did it feel good. Running brings me peace.0
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Ugh it took Pancreantitis, Diabetes that could not be controlled (Standard in the 500s), a size 28 pants, and a heart attack...
I'm here now! Lol.0 -
I went in surgery and got my gallbladder removed last January. It was not a standard surgery, It was pretty bad and almost ....well.. didn't make it. (burst in my stomach before surgery etc...won't go further)...Anyway... I have two little girls and the look on their face etc destroyed me... Felt so bad and scared.
After surgery I lost weight cause I wasn't eating much but later I gain lots... and couldn't diggest well,always bloated,constipated etc...not feeling good at all.
So I became SERIOUS in September..... Change my food,started to workout 6 days a week etc...
Since...Lots of cardio,lost many pounds and inches and NO MORE PROBLEMS...bloated gone,constipation gone,diggesting problems gone.....all gone! that's just amazing!
Anyway... It's been great.0 -
I'm 48, 5'6" tall. I've tried various diets over the years but nothing has really stuck.
I've always had excuses - I had a kidney transplant in 2005 and the drugs have wrought havoc. I put on loads of weight. My dad died in June 2011 and I hadn't seen him for 6 months and so I took comfort in food. Then I couldn't find anything to fit to wear to the funeral - had to wear my husband's polo shirt and trousers. Even that didn't force my hand although it was humiliating.
Finally at, Christmas 2011. Going home to see the family. My sister-in-law who is only 5 years younger than me having to help heave me off their sofa. Then struggling to get up their stairs to the toilet. Stopped 3 times and hubby had to pull me the rest of the way. Then I had to come back down on my bottom. Something had to give. I was having trouble getting up from a chair, trouble walking from one room to another, even rolling over in bed was a struggle. I was breathless and getting palpitations.
I weighed 146.6kg/323pounds in January 2012. Today I am 125kg/275 pounds. Still hefty and with a long way to go but this Christmas when I go back to visit the family, I'm damn sure I'm getting off that sofa without help!0 -
I saw a picture and hadn't realized I let myself get that chubby, I knew I was buying bigger pants but I didn't think it was that terrible until I saw a picture someone took.0
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<===== Yes that is really me. I no longer weigh 171 lbs and I am almost 52 years old. !!!!Curious about that moment when you said "OH NO. This has to stop and it's going to start right now!" Maybe a picture of yourself, or an innocent child saying "You look like Santa Claus" Whatever. It makes a difference!
I've tried to drop weight before, but it is different this time because I had that moment in my life!
I was (trying) riding my bike on the greenway. I was going up this hill and it felt awful and I'm sure I looked ridiculous because I was kind of listing back and forth across the path, feeling painfully aware of how FAT I felt.
Suddenly this skinny chick rides past me in a blur and calls out in a cheery voice "You go girl! You can do it!"
I was instantly angry and ashamed. OH MY GAWD, I thought. I'M THE FAT CHICK YOU SAY "You go girl!" TO!!!!
Oh heck no! That is NOT me!
That was what kicked me into gear. Oh, she motivated me alright, just not the way she intended.
Over the years I ran and lifted weights, I practiced martial arts, ran marathons, hiked, skied, and biked. Over the decades the weight piled on. I kept on working out harder and harder thinking I would lose the weight but it kept growing. I tried various diets, lost, then gained, lost, then gained, the typical yo-yo story. At age 48 I finally reached my peak of 171 lbs. at 5’1″. I had chronic back pain, low thyroid, and adrenal fatigue. I kept working out and running one marathon after the next thinking maybe this time it will work. Nope, the weight stayed on. Everyone told me to give up; this is what happens when you get older. I never gave up.
I always put running first and weights second, but I lifted consistently. I did the typical split routines and copied the exercises the guys did; flat bench, decline bench, incline bench, several back exercises, curls, tricep extensions and squats. Usually 10-12 reps. Day after day, year after year. I looked strong and hefty and big boned but never like the athele I wanted to be and it got worse as my weight crept up.
I'd retired from my software engineer job after 25 years and continued my workout routine. I weight 150 lbs when I went through the police academy at age 45 and could still run circles around the guys. I was a runner! I ran marathons at 150 lbs, even 50 mile races. You can't out exercise too many calories. I didn't realize how small I am. Hint: If you are short you are probably small.
I was so proud that I completed the police academy (in California that is a tough task to accomplish) AND passed all the agency hiring test and background and got picked up as a deputy. Only 1 out of 50 pass and get hired. I work for free as a reserve and I'm proud of it. Anyway, the weight crept up like crazy and I had to buy a bigger uniform, size LARGE pants. Oh my gosh embarrassing! I had planned to lose weight and was working my butt off at the gym and exercising like a mad woman. It was so NOT FAIR!!! What the heck? Something must have been wrong with me. My metabolism was broken (not really but I THOUGHT IT!). I had low thyroid and adrenal fatigue. My weight crept up. Adrenal supplements and thyroid medicine was not the magic pill once that got fixed.
Finally one day my partner and I were taking someone to jail and the bad guy called me a FAT *kitten* the whole way to the jail and in the booking room. My partner kept saying "That is not a very nice thing to say", but I kept thinking Oh my god it's TRUE. It was the last straw. I decided then and there I would lose the weight. I found for me it didn't seem fair but I had to EAT LESS. Way less, because I'm small. I didn't realize how small until I lost 60 lbs and saw how small I was without all the fat. HINT: If you are short, especially a short female, you are probably small. You have to eat way less than everyone else. It is not fair but it's the truth. Eat more works for taller people because they can eat MORE OR LESS and remain in a deficit. If you are small you don't have room in your deficit for EAT MORE, sad but true and NOT FAIR, but the fact is when you are small you have less lean body mass to maintain. I lift weights heavy and even with that and my super dense bones from lifting my lean body mass is maxed out at 104 lbs, and that is probably as big as I'll get staying all natural.
Is it okay to digress to weight lifting?? I hope, because this is important especially for women.
Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.
Girls, start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.
Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.
If you are a girl you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.
My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulking and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.0 -
I got on the scale after months and months of binging and avoidance, and I was only 31 pounds away from 500 lbs. I started the next day.0
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When people kept asking me if I was pregnant or just ask when are u due.
I hold my weigh in my tummy and hips(love handles) areas...
Also live longer to see my kids have baby's of their own...0 -
I saw a picture of myself that was taken from 3/4 behind me.....and I thought what I thought (I was looking at a cow) before I realized it was me. That is the moment, without a doubt. That picture is the third one in the pictures on my profile.0
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My health!0
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Mine was a combination also...
First started when my husband proposed to me on the day I weighed in at my highest weight ever. I had previously lost 40lbs and gained 55lbs back. So, seeing my old clothes in the closet was a wake up call. I knew I didn't want to wait any later than 32 years to have children. When I hit my 30th birthday, I knew I needed to be REALLY dedicated.0 -
I had been trying for years and only lost a few kg. One day I went to a dance class with an old friend, I loved it! I was hooked. I danced as often as possible and without realizing it I had lost 5kg. People were commenting and it was so easy, something "clicked" I COULD lose weight and it wasn't even difficult - it was fun!0
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This is embarassing to share... but, this picture is what got my attention. I was unhappy with my appearance before... but, this made me sick at my stomach to see.
ETA: There was a series of wake-up-calls, though.0 -
Wow, that was a touching story. Congratulations for your progress so far and good luck on the rest of your journey!
My moment was five years ago, when I could no longer fit into any of my jeans and had to go shopping for a size 13/14 (176 lbs). The very next day I grabbed my best friend, joined a gym and went from there. :0)0
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