The moment that made you SERIOUS about losing weight?

rwhawkes

My good buddy Dennis completed his first Ironman after training for a year and he finished strong, with a 15 minute negative split in the marathon leg of the ironman.

I figured that if he could train for a year and do an Ironman, then maybe I could train for a year and do a marathon, which is what interests me way more than an Ironman.

So I was inspired into the journey by Dennis. Losing large amounts of weight is just part of the journey to my 26.2.

Made the commitment on Labour Day, Sept 3, 2012.

jmeyer925

Had to publicly weigh in for a gym class at my new high school. When I saw "300" on the scale I wanted to die, in my head I would never be accepted like that. Knew that I would never have a date to any important dances or fall in love with the right guy. My self esteem was absolute zero. I was doomed unless i made an effort. (<- again in my head, i know now its not necessarly true, but you know how teenagers are lol).

sbocha01

I weighed myself on a scale at a friend's house and didn't realize how heavy I was. And a few days after that, I was looking at myself in the mirror and finally just said, "Okay, it's time to lose some weight."

mandy0688

All my weight is around my midsection, true, I have no fat arms, no big legs and no butt. Everything is around my belly. The question everyone kept asking me was "ARE YOU PREGNANT? or i can be outside and get chewed out for smoking a cigerette because ppl assumed I was pregnant. It finally broke me down and thats when I said this has to stop. Keep it in mind the only thing big on me is my midsection. My legs and arms look like a normal person. I am shaped oddly but yea when everyone assumes your pregnant when your just fat, it hurts.

Hey, Mandy! I am the same way, most of my problem is my belly. It means we have an apple shape body. If someone mainly gains weight in their hips and thighs, they are pear shaped. That's what my doc said. She also said the belly is the most dangerous place to have fat and it's the hardest to get rid of. Belly fat causes diabetes, heart disease, etc. A personal trainer told me the only way to bust belly fat is through cardio- whatever makes you sweat, breathe hard, and gets your heart pumping. Best of luck to you, Mandy. :flowerforyou:

Thanks for that, i been doing everything I can do lose the weight and so far i am doing well 2 weeks into it,.

quietasariot

There were a few moments but the biggest a-ha moment for me was realizing I could not show up to my 10 year high school reunion weighing 100 pounds more than I did at graduation. Wasn't going to happen, no way no how. By the time the reunion happened I lost about 70 pounds (I think), maybe a little less.
Another a-ha moment was when my MIL proposed a weight loss challenge for herself, her daughter, and me. Whoever lost 2 sizes first got $1,000 to go shopping for new clothes. Whoever dropped more than that in the time proposed (a year) would get an additional $500. Well, it was me and I got that money. She said she knew we ALL needed to lose weight and what better encouragement than to win something?
It wasn't even the money or shopping that enticed me - I really disliked clothes shopping when she suggested this - it was just that she said what I knew and we all knew - we all needed to lose weight for our health and for our kids (in her case, grandkids) and yes even for our husbands. Hearing it made it real. I'm glad she said something - now I'm 5 sizes smaller and 80 pounds lighter .

emilymonnig

Crazy expensive wedding dress = too small. EEEEKKK!

mkerdock

I was always a yo yo weight loss story. I would lose it, then gain it back then lose it. I was always down/depressed and always blamed everyone for my moods. I finally said enoughs enough and took control of my health. Best decision I ever made!

FDwife153

several things motivated me:
1. i have a more extreme curve to my back, therefore pushing my stomach forward--there's nothing i can do about that--but with the extra weight, i was constantly being asked if i was pregnant and when i was due, by complete strangers.
2. i got on the scale one day and realized that i was 211 lbs (@ 5'7")...the heaviest i'd ever been. and if i didnt actually get serious and do something about it, it was only going to get worse.
3. when, every year, i couldnt fit into last summer's shorts and would have to buy more--and was to the point that i was buying size 18...i didnt want to be forced to shop in the plus sized section/or plus sized specialized stores.
4. when i didnt feel sexy naked in front of my own husband.
5.when i had a doctor ask me if i was a "piggy piggy" when it came to eating.
6. when my grandmother will send me health articles through my facebook as if i requested them. she means well, she cares about me and only wants the best for me, but it still hurts when i didnt ask for that kind of advice. makes me feel as though i'm not good enough.

all of these piled together, where enough to say "this is it. 2012 is the last year i will ever be fat!"

pommesvertes

A few things. Going over 15 stone was one of them, where I'd always been steady at 14 before (still not good but because it wasn't going up at least I didn't care about it going down). Also I started getting chest pains which actually ended up being due to an ill-fitting bra, but it still scared me.

I moved away to university though, which meant for the first time I was ENTIRELY accountable for everything in my cupboard - I couldn't slip up and sneak a few of my little brother's snacks. If I bought them there was no excuse. I also found a gym I could actually afford in this city where there are literally none in my price range at home. If I wasn't going to do it now, then I would never do it.

jakidb

Mine was struggling to walk up the stairs at my job--I would literally be out of breath! Ironically the other day we had a random fire drill and I walked up the stairs--2 fights of 6 and did not lose breath NOT ONCE

ellemoncada

It was a number of things for me too... I lost 30 pounds right after I left college and got down to 130ish, which was in the high end of the "healthy" BMI range for my height. I was happy about it and was okay with my body, then I got married and moved from an extremely small town to New York City, where I had no support system or method for living, and I packed almost all the weight back on within two short years. I'm now 5 pounds away from the heaviest I've ever been in my life, and my work blazers are so tight across my back that I have to leave them all open. I tried to do yoga recently, but have such an intertube around my midsection that I couldn't actually complete the triangle pose, which I used to do very easily. When I laugh, I can feel my belly jiggle. When I brush my teeth, there's just way too many wobbly bits wobbling around, and I'm tired of it. I'm just tired of being fat and tired and icky looking.

Also, there's a lot of instability in my life currently, and I want to give myself something dependable; the gift of health and changed habits and a happier self image. I want to make sure that no matter what changes come my way in the next few months, I am prepared to face it as the best version of myself. I have about 40 pounds to lose, and I'm gonna start losing it today!

lisamariepickering

Two things.
1 - The time I almost dropped my daughter while trying to heft her up into the truck into her car seat.
2 - When I realized that unless it was Lane Bryant (ugh) I could no longer shop at the mall because no one carries my size.

mwintturi

A couple things:

1. Seeing a picture of myself from a recent party... granted, it was an unflattering angle, but it really made me feel horrified at how I let myself go.
2. Going to Marshall's to look for some new pants and skirts, and the only ones that would fit were size 16! I've never been this big before and I don't like it one bit. So, I bought the size 16 pants, and then went next door to the gym. These pants will be a good gauge of how big I WAS.

sameervasta

My dad had his second heart attack before the age of 60 — and that scared me. I didn't want to end up like him, with heart conditions so young. I knew I had to make a change.

book_worm4

The first time I started trying to lose weight, my grandpa had a heart attack. He's been overweight for as long as I can remember, and he's not the healthiest.

I started losing but then I hit a plateau and couldn't get over it, so I gave up.

More recently I saw this picture taken of me, and I realized how bad I looked. It made me think of all the reasons I wanted to lose weight in the first place.

Minus51

I had my third and fourth child 14 months apart. I had barely lost my baby weight from #2, or #3 when I got pregnant with #4. The entire time I was pregnant with #4, I couldn't wait to have her and start losing weight. Everytime I looked in the mirror I would cringe. My baby is 3 months old and I have lost the initial weight from having a baby plus 12 lbs since I started really trying. I am so much happier now. I am happy that I have found a program that is free, but also shows results. I love all 4 of my children with all my heart, but they really did a number on my body.

RajwaJ

When at the ripe old age of 34 I couldn't walk up and down stairs. My knees would kill me!! Lost 40lb and I could run up stairs two at a time. Sadly the pain is catching up again but hoping to lose another 30lb and tone my leg muscles to help support my knees.

ksumme

A health scare.

My blood pressure was 190/ 115.
Other blood work showed I would have also been put on cholesterol meds, and diabetes meds.

My dr. worked with me to see if I could get the numbers to improve before going on the other medications - and it did.

He did put me on blood pressure medication that day, and while I am on the lowest dose available, I still have not yet been able to go off of it. But, with it, my blood pressure is great. I still hope that as I lose the other half of this weight, I ultimately will be able to go off of the medication. If I can't, at least I know I did everything I could, and the rest is just unfortunate genetics.

I find it harder to stay 'motivated' now than it was the first six month. The health crisis is past, and I no longer 'hate' the way I look. There have been a couple of times where I way over did it with the wrong food/ quantities and it was a harsh reminder that it would be very easy to fall back into dangerously bad habits.

Right now, I still focus on losing 'weight' and being healthy. My main goal isn't a number on the scale, but to get my waist size below 30 inches. That is when I can say I am healthy. (And will continue to live a healthy lifestyle of eating well, and getting exercise to stay fit.)

MiloBloom83

The day i saw 222 on the scale. I was like, "Whoa! You are fcuking fat!".

zewolf77

I've always been heavy, but I've always been active. I was always the fat kid that refused to quit and refused to give up... unless it meant getting serious about losing weight.

At age 34, we had just gone and had family pictures done and I went and volunteered for Watch D.O.G.S. at my daughter's school. Looking at the pics, I realized how tiny my kids looked compared to me. I mean, I was enormous (~300lbs). I felt like King Kong holding Fay when I held my little blonde headed daughter up. And then... I watched the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" after that... I had hope. This guy could do it by drinking juice. Naturally, we tried the juice thing along with it.. and it got us started. I watched "Forks over Knives" shortly after that. I started learning about what unhealthy eating really does to your body and how eating better can actually fix it. (Mind you I didn't go to the Vegan extreme yet) However, between the two of them, my wife and I saw how eating more natural foods that had natural fibers in them would fill us up for fewer calories. That started it. We still eat meat and all, but fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes make up a large portion of our diet now.