Curious: Is Hitting 'Rock Bottom' Necessary?

CrisN99

I've been browsing through the forums and something has been standing out to me. People who are successful can generally pick a moment in time when they hit their limit and decided to make the change over to healthy living.

But does EVERYONE have that moment?

NCchar130

I didn't, personally. I can relate to a lot of peoples' rock bottom moments but it wasn't that way. It was many half-hearted attempts and lots of bad moments and I decided to think outside the box a little, so to speak. Since what I'd tried before didn't work, why not try keeping a food diary to see if the accountability would make a difference? I gave myself a month to give it my best shot figuring I could do anything for a month. And I never looked back :flowerforyou:

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Your bottom is when you decide to change. You can have a high bottom like not being able to fit into your favorite pair of jeans, or a low bottom like getting on the scale and realizing you're in the 500s. I never had some huge realization that I really needed to lose weight, I was already towards the lower side of the healthy BMI. I just decided I was doughy and lazy and I wanted to get in shape and lose weight.

Erienneb

I was always of the opinion that to make a substational life change that last, you needed to hit some sort of low. No one changes without a reason to, so obviously there was *something* wrong. Just because it wasn't as major as someone else's bottom, doesn't make it less real, I think.

SoDamnHungry

I hit rock bottom emotionally. And then I realized that it was manifesting physically as well, though it was nowhere near someone else's physical rock bottom.

Duck_Puddle

No-everyone doesn't have that moment. My "journey" started by accident. Totally unplanned and no big ah-ha moment-it was an accident. While I'm not at goal, it's been a year and 75lbs-I'm calling it successful.

besaro

it was my fat bottom that helped me make my decision.

cwolfman13

That's what happend with me. I'm in it for way more than just getting to a healthy weight...I want the nutrition and fitness as well. About 1.5 years ago, I received some bad news from the doctor...not life threatening immediately, but bad enough the he told me I needed to make some changes. I totally ignored him for the most part and thought it would just go away...made a few minor tweaks, but nothing really serious.

Fast forward to a few months ago...even worse news from the doctor. He asked me if I had made any of the changes we had talked about. I told him the tweaks I had made, which sounded really good, but when you net those things with the harm I was doing to myself, the good was negligible at best. My doc is a pretty straight shooter and basically put his foot up my *kitten* and asked me if I had a death wish or something. Since then, I've given up smoking and lost about ten pounds...only 25 more to go; I'm eating a much healthier diet full of lean proteins, complex carbs, whole grains...lots of water. I gave up smoking and have substantially decreased my booze intake. My goal not only involves helath and fitness and weight loss...I really want to be around awhile to watch my kids grow up; doc told me I was on a fast train to nowhere the way I was going...this time I'm paying attention.

DoomCakes

Hard to say. Because some peoples rock bottom's are not as bad as they can get. It's just how they feel about it at the time. Honestly, I didn't hit rock bottom. I could be MUCH worse. I could have health problems etc. I don't and I'm happy for that. But I made the change because I knew I needed to BEFORE I hit rock bottom.

I think some people who wait to hit rock bottom prolong how they see their self "It's only bad if I gain 10 more pounds" and that goes on till it's about a 100lb gain overall. It's not intentional, and I think that somewhere they just want to believe "I'm ok, I'm in control." The "rock bottom" is when they realize that they really were not in control.

Either way, rock bottom or not, I think it's great that any one would like to take their health into consideration!

Sweetpea472

I think the "bottom" is different for everyone. My bottom was that moment when I decided I simply couldn't take another day feeling so badly. If I had gone to the doc for a physical, I'm sure I would've had a medical reason, too: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes. Now my blood pressure is normal, and my cholesterol is near normal (I have a follow-up labs next month, fingers crossed for normal results). I've also changed the way I eat to minimize blood sugar spikes and keep diabetes away. I feel SO much better, and I'm glad I hit my "bottom".

nxd10

Not I. I had been slowly creeping up in weight over 15 years (pound a year) and decided I wasn't going to do that any more. Started using MFP and have lost 26 pounds. 12 more to go!

On the other hand . . . my husband is completely disgusted with himself and I'd say has hit bottom. He is lighter than he's been at his worst, but he works very, very hard at tai chi (he's an instructor) and is disgusted that his weight is in the way and that he hasn't been able to discipline himself to lose it. I am hoping that is the motivation he needs to go from thinking weight loss would be a good idea and occasionally logging to doing it consistently.

ShannonMpls

No rock bottom here.

If I am fully honest, I started exercising and eating well out of boredom. No health scare, no inability to fit into an amusement park ride, no social humiliation, no emotional breakdown.

I just needed a new challenge.

skinnyinnotime

Nah, I only put weight on when I'm pregnant, I make sure I lose it each time as I don't like the excess. I'm good with maintaining a healthy weight.

CrisN99

I appreciate everyone's personal insight (and the humor too! LOL). I was just noticing how many people do have something that triggered great change and wondered if it was possible to make the changes without some BIG DEAL happening.

Relevant: I quit smoking 5 years ago and it was due to a huge live changing event (Mom was disgnosed with cancer and was terminal) and that helped drive me through the quitting process. While I have had some bad moments- nothing huge has happened. No diabetic diagnosis, or public shaming or anything like that that I couldn't get over.

I DO want to be healthier, but I do not want to be one of those people that gains and loses the same 50 pounds their whole lives.

mygrl4meee

I didn't hit rock bottom. I thought I was happy the way I was and I suppose in some ways I was. Someon had blogged about this ap and I just had gotten a smart phone and I really just started logging my calories for the fun of scanning my food. When I actually started to lose then I was more motivated to lose weight compared with just playing with my phone.

Galathea96

I'd gained 15-20 lbs over 1-2 years and disliked the flab I saw in the mirror. Then I saw that gaining one more pound would put me in the overweight zone on the bmi scale. I decided that I wasn't having any of that and committed to eating less and moving more. That's it.

Edited to add: I found out later that I actually had been in the overweight zone on bmi. Turns out I'm not as tall as my doctor had told me I was:grumble:

embracingmycurves

My aha moment was when I could not fit into any of my clothes. That was what finally hit me and made me see that I needed to make some changes. I actually understood this would have to be a lifestyle change.

seansquared

80+ pounds ago, I saw a picture of myself at the wedding of one of my best friends.

Haven't looked back.

CyberEd312

Yep my rock bottom was 3 days in a chair with a loaded hand gun so yes for me it truly was that aha moment of get busy living or get busy dying... Thank God I choose life!! Best of Luck to You......

Kellyeee2013

Decisions based on emotion do not usually stick. All those times I felt sad about my weight and thought I needed to lose weight... never stuck. It was a calm moment when I realized "Why am I not trying to be healthier and stronger?" It took a moment of me wanting what is best for me over all and in the long run, rather than some extreme low or emotionally charged decision.

erinsueburns

Nope, not all all. I saw a few things and just thought "Hey, that tech stuff looks like it might work for me."

Simona40

I wanted to make changes BEFORE I hit rock bottom. I was nearing that - walking with a cane. For me, rock bottom was either being in a scooter or being bed-ridden. I couldnt handle the thought of either scenario so I changed.

Dave198lbs

Hi. My name is Dave and I did not have a rock bottom moment.

It was more of an awakening that more attention to my caloric input and macro breakdown was needed to maximize my goals.

kdiamond

Hard to say. Because some peoples rock bottom's are not as bad as they can get.

Agreed. I think it is more of an "aha" moment where you get the motivation. Take my husband for instance, he is about 15 pounds overweight throughout the year and no matter what I do, cooking, nagging him to work out, etc., he'll only lose the weight when he has something to look forward to, like a beach vacation. Me on the other hand, I'm always thinking about it and maintaining my weight for the most part. I think it is definitely an internal motivation that you yourself have to have, not necessarily a rock bottom.

For me I saw a picture of myself that I felt I looked so incredibly fat in, even though at 130 pounds and 5'4" I wasn't THAT overweight, and had just had a baby, but to me it was motivation to stop eating junk, start counting my calories, and exercising. I lost 25 pounds in 5 months right after that picture.

fun_b

I can't remember ever having a moment like this. I have had a lot of occasions over the years where I have been embarrased eg breaking a chair/yelled at on way home from gym/hurtful comments but this usually made me turn to food instead. I think the turning point for me was when I tried a low carb diet expecting to lose a few pounds but after the first 10 pounds I suddenly felt motivated to continue.

BelindaDuvessa

I didn't hit rock bottom, exactly. But I woke up one morning and realized just exactly what size pants and shirts I was wearing. It wasn't a huge moment for me, but that's when I decided to change my lifestyle. I ended up at Google, inputting "free dieting websites" and came across Sparkpeople.com. Through them, I managed to go from 162 to 128 in about a year, just by watching my portions and exercising.

Now, with back to back pregnancies, I'm almost back at square one. Not as heavy as I was, since I've been watching what I eat a little better, but definitely not where I would've liked to have been.