What was your "I need to change" moment

erinlibke

My sister got married in October and I was the bridesmaid. For 6 months I knew this day was coming and I knew all eyes would be on me (if only for a brief moment). Still I did nothing. Two weeks before the wedding I tried on my size 18 dress and it was too tight- I could not even get the zipper up. I had to take it to the steamstress and get it let out while my 9 month pregnant sister had to get the same size dress taken it. I was so ashamed. I put on my best "skinny pants" and thought I looked ok and had a blast at the wedding.

Then I saw the pictures! I looked horrible!!! (<--See profile pic with my gorgeous son) And I felt even worse- about myself, about ruining my sister's pictures, for my husband as I let myself go so much in the 4 years we've been together. So I'm working on it. I was 184 in october, 166 this morning. Still have a long way to go but I'm working on it!

When did you know you had to make a change?

alpine1994

Amazing progress!

My "moment" was a picture as well. It's the one in my profile in the red and white striped shirt. Ii appeared on facebook and couldn't believe I had let myself go that much. I was already a member of MFP but hadn't used it at all. Started logging that day and never stopped!

Timshel_

Pants wiast getting tight.

Belt on the last notch.

Feeling like I had weights on my ankles while playing tennis and moving around the court.

The once baggy XL shirts started puffing up just a bit too much in the front around the belly (I should be in a Large, not XL)

Etc.

salcha76

I was at an all you can eat pizza buffett....my fat *kitten* had stretched out the elastic in my undies....and they were falling off me...fell off...and were hanging below the hem line of my shorts...on probably my 4th trip or so back from the buffett line....wow. Fat girl had to put the fork down and stop....41lbs since then...no more pizza buffetts for me!

curvynblonde

My moment was when I put on my super big, super comfy 49ers Jersey that I wear to lounge around the house, and it was no longer super big and comfy but super snug and short! Yikes!

deb3129

In March, 2012 I went to the doctor because I was having pain in my chest,mainly when I ate. I was diagnosed with acid reflux, and he discussed dietary changes and gave me a prescription for Nexium. I walked out of his office, and it struck me that at 42 years old and 338 pounds, it was only a matter of time before it was medicine for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. I knew that it was time to change. I did, and I feel like a new person.

PamelaGatorMom

Last month when I realized I was turning 40 this year & still had so many things I wanted to do but my weight was an issue (like skydive)

jcartwright2008

When I saw pictures from our cruise last year. Like the ones from this year much better :happy:

missemily1124

When at the age of 19, I stepped on the scale and it was almost 180 (5'3")!!! This was just a few years after my grandpa had died from complications due to diabetes. It finally clicked that I was on the same scary path. I've now lost almost 50 pounds and can't imagine ever going back.

nano83

I was not obese , just overweight..
I'm 5,4 and my highest weight was 155 lbs ..

I ended a bad unhealthy relationship..
My ex was always giving me criticizing looks, and commenting on my weight..
That destroyed me..my self-esteem was so low..because I was so in love with him...
I can't be in a relationship with anyone right now because I'm not confident that I'm good enough..

Maybe by losing weight I will get my confidence back and start to love myself again..
I'm 140 now, so far so good..
Exercising gave me satisfaction, made me be believe in myself again..It also helps with my depression..

cuddlescreampuff

Hi there! My moment was in June if 2011. I was watching Extreme Makeover - Weight loss edition. I was not always overweight, but gained 30 pounds after getting married in 2006. I thought to myself "if these people can lose over 100 pounds in a year I should be able to lose the 30 pounds. Well I came close, and lost 23. Then late last year I just stopped loggin in to MFP, and gained back 8 pounds. In January of this year I took back control, and have lost 3 pounds in 3 weeks. Not gangbusters but good for me. I am back on track and have been working out and eating more healthy. Even my hubby joined this time. Please add me if you're looking for someone to encourage you and hold you accountable. I'm always looking for new friends :flowerforyou:

MyProgressISYour1Proof

When my health started to decline and I was well on my way to having diabetes and high blood pressure that and the scale...

VinaAnderson

I noticed I couldn't walk a flight of stairs without losing my breath at age 30. When I laid on my side, I had rolls of fat and I had a fat pouch on the back of my legs behind my knees. That's when I knew it was time for a change.

adiannen83

Like a lot of people I've been big for the majority of my life. My "I need to change" moment happened when my then 3 year old let go of my hand and started running toward a busy parking lot. I had to yell to get her to stop because I couldn't run fast enough to stop her. Luckily she stopped, but in the back of my mind I always think, what if she hadn't? What if something had happened to her because I wasn't healthy enough to be the mother she needed? I realized that not only have I been jeoparodizing my health, but hers as well and that is just selfish. So, now I'm on the roady to healthy so that I can be the mother my daughter deserves. :-)

auntygill

When i couldnt get a bra big enough to fit me !!!!!

XXXMinnieXXX

At 301lbs being told I was too big for gall bladder surgery. I went away lost 50lbs whilst getting sicker and sicker. Found I needed 3/4 of my liver removed due to tumors. I'd lost enough weight to make much smaller incisions and it reduced my risk of death on the table massively. Recovery has been hard but I've been determined to keep going and I have.

I've reversed my high blood pressure, high heart rate and type 2 diabetes. There's no trace of it in my system for the last year. No going back for me ever.

My depression is much better, as is my anxiety. My need to binge is now once a year (yesterday... Bad day...really bad... But back on it today.) my whole outlook on life and the way I think and feel is totally different.

My fybromyalgia is greatly improved when I'm exercising and eating well. Eating junk now makes me feel terrible. I feel full, satisfied and happy on my macros. This is a total lifestyle change for me. I'll always be glad that doctor told me I was too fat for surgery

There were lots of other factors leading up to it. Spent my whole life work, eat, sleep. Repeat. Had no energy to do anything active. No time with my family. Everyone concerned and upset. Something had to click in me though, I had to want it for me and that was my light bulb moment. I realised I deserved better. I realised I wanted a life, and got the fight in me to go get it.

Zara x

ErikaWasTaken

When I put on a pair of my "fat pants" and had to squeeze them to get them on. I was already wearing the highest size I'd ever worn (14) and did not want to go up to a new size -- and a new clothing department.

14 has often been the last hold out, where I was still in standard sizes.

I started the Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping program on January 14 and I have my five week testing *this* Saturday! I'll learn how much wieght I've lost, as well as body fat percentage and measurements!

fiferize

Mine was when I lost my mom to Congestive Heart failure and I went to the Endocrinologist that month and she wrote yet another prescription for me becuase my legs were swollen. Jeeze was that an eye opener! My dad was also diagnosed with Diabetes that year. I was already on so many medications that when I saw my mom pass away I knew then that it was time to take control of my life and get off all those medications!

soni_me

When I went to the dr and my blood pressure was so high, he told me he'd give me 3 months to lose weight and cut sodium and if nothing changed, he'd put me on bp meds. I knew the last pics I took were horrible, but I dont want to be meds if it can be prevented. That was in December and I've been working hard ever since to be get some of this weight off and just be healthier in general.

AudgePaudge

When I saw a picture of me from my cousin's wedding!

brenn24179

yes a picture when I was on a cruise, too much eating there. Also I was 10 lb up on the scale after a 40 lb loss 2 years ago. I am really angry, hope I am mad enough to change!

aldale

I became a member of mfp a few years ago when I went to try on dresses for an anniversary party. All the dresses I liked looked horrible on me. I quit logging a while later when my low carb diet wasn't working for me. Jump to Dec. 3. I went to the doctor for a rash. My blood pressure was 148/98. The doctor mentioned it but gave me a prescription for rash medication. A month later I called for a refill because the rash had not cleared up. The nurse on the phone said that there was another med I could take if my blood pressure was normal. This was my life changing wake up call. I am eating sensibly (no fad diets) and losing weight. My blood pressure is not normal yet, but it is lower (133/86). If anyone has similar issues or just needs a friend, send me a request.

Valerie_Malone

Sick of always feeling sorry for myself.

chrislynn_marie

I realized that if I were to get pregnant (when at my biggest), I'd be well over 200 pounds, 250 even. That is not a healthy weight, even if it is because you're pregnant.

Kempossible

When my Mom was diagnosed with diabetes. Too close to home for me.

LizCO2DC

When the scale hit 199. I knew that I never wanted to see 200, and something had to change if that were ever going to be true. Since then I've kept at it and have been losing weight slowly, but I'm SOOOO close to being out of the obese category now. I'm just glad to be moving in the right direction.

SmartAlec03211988

Getting on the scale at the doctors office and being about 40 lbs over what I thought I was, and seeing I had breached 200 lbs.

NOT cool.

iqnas

seeing the scale!

rotill

I have been fighting my weight for years, but the real start of this battle was more than ten years ago. I sat down and did the maths. I wasn't obese, and wasn't gaining fast, but I gained perhaps a kilo each year. I have a bad knee and bad pelvis/hips, so carrying all that weight around was not good for me. I sat down and calculated what I'd weight when I was fifty - sixty - seventy - and saw myself helpless and crippled under my own weight, getting worse every year until I'd be unable to get around on my own two feet. It was a horrible image.

That's when I realised I really had to do something.

I lost 14 kilos over the next two years, with low-carb/low GI. Then I maintained the weight carefully for ten years, before I started gaining again a couple of years ago. I had gained 5 kilos when I started logging on MFP - then my metabolism changed, and I lost a LOT of weight, extremely fast (for me.)

I hadn't planned to lose this much, and I am spending quite a bit of time at the hospital for tests to figure out what is happening with my metabolism. But I am still not particularly skinny, so I don't worry, and the weight loss has slowed down, too, so I am more worried that I'll start gaining again....

Anyway - that's my somewhat weird story about this journey.

ladybuggprincess99

My change came when couldn't walk up the stairs at work without feeling like I had to die. I work with 3rd graders and I wasn't able to play, run around or do anything. I also have 3 kids at home (7, 7, and 4). I want to play! So, play I will!

ladybuggprincess99

When the scale hit 199. I knew that I never wanted to see 200, and something had to change if that were ever going to be true. Since then I've kept at it and have been losing weight slowly, but I'm SOOOO close to being out of the obese category now. I'm just glad to be moving in the right direction.

At a REALLY bad point in my life, I made promises to myself that I would never see 200 on a scale. The largest I've ever been is 287. I am currently 250, but I now have the mental stability to get the weight off and KEEP it off.