What Made You Really Start?

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freelancejouster
freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
in Motivation and Support
Working at the Rec Center at my college was what eventually made me start exercising regularly and paying a bit better attention to what I ate. Seeing that everyone else could do it (and that almost all the other staff members were super fit!) made me feel like I could maybe do it too. This is my fourth time trying to work out regularly in about half a year, and the first time I've lasted more than a couple of weeks.

I'm proud of me, and I've lost inches already (even if I've only lost a pound or two for the month I've been at this). And anyone is free to add me as friends can only help my journey.

So my question is, the Rec Center made me start, what made you really start?
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Replies

  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    I realized that I was 27 years old, 248 lbs., and couldn't even pick up half of my bodyweight. Then I read http://chaosandpain.blogspot.com/2012/06/your-fat-is-unequivocally-your-fault.html not too long after that, and I realized I needed to fix myself, quickly.
  • jacque1129
    jacque1129 Posts: 113 Member
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    i was drunk on new years eve and i said i was done feeling sorry for myself and hating everything about me so the next morning i started on this 2 year long journey of ups and downs.
  • freelancejouster
    freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
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    Gallowmere198 that's super impressive!
  • SOCKMONKEYBOBO
    SOCKMONKEYBOBO Posts: 9 Member
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    What made me really start....hmmmmm I was watching TV one night and saw a guy in a commercial who seemed to have a perfect existance, So I asked myself "why am I not happy like the guy in the commercial?" After chuckling about the supermodel wife, I got serious and mad this list:

    II'm tired of being overweight
    'm tired of my knees hurting all the time
    I'm tired of being out of breath all the time
    I'm tired of taking meds for diabetes, blood pressure
    I'm tired of not smiling anymore

    So I came back to MFP and set my goals. I'll know success when:

    Someone who doesnt have to notices and says something.
    My doctor says "let's rethink your meds.
    My granddaughters say look grandpa's not fat anymore

    I started in December at 391. Now I'm at 368
  • carolynbergen1
    carolynbergen1 Posts: 57
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    Knowing I was overweight of course, I sat on a machine called HiGi at my local pharmacy which measures BP, weight and body mass. While my BP was normal (always has been luckily) this machine labeled me as "obese". I just about fainted. THAT got me motivated. I was thin all my life until I had my baby when I was 31. Never lost all the "baby fat" and then was put on meds for a chronic illness and literally gained 40 lbs in 6 weeks! That massive weight gain was maybe about 4-5 yrs ago now and I;ve done nothing about it really. Just told my doc I'd rather be fat and happy than thin and miserable. But in reality it's just so hard to carry all this weight on my small frame. I'm fat and not very happy. But to be labeled as obese was horrifying to me. It's time to change and honestly, it has not been nearly as hard as I thought it would be.
  • fatnomore201220132014
    fatnomore201220132014 Posts: 130 Member
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    As stupid as it may sound, Facebook made me start. I cringed at the thought of logging into my Facebook and seeing my friends had tagged me in pictures from the night before. I hated the way I looked, and taking pictures. ugh. Eventually it got to the point where I just avoided going out with my friends all together. I knew someone was going to haul a camera along with them and start snapping pictures. I started to isolate myself and began avoiding all types of social situations because I hated everything about me. I became tired of feeling depressed and unhappy with my body and decided I had the power to turn my life around. Since then I have been super dedicated to eating healthy and working out. I'm down about 35 pounds and I have a long ways to go but I couldn't be happier. :)
  • Jerrypeoples
    Jerrypeoples Posts: 1,541 Member
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    i was drunk on new years eve and i said i was done feeling sorry for myself and hating everything about me so the next morning i started on this 2 year long journey of ups and downs.

    that is awsome

    for me, i have been going to the gym for the past 3-4 years, but 2-3 of those years my workouts were balanced out by me eating fast food 4 days a week and pizza three days. it was basically a mexican stand off.

    then last april i went to CA to see my niece graduate highschool and the picture we took as a family just sunk in.

    i joined here and starting logging everything and after about 2 months i cut out mcdonalds, burger king, wendys and arbys.
  • j1wright
    j1wright Posts: 286 Member
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    Gaining 48 pounds while pregnant and not being able to bend down to put on shoes for a few months since I got so big. People thinking it was okay to tell you how big you have gotten like it isn't hurtful while pregnant so I had many rude comments. When I gave birth to only a 6lb 11oz boy and only lost 25 of the 48 pounds (I was at my highest weight when I got pg as well), still couldn't wear anything but maternity clothing and my knees hurt horribly bad. I also had PPD so bad that excerise honestly made me feel better and having control over my calories gave me something in my life I felt I could actually control when everything else seemed depressing. MFP was and still is a great tool for me.
  • freelancejouster
    freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
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    As stupid as it may sound, Facebook made me start. I cringed at the thought of logging into my Facebook and seeing my friends had tagged me in pictures from the night before.

    I don't think that sounds stupid at all! I kind of had the same problem, but I was already pretty introverted so it didn't really have the same affect on me.
  • freelancejouster
    freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
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    What made me really start....hmmmmm I was watching TV one night and saw a guy in a commercial who seemed to have a perfect existance, So I asked myself "why am I not happy like the guy in the commercial?" After chuckling about the supermodel wife, I got serious and made this list:

    I think it's really cool that you had a kind of epiphany! That's such an empowering story.
  • brianzerfas
    brianzerfas Posts: 10 Member
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    Wii Fit made fun of me
  • Km0714
    Km0714 Posts: 62 Member
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    well as lame as it sounds the victorias secret fashion show made me start my journey. i just remember watching it and be like damn by the end of the year, i will look like that. still have quite a ways to go though!
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    For me it was the remembering how I looked and felt last summer and the summer before, etc. I love summertime. Camping, swimming, grilling, and all that good stuff. But it's hard to enjoy it being a fatty. I knew when the new year rolled in that I had a good amount of time to make some pretty big changes and get good results. I don't want to worry about what I look like in shorts and tank tops. I want to enjoy the summer. And I will.
  • ikudbne12
    ikudbne12 Posts: 63 Member
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    Diagnosed with MS in 2009. Weight has always been a struggle for me but now i have THE reason to want to get healthy. Nothing motivates more than not being able to walk or see or feel sensations for an unspecified period of time.
    I refuse to give in to the MS anything i have control over; like what i put in my body! It will not be because of anything i do if my disease progresses further... It will be because fate decides.
  • pseudomuffin
    pseudomuffin Posts: 1,058 Member
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    I'm tired of hurting all the time. I'm 22 and I feel like an old woman. I know all of my pain won't go away due to a back injury when I was really young, but it'll surely be reduced without all of the excess weight... I also hate avoiding pictures, I want to go somewhere and not have an anxiety attack when someone is taking photos because I'm scared to death I'm going to end up some anonymous fat chick in the background of someone else's pictures
  • Athena125
    Athena125 Posts: 102 Member
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    Hating how I looked in pictures. Tired of random people asking me when my baby was due.

    Even though I was only 162 pounds, 80% of my extra weight is in my tummy and butt, which means people would always assume I was pregnant. So embarrassing.

    I gained weight when I started working 60 hours a week at a desk. I ended up leaving my job a year ago, and lost the first 10 pounds just working out a couple times a week.

    This January 1, I decided it was in this for the entire year. I felt like no matter what I did, I couldn't lose weight, but then I thought I would just try doing everything (cardio, strength and diet) for a long time - like a year without quitting NO MATTER WHAT. Even if I lost no weight the first month or two, or I lost .2 pound a week only, I would keep doing everything and maybe even add more/work harder.

    My weight loss has slowed again, so instead of quitting, I hired a personal trainer to help me. I always felt like I wasn't good enough to spend money like that on myself, but now I feel it's worth it, and I'm worth it too.

    I think what's different this time, is I made a commitment to not give up no matter what for the entire year.

    It is really difficult because I am losing weight at the pace of a dead snail, but I am NOT giving up this time! I lost about 7 pounds so far this year and 14 total since last year.
  • MochaMixAZ
    MochaMixAZ Posts: 844 Member
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    My mom died as a direct result of her diabetes, poor eating, sedentary lifestyle, and cardiac disease. I was over 500 pounds and on my way right behind her, just 40 years younger. I was lucky enough to be able to care for her the last few weeks of her life, and it was the best incentive I could imagine. After that, I just decided - - - I was tired of being tired and I was going to do everything in my power to fight against my genetic predispositions.
  • kimad
    kimad Posts: 3,010 Member
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    My friend told me about MFP and asked me if I wanted to start running. She was already a few months into the process. My words were pretty close too 'yes because if you get skinny and I am still fat I will be pissed'. Rest is history for both of us.
  • Gracerrr
    Gracerrr Posts: 141
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    I turned 25 and realized that I only had 7 months until my husband and I planned to start TTC. I suppose it just hit me like a ton of bricks; I also realized I was once again the fattest person in every room. I felt so sluggish, gross, and unhappy with my body image.

    We also purchased health insurance and I landed in one of the most expensive categories even though I am in perfect health except for my weight (no high blood pressure, diabetes, illnesses, medications of any sort, etc). It SUCKS and I want to change all this.
  • kimad
    kimad Posts: 3,010 Member
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    My mom died as a direct result of her diabetes, poor eating, sedentary lifestyle, and cardiac disease. I was over 500 pounds and on my way right behind her, just 40 years younger. I was lucky enough to be able to care for her the last few weeks of her life, and it was the best incentive I could imagine. After that, I just decided - - - I was tired of being tired and I was going to do everything in my power to fight against my genetic predispositions.

    You are a true inspiration and I want to steal your ticker message!!!

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