What was your "ah-ha!" moment?

MrsBrosco

You know, that moment when you said, "OMG! I need to lose this weight!" And then you did it, you started losing.

What was that moment for you?

EmmaReed84

I came on here in Jan 2012 fully intending to lose weight, but life got in the and all the other excuses you can think of. I did however cut my portion sizes down quite a bit, but still ate crap.

In Jan this year I stepped on scales again and... LOST 10lbs!!! I was gobsmacked! I thought if I could lose 10lb over the course of a year without really trying, just think what I could do if I DID put my mind to it. In two months I lost another 11lbs, I have been a steady 122/124lbs for the past month now. Just working on my shape and muscle tone now.

I think my ah-ha moment was realising it does not have to be as difficult as I though it was going to be.

TheRealParisLove

Nothing in particular. It was a gradual process for me. It started with something easy, quitting smoking several years ago and I've made tiny changes over the years since then. (I'm aware that quitting smoking is hard for many people. I just cut back over a period of a year an half until I stopped completely. I didn't even really have a "last cigarette" I just never went back for another. After a while, I just threw away the remains of the old pack.)

I know not having an Ah-ha moment is not very exciting, but few people actually get there. It's okay to start small and move forward. That kind of weight loss is very anti-climatic until you realize how far you've come over the years of teeny-tiny efforts.

It's like compound interest: Boring for a very long time, but over the long run it is pretty miraculous!

AJ_MotherRunner

When I was at my mother's funeral and my aunt said, "You know none of us are healthy. You, and you, and you - are all overweight. If we don't change it, we are going to end up just like Jamie. [my mom]" It was devastating and eye opening all at the same time. Once my mom was buried and a couple of weeks had passed, I started the South Beach Diet again and joined a gym. I have been a fanatic since - that was almost 11 years ago.

devilwhiterose

When I looked at my own personal timeline.

I was going to get healthy before the baby.
I was going to walk alot while pregnant.
I was going to lose the weight after the baby.
I was going to get fit for homecoming #1, then homecoming #2.
I was going to get fit for beach season.
I was going to get fit while pregnant with the twins.
I was going to lose weight after the twins.
I was going to get skinny for homecoming.
I was going to get fit for the Marine Corps ball.
I was going to get fit for the next beach season.

Fast forward almost 5 years and I'm still $#%&ing fat. I had enough of being thunderthighs and having my fat jeans barely buttonable. I'm fricken 26 and I should not be jiggly and this damn out of shape. I do not need to accept that this is my body and that's just how it is.

Daysednconfused

I took my grandchildren to Disney for MY birthday in June 2011. I was completely disgusted with myself once I got home and put all the pics on the computer. I spent the next two months in a major depression over it, then finally started watching what I ate and exercising in August 2011 when I had 3 months before a week long cruise. The weight has never come off easily for me, but finally, a year and half later, I am close to goal!!

Kreider86

Trying on wedding dresses... did not like how I looked. Normally I just avoided full length mirrors and being a subject on the camera... Would like to be able to take pictures and be proud of how I look and would love to walk down the aisle in a couple years and just feel absolutely beautiful

ridofthegoodies

The last time I lost this weight, (I did it the wrong way so it came back) I overheard a couple of DB college guys walking and talking as I was sitting outside a coffee shop one summer evening. DB 1 pointed to me and asked DB 2, "What about [hooking up with] her?" DB 2 replied, "Yeah, in a couple of hundred pounds." I was devastated. I knew I was overweight, but I didn't realize I looked THAT overweight. In no way am I a cougar or interested in that type of guy, but I still cared what others thought of me.

This time, I am going back to school for nursing. I want to be an RN, but fear no one is going to listen to medical advice from a fat nurse. I am losing weight the right way by improving my health in the process. I am beginning to develop/see muscles again for the first time in 15 years.

Jackson4590

saw my high school graduation picture next to my wedding photo and realized how much weight i gained in just 5 years.

decided to lose 15 pounds and did it in about a 8 months. now i've plateaued at about an 18 pound loss.

bajoyba

I saw a photo from last Christmas, and I looked enormous standing next to my slim husband. Then, on January 3rd, after having no idea what exactly my weight was for years, I decided to weigh myself. It wasn't pretty. I decided right that very moment that I was going to change it. So far so good!

tigerlily8045

I thought i was a little flabby, chubby. Started having heart palpatations and so got it checked out. Found out my cholesterol was high and that when i was sitting my chub was pushing up against everything and making my heart go wonky. Cut 20 lbs so far and no more heart issues.

hkmurphy83

I started reading a blog on FB by a woman my age who was trying to lose weight. I thought that if she could do it, so could I. I started on August 1, 2012. Sad to say that I phoned it in until December 29 and lost about 20 lbs by just eating less of my favorite crap and walking. I realized that I was going to be 30 in a little over 5 months and wanted to be healthier. I added serious exercise to my routine and started being much more aware of what I was eating. Proud to say that I have lost almost 30 lbs and 37.5 inches all over since then!

LadyPakal

Mid July last year when I came back from a Paris trip. No idea why but something snapped, I went looking for a phone app and here I am.

lpherman01

I just got tired of being overweight. I got tired of my clothes being tight, tired of not fitting into tight chairs, tight spaces, tired of being slow on my bike, tired the way I looked, tired of being tired. And when one of my sons showed me MFP I actually said "Ah-ha, I can do this". And I have for almost a year now. It's not a diet and excercise plan anymore, it's my way of life.

mssgeni

I joined this site years ago... used it once or twice, didn't come back to it. Last year I re-registered when I started gaining weight but I didn't care enough to stop my eating and lazy habits. It wasn't until last christmas when I visited my parents and saw my uncle whom I haven't seen in a year and the first thing he tells me: "WOW, you are not the same person. Your cheeks are huge! You're gaining a lot of weight!". I knew I had gotten big but it wasn't til that when I realized I had to snap out of it. Made me feel like crap, so here I am. Now I'm glad he told me that because otherwise I would have probably kept being content with being at my size...

dramallamaduck

My "ah-ha" moment came in a conversation with one of my best friends. She had been tracking her meals on MFP because she wasn't eating enough for the muscle gain she wanted. We were eating Japanese food and talking about diets and her counting her calories, etc... I mentioned something about being unhappy with how I looked.. Her response? "Well, then what are you going to do about it? If you don't like something, then change it. I can't do it for you."

I have no idea why this simple phrase snapped me into reality, but it did. I had so many excuses up until then. Ellie was really the first person to bring me into reality. It really was a life changing moment. She has also been one of my biggest supports through all of this. Thank goodness for snarky BFFs!

T1mH

My wife bought me a 2XL shirt. My thought was there ain't no way I'm a 2XL! I'm comfortable in a large now and I'm not done.

MandaJean83

My "ah-ha!" moment was Christmas of 2011. I knew I had been slowly picking up a pound or two here and there, but it wasn't until Christmas Day pictures were uploaded onto facebook that I realized how chubby I had gotten! I hopped on that scale and realized I was 6 lbs higher than I had EVER been before in my entire life. At that point, something clicked and I got serious about diet and exercise! Fast forward 18 months and I'm still maintaining about 20-25 lbs lost!

nczuczu

Too many "ah-ha" moments!!! I got tired of my clothes not fitting and feeling horrible. I hated not being able to find any clothes that fit or looked good (nothing looks good on you when you are 80 lbs overweight). I hated seeing pictures of myself at Christmas. I hated being winded going up a flight of stairs. I hated going to the doctor's office (I have type 2 diabetes) because I knew he would be disappointed in me. I started on 1/3/13 and have not looked back or strayed from the path. Joined a gym a week later and have now dropped 21 lbs. There is no stopping me. I look forward to getting under 200 lbs and know I can do it. It is harder losing weight when you are over 40, but I know I can do this. I have to do this! I WILL do this!

Cherie0622

I thought I was 225lbs so I entered a friendly weight loss competition at my school. When they took my initial weight, I was 239 pounds and that was too close to 250... so I cried a few tears and started changing my habits that night. That was my moment.

ParrosFan

seeing a picture of me jolted me into reality. For some reason I never looked in the mirror and thought I was "THAT" big. Well I was THAT big and more. After being disgusted with myself and eating cause I felt sorry for myself, decided to do something about it.