That "Revelation" Moment

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  • 248071_151115198292417_8278512_n_zpsfd839c43.jpg

    Mothers Day 2011

    I had actually joined this site in Feb 2011 but that was it, I joined and never thought of it again until this picture.

    I lost 50 pounds but got a second job and stopped logging... gained all but 15 pounds back.
  • It was a bunch of little moments over the past few months before I started working out and eating right that made me start caring about my weight and how I looked:
    -having to buy new size 18 jeans after I couldn't fit in my fat jeans or several shirts
    -being sick of not being able to find my size in clothes that I liked
    -hearing that my sweet old grandma told her sister-in-law that I was getting "fatter than ever"
    -getting out of breath from just changing position in bed
    -having some chest pains after just walking around a store
    -realizing that I needed a hobby, and what would be better than exercising and eating right
    -wanting to do a bunch of things that required me to be in shape and no longer wanting to handicap myself because of my body
    -realizing that a lot of the "fat acceptance" people on some social media sites were just people mad about being fat and not wanting to be one of them
    -realizing that I didn't find myself attractive

    So with all of that, I just got up, made a plan, learned about nutrition, and got started!
  • warrow8282
    warrow8282 Posts: 13 Member
    I think, like others have previously mentioned, there were a combination of things and not necessarily one specific moment (It was like one specific week for me). I had gone in for a doctors visit and was weighed in at 167lbs... heaviest I have ever been in my life (I'm only 5'1, and had been fairly active 10 years ago in HS... granted it all went down hill once I went to college). I had been hovering in the 150s for a while, which I felt was too heavy and definitely wasn't happy with, but just wasn't motivated enough to change my habits for. I didn't realize I had allowed it to get so bad that I was pushing 170... whew. The doctor included an obesity diagnosis for my visit and noted that I had gained 16 pounds since I had been seen 6 months prior to the visit... made me feel horrible and gross.

    That same week, I noticed (sorry if I'm about to gross some people out, but, hey...I'm not shy) that It was kind of painful on my back to twist enough to wipe my own *kitten* after using the toilet. I had lost all flexibility (and the triple D's on my chest aren't really helping the backpain situation). That was one of the most terrifying moments of my life... thinking that I wouldn't be able to take care of my own hygeine if I let myself go much more... so maybe that was actually the "aha" moment for me.

    The very next week (I always find it easier to start something new on a Monday) I started calorie counting and eating more fruits & veggies instead of junky snacks. In just a few weeks I've dropped at least 10 pounds (I was at 155 when I checked this past Sunday morning), and I'm a lot less bloated and gross-feeling. Now to start up some Yoga again and try out this 30-day shred thing I see everyone talking about :-)
  • okcat4
    okcat4 Posts: 224 Member
    When my Mom told me that my grand mother watched a RN at the nursing home walk away and said I hope D does not get that big. Her *kitten* ( the RN) is huge. ( BTW , the RN was my height and weighed over 300#. ( i overheard her say it. to a colleague)

    I weighed 223 and got to WW, then stopped after 20 lbs, typical stories. then stopped, started, several times, finally got the reasons right in y head and here i am. I even had gain back 13 pounds back t 200# after several job changes in 3 months, but moving the right way now. SO goal is 150. 37 to go. Never touching 200# again! felt bad, looked bad, thought bad about myself and did not like the alternatives.
  • Now to start up some Yoga again and try out this 30-day shred thing I see everyone talking about :-)

    I just completed Day 1 of Level 2 this morning and it is so worth the pain lol!
  • kcaffee1
    kcaffee1 Posts: 759 Member
    For me it wasn't really any moment, the changes happened without my consciousness even getting into the equation. However, once the changes started, and I could see where it was leading, I eagerly jumped on the train to keep things moving. I have fought my weight my entire life, between being large boned and very muscular I have had a hard time actually seeing myself how I am right now. I've always seen myself as thinner, and more trim. BUT, whenever I saw pictures, I'd be devastated and amazed at the thing standing in my place of the photo. (Needless to say, there are not a whole lot of pictures of me that I willingly allowed.)

    Now that the changes are happening, I find out that the lack of concern and acknowledgement that I've been indulging in have led to several nasty medical conditions. So, I keep charging ahead with the changes, and wrestle the medical issues into submission. I'm actually targeting my high school weight for maintenance because of how I felt, looked, and moved back then. (Not to mention a wonderfully understanding Doctor's advice that I haven't gotten from anyone else!)
  • tracyschreier
    tracyschreier Posts: 81 Member
    I've had several "revelation" moments. It goes without saying that any time I look in the mirror when I'm naked I vow to eternity that I will lose weight. (Another way to combat that awful feeling is to NOT look at yourself in the mirror when you're naked.) I also have a problem with looking into the mirror when I'm fully dressed. I guess the true "revelation" occurred about a week ago, when a friend of mine was told that they could do nothing else for her (medically) because her diabetes had so ravaged her body. She's my age, same weight, same health issues. I started counting every carb that entered my mouth and joined MFP.
  • Lucy2lose50
    Lucy2lose50 Posts: 15 Member
    I took off 50 lbs when I turned 40 and vowed never to see them again.
    We moved to Georgia and joined Gold's gym. When I got on the scale I was shocked and embarrassed to seed 208. I am 56 yrs and back up 40 and another 20. The Marshall's 1x cloths are too tight. (Ouch) I do not want to go back to Lane Bryant so I am going to make this work. I have trouble with portions at dinner time only. Don't know why but it is a big problem. The weight is slowly coming off as long as I get to the gym at least 5 times a week and do cardio for 45 mins. or more.
    I want to lose at least 50 to get back into size 12/14. That's my comfy size. I need strength. My husband refuses to help me. He says it has to be me and me alone to take control of my life. At least I know the good Lord is on my side.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    Freshman year, when the boys were making fun of me and yelling "Big Bertha" in the cafe at lunch. Mortifying!! I couldn't take being teased anymore. This was back in the 80s when EVERYONE was thin!
  • Simone_King
    Simone_King Posts: 467 Member
    Write water raphing. I was pushed out of the boat into the rapids..During those tense moments, I realized I needed to get ahold of my weight..

    Before it kills me.
  • mamax5
    mamax5 Posts: 414 Member
    I had a moment like that on Wen night. After having to walk around naked in the light in front of my husband made me acutely aware of the fat...we stayed in a jacuzzi room for the first time. Well later on I saw myself in the mirror and made myself look. I was utterly disgusted by what I saw. How could I have done that to myself? My gross stomach that just hangs and all the dimples of fat on my inner thighs...oh so gross...well, I am glad I hit that rock bottom place. I have had Revelation moments before, but not like that. I have had the oh, crap the scale says 276, I gotta do something and I did lose about 30lbs. But I have remained around 250 and not really doing anything. Well that has changed and I am doing something about it! I am actually so proud of my food journal today!
  • Melissa26point2
    Melissa26point2 Posts: 177 Member
    My Dr. threatened to put me on Blood pressure medicine. She gave me 3 weeks to get it down on my own through diet, told me to come back and have it checked. During that 3 weeks, I lost 5 lbs. Needless to say, I didn't need the medicine, thank God! Too young for that! I have now lost 40 lbs, gotten down from a size 12 to a 4 in jeans, and currently training for my 2nd half marathon. NEVER FELT BETTER!
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    When I learned the fat women stores don't carry a size bigger than 6X which I think is a 34W.

    EDIT: Another reason is to have my doctor actually do some tests to find out why I'm sick/in pain rather than telling me it's because I'm fat.
  • graceire
    graceire Posts: 323 Member
    I had 'maintained' the same weight for about 6 years and got very complacent about it. Life was good even at that heavy weight so I just never did anything about it.

    Then I 'fired' everyone who I was paying to make my life easier. The lawn guy, the dog walker, the house cleaner. I started doing my own damn chores as I should have been doing all along. Without even realizing it, I lost 15 lbs. I only noticed because all of a sudden, I couldn't keep my pants up.

    At the same time, I realized that I had lost my appetite for most sweets. I wasn't having dessert anymore--and didn't even notice! Sometimes I ate a cookie out of habit not because I actually wanted it--how stupid is that! I think that is the result of aging (I'm 42) and perhaps a change in hormones.

    Losing that initial weight, essentially without even trying (although, I live in the south--mowing the grass with a push mower in August probably isn't the definition of not trying. Almost fainted the first time I did it, but stuck it out. Same with walking two 90lb dogs...), was a proverbial kick in the pants. I realized that I could do this, seeing as how I had been doing it without realizing it. Now my eating habits have gotten much healthier and I'm exercising daily.
  • MrsElguapo
    MrsElguapo Posts: 25 Member
    That was my "revelation" also. Seeing a picture of myself and seriously not recognizing who was in the picture. Very scary moment in my life and also very sad.
  • Britterboo22
    Britterboo22 Posts: 300 Member
    When the scale read 200 on the nose.

    When my size 18's were getting too tight (now I can fit into a size 14 and those are starting to get loose)

    My kids would pat my stomach and think there was a baby in there :[

    The fact that I hated being naked infront of the mirror I felt like a disgusting glob of goo.
  • JustLindaLou
    JustLindaLou Posts: 376 Member
    A combination of things for me too.. But I remember after I had my baby, and I had lost weight after that, and was thinking "I am on track and I look pretty good", and I saw a picture of myself taken at a meeting, and I seriously did not recognize myself. Well my daughter is going on 6 now and every year after her birthday party I tell myself "next year I will not need to crop myself out of the party pictures!" .... well I have 6 weeks until her 6th birthday and hoping I lose enough between now and then that this year I will feel better when i see the pictures.... I am going to be 49, I need to be here for her for a lot of years and I just want to be the best example I can be for her!

    And then there's the divorce I went through, and my mom being very ill for 3 years with weight and diet related issues, and just hating what I see in the mirror, and tired of joints hurting and I just need to find ME again and love myself and again, set a good healthy example for my daughter as she grows up....
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
    Similar to a lot of other people's. I have a wardrobe full of clothes I can't wear anymore. Not being able to walk upstairs without sounding like a panting old war horse was not attractive. Oh and the sheer panic & horror of thinking I was stuck in a dress I tried on in a shop changing room! :noway:
  • pinkgigi
    pinkgigi Posts: 693 Member
    Complaining to the doctor about how I was trying and nothing was working and him suggesting lap-band. I said "I thought you had to be really fat to have that" and him nodding.

    I put on 20 kgs last year after losing 15 kgs here the year before. Now I've lost 9 kgs and not going near lap-band.

    GG
  • My blood pressure being 130 (when it was always in the 110s) was kind of the "oh snap" moment. I wasn't in pain, I hadn't been exerting myself, I was just sitting there on an exam table.

    My mother's father died at 60 of a heart attack. I'm 31. The idea of my life being halfway over already was a pretty good wake up call.
  • brianalynnx
    brianalynnx Posts: 25 Member
    There was a point where I would stand on the edge of the sink and only use the corner of the mirror to apply my makeup and would avoid seeing myself in shopping store windows etc :( At that point I realized I wasn't the same girl who would stop and look in a car window to fix my hair and think "god I look cute!". I never felt pretty anymore and something had to change!
  • I did the math. If I died at the same age my dad died (and his dad died) then I would barely live to see my son see the age of 30.
  • My big moment was right before turning 29. I have always been up and down with my weight, but after the birth of my son(3years ago) I never did anything to lose the weight. I have seen the pictures and be embarrassed but I never did anything about it, well I did, I would eat more! So before turning 29, I decided that when I turn 30 I would like to start my thirties thin, and confident. Plus my cousin is getting married in Cancun! I don't want to go to the beach and people mistake me for a whale!! And my dear husband finally said something that will forever repeat in my head :( he wasn't mean about it at all but he was very worried. At the end I am doing this for MYSELF! I am really excited for the future and looking good turning 30!! Turning 30 is depressing enough for me. I don't want to be a fat depressed 30 year old.
  • lpina2mi
    lpina2mi Posts: 425 Member
    A mirror and a photograph posted on FB

    About a dozen years ago, really looked at myself in the mirror and thought, "I look really old." My blue eyes were more gray, my former good skin looked sallow and lost its fine texture, my hair was falling out and my mind was more fog than coherent thought. I was also over weight. I began with reestablishing good sleep habits. I had a decent diet--different macros percentages than now, but definitely a "cleaner" diet.

    I took several years to recover from lack of sleep (bed a 2am up at 6am). Then I began drinking water and cutting down on the coffee. I was still chasing family endocrine issues as the basis of my poor health, and wanted to avoid surgery so I was trying lots and lots of things to get my body to shed weight, including logging calories (via another program).

    Then I saw a picture of myself from the early spring of 2010 and I could not believe how much like a stuff sausage my middle looked--especially in a seated position! I made all sort of requests to get "untagged". And I made myself my own research project with the help of my doctor. I tried her diet for almost a year (lost 4lbs), after a big distraction (i.e. house fire) I got back to work a little lighter (another 2lbs down) and uncovered some information that motivated me to try again.

    I went looking for a replacement tracking program to track and monitor this new plan I had designed with the new information I had learned. That was back in mid January 2013. In 7 months I am down another 15lbs!
  • Julesama
    Julesama Posts: 7
    -First of all, a vast majority of my friends are skinny- and I mean itty bitty!!! I've always struggled with my weight, but I remember how my friends used to constantly be hit on, and I was terrified that I was "the ugly friend"!

    -Second, I went shopping, and my size shorts were not fitting, like, at all. I shop between the womens and juniors sections, but neither of my sizes were comfortable, and the ones that "fit" made me look so weird.

    -Third, I would walk up the stairs and be out of breath! How crazy is that? Knowing all of this was preventable, I felt horrible! SO, I recently decided to kick it into gear. And it's been working pretty well, so far!

    -Lastly, one of the things to hammer the nail home, I noticed that when I drive, my legs jiggle! Like, every bump I hit, every pothole I drove through, my legs were moving right along with the car. I finally decided that I did NOT want anyone else to see that.
  • Realizing that I gained almost 100 pounds in 6 months really did it for me. I start my life long journey tomorrow. I want to lose 120 pounds
  • I don't have a single aha moment. Just a bunch of stuff:

    - Seeing myself next to my skinny friends in pictures. I look twice their size. I am shocked when I see the pictures, because my body image is of someone much thinner.
    - Not being able to do the zip line, horseback riding, or helicopter tour when I was on vacation in Hawaii.
    - Being so tired all of the time.
    - Several instances of irregular heartbeat.
    - Feeling like I am killing myself with food
    - Checking my BMI and realizing 43 is over the line to "morbidly obese".

    I could go on, but I just finally decided to stop being an idiot and take responsibility for my health.
    I started eating healthier about 2 weeks ago. I feel much better already - I think because I am consuming much less sugar. Will slowly add exercise. My goal right now is to get to the overweight category rather than the morbidly obese category.

    If you identify with any of that, feel free to friend me. I am 48, widowed, have 2 adult children, working ...
    It would be nice to have some mutually supportive friends online here!
  • jenna808
    jenna808 Posts: 79 Member
    My original moment was my senior prom (2004...), I weighed 201 lbs and when I saw the photos I could not believe how horrible I looked, so I "dieted" down to 135 lbs. Cut to about a year and a half ago...I had just broken up with my fiance and was around 165 lbs. I was so stressed out and felt like my life was out of control, so I decided to focus on things I could change, like my own health. That's when I really decided to get healthy and make it a permanent lifestyle change. It's really interesting to hear what others moments are.
  • I've had several. I still get them and they're little motivators to keep pushing myself.

    When I climbed on the scale and it said "260." I was mortified. I knew I was fat, but I didn't think I was that bad.

    When I went to work and after putting all the equipment on, I bent to re-tie my shoe and almost couldn't reach. Granted, I never had a problem without a ton of equipment on, but I wasn't about to ask someone else to tie my shoe for me because I was too fat to do it myself. I'd rather die.

    When I started to watch Supersize vs Superskinny and saw that I was approaching some of the "Supersizers" in weight.

    When I looked myself in the mirror one day a year ago, after some yoyoing for a few years on my weight and and denying myself food for a few days at a stretch and realized that I was falling back into disorder territory because my thoughts were the same as they had been then, and the behaviours and habits were creeping back as well, and decided that I was, in fact, going to get the weight off, but I wasn't going to do it by starving myself and using negative reinforcement to train myself to hate myself and use hunger as a punishment ever again, because while I'm far from perfect, I don't deserve to be punished simply for existing, and I'll be much happier at my goal weight if I'm being positive the whole way. I made myself a promise that day that I was going to be nice to myself while losing this weight, and I keep my promises.
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
    The first time a guy told me straight up to my face that despite the fact that I'm awesome, he's not attracted to me because I'm too fat and not active enough