When was your "Somethings got to change" moment?

stephaniemejia1671

I was getting dressed to go out one night, and everything EVERYTHING I put on just didn't look and feel right. I looked in the mirror and realized finally just how out of shape I had really gotten. It didn't feel good at all.

KLC2784

I went to the doctor for a routine check-up and found out that my cholesterol was ridiculously high. My doctor told me that she was going to give me three months to lower it on my own, otherwise she was going to put me on medication. Definitely the kick in the rear that I needed, as high cholesterol and heart issues run in my family. The very next day I began my weight loss journey. 3 months later I went back to the doctor, 30 lbs lighter, and was happy to discover (as was my doctor) that my cholesterol had dropped by 72 points!

Gmtribble90

My moment was when I had casting agents turn me down for really good work as a show/movie extra because I'm over the size they want (I recently started acting and modeling). Just the other day, I had a guy ask me if I could squeeze into a size that is impossible for me because I'm larger than what the show actually wanted. This made me feel bad and realize that in order to both feel better about myself and land those jobs, I need to lose the weight.

Lulzaroonie

Where do I start? I gained a lot of weight within a couple of years, and yes, it was down to what I ate, but I also had an undiagnosed medical issue until this year. People were horrible to me, calling me names behind my back, people I thought were my friends made fun of me, when I would go out, I would get ignored outright by people while my friends would get people hitting on them, I couldn't walk without shin splints hurting me. I felt like I didn't exist.

zanne54

7 years ago I did Bernstein and lost 65 pounds down to about 150 total (I'm 5'8"). It was a horrible experience. I obsessed about food constantly and was beyond miserable. At 150 I had lost all my curves and I didn't feel good about myself - and the nurses were pressuring me to lose another 15 pounds. I quit the program cold turkey before even attempting maintenance, and it took me 6-8 months to feel "good" again. I would NEVER go this route again.

I put about 15 lbs back on, got my butt & boobs back and was ok with my weight. Then I met my DH, we both love to cook and eat, life stresses happened and I slowly gained the weight back, due to bad food choices, a sports injury, too-large portions and booze. I knew I was getting up there, but was in denial, until late December when I was struggling to do my pants up and I stepped on the scale and saw that I had hit almost 240. DH is 6 feet tall and I weighed more than he did. Not cool.

Due to hitting "maximum density" as I call it, the fact that I'm 41 so have to start being more conscious of my health, and a planned Fall trip to Africa, I decided NOW was the time to make the lifestyle change my friends had all been talking about/doing: from just sitting around and eating whatever I want, to daily exercise first and then enjoy eating whatever I want in smaller portion sizes. I didn't want to be too fat to be able to do adventure travel, or too fat to fit into the airplane/bus/safari 4x4 seat, or too fat to outrun one other person if the lions came to eat us... I also realized that I was right on the borderline of being too fat to continue to play hockey safely - one bad pivot on a rut and I could blow a knee. And then I'd be too incapacitated to be able to exercise the weight off, and I'd fall down the other side of the hill to hugely obese and be unable to ever come back from it. I decided to make a new year's resolution...and to stick with it!

I started MFP on January 2nd...as soon as I got over the NYE food & booze hangover. I've realized that I already ate very balanced; I just needed to reduce portion sizes and cut back on the fat. I also realized that the beer league hockey I had been doing for exercise didn't burn nearly as many calories as I thought - so I can't justify beer & wings after every game. I've made a commitment to exercise daily, and have been pretty good at carrying through on it - but I do take one or two "rest" days a month when my body tells me it's time for a break. I can still throw my crazy dinner parties; I just need to go for a swim or a bike ride first to earn some extra calories.

And I must be doing something right. I've lost 38 pounds since Jan 2nd. I haven't been suffering like I did on the Bernstein diet - I actually feel great! I'm sleeping better. I can skate harder, longer & faster. My endurance has increased. I don't have to worry (so much) about being able to squeeze through tight spaces or knocking things over with my *kitten*. On the downside, I don't have any pants which fit me right now. But having a droopy butt on my pants is preferable to having them too tight to sit down in. 40 lbs will be my half-way point, and I expect to hit it before the end of the month. 80 lbs is my total goal, and if I can keep on track, I hope to hit that by NYE. One year...80 lbs. If I can do it, anybody can do it!

Afura

Some awesome stories! I've had 2 a-hah moments. The first one was when I was at the Dr's for an exam because I was feeling tired (later to find out it was well justified, I was realllly anemic). She just suggested going on a diet, and starting to walk to help, no pressure, but just asked. I appreciated that, and at that moment, the light went on and I gave myself a mental fistpump "this was my time!", and I did it and lost over 100pds.
Sadly I lost my job, and was off my thyroid medication and eating poorly because pasta was in my price range, and have since gained it back. Recently there's been a surge of healthy eating and exercise in my group at work, and I realized that I could think about it, and not enjoy being lighter weight all I wanted, unless I worked at it like I did before. There's no good reason why not to, really.

gregwhitley

7 years ago I did Bernstein and lost 65 pounds down to about 150 total (I'm 5'8"). It was a horrible experience. I obsessed about food constantly and was beyond miserable. At 150 I had lost all my curves and I didn't feel good about myself - and the nurses were pressuring me to lose another 15 pounds. I quit the program cold turkey before even attempting maintenance, and it took me 6-8 months to feel "good" again. I would NEVER go this route again.

I put about 15 lbs back on, got my butt & boobs back and was ok with my weight. Then I met my DH, we both love to cook and eat, life stresses happened and I slowly gained the weight back, due to bad food choices, a sports injury, too-large portions and booze. I knew I was getting up there, but was in denial, until late December when I was struggling to do my pants up and I stepped on the scale and saw that I had hit almost 240. DH is 6 feet tall and I weighed more than he did. Not cool.

Due to hitting "maximum density" as I call it, the fact that I'm 41 so have to start being more conscious of my health, and a planned Fall trip to Africa, I decided NOW was the time to make the lifestyle change my friends had all been talking about/doing: from just sitting around and eating whatever I want, to daily exercise first and then enjoy eating whatever I want in smaller portion sizes. I didn't want to be too fat to be able to do adventure travel, or too fat to fit into the airplane/bus/safari 4x4 seat, or too fat to outrun one other person if the lions came to eat us... I also realized that I was right on the borderline of being too fat to continue to play hockey safely - one bad pivot on a rut and I could blow a knee. And then I'd be too incapacitated to be able to exercise the weight off, and I'd fall down the other side of the hill to hugely obese and be unable to ever come back from it. I decided to make a new year's resolution...and to stick with it!

I started MFP on January 2nd...as soon as I got over the NYE food & booze hangover. I've realized that I already ate very balanced; I just needed to reduce portion sizes and cut back on the fat. I also realized that the beer league hockey I had been doing for exercise didn't burn nearly as many calories as I thought - so I can't justify beer & wings after every game. I've made a commitment to exercise daily, and have been pretty good at carrying through on it - but I do take one or two "rest" days a month when my body tells me it's time for a break. I can still throw my crazy dinner parties; I just need to go for a swim or a bike ride first to earn some extra calories.

And I must be doing something right. I've lost 38 pounds since Jan 2nd. I haven't been suffering like I did on the Bernstein diet - I actually feel great! I'm sleeping better. I can skate harder, longer & faster. My endurance has increased. I don't have to worry (so much) about being able to squeeze through tight spaces or knocking things over with my *kitten*. On the downside, I don't have any pants which fit me right now. But having a droopy butt on my pants is preferable to having them too tight to sit down in. 40 lbs will be my half-way point, and I expect to hit it before the end of the month. 80 lbs is my total goal, and if I can keep on track, I hope to hit that by NYE. One year...80 lbs. If I can do it, anybody can do it!

Inspirational post! Sounds like you have the right attitude. And the bolded section made me LOL!

TheEffort

When depression became my reflection in the mirror...

khayashi80

I had a couple of moments, but really amounted to this: 1) I went on a trip to Mexico and had to use my sweatshirt to hide the fact I couldn't buckle the seat belt, I feared they were going to kick me off the plane. When we arrived, my legs swelled up and my husband rushed me to the hospital afraid of deep vein thrombosis (I was 31). The doctor kindly told him in Spanish that it was my weight. The picture we took with the family made me look like I was ready for a scooter. 2) I broke the hinges off the toilet seat because I had so much difficulty trying to clean myself. 3) I couldn't walk more than a block without excruciating pain in my back and getting out of breath. Something definitely had to change!

I hated myself, When I first started I hadn't weighed myself in over a year. Couldn't look in the mirror. Turns out, I was 324.5lbs and I was getting even bigger. Lane Bryant no longer carried a size large enough for me. I was getting into Mumu size. I had to decide whether I would continue to live as I was and get a hover round and be pitied, or get help and get healthy. I am so thankful I chose the latter. My husband stayed with me through it all, but he is definitely happier now. I'm now 18.5lbs away from my goal weight!

acstansell

I gained about 25lbs over 3 years of marriage, 1.5 of which were very stressful due to my husbands declining health (he's much better now). No one ever told me I was too heavy, but I when I was a size 22, a 2X top, and couldn't get comfortable...that wasn't enough. NOt being able to look at myself in the mirror wasn't enough. My aching back, knees, exhaustion, and escalating blood pressure wasn't really enough....though it was the start.

It took a dress to make me realize I was down a destructive path. My husband's cousin was getting married and I bought a dress on sale for 30 bucks and when I went to try it on two months before the wedding, I couldn't get it zipped! Spanx, corset, and all. That was the end.

I went out and had a big mexican dinner with my husband and the next day started my diet.

That dress is now 4 sizes too big and is no longer in my closet. But the picture is in my house and on my computer to remind me of where I've been and what I never want to do to myself again.

still_a_caterpillar

My mom came over for dinner and we were sitting at the kitchen table waiting for dinner to finish cooking and she told me that she was training for a 5k and overall trying to get healthy. She had looked like she already lost weight. She explained to me that after my Gramma (her mom) had died of cancer (lung and brain) she decided that she didn't want us to feel the same sorrow because of her lifestyle. I loved my Gramma very much, but she did smoke a lot for a long time, and she did have a bit of an eating disorder. My family was very very sad to lose her, and my Mom, bless her heart, has had a terrible time getting over that loss. But she said she didn't want to miss out on a long life because of her weight, so had decided to do this for herself and for our family's future. I thought to myself "If my mom can do this, having given up on previous weight loss endeavors, then certainly I can too."

deb3129

When I went to the doctor in March 2012 and was diagnosed with reflux. He talked to me about dietary changes, and prescribed Nexium. I walked out of there, and realized that at 41 years old and 338 pounds, it was only a matter of time before I was on meds for diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. I decided it was silly to take meds for something I could control on my own, and since that day I have remained committed to making myself as healthy as possible!

girlfromOklahoma

When I had to buy size 12 pants consistently. If I had gone over a size 12, I would not have been able to shop at Express anymore!

My heaviest was a size 10. But I remember so many times thinking, if you keep gaining weight at this rate, you won't be able to shop at Express within the next couple of years! LOVE THAT STORE. haha!

Garthamatic

Mine was pretty innocuous...

I hit 40 and slowly watched my weight creep up over the next few months. When my pants started getting a little tight, I sat down and thought about it a bit. I realized I knew somewhere between zip and nada about weight loss, calories, how much protien to eat, etc...

I figured "Hey, if I have learn all this stuff and lose some weight, I'm gonna LOSE SOME WEIGHT. If I wait, it's only going to be harder later."

My wife recommended MFP and being an engineer, I immediately latched on to the numbers, charts, and bar graphs it provided. From there it was a steep learning curve, but a fulfilling one.

Damn glad I did. I'm down 26 lbs, took 4" off my waist, my cholestorol and liver enzymes are mid-range normal now (high before), and I'm about 1/3 the way through a C25K running program and loving every minute of it.

avocado12

When I couldn't get pregnant

lupars

when i found myself in the er having a heart attack! to the cath lab with a 95% blockage, 2 stents later, whole new perspective of nutrition! i had been using MFP for awhile, but now it is not about weight, but heart healthy eating! i also have multiple sclerosis so exercise is limited, but i do what i can. :happy:

RobertHendrix

When I had my physical in Aug 2012 and I weighed in at 489 lbs. It didn't register as close to 500 but rather that I weighed almost a quarter of a ton. Don't know about you but for some reason a quarter of a ton sounds like so much more than 500 lbs. The thought of that weighed on me for about two days and couldn't shake it and decided I was not going to reach that mark.

Cockney365

I've had several 'Weight Watchers' moments, which is what I call those stories you hear on WW adverts or in magazines, when people need a seatbelt extender on a plane or can't go on a rollercoaster because you can't pull the safety bar down. Luckily I never had that sort of public WW moment but Facebook has provided my wake up call.

My first one was when I was at university doing a Sports Science degree. I didn't actually do any sort of exercise, struggled to do handstands, and run anywhere. We had our Graduation Party and the pictures of me on Facebook made me cry! I had to untag those bad boys straight away! The real BOOM!! came when I was at Butlins (a holiday camp) for a weekend with my friends who had all just had babies (we didn't take the babies). I looked the same size as them, and was the only one who had never given birth! I was 17st 4lbs (242lbs) and only 24 years old. THAT shocked me.

I quickly realised something had to change and that had to be me. I started eating less, moving more, starting with a 10 minute run, Race for Life (5km/3.2m), Nike Run London 10km (6.4m), to four half-marathons, each one quicker than the last and finally London Marathon last year. I did WW, South Beach Diet, WW again and now I am here on MFP (or the 'Common Sense' Diet) and have been for a couple of years. I'm still no athlete and I'm still not the size and shape I want to be, but I'm a darn sight closer to how I see myself than I ever was. I'm now 180lbs and want to lose another 20lbs or so and really firm up, so I can be happy being me. I play netball twice a week, do kettlebells twice a week and go to the gym two or three times a week. I will also say, heartbreak is really good motivation for me and I tend to focus more on my food and exercise when I have been dumped or rejected!

JuliaLee67

Watching my dad slowly die of cancer because he smoked, never excercised, and didn't watch his diet at all. He wasn't obese or even really overweight, he was just of that very stubborn mindset that assumed that watching what you ate meant all you got to eat was lettuce, and that excercise was only for fat people. I realized that I was only a couple of years older than my dad was when he had his first heart attack, and I wondered how close I was to mine, because I was doing the exact same things he did: I smoked, I didn't excercise, I didn't watch what I ate. After the inevitable (dad passed away in 2007), I quit smoking forever, I started to watch my diet, and I started trying to excercise every day, even if it was just a simple 30-minute walk in the park. As we all know, it wasn't easy; when I started excercising I couldn't even jog for 30 seconds without being completely out of breath and feeling like I was about to die, but in less than 5 months I could run for 2 hours straight without a single rest (and how amazing are our bodies when they can do things like that!!!). I miss my dad every single day, and I wish I could've somehow gotten him to take better care of himself because he might still be around today if he had. I decided that nobody I loved was ever going to say that about me.

evolution143

Oddly enough...when my sister got pregnant. We have very similar body types and it made me realize just how much I wanted to change my body before babies. I know it'll help me in the long run to lose weight before babies and I also want to look visibly pregnant (instead of just fat) when the time comes! I also had fear of being unable to find plus size maternity clothes since finding regular clothes is already a challenge.