What was your wake-up call?

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  • balloongirlagain
    balloongirlagain Posts: 7
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    Weird thing for me was, when I was pregnant some people weren't sure if I was pregnant or just big as usual. :( Horrible.

    but my wake-up call is always hot weather. i'm always wrapped in the biggest, most covering clothes possible and would never dream of wearing anything airy and summery. so when it's hot i suffer as well as reminding myself just how huge i am. today in london in this heat was the worst. time to change.
  • sharkweek
    sharkweek Posts: 165 Member
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    I've had several. The first, and maybe worst, was when I was in 9th or 10th grade. I'm a tall girl, about 5'10", but I was a kid and I didn't realize how much height affects weight. I figured I was 120 lbs or so. I stepped on a scale and found out I was 172 lbs. The number didn't even seem real. I had no idea it could be possible for me to weigh that much.

    I snapped. I starved myself down to 148 by eating 200-800 calories a day, and in the process, I gave myself habits I'll probably never get rid of (like weighing myself a minimum of once a day). Even now, some 12-13 years later, I struggle to eat healthy. For me, "normal eating" is bingeing and "dieting" is staying below 900 calories.

    I kept bingeing/starving in cycles since then, but I eventually just stuck with bingeing and got up to 226. I'd been at 226 once before -- that number is my curse or something -- and dropped about 40 pounds because I went back to my old habits, but I'm trying really hard to eat healthy and sustainably this time. I went vegan a year and a half ago but basically just ate hummus and bread and tofu, not actual fruit and vegetables. My wake up call, at least the latest one, was when a close friend went vegan too -- she was doing it for health reasons, while I'd done it for animal reasons, and being around someone who wanted to do veganism the healthy way made me competitive in a good way. :)

    I've lost almost 20lbs now, and all my 15/16 clothes are hanging off me. I'm getting into that box of forgotten clothes at the back of the closet and they're too big. I'm looking forward to donating the big clothes and figuring out what size I actually am now.
  • cynthiam80
    cynthiam80 Posts: 47 Member
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    :wink: I read somewhere to start your healthy lifestyle at the age of 30 because it will backfire as you get older. Why not, I am 32 anyway
  • acharmer
    acharmer Posts: 2 Member
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    My dad basically told me I was going to spend the rest of my life alone. I needed to give myself a shot at getting married and having kids before it was too late.
  • Alicia7519
    Alicia7519 Posts: 160
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    I've always been big. This time I was affected by three things. I watched a video on how in third world countries there is a problem with kids being overweight. Fast food and soft drinks are less expensive than nutritious food. That freaked me out. I can afford food that will make me healthy, but I am deliberately buying junk food. Also, my joints have been really bothering me. Especially an knee and ankle injury. Finally, spent a weekend with several friends. We do this every year. Several of us will get together and visit some vineyards for wine tasting, prepare some great meals, and drink a lot of wine or beer. During the gathering, I started looking around and noticed that I was the largest person there!! For some crazy reason, and I had not drank much, I became really aware of my size. Then to top it off, my friends took a lot of pictures. Oh wow, the pictures were like a slap in the face. Even though I don't feel as if I am big, those pictures confirmed that I am.
  • Bassgirl51
    Bassgirl51 Posts: 117
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    Being over 50, having my stomach and fat roll over the top of my jeans. I used to be thin, and even when I gained it didn't have the fat old lady belly. This last time around I did. I did an Internet search on older healthy people and was amazed that my body could still look in shape if I would just get my butt off the couch and stop complaining about being older. I saw and 89 year old woman who had just finished a triathalon and had more muscles than me.

    That was it. No more excuses. I am a nurse and I take care of people all the time that cannot move because of their size.
    I am down from 155 ( was as high as 179 about 4 years ago) to 139. Lost 1 inch off my belly. 4 more pounds to goal and then start building some muscle. I have found kettle bells and yoga and love them both.

    Is it going to stop my aging...No. But I am going to go out looking in shape!
  • laurenellenmarie
    laurenellenmarie Posts: 331 Member
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    I was bulimic all through middle school, high school, and the first two years of college. Then my parents got divorced, I had to quit college from financial aid and then it sky rocketed. I didn't let a whole meal "go down" for weeks at times.
    It wasn't until my now boyfriend that I really took control of that and have quit. I have him to thank for it every day.
    The problem with that was, I still binged. A lot. I just traded one eating disorder for another.
    It wasn't necessarily a wake up call at the time but within the next few months, my favorite jeans ripped. My thighs have always rubbed together so I blamed it on that. In reality, they busted.
    I wore one of my favorite dresses to my grandparents 50th anniversary and when pictures came back, I thought I didn't have enough make-up on. Surely my double chin wasn't that big.
    Another time I also didn't realize was that my shoes no longer fit. I had to go buy 9 Wide's.
    Another time was when I tried on a dress that I fit in just a few months before...wouldn't zip.
    And a few skirts...and a pair of capris...and a couple shirts...even my underwear wouldn't fit.
    I don't know why this did it but one day, my iPhone's camera was flipped so when I went to take a picture, my face popped up. I looked at myself for a long time that day. I had a double chin, I had fatter cheeks, I even had more fat around my eyes.
    I started back up on MFP that day.
    I'd been on here before but never had any friends on it. Once I got friends, a great support system and even a boyfriend that's on here, I'm doing it. Slowly but surely.
  • Anitalose20
    Anitalose20 Posts: 7
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    I watched, "Weight of The Nation". Congratulations on your weight loss and exercise program. :flowerforyou:
  • jaelliott907
    jaelliott907 Posts: 28
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    It really wasn't a single event. I noticed I was getting more and more depressed, and I hated the fact that I would get winded when playing with my 2-year old. I looked at myself in the mirror one day and thought, "I really need to do something about this."
  • Nukkers
    Nukkers Posts: 139 Member
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    Being asked if I was pregnant.. Several times.
  • KiltFuPanda
    KiltFuPanda Posts: 576 Member
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    Mine was three separate events happening near each other:

    1. Stepping on the scale and seeing 380.
    2. Seeing an e-mail for my 15 year reunion.
    3. My birthday.

    That got me thinking - if I show up at my reunion looking like I did back then, I'd feel like crap. Why? Because I was 100 lbs heavier than when I graduated. Then I thought about my birthday - how many more would I see? And that started a bad train of thought which, in combination with finding MFP, got me going. And I'm still on the journey, but healthier, happier, and a hell of a lot stronger (if you told me I'd be deadlifting 500 lbs, I'd have laughed in your face).
  • leeanneowens
    leeanneowens Posts: 319 Member
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    I had been getting winded walking short distances so I decided to try the local gym. When I stepped on their scales I saw that I weighed 196 lbs. I'm only5'3" and 46 years old. I knew I was going to have to get serious about exercising and the amount of food I had been eating or I probably wouldn't live to see my 8 year old grow up.
  • walkdmc
    walkdmc Posts: 529 Member
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    Seeing myself on the fan cam at Citizens Bank Park during a Phillies game. I was the largest person in my section. My arms wouldn't fit down by my sides and instead were folded over my belly. I didn't recognize myself on that screen and I certainly wasn't going to point out to my kids that we were on the fan cam.
  • airangel59
    airangel59 Posts: 1,887 Member
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    This time around, it was being dx'd with type 2 DM this past May.

    The times before this, I was just fed up with being "heavy". Lost weight (WW) and yo yo'd back and then some. I've had weight issues for over half my life.
  • Mendelianparakeets
    Mendelianparakeets Posts: 45 Member
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    I can't really say I had one specific wake up call. I just kind of got sick of feeling as though I'm replaceable for someone fitter, healthier, and happier, never being able to take a decent picture of myself or wear clothes I like. So here I am, and I am starting to feel better already. I've been on this journey before and have lost weight, but this is the first time I've ever joined a community for health and fitness.
  • chicken2v
    chicken2v Posts: 68 Member
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    2zow4tu.jpg

    This. This is the one picture I saw where I broke down to tears. This was July 2, 2011 at a wedding from a dear friend I had in high school.

    I was always heavy. I wore size 22 by the time I graduated high school. I was in total denile that my fast food habit (I actually had a meal I called the "fat-girl special") and my eating was going to catch up with me. I remember the first time I had to go to size 24. I kept telling myself that size is only a number. Then before I knew it I was buying 26's and they were tight. I was hoping that the button wouldn't fly off in some humiliating movie type circumstance, busting a window and knocking someone out.

    Prior to that, November 2010 (I was 22 at this time) I was put on a double dose of blood pressure medication. My blood pressure was 152/160's. The doctor couldn't believe it. I was blacking out, headaches, and losing mental function. My blood pressure was surging so hard into the brain that the swollen vessels were causing issues. This should have helped me get motivated however it didn't. I accepted my fate. I was a fat piece of *kitten* and I was going to die that way. I was never pretty, I was never loved, I'll just enjoy it until it takes me. It wasn't until July after the wedding where I actually wanted to die. I was so embarassed that people had to even see my fat self and to make matters worse I managed a gym. I managed Curves, A franchise type facility for women and my family owns one. Can you imagine the stares I got when I was the one talking about weight management, diet, and exercise? I am very educated, I know what to do but I was so much a lost cause I said screw it, It isn't for me. We went to a regional meeting april of 2011 and again seeing the pictures of me just made me physcially ill. In july, after the wedding, my grandmother came to me and said that curves had changed the weight management program into a program they call Curves Complete. We said we would give it a try together. 15 pounds came off the first month. I cried. I wasn't that much of a lost cause. This dog had some fight left in her.

    It has been 13 months and have been following Curves complete. I love myself. I am sexy, I am curvy (yet I still have a long way to go) and I am 87 pounds down. I ride on average 15 miles a day on my bicycle. I strength train at curves 3x week and do an hour long high intensity zumba class 4x a week. I hold my head high when I walk down the street. I don't go to a restaurant and hear the jokes about "the food being gone" anymore. I walk into the store and pick out size 16/18. I feel like myself. The strong, confident kayla that had once shown it's face was back. I am not some stranger in a fat suit. My husband, who has done this journey with me, is so proud. Our marriage hasn't been better. When I was heavy and at my lowest I didn't care about anyone or anything. On our 4 year anniversary this halloween I will actually dress up like we did years ago.

    I am no longer embarassed for people to see me anymore. As I write this I am tearing up but I am telling anyone who doubts, anyone who just wants to dissapear, you can do it.

    Your story really resonated with me and I appreciate you sharing it. Fantastic job!
  • VeggieKidMandy
    VeggieKidMandy Posts: 575 Member
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    my wake up call was when my old pregnancy jeans were getting snug...
  • emotionalharlequin
    emotionalharlequin Posts: 83
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    When I was 11yo my family and I took a family picture where I looked like a heavily pregnant 11yo standing infront of her much slimmer older sisters. A few months later I saw a school photo of myself standing next to two of my slim friends. I was disgusted. I finally saw what others had seen for years - since I was incredibly young (probably around 6yo) I would constantly get called fat. I was even bullied when I was 10 because of my weight: my then "friends" gave me a note saying "we dont want to be your friend because you're fat". Those were the exact words on the note.
    When I turned 16 did I develop an eating disorder and I basically started losing the weight then through extreme calorie deficits and workouts. Now, 19 months later, I have calmed down a lot and am taking it slow. =)
  • Rawr1978
    Rawr1978 Posts: 245 Member
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    1. I look pregnant, and my baby is 10 months old.
    2. my bf is joining the military soon...I'd like to get dolled up and impress him at least once before he goes.
  • bluedecor
    bluedecor Posts: 28
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    It's not so much a wake-up call as a hard deadline. I dallied with MFP, thinking I wanted to look better for my 50th birthday but that apparently wasn't enough motivation for me to keep going. I had volunteered to be forward deployed to Afghanistan last February and as soon as I became available to deploy I was notified of my selection a couple of weeks ago. It's been a real surprise because although I wanted to go, I didn't really think I'd be selected. I feel that it is an honor to be selected because my agency only sends the most dedicated, hardworking people to go forward to support our servicemen and women. I'm deploying next May and I may have to work 80 hours a week. I am in poor shape and overweight so I've hit the gym and I am back on MFP with a vengence. Our service people deserve my very best and I am not gong to embarrass myself with a lack of stamina. Mark my words, come next May I will have a new shape and a new zest for life to boot! Watch my ticker slide and come along for the ride!:happy:

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