What motivated you?

My "click" moment was when I said to myself enough is enough! I was tired of feeling embarassed and ashamed of my body. And now 6 months after I started that journey, and being 7 kgs lighter, I acknowledged that besides wanting a fit body I also want to be healthier. So having the chance to eat healthier and lighter meals actually makes me proud in those two senses: taking care of my health and toning my body

For me it was a year ago last fall, after my father passed away. I was at the funeral and everything seemed fine. I got home and one of my nieces posted some pictures from the reception on facebook. I was looking through them and it hit me, "OH HELL NO" that is not me, I am not that big. Well i was that big. I knew i was big, had not been able to use a normal scale in a long time. Well I was over 370 without a doubt, I started losing some before joining MFP, It was not until I ordered the cattle sized scale at home that i was able to find out where my starting point was

Wow, you've done amazing. I'm proud of you!

I had to find rock bottom first, then everything has seemed easier since then. Still, it took two moments in my life to make this really happen. I had always been very active and athletic and stayed relatively fit despite eating poorly. A few years of increased inactivity, injuries, way to much time at work and a really awful diet led me to a point where I was no longer physically capable of doing the athletic things I used to do. Accepting that I had self destructed and was no longer physically capable, that was my rock bottom. March-April 2011, at 35, I was at least 300 lbs (probably 10+ lbs over but never got near a scale) and in the worst condition of my life. Single, fat, felt isolated from friends who are all very athletic and off doing their athletic pursuits.....change had to happen.

So I adopted a very active dog, got out of the office and started walking a lot. I still didn't do anything with my diet, but lost some weight and was a lot happier having furry face and wagging tail to come home to. I got down to about 275 by early Fall 2011 and held there through the end of the year. Being increasingly active but not losing weight was frustrating. Mid January 2012 a friend told me about MFP and how it had been helping him lose some weight, so I signed up and weighed myself at 278 lbs.

Monday January 23, 2012. After a weekend of mistreating my body with wings and beer while watching football and sitting on my butt, I decided to weigh myself that morning. Except for that Sunday I thought I had been good all that week. Apparently not.

281 lbs. Standing in the bathroom blurry eyed and bare @ss naked, I just stared at that number on the scale. I can't describe the range of emotions that hit me in the blink of an eye.....anger, depression, anxiety.... Thankfully anger at myself was the main thing I felt. There were no excuses, not even clothes to hide behind. Before I was dressed I had made the decision that I was all in and going to do whatever it took to earn my health back. MFP has been a key tool in doing so.

Why did 281 give me that *click* moment when 295 a year earlier didn't? I don't know. Thankfully it did and I embraced that moment and have never forgotten it.

A year later I'm 70 lbs lighter and pretty much in the best shape of my life at 37. I set challenging but attainable goals for myself and raise the bar every time I reach my goal. I'm still single and sometimes still think of myself as the fat guy with no confidence that I was, but in some ways the mind is a lot slower to change than the body.

Being rejected by a lady friend .... :brokenheart:

That's worked for me in the past too! Heartbreak is a great appetite supressent.But you'll show her!

She rejected me for being too skinny @ 160lbs! Just want to get into the best shape of my life. That will show her!! :laugh:

Leaving my Fiance, is what really started the ball rolling for me.

I have always been slightly overweight, but I was pretty active so I was a still a highly functional fat guy. Over the years with my ex I ballooned up to 245. The majority of it had to do with my diet, while I did all the cooking but my ex HATED veggies and I do mean hated. If it was green she wouldn't eat it, She didn't want to see them on her plate, and if I ever got her try even a bite or even just cooked with it, it would always inevitably cause her IBS to act up.

I never could bring myself to make two dinners every night so I ate what she ate. So for a long time my diet consisted of refined carbs (white rice/pasta she also refused to eat brown rice or whole grain pasta), meats primarily (beef and pork no fish or chicken) and cheese and butter. The only time I ate anything green was when we went out, and it showed in my waistline.

In addition, my activity went down, which was the only thing that really kept me from being morbidly obese in the first place. She never really enjoyed the sports I liked and I did enjoy spending time with her, so spending a sat. playing tennis instead of hanging out with her was a choice I rarely made. I slowly changed my lifestyle from one of a average eater who stayed active to a very unhealthy eater who didn't do anything.

Just to be clear, I in no way blame my ex for all the weight I put on. It was the choices I made on daily basis that made me fat, but in certain situations it's a lot easier to make better choices.

When I left her and moved to Texas, it was fresh start. From planning a wedding to single is a pretty large lifestyle change already so why not change everything I didn't like about my former life? I got back to cooking a much more balanced diet (I love veggies) and got myself down to 208 before I found this site and started counting calories. I got back into my old activities and started to look for new ones to keep myself busy. Down to 186 now, still a bit more to go, but it's a long term process and I feel good about the lifestyle changes I have made.

My click moment... Hmm.

Well, many times I've tried & many times I've failed. I'm really good at getting all swept up in the moment & having lots of motivation and then about 3 months in, it all falls to crap. Last March, I got so fed up with what I saw in the mirror... just disgusted. So I logged on to MFP. A month after that, I joined a friend at the gym for a cardio dance class she was raving about. Two weeks later, I joined. Plodding along, one day at a time - slowly - the weight started to come off. In October, (of course, right before Halloween and the onslaught of holiday indulgence), I started to lose motivation... my husband sensed it & he joined MFP... he started running... because he knew if I had the support, I'd continue... there are no words to describe how much that meant to me and how I will never forget it. Between the two of us, we're down 100 lbs... or the weight of both our kids combined!

Ultimately, I'm 18 months from my 40th birthday. I have two small boys and I plan to be around to watch their kids grow up. So basically, I had to get my *kitten* together and be serious - so as to not have my kids wonder how come their mom can't keep up with them... not to mention, I never want them to have to worry about me because of something I could have controlled myself. It's not fair to them. And thirdly - most important - I want them to embrace healthy eating and exercise. Not dread it.

Not fitting in my clothes the way I'm used to. And I refuse to buy new ones to replace them!

I always had a pretty stable weight until a couple years ago. Fifteen pounds came on lightening fast and didn't leave by themselves. It freaked me out to see the scale jump that much, and I had to make real changes.

For me it was weighing myself right before my honeymoon (to Hawaii) and seeing that I weighed 210 lbs, highest in my life. I was unable to really enjoy my honeymoon (at least when it comes to feeling self conscious) but came back home more determined than ever to change my lifestyle. That was October 2012 and I'm down 26 lbs.

Sure wish I'd done this/found MFP before I got married!

Short and bitter:

Boy do I remember! It was my first family gathering with my Ryan. He was meeting my folks and everyone. My sister had these wooden chairs in her dining room at the time. Not thinking I sat on it and broke the chair! Talk about horrified I was 323 pounds at the time I could have died. My lovely Ryan (he's 145 pounds soaking wet) he just looked and helped me up I'm shocked nobody laughed.

I remember coming home that night and eating a bucket full of ice cream and tears. It still took me another week to get off my *kitten* and do something about it.

And for the record no I still don't laugh when I think about that. If anything Im still fill with sorrow. So that saying you may laugh later ummmmm after 5 years and I haven't crack a smile yet not one single smile.................

My "click moment" was chest pains. I weighed in at 269 at 5ft 7in. At 29, I shouldn't have been having those. Plus, I will be getting married soon and wanna stick around for my lady as long as possible

I want to enjoy life and be healthy. I also miss the active sports I used to play

My "click" moment was when I noticed I didnt want my husband to see me naked because I was so mortified by my bobdy. What's weird is he married me at this weight and he is very loving and non-judgmental but I began to hate myself so much I wasn't able to be a good spouse. I would have break downs before going out with him on a date because I looked so terrible. I hated seeing him feel bad for me and feel helpless. I had to do something.

I did this two years ago now to lose weight for my wedding that summer. I loved how I felt, but then after the wedding I kinda let everything go. My diet, no exercise, and just everything I used to do for me. My new 'click' moment was my husband actually. He lost his job and got another one pretty soon after where he was doing heavy physical labor and between Oct 1 and Nov 1 2012, he lost 18lbs. He looked amazing as he got to 208. We have this water park that we discovered on our one year anniversary trip and we want to go there for our two year. He said to me that he was so proud when I lost the weight for our wedding, when he didn't and he wanted that happy healthier me back for our anniversary. So we made a pact that by our anniversary we would be in 'water park shape'. I saw him losing that weight and mine had thankfully leveled off, but I wasn't losing. It finally clicked just before new year's that if I didn't get going I would be uncomfortable and angry all summer if I was not in shape. My husband has been encouraging me and asking me daily if I have done my log and worked out and he tells me he is proud of me daily because I am working towards my goals.

Another thing that clicked was how much I truly hated my work environment. It clicked that the only way that work was going to change was if I changed my environment. I had a job interview last week and I am in the last stages of the hiring process with a company I am truly excited to work for and it has honestly motivated me more to get in shape because I get to finally wear 'cute' work clothes again!!!

Finally, two years ago this past thanksgiving, I was diagnosed with pcos. I had done well keeping the symptoms at bay while I was working out and over the last year of not working out the pain returned and I realized I was not going to get pregnant if I let my weight creep up any higher.

So lots of motivation! lol

Sadly enough my partner.

Why do you sadly enough?