What Made You Really Start?

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Replies

  • lyndalpn
    lyndalpn Posts: 151 Member
    Being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at 42 after ten years of managing lupus was my wake up call. The double whammy meant I literally had no choice. I walked into my endocrinologists office at 102kg (225lbs) on 19 June 2012 and by 19 Feb 2013 (8 months later) I am 66.5 kg (146 lbs). My endocrinologist is pretty happy - and so is my husband!! LOL
  • phoenixrizez
    phoenixrizez Posts: 50 Member
    My husband calling me fat in a fight out of anger. I knew he didn't mean it, but I knew he said it because he knew it would hurt me because I felt that way about myself.

    Then a few months later I started having some medical issues (not weight related) and I said to myself that I needed to get as healthy as I could so that they could figure out what's wrong with me. 1.5yr later and we still aren't exactly sure, but I can safety say that it's not anything that I can prevent.

    I asked my husband repeatedly and finally he honestly told me that I "could lose some weight" it was both crushing and motivational. He wasn't trying to be hurtful either but he did tell the truth. It IS time for me to lose weight. That wasn't the OFFICIAL start but it got me thinking about what I needed to do! Good luck to you! :wink:
  • I have a medical condition that nearly killed me once, indirectly nearly killed me a second time and caused me to live in constant pain. I switched doctors and talked about non-narcotic ways to deal with my constant pain and the doctor said I should lose weight, as that could directly be causing the pain. So complete diet overhaul with a dietician to work with what I've got combined with exercise, then finally I joined MFP and combined them all and formed a weight loss plan.

    I'm down 21 lbs since the first of the year, and my constant pain is all but gone and I get pain maybe 3-4 days a month, depending on how my diet is working and if I try a new food that doesn't agree with my GI issues

    Plus I want to look good naked
  • A picture was all it took. To say I was disgusted with myself is putting it mildly. I quickly told myself "enough," and it was.
  • bigcrystal123
    bigcrystal123 Posts: 246 Member
    Mine would have to see all these skinny with more than one kid.i have twlo kids and im struggling to play wirh them due to my weight. I dont want that no more.on feb.12 i told myself i had enough its been a week and lost 3 pounds already.im so proud im doing this for me and my kids
  • ShmareParks
    ShmareParks Posts: 88 Member
    Wow. You are all inspiring, touching, adorable, and I'm proud of us all!!!

    My weight loss journey began with photos too. I had gone on a research trip to Italy with school colleagues, and when I started looking through people's photos, I wondered who that woman was who was in all our photos. I then figured out by the clothes IT WAS ME! I guess I hadn't been paying attention ... and the mirror doesn't tell the truth, does it?

    Anyway, I got on board right away and knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I got the "fire in my belly" and if it wanes, I look at those photos again. Knowing I don't look like them anymore (I'm 26 pounds lighter) fires me up even more to persevere.

    Mind you, I've been known to eat very weird and yucky snacks to not go over my calorie limit ... raw mushrooms with soy sauce, raw spinach with paprika, black chicory drinks, 10 raisins ... haha .... anything to feel full without cheating on my daily allowance.

    Good luck, everyone.
  • Wow, some pretty emotional stories here. Good on all of you!

    For me it was a confluence of a few rather mundane causes that added up to a kick in the butt: I'm looking to switch jobs and can't fit into my suits (or any of my good dress clothes for that matter); my sister kept bugging me about doing the Great Saunter around Manhattan with her this May; grams bought me a shirt for Christmas that was too small and when she offered to take it back I told her I would wear it the next time I saw her; I finally admitted to myself that being 34, never married, and single was making me depressed and figured my appearance wasn't doing me any favors; I want to be a normal size for my brother's wedding (whenever that happens); I stepped on the scale and was disgusted by the number.
  • Damzk
    Damzk Posts: 1 Member
    I started because I was checking my pulse one day on a whim and found out it was 80 which was way too high and made me worry but what really keeps me going is my comrade, my work out partner, she has really been motivational for me to keep working out and trying to look the best I can and be the healthiest I can be.
  • TheConsciousFoody
    TheConsciousFoody Posts: 607 Member
    I was ready for a change. I had been a few weeks into medication to help my anxiety and BAM. Motivation for a new healthy life flooded over me. Quit smoking, quit drinking (I hardly drank anyways but decided I'd prefer food calories over booze calories), and decided to make changes. One of the best decisions I have made and my older two boys tell me how proud they are of me that I quit smoking, and that helps me stay motivated. I like making them proud. They also cheer for me when I tell them I lost more weight. The healthier I am the longer I'll be around for them, so I guess that is the true reason on why I started this journey.
  • kristafb
    kristafb Posts: 770 Member
    Wii Fit made fun of me

    LOL! The same thing happened to me! My 6 yr old neice was at my house one day & when I got on the Wii Fit it said 'You're Obese" in that cheery little voice & my niece said "She said you're a beast!!!!" Funny now perhaps, not so much at the time. lol
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,976 Member
    I started at age 19 at just over 124lbs. Was tired of being skinny and made fun of, so I hit the weights and food and put on some muscle. Up to now, I've still retained basically the same physique that I had at age 23.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • maggs155
    maggs155 Posts: 258
    I started because being fat depresses me and having a beautiful face and not the nice body to go with it bothered me! And the fact i was almost 29 and i know the older u get the harder it is so before Christmas of 2012 i started my life style change and i didnt care if it was freezing out side i walked and i didnt care about all the baking and cookies i ate right and now 2 months into this i have lost 40 pounds! Im so happy i didnt wait until the new year i may of changed my mind:)
  • chooriyah
    chooriyah Posts: 469 Member
    Three things:

    - Refusing to buy clothes bigger than size 16 UK
    - Refusing to conceive of myself as weighing 200 lbs
    - My hubby moving away for work for 3 months. Gave me more free time to find something to do with, more control over my own diet, and also missing him made me realise I'd become very complacent.
  • babymine55
    babymine55 Posts: 127 Member
    Simply...I hated the life I had created.

    I had a husband that loved me, but given that I was 370 pounds, we couldn't do things together anymore. My children played around me but, I couldn't play with them. I saw photos of myself and it would send me spiraling into a depression.

    No matter what past afflictions that had gotten me there...abuse, broken family relationships, it didn't matter. I had to take control. I was watching my entire life pass me by and I wasn't enjoying any of it.

    It has been a long journey, learning about myself, my triggers and my coping mechanisms....but, I am happy to say, it's all been worth it.

    My husband has stood by my side, through all of it and even went to counseling with me to make sure that my weigh loss was a happy journey for the both of us (the divorce rate among mass weight-loss couples is staggering).

    Now, my children can wrap their arms ALL the way around my body. I can sit in any darn seat in a restaurant that I want. I can out-run my husband (even though I still have about 60 pounds to go!). Now...I GET TO LIVE, and that is priceless. Never again...I will never, ever go back.

    I love each and every one of your stories here...they are so inspiring!! WTG PEOPLE! :)
  • TheConsciousFoody
    TheConsciousFoody Posts: 607 Member
    I started at age 19 at just over 124lbs. Was tired of being skinny and made fun of, so I hit the weights and food and put on some muscle. Up to now, I've still retained basically the same physique that I had at age 23.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Show off :-)
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
    You'd think it was the doctor telling me I was diabetic & needed meds, right ????

    But really It was a picture taken on Valentine's day 5 years ago .......

    001_1.jpg

    Now I look like this .......

    MA5-1-12.png

    Much better, I think ..... and no more meds !
  • pseudomuffin
    pseudomuffin Posts: 1,058 Member
    I should probably add on to my previous statement, what made me start the first time (where I lost ~40 lbs and kept around 25 off) was being my brother's "best man" at his wedding in 2010 and leaving the reception after the speeches so I wouldn't ruin the rest of his wedding pictures. Lowest point, I still feel bad about this. :frown:
  • hurleycutie142
    hurleycutie142 Posts: 479 Member
    i volunteer at a camp and this girl was always made fun of for being fat... she was bullied all the time and one day i took her off to the side to talk to her and was talking to her about self esteem and stuff like that and i know she didnt mean it to be mean but she said what do u do to get people to stop talking about u being fat... i was like wtfff lol no seriously it took me back alittle... i was overweight and i knew it but i didnt realize that other people saw it... so i went home and walked up the stairs and was out of breath and my roommate was looking at me like whats wrong... and i asked him if i was fat... and he told me im telling u this because i love you but u r overweight and im willing to help u with anything u need... and offered to help me...
  • laughingdani
    laughingdani Posts: 2,275 Member
    Someone told me I couldn't do it. That lit a fire in me that still burns to this day.
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
    i dont really have a reason why tbh but take one day at a time a if you are good one day and then another it tends for me to turn into a snowball effect! and before you know it it's a week/month and youve lost weight with it! bonus! :drinker:
    also find a exersice you like...it's no good just doing it you must like to do it!
  • sierra_12
    sierra_12 Posts: 249 Member
    i started working retail (Maurices to be exact) my senior year in high school. i have always been the bigger girl, mainly because I'm 6'1'', but i also wore a size XL (or 0-1 in the plus size section). i just got tired of being the "tall, fat girl" at work. to add to it, i would come home and vent to my mom and older sisters about work and my weight and one night i overheard them talking and saying that they were tired of hearing me complain, that i wouldn't ever do anything about my weight anyways so why don't i just learn to live with it? that really set the fire under me. been working out every day ever since! can't wait to show off my bikini body to my coworkers and doubting family (:
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    It was a night not unlike tonight. I had just finished reading the whole internet and was waiting for them to print more of it. And I felt really pathetic and fat and weak. So I spent the next day or two reading and maybe about a week or so of planning... went grocery shopping for some good food, purchased some workout equipment, and the rest, as they say, was history.
  • gimpygramma
    gimpygramma Posts: 383 Member
    My sore knees. I was slim till I turned 50 and after that though I had gained 20 lbs or so, I didn't much care. I was no heavier than my friends and I wasn't planning to do the bikini thing again anyway. Then my knees started bothering me. And I am a recreational walker. Most of my social life revolves around my walking group, my hiking club, and holidays spent on foot.

    That was my wake up call. I am now 20 lbs lighter. Because as you get older a little extra weight can make your face look better, I am not sure if cosmetically my weight loss has resulted in an improvement. But my knees feel great and I'll be doing the Sun Run with my friends come April and that's what counts.
  • fara180
    fara180 Posts: 1,260 Member
    i'd went through fad diets since i was 16, but i was never 100 percent serious and committed...then i went through a very difficult and nasty break up. at first, i needed to do something to take my mind off of the drama involving my personal life basically falling to pieces. then, i decided that i wanted to feel better about myself so that i never let someone treat me badly again- i knew that i had to treat myself the right way to expect as much from others. so glad!
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
    I wondered what was cutting into my back when I was sitting down. After seeing a pic of myself at the beach, I found out what it was.

    My spine. MFP was kind of a big help for rectifying that.
  • thelastcenturion
    thelastcenturion Posts: 28 Member
    December 31, 2012. That's the date a picture was taken of me at a party at my heaviest. It was absolutely, horrifically frightening seeing how far I let myself go. After that day I spent probably a week planning and getting everything I needed to start my journey. And from there, as they say, everything was history. I still keep the picture as a widget on my phone to remind myself to either eat healthier or get off my butt and workout. It serves as my constant reminder of how far down I fell and to never let myself get to that point ever again.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    A photo my husband took of me without me knowing. 1 yr later and I'm below my goal weight (actually got there in 7 months) and fitter than ever.

    Went to the same place the photo was taken last week.
  • hadlam83
    hadlam83 Posts: 140
    To make myself look better than the *****es I went to school with (that was about 3 years ago! Now I've grown up I dont care about them and am doing it for me!!)
  • I was on a diet, on and off for the last 7 years. I was always chubby and self-conscious about my weight, even as a child even though I never had an "overweight" BMI. I developed a food obsession/eating disorder while doing all these crush diets.

    I have 100 motives to lose weight...here's what made me to REALLY START.

    I'm planning to have a child next year and I really want to be a healthy mum, a good role model. I need to get over this weight/food issue.
    I'm getting married in July (who doesn't want to lose weight for their wedding? :-) ) and looking forward to my honeymoon, 2 weeks on a beach...in a bikini ( terrifies me right now but I'll look great by then! ).
    I really, really want to be healthy and fit.
  • klahorse
    klahorse Posts: 4 Member
    I took part in a Santa race, where everyone had to dress in a one size fits all santa costume, and the costume didn't fit round my waist. I thought gosh if i'm too fat to be santa, i really must be too fat!