My breaking point... What was yours??

val_140
val_140 Posts: 75
in Motivation and Support
I remember it like it was yesterday... Walking into Lane Bryant with my mother, shopping for my trip to Mexico. With my feet dragging and my eyes rolling I took the clothes my mother had chosen for me to the fitting room. Clothes that ranged from 18-22 and L-XL. I went into the room, gave my body a glance and just looked away from what I hated! I tried them all on and fell to tears as the size 20s were too tight!! I left there with my confidence between my toes!!
Once I was in Mexico I felt fine again (since almost all my "fat life" I had been in denial about being fat). It wasn't until my aunt (almost a second mother of mine) said to me.. "Honey not to be mean, but you should really consider losing weight." This was coming from one of the nicest lady's on the planet!!
I returned to Fl. DETERMINED to lose weight.. That was my breaking point in 2008..



108 pounds and 8 pants size later I gladly walk past Lane Bryant into other stores that carry my size. I walk into the fitting rooms with confidence and am so excited to visit my aunt in June for the first time in almost 4 years so that she can see the NEW me!!
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Replies

  • casmjones
    casmjones Posts: 30 Member
    Congratulations.
    I am needing to lose 100 pounds myself. It's just staying with it and doing it. Breaking points there are several but clothes shopping is one of them.
  • Maris_Swan
    Maris_Swan Posts: 197 Member
    I had to ask for a seat extender on an airplane. At that moment I knew it was time to re-evaluate!
  • violinkeri
    violinkeri Posts: 212
    mine was getting on the scale after the holidays and getting the biggest number ive ever gotten--180. I've lost 15 lbs so far and going steady! but my pants were getting tighter and it was not pleasant.

    i dont tend to lose in the boobs so im still going to have to frequent LB for that--but even that gets difficult because they dont carry much in 34-36. its very frustrating to know that no matter what I will still have plus sized boobs on a 'regular' sized body.
  • johnnytwhite
    johnnytwhite Posts: 9
    First, congrats on your success in your weight loss journey! I would have to say that I have two breaking points as I dropped off the trail once. The first one was the night my step father passed away. His arteries were blocked and he passed away while at work. He always feared doing that. I was close to this man and awoke to a call from my sister stating he had past away. At first I thought it was a terrible dream, but then I realized the reality of it all. We drove 5 hours to west Texas to the funeral and mourned our loss.

    At that point I started to really think about my own health. I know that my step father and I have no medical relation, however it was crucial that I take care of myself. I thought about life profoundly for a few months until I finally joined a gym in August to begin my weight loss journey. I had lost 30 pounds and was doing great until the end of October where we went on a cruise ship. I tried hard to go to the gym and not eat too much, however it was too much too fast and before I knew it I was off the band wagon. That was all in 2011.

    I hadn't touched a scale or any exercise equipment since October 2011 and a year had passed by. I began thinking about it a lot near the end of 2012. On December 19th, my friend and I had to go to the HR office at work. There was a scale there and I was curious about my weight and thus I stepped on. I was shocked to find out that I weighed 325 pounds and realized that I really have lost all progress I made in 2011 and then gained extra weight. This was my second breaking point. I decided once and for all that I am going to lose the weight, look better, feel better, and keep it off. This would also by my new years resolution along with no more sodas.

    It is now March 11th and I have lost a total of 53 pounds since December 19th. I am working hard and keeping the weight off, but it's a struggle every day to keep myself in check. I have my family and friends to thank for the support and love. I still have 72 pounds to go before I hit the weight I feel that I will be more comfortable with. If I feel I need to lose a little more then I will, however 200 to me seems a reasonable goal. I just don't want health complications because of something I can control. I can't control cancer or other genetic illnesses, but I can control my weight and keep from getting weight related deceases.

    Sorry for the lengthy reply, however these were my breaking points and I hope that the breaking points that you found stick with you through and beyond your journey. It is a hard journey, with ups and downs, but it is worth all the hard work. Keep up the good work.
  • kmakar
    kmakar Posts: 103
    I was 40, hovering around 190 with a sedentary lifestyle, and had just had a miscarriage. I had really felt terrible and exhaused while pregnant and thought to myself "I really need to be in much better shape if I want to be trying to have kids at this age." Been at it about 9 months and am down about 33 lbs feeling faster, stronger and healther than I have in years.
  • knit1spin2
    knit1spin2 Posts: 3 Member
    There have been lots over the last couple of months. One was facing the fact that I don't have any clothes that fit me, and the ones I do have are stained and look nasty. Another was wanting to knit a sweater for myself but realizing that I didn't have enough yarn and how much time it was going to take due to my size. Not being able to walk up my stairs in my home without it being a major project. I think the final straw was when my daughter cried to me that she was embarrassed about her own weight and people were making fun of her. I knew that I needed to make a change for myself and be an example which will hopefully help her.
  • SkinTightDenims
    SkinTightDenims Posts: 17
    My husband and I half-jokingly consider ourselves "co-dependent" and "enablers" to each other regarding food. We both love sugary sweets like doughnuts, cookies, and ice cream, and neither one of us really has a lot of willpower to turn them down, or much motivation to get up and exercise. And with his family history of diabetes, I guess it really didn't surprise either of us when he was diagnosed with it in June 2007. We met with a nutritionist for him and dutifully nodded our heads committed to ourselves that we were going to be good little do-bees.

    We started out great. We planned out our daily meals and bought $3,000 worth of home exercise equipment, and encouraged each other. I lost 30 lbs!

    Then we went on vacation. We ate out, and didn't keep track of calories, and pretty much blew off everything we had trained ourselves to do. And by the time we got back home, we were fully entrenched back into old habits. We ate what we wanted, when we wanted it, and then had seconds. Our exercise equipment became racks for towels, and storage surfaces for papers and junk, and even got unplugged when we needed the outlets for other things. And I gained back 15 lbs.

    Then I started having some odd health symptoms myself, and in January 2013 my bloodwork came back positive for lupus. Pain is now my constant companion, in my muscles and tendons and nerves and joints. And I knew it was time to fix my lifestyle again. I looked around for a quick-fix pill or powder or supplement, researched lots of the newest fad diet pills and powders, and rejected each because of the nasty side effects. Then I finally bit the bullet and admitted that there's really only one way to do it right: The hard way. Because weight loss pills and fads might succeed in dropping weight, but they won't make me healthy or in-shape. And whether he likes it or not, I'm taking my husband along with me. In 2007 when he was diagnosed, I made an absolute commitment that I will care for him when his health declines to the point that he needs daily care. But now that I have my own health issue, I need him to help himself as much as he can too.

    So we're back at it, him because of his diabetes and me for some pain relief. We've dusted off the exercise equipment and plugged it back in, and I'm here on MFP to track calories. I've tried to get him to use MFP, but it's not what he wants out of a calorie tracker, so he is looking for a different program to track his calories. He has a software program we purchased for our first big push, and he just has to find it and install it on the laptop he purchased since we last used it. I'm planning out our dinners again, but we're each on our own for breakfast and lunch, since we work different schedules. I've shunned the elevator in my office building in favor of the stairs (4 stories up every day, carrying laptop, lunch bag, & purse... *puff* *puff* *pant* *pant*). I'd like to get rid of the 15 bounce-back lbs I regained, then I'd like to shed the other 20 I gained after we got married.

    I have a few articles of clothing I gave up on long ago, but just couldn't bring myself to get rid of. But now I'm determined to fit back into my SkinTightJeans. ;)
  • jfauci
    jfauci Posts: 531 Member
    I was on a trip in Hawaii and we were going on a helicoptor ride. We had to write down our weight on the registration form and I guess I wrote down what I wanted to be. Before we were allowed to get on, they made us get on a scale to verify what we had written down :noway: :noway: :noway: .

    Needless to say, I was waaaayyyy off on my estimate (and horribly embarrassed :embarassed: :embarassed: .

    I got home, bought a scale and have never not known my weight since! (And that was 15 years ago).
  • lamlamsmakeover
    lamlamsmakeover Posts: 6,574 Member
    My breaking point? This morning! I was on here before and then deleted my account. Got on the scale this morning and was horrified that I was at my highest adult weight. Here is where we all need to be!!
  • claire2610
    claire2610 Posts: 12 Member
    Clothes shopping was mine! I refused to be a size 18!

    Interesting to hear about everyones breaking point - well done and good luck on your journies!
  • debege
    debege Posts: 43 Member
    Lots of things, but the thing that made me finally start exercising was a trip I am planning. It will be the first vacation my husband and I will be taking since out honeymoon 7 years ago. There are weight limits for two of the more adventurous things I want to do.
  • SweetestLibby
    SweetestLibby Posts: 607 Member
    Congrats on your success thus far!

    For me? It was when my doctor told me that although I was a match to donate a kidney to my sister I wasn't healthy enough to actually donate it. At 5'4'' and 215 pounds my doctor flat out said no and that I was well on my way to type 2. My older sister was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 10 years old and has been through kidney failure twice. She recieved a donor organ but when the doctors had to change her medicine her body rejected the kidney. I decided to get tested to see if I was a match so that she would have a kidney available should she decide to go through with another transplant. I couldn't bear the thought of not being able to help her when she needed it. For me it was never about being a certain size or weight it was just about getting healthy enough to help.

    A few years and 90 pounds later I'm in the best shape of my life!
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    When my husband called me fat..
  • JustForMe2
    JustForMe2 Posts: 7
    My husband was the "big one" in our relationship for the first several years. He's stayed relatively the same size, but through lots of life experiences, I gained a ton of weight and now my jeans fall off of HIM!!
    But right now, it's not about the weight. I went to the doctor for a routine physical and my lab work came back showing early signs of kidney damage, fatty liver, and bad triglycerides. So now I'm not eating to lose weight, I'm eating to repair a lot of damage. The weight will come off as a benefit. Already, I find myself sleeping better at night, not waking up at 2am sweating from a sugar crash and an over worked liver. I have 100+ pounds to go and I, too, can't wait to walk by Lane Bryant with confidence!!
  • Kelley528
    Kelley528 Posts: 319 Member
    Congratuations!

    My breaking point was looking at a picture of myself from someones birthday party and my face looked like the thing that swallowed Kelley. I didnt look like me anymore.

    It was really hard for me to see the weight gain by looking in the mirror alone because I am a truly curvy girl with or without the extra lbs. I was 40lbs overweight but the way my body carried it my eyeballs couldnt see a difference. I didnt have any jiggle, fat rolls, back fat, or anything, and still had a small waist. I looked in the mirror and still saw the old skinny me. My size 10 clothes barely fit and I did notice my face was fuller but it wasnt until I saw the picture that I saw how big my face was. Add that to trying to buy new clothes and nothing fit. I refused to buy size 12 so the day my Kindle Fire came in the mail the first thing I did was search for weight loss apps and found MFP. Now I am between a size 4 and 6 (depending on the cut of the clothes).

    I saw a picture of myself from the office party 2011 and that was the first time I actually saw how small I have gotten compared to the new skinny 2012 party. :)
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    I didn't have a breaking point. I had an "oh, I can do this" point, when I was working on a show, never had time to eat, lost 15 pounds just like that, did a photo shoot for a photographer, and saw what I looked like. I decided I should strive to not regain that 15 pounds.

    P.S. I did regain some. Then I lost it again.
  • EatYourVeg
    EatYourVeg Posts: 55
    I watched a "Fat Teenagers" program.
    The girl on there was only 17 and weighed 17 stone. I was 21 and weighed 19 stone. They went on about how bad she looked, how much of her life she had lost because of how huge she was and how much of a big deal it was to weigh that much for her age and height.

    I literally went upstairs and started crying. Started cutting myself because of how much I hated myself (emo yes I know.)

    From that day I lost 1 stone in 1 month and never stopped.
    2 years down the line I lost almost 100lbs and I met the man of my dreams :)

    BUT Now I'm gaining a lot of weight again because I'm happy! Need to sort it out...
  • celticempress
    celticempress Posts: 19
    I had two major revalations as to why I needed to lose weight. The first came because my husband and I play World of Warcraft. If you ever have played, there are these creatures called Blood Elves which are these gorgious thin creatures and the women are basically skinny Barbie Dolls. There is another race called Dwarves. Dwarf females are stout and round, and even though they are flat bellied, they are very heavy looking and short. I have played a Blood Elf for quite some time, and she looks nothing like I do.

    One evening while I was playing, my 1 and a half year old at the time, screamed in horror. "DON'T HURT MY MOMMY" she said in her baby voice. Dismayed I asked her what she was talking about and sat her in my lap to continue my game. She yelled it again and I looked carefully at my target. I had killed in the game a Female Dwarf with long black hair wearing a red and black dress that looked a whole lot like this one shirt I own. My daughter cried mournfully and pat the screen over the dead dwarf in anguish "My mommy!" she was devastated. She had thought I was in the game and that some skinny barbie doll had killed me. That was an incredible eyeopener.

    However it wasn't enough to start the drastic changes. The next came almost a year later. She was 2 and she was sitting in my lap. "Mommy" she announced and pat my belly. "I wuv sitting wif you. You are more comfy den gwamma." she pat my belly again and sighed in happy comfort as she fell asleep nuzzled in my hugeness.

    From that moment on, I had enough. She had never said anything mean to me, nor was it malicious, but I realized my little girl thought I was a sofa cushion. I've been working on it ever since, and 55 pounds later I'm down from a size 22 jeans to a size 12. She's 3 now, and it's been a great journey.
  • Rivers2k
    Rivers2k Posts: 380 Member
    Saturday morning 3 weeks ago I saw my kids playing on the living room floor. I had over indulged the night before and felt sick from it. I thought to myself. If I have a heart attack I could miss out on all this great times with my family who I love so much. Right at that moment the thought of fast food made me sick. I didn't do my typical "I will start on Monday" not this time. I started changing my life right at that moment. I say to myself all the time now whats more important a cheeseburger or my kids.

    Little off topic but this is one of the things that makes me laugh most when I think of my daughter. I said to my wife " we get to watch biggest looser tonight!" My wife says "I love the biggest looser", my daughter looks at me and says "I love you looser!" My 2.5 year old called me a looser LOL these are the things I don't want to miss.
  • KristyHumphrey
    KristyHumphrey Posts: 248 Member
    Wow-amazing accomplishment! Congratulations!
  • sahgp90
    sahgp90 Posts: 5 Member
    My biggest revalation was what I call the "Dreadful Doctor's Appointment." I went in to the doctor's for pain in my wrist, work related, totally unrelated to my weight and general health.

    When I stepped on the scale, it read 281 pounds. It finally hit me that I was not only closer to weighing 300 pounds that I was to weighing 200 pounds, but that I was now closer to weighing 300lb than 250lb! They also took my blood pressure, as per usual, and saw that it was (again) high. They noted that it had been high in my previous 3-4 appointments, asked my to monitor it and call in with a log a week later. 1.5 weeks later I was on a low-dose of blood pressure medication.

    I just kept thinking to myself, "I'm 21 years old and I'm on blood pressure medication. I'm 21 years old and I cannot buy clothes from the stores that I like. I'm 21 years old and heavier than most of the people I know."

    I just knew I had to REALLY do it this time. I knew that the procrastinating and excuses had to stop. I knew that if I didn't do something now, while I was young enough to REALLY give good habits a chance to set in for good, I would likely die at a very early age (heart disease and diabetes already runs high in my family) and would likely be depressed for the rest of my life. I'm young, but I look forward to the day that I have children and the thought of 1)Not being active with and for them and 2)Not being around for as much of their lives as I can, crushes me. I knew something had to change.

    That being said, it did still take me 6 months to make any sort of progress I changing my lifestyle, and it's been very recent. I'm praying that it will all stick and I'm determined to never need to "start-over" again!

    I have 5 pounds down, 94 pounds to go!
  • walleyebob977
    walleyebob977 Posts: 201 Member
    The idea of having weight loss surgery.
  • Keysted
    Keysted Posts: 21 Member
    Pre-diabetic diagnoses
  • smaihlee
    smaihlee Posts: 171 Member
    I've always been overweight, very much so (technically morbidly obese) since I had my son 14 years ago. Interestingly enough, never had health issues and have always had glowing reports from any check-up I ever had. In fact, NEVER have had a doc suggest I lose weight in all my years. I almost wish one of them had, however, because it might have given me the wake-up call that I needed.

    There is a morbidly obese woman at work (I'll call her Rose) who has had multiple health issues over the last few years and walks with a cane. She got so bad that they had to move her office downstairs because she could no longer go up and down the stairs. Besides this, she is just a nasty person (physically and in behavior) who I try to avoid at all costs.

    Sometime last summer I started to notice a little discomfort in my knees when getting into/out of seated position. My thoughts immediately turned to Rose, and I decided that I was not going to end up like that.
  • famousmel
    famousmel Posts: 149 Member
    Mine had to do more with how out of shape I was. I didn't like to play outside or go to the park with my 3yo, and going somewhere where he could run away from me was so horrifying, we wouldn't go half the time. I was always afraid we'd get too far from the car and I wouldn't be able to get both of us back there(yes I was that bad). I could no longer pretend to be the best mom I could be and not let my son experience life. I want to be thinner, but more importantly build up my endurance. Completing the C25K is going to be as big a goal for me as getting to my goal weight! I'm in Iowa, and watch out summer b/c here me and my kid come!!!
  • bekah818
    bekah818 Posts: 179 Member
    Wow, you're story is great! That's so motivating to hear. I recently gained weight and it's taken a toll on my self confidence. I used to be a size 8 and today I'm a 13. All my life I struggled with my weight and have gone up and down and the biggest I've been was a size 15. I lost 59 lbs bringing me down to the glorious size 8, and I recently put the weight back on putting me 2 sizes away from where I vowed to never go back!!! I was in denial of my gaining weight and the fact that I gained it back slowly really made me deny it even more.

    I would weigh myself sometimes and just think "oh that's water weight". My breaking point was seeing old pictures and comparing myself to it now and realizing the big difference. Recently some relatives came and visited me over the weekend from out of state and the last time they saw me, I was a size 8 and of course they nicely asked me "what happened???" ... I'm embarressed at the fact that I put weight back on and I want to feel confident and be healthy again. I'm ready to get my size 8 back now and I need al the support I can get!! :)
  • vlwimb84
    vlwimb84 Posts: 15
    Oh yea I remember when I had my wake up call about a year and a half ago the first time i lost weight..didnt realize how big I had gotten until i saw pics of myself feom a family reunion :(

    Started in August of 2011 and by Christmas was down 40lbs! Not gonna lie, I felt a litle smug because I heard some female members of my family made comments about me behind my back and when I lost the weight, I felt somewhat vindicated lol

    I have since gained back 15 lbs but imma lose it again!
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
    I knew my clothes and pants were getting tighter, but I was very slow getting into my diet.
    One night my mom and I were talking and she told me she was concerned about my weight. That was when I realized it was time to take action!
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member

    However it wasn't enough to start the drastic changes. The next came almost a year later. She was 2 and she was sitting in my lap. "Mommy" she announced and pat my belly. "I wuv sitting wif you. You are more comfy den gwamma." she pat my belly again and sighed in happy comfort as she fell asleep nuzzled in my hugeness.


    I know this is about losing weight, but I think it's the sweetest thing of all that your little girl loves you unconditionally.
  • Laura8603
    Laura8603 Posts: 590 Member
    I'm a single mom of 2 via adoption, so it's all me. I had to be a better mom for my kids and be here to raise them to adulthood. They deserved that. I also did not want them being made fun of for having a fat mom. Being a kid is hard enough. I was not going to make it even harder for them.

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