What was your wake up call?

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vineas
vineas Posts: 84
in Motivation and Support
I was thinking recently about my wake-up call, when I finally decided that I needed to get healthy and lose weight, and am interested in what motivated other people.

For me, it was a physical I had right around Christmas. The blood results were mostly good - sugar levels OK, cholesterol OK, borderline high blood pressure, but my ALT levels were elevated, which indicate that my liver is damaged. Doc said no alcohol at all for a month, then another test. This didn't make sense, as I don't really drink much - but it scared me sh*tless - I've had two uncles die very horribly from liver disease caused by severe alcoholism, and that's all I can think about. Test came back still bad, so I had to go get an ultrasound. Here I am, sitting on the same table as my wife was a few years ago when she was pregnant - but I'm obviously MUCH bigger and the technician was having problems. It was a very uncomfortable and embarrassing hour.

The verdict came back - I had a fatty liver. Years of eating crap embedded fat into tissues that shouldn't have fat in them, causing the liver to start leaking into my bloodstream. The doctor didn't seem too worried about it, he didn't even think I needed to lose weight ("lots of people have this, and lead normal long lives") - just lay off the pasta and potatoes. But like I said before, it scared me pretty bad so I went much further than he indicated.

As a result now, I eat mostly organic food, exercise regularly and in general just pay more attention to what I'm doing with my body. I'm down 42 pounds, though still have a ways to go. I can't wait until my next doctor visit - I know I'm well on the right path and it should definitely show up on the results, though I will admit a small part of me is still scared that I haven't done enough.
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Replies

  • 4myheartnsoul
    4myheartnsoul Posts: 97
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    Laying on a hospital bed watching the ultrasound on my heart and watching it pause every other beat and driving home thinking of my family if I fell over dead and how it could all be prevented if I just got healthy.
  • garcia3duardo
    garcia3duardo Posts: 12
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    My wake up call was High Blood Pressure. I would wake up in the middle of the night wiping my face off thinking i had boogers all over my face! When I turned on the light, I had smeared all the blood that came from my nostrils all over my face. My hands were literally full of blood. At work or family events, I would start bleeding blood from my nose all the time. Not to mention when someone used to piss me off!! lol. 50 something lbs later. I don't worry about high blood pressure anymore. My results show me normal. I still have some lbs to loose too. But, health wise I feel so much better. I feel like i'm actually living my life. Before i felt like I was dead person walking the face of the earth. Congratulations!! on your weight loss you look awesome!!!! I bet your baby appreciates this too!! lol
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
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    My most recent wake up call is when I was at my peak weight (232lbs) I complained a lot to my BF at the time and never did anything about it. Finally he got fed up and told me to do something about it or shut up. Nothing quite like tough love. He was very supportive while we were together and now that we've separated I'm able to carry on on my own :)
  • GooBeGone
    GooBeGone Posts: 439 Member
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    mine was pretty simple compared 2 ya'lls

    i got on the scale & it said 248lbs & i said 2 myself i will never weigh 250lbs. also my parents r both on blood pressure meds, borderline diabetics, cholesterol meds, i have a number of older relatives that r turnin diabetic.

    i look at them & say i don't wanna b on medication so i'm takin steps 2 b a healthier fitter me. :flowerforyou:
  • balance9
    balance9 Posts: 160
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    Loved your story:-) Kids are being diagnosed with fatty liver disease now, something that was unheard of a decade ago.

    My wake-up call was doc telling me that fasting blood sugar was high, and I needed a Hgb A1C test to confirm diabetes. My brother has it, and my mother died from complications. I never went in for the test, but changed my diet and lifestyle completely. Next appt, 20 lbs gone and blood sugar back to normal.
  • smsummers
    smsummers Posts: 9
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    I was told I had a fatty liver years ago but my Dr did not seem too concerned, so neither did I. NOW, I was diagnosed with Pre Diabetes last Friday. I joined MFP last March and lost 19lbs but fell off the wagon because I was lazy. For the last 3 months I ate terribly, did not exercise at all and gained 5lbs back. When I went to the Dr Friday she told me I had 3 months to change my results or I would be looking at being on Diabetic medicine. So, enough is enough I am back on board and have lost 4lbs since last Friday. I am counting Sugars and Carbs and exercising 4 days a week. It is a shame it took getting a diagnosis to wake my butt up.

    I read a statistic yesterday that 30% of Americans are Pre Diabetic but less than 10% of them know about it. That is scary to me.

    All it takes is a healthy diet and exercise to avoid fatty liver and diabetes yet all these years cookies have won out....such a shame. NO MORE though, that life is over and a new healthy life awaits!
  • tim_fitbuilt4life
    tim_fitbuilt4life Posts: 301 Member
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    My wake up call came after I got injured and could no longer powerlift metabolic syndrome set in and I gained too much weight. I was 245 lbs with a 5 foot 7 inch frame. My BP 160/110, cholesterol was 270 and my tryglicerides were 170. I found it diffcult to run without feeling tired and dizzy. I started with a personal trainer who got me involved in cross training and the rest is history.
  • Shash27
    Shash27 Posts: 172
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    I was scheduled for gallbladder surgery (A problem that started while I WAS in shape) and had a doctor's appoinment. I stepped on the scale to see 188 lbs! 188?!?!? I had lost weight in college when I was 165lbs and swore I wouldn't get THERE ever again and now I weighed 188?? That was it for me. I was NOT going to stay at that weight. I had been ignoring my clothes not fitting and eating crap and not exercising. NO MORE. I have a long way to go still but I'm over 20 lbs lighter than I was then and in much better shape and it feels GREAT!!
  • chandnikhondji
    chandnikhondji Posts: 136 Member
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    I had broken several chairs until then, my doctor told me i would not get older than 40, i was not able to get clothing in any shop because i was too big, was diagnosed with diabetes, and have an enourmous blood pressure... but strangely that all did not help. It was a shelf collapsing when I supported myself on it to stand up and 5 minutes later getting stuck in the door of the shower that made me think "Enough is enough". Started at about 551 lbs and lost 110 lbs since then.
  • melbhall
    melbhall Posts: 519
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    My wake-up call makes me feel shallow but it is what it is....

    I have been carrying around this excess baby weight for about 8 months when my husband treated me to a day at the spa and massage. I always felt self conscience but since no one mentioned my weight or always said "well you just had a baby" I kind of thought maybe it was just in my head. The day of the massage, the therapist talked to me afterwards trying to get repeat business. I talked about how good it felt but sometimes it hurt a little bit, I said I was a wuss. She said "you know, it always seems to hurt a little but for us big girls, those skinny girls can come in and not complain one bit." I felt like crying right there because she said it out loud...us big girls...I was one of them. Granted, I looked at her and thought she was a big girl, but I didn't know I was until she said it :(

    Like I said, shallow, but either way, it motivated me to make a change for the better.
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    I had surgery last summer and when the tech asked me my weight in front of my husband I realized that I was embarrassed because I was 217 lbs and didn't want to say it out loud.
    My husband is my best friend, we share everything and have am amazing relationship but this was one area that I was so ashamed of I couldn't even share it with him.
    Once I recovered I decided to be open and honest about myself and told my husband my weight, I also told my mom, and we are now sharing a weight loss journey together.
    Now each week when I weigh in I share my weight with my husband and my Mom because Im proud of the fact that Im working toward my goal.
    As of this morning I was 191 so have lost 26 pounds and Im no longer afraid of it as Im in control now, not my weight!
  • Samantharose8akaDebbie
    Samantharose8akaDebbie Posts: 407 Member
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    My wake up call was the day I thought I could climb 3 small flights of stairs and then struggled to breathe for the next 10 minutes. Thought they were going to have to call an ambulance at work. I am only 46 years old..............I have high blood pressure, high tryglycerides and when I went to the doctor she told me I was borderline diabetic...............enough was enough!!!!!! I began this journey in February and have almost 40 lbs off. I feel better than I have in a long time. I am happy to report that I can climb that same flight of stairs and breathe normally:laugh:
  • bellinachuchina
    bellinachuchina Posts: 498 Member
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    I've had many triggers throughout my life that should have kicked my butt into gear many times, but I was always too stubborn and lazy to really make the change! From family members saying hurtful yet "helpful" things about my weight, to seeing a girl I went to high school with drop about 50lbs., and look awesome!

    Finally, becoming pregnant with our daughter really woke me up. I was scared to have a girl, because I knew I couldn't be a role model to her being as large as I was. Also, I had insecurity/image issues and I didn't want to pass them onto her, so I knew it was time to change. She was born March 31, 2009, and after my milk supply left a few weeks after, I began my diet full force! I was at my goal by her first birthday :)
  • lisalynn35
    lisalynn35 Posts: 250 Member
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    I had a few wake up calls but there were two that drove me right over the edge. The first of which was when I discovered that at 5'7" tall I weighed more than Shaquille O’Neal weighs at 7'1" tall. The next came at my doctor's office. I am a cancer survivor and had to have a mastectomy while I was pregnant. Because I was carrying my son I could only be under anesthesia for 2 to 3 hours at the most so they could not do any reconstruction or remove the other breast and I was left with only one. When I went back to my breast surgeon's office for the first time post pregnancy she told me that there was no way she would even consider doing reconstruction on me until I weighed less than 200 lbs because it's so dangerous to but someone of my size under anesthesia and since the situation is not life threatening she felt that the cons far out weighed the pros.
  • miss_amy
    miss_amy Posts: 351
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    my wake up call was my last doctor appointment. for over a year i've had borderline high blood pressure and i didn't care. i wasn't a fan of doctors and i was pretty much in denial. my last appointment, i stepped on the scale and it said the largest number i have ever been. i was so embarrassed. then when the doctor took my blood pressure it was very high (partly because i was upset about my weight but mostly because of the CRAP i have put into my body). my doctor said she wanted to put me on medication to lower my blood pressure. that was it! i started balling in the room in front of my doctor. i have always been overweight but never this bad and to be put on medication for high blood pressure at 24?! noooooo!! so i begged for her to wait til my next doctor appointment to make that decision. i WILL lower my blood pressure and my weight! i don't want to be unhealthy anymore.

    since starting this site at the beginning of this month, i have already lost 6lbs and i feel great. my pants that i'm wearing right now are already loose on me. i can't wait until i go down a full size! i am so excited!

    thank you for everything, MFP! i couldn't be happier sharing my journey with all of you.
  • snowsflake
    snowsflake Posts: 214 Member
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    I was sick and tired of being sick and tired! My feet, back and joints hurt. My self-esteem was at an all time low. I didn't care about anything...just about eating and it was killing me! I was lucky enough to not get diabetes, high blood pressure or bad cholesterol readings, but at 343 pounds I was really killing myself and my body was not liking it one bit! Once I decided I was totally worth living a great, healthy life...I made the lifestyle change that I needed to do.

    Everyone gets there in the own way. I'm just glad that we got there!

    "A man who has no time for healthy eating, will sooner or later have to find time for illness..."
  • mysi019
    mysi019 Posts: 55
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    I have a couple of different reasons for finally getting serious about this. 1) is i am just sick of being overwieght, 2) I too complain about it all the time, and I too have a boyfriend who got fed up with it. I see it causing tension between us. I am tired all the time, i get upset easier and my self confidence has went down the tube. 3) My best friend was just diagnost with pre-diabetes.

    The other "shamefull" reason. I feel even terrible for saying this out loud. But my friends and I are doing this together and i know they will succeed so i dont want to be the "fat" friend. That is big motivation for me.
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,311 Member
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    Bump for later
  • aehenson
    aehenson Posts: 86
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    I had a health screening at work & my blood pressure was so high - (stroke level at the age of 28!!!) - that they told me to see my doctor. That was February 2008 & 20 pounds ago.
  • Alysgrma
    Alysgrma Posts: 365 Member
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    I guess mine was a two sided wake up call. My mom died of heart trouble in her 60's so we have that in the family. I had gained a lot of weight after my daughters death. I had high bp, high blood sugar and just felt horrible. My doctor told me that I couldn't keep going this way because I was killing myself....that was the first wake up call. Did I do anything about my weight yet? No. The next call was when I was playing with my granddaughter who was only about 3 and I couldn't keep up. I had horrible pain in my chest and couldn't breathe. I was alone with her and the fear of me dying and being with her is what made me wake up and get going on things. I have tried and failed several times until my brother and sis in law told me about this site. I have been losing even with some set backs. Now I know I can run and keep up with my 5yr old without to much trouble. My doctor was even pleased the last time I saw him. :laugh:

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