What was your "moment"?

My moment was when I didn't even want to be in any pictures-I couldn't walk up steps-my legs rubbing together--and almost to big to fit in a chair-I said enough is enough-I started writing it down-going to the gym-I didn't like what I saw-so its been 5 years and today I can run up those same steps I couldn't even walk up -and I am half the size of the chair-I lost a whole person

I have lost 99 lb from my heaviest, so not quite a whole person yet (maybe a very small person hehe) but yes. So much this.

One of my favorite ongoing NSVs is being in an office chair, bath tub, or theater seat and sitting slightly to the side and seeing how big of a space is left empty next to me. I used to fit tightly in most of those spaces. It motivates me!

My moment was when I got a call from my doctor telling me I was going through kidney failure and I my blood sugar was so out of control I had to start insulin injections. He set me up with a diabetic educator who outlined how and what I should be eating and when and gave me suggestions for exercise. I followed it carefully and dropped 40 pounds and hit a wall. I joined myfitnesspal after trying to break down that wall for about 4 months. It's still painfully slow weight loss - but I'm not going back. Now my kidneys are doing fine, I'm off of insulin and back on oral medication. I'm off of cholesterol medication completely and the doctor is considering reducing my blood pressure medication.

Mine was at my eldest son's first Sports Day when he was just 5 (he's now 10) he wanted me to run with the other Mums in the Mummy's Race and at 18:05 (257lbs) that was never going to happen.

I decided there and then that something had to change. I lost 8 stones (118lbs) over 8 months on a VLCD (I started 2 days after the sports day) and I have been maintaining there or there abouts ever since.

I am now at my lowest ever adult weight and ran my first half marathon this autumn and am scheduled to run a marathon next Oct. My son now comes running with me on a regular basis and it is the most wonderful feeling in the world.

I was looking at pictures from a conference I was at and I didn't even recognize myself.

Going shopping for work trousers with my mum and having to buy a size 18 (UK).
My mum said "How did you get to be an 18? Even I don't need an 18...I never thought I'd see the day that you're bigger than I am".
That evening we both hopped on the scales and I weighed nearly 10kg more than she did.
The look on her face said it all... for the first time in my life I felt that she was ashamed of me.

A picture. I was tagged in a friend's picture on Facebook. That person is not ME!

I had been avoiding full mirrors, scales, and taking pictures for years because I knew I had gained due to a long battle with depression. My moment was when my 10 yr old snapped a picture of me. I looked at it, and said, "Who the hell is that?!?!" Also the dr had just told me a few days before that I either had to change my habits or go on cholesterol meds. I was already taking blood pressure meds. Between these two things, I knew I had to do something that could help me live a longer, more healthy, happy life. This was March 27, 2013. Since then I have lost 79 lbs, avoided the cholesterol meds, dropped the blood pressure meds, and am now living a happy life. I couldn't have done it without MFP & friends!

Mine was when I had a wedding to attend and had no "nice" clothes that fit anymore. I had been wearing ill-fitting clothes for a long time and wouldn't shop for new things because I hated how I looked in the dressing room mirrors. Also, I began to make excuses to not attend social gatherings because I didn't want to be seen. With much complaining and many tears, I got something to wear to the wedding simply because it fit, not because I liked it.

In the car on the way to the wedding, I was apparently visibly dreading the public appearance and my husband call me out on it. He said that I looked good in his opinion and the outfit I got was very nice looking, but if I wasn't happy with my appearance, then do something besides hide from the world. He also said that if I thought I was unlovable, then eventually no one else would either. It made the light bulb come on in a big way.

I need to be happy with myself the way I am, as he is, but also to love myself by taking better care of my health. I do want to lose weight but I need to also be willing to proudly be myself however much I weigh. I have a whole new appreciation for the brazen self confidence shown by the heavy women that boldly wear bikinis at the beach for all to see. So my new philosohpy is to take good care of my health, but also to BE MY BRAZEN SELF!

I had a major turning point early in my weight loss journey. I decided to take a day off from logging and eat whatever I wanted. Basically, giving myself permission to binge. But...I couldn't do it. I ate a lot, and went way over my allotted calories that day...But I just couldn't not log. That's when I knew I could and would do it. I'm still here almost a year later, plugging away.

I'm retired and have lost and gained weight over the years on various diets from Weight Watchers to Optifast. When I turned 58 I just eat as much as wanted when I want to the point of all the weight I had lost exercising and watching what I ate came back plus more. I noticed I had less energy and was unable to wear the clothes I wanted to wear and had been diagnosed with type II diabetes. I had been thinking about lap band surgery and had even gone through the steps of making that happen but a doctor told me about myfitnesspal. I tried it November 19th and have been with it ever since. I started a weight management program with my primary care physician too. This is something I have never done before and the accountability is the thing that has been missing before. This past Friday was my first time I view my weight and I had lost 3 lbs and had lost 5 lbs the week before when I went to see my doctor. This seems to be the tools I needed.

My moment was when my doctor mentioned my weight gain several times during my last physical. She had never said anything before and was usually very "understanding" as to weight gain. I'm 9 pounds into my 25 pound weight loss.

I had always known I needed to work on losing weight, getting more active again - I love walking, and walking downtown on the Riverfront or on the beach became too much I was like "Ok maybe we need to think about this..." I was working then to slowly overhaul my eating making small swaps in my lunch choices, then a trip to the Dr for a physical planted the seed when she told me my cholesterol (good) was up and then a month later we had biometric screenings at work and the nurse said the same thing, only she added that if I added more exercise into my daily regime I'd lose the weight and the cholesterol numbers would come down...BAM it hit me like a tons of bricks - it's time for a change!

About a week later I started walking after dinner, taking our Dog with me, the first night I could only go half-way around the neighborhood, but I worked up to all the way around, all in all 2.9 miles and roughly 35-40 mins (depending on the doggie ;-)) then I added in ab/strength work, and now that it's dark when I get home I now do aerobics/strength training at home.

Those ah ha moments come to us all at seemingly random intervals...the medical professionals were the bird chirping in my ear.

I have been overweight all my life. When I thought I was trying hard to lose weight, I actually wasn't; I was trying to take the shortcut so it wouldn't be so hard bc in my mind, it shouldn't be hard. In the Spring of 2012 was when it hit me. I tried a couple of diet pills and had adverse reactions to them and I got so upset and fed up and had a talk w/ myself. I look at these people (at the gym or in magazines) who workout, eat right, look awesome and have amazing confidence and realized it may not be an easy road to travel, but it's going to be worth it. It took me 14 months to lose 60lbs and right after I lost that weight, I got pregnant. I'm no where near done, but I know now that while gaining, I need to make sure I'm eating right and exercising for not just my health, but for my baby boy as well

My moment came when I saw a picture of me show up on Facebook. I was sitting between two skinny girls and I looked awful. I looked so uncomfortable and big. I knew I had to change and I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I joined MFP, made sure to add lots of friends and get the support I needed, and the rest is history. Those skinny girls now ASK ME for nutrition/fitness advice. BOOM.

PS - The picture that changed it all is the one with the red and white striped shirt.

Wow, where to start. I guess the large part of my weight gain all started in 2009. I got married in Nov 2009 and was laid off in Dec 2009. People say your first year of marriage is the hardest and we had unemployment to throw into that mix! Top that off with making the decision of getting pregnant becuase surely in 9 months time one would be able to find a job... Well Dec 2010 rolls around and still no job.

This does a lot to a man, especially one who was raised with the idea that a man should be a leader (not as in tell your wife what to do, but more of an example setter) and a provider. I felt like I was failing at both of these and all I really did was sit at home look for a job hide away into some video game and eat. Depression set in pretty hard and in the midst of everything going on my mind went to some pretty dark places. Suicide was something I thought I would never ever think about, but when you feel like a complete failure in everything and you think that death would be the best escape for the people you love it begins to some how seem to make sense. The only thing I kept thinking about though is my child that was on the way and how very much I wanted to be a father, I hung in there depressed and gaining weight.

I admit once my beautiful baby girl got here I was in love, and although I was still jobless being able to be a stay-at-home dad was pretty cool and I started to find happiness again. It was about 3 months after my daughter's birth that my old boss (the one who had to lay me off) called me and said they had a new position opening up and asked if I was still unemployed. I jumped at the opportunity and took the position. Things started to look up and about a year after being employed my wife and I decided to make the jump and bought our first house, got another dog (we got our first dog while in our old house) and things were moving forward and life was pretty good.

One thing though, I was 6'3" and 250 lbs and in pretty bad health. My doctor told me I was hypertensive, my cholestorol was high and I needed to be put on medication. He gave me some samples and told me to come back in a few months. High blood pressure!!! I was at the time 26 years old, how the hell do I have high blood pressure??? I have a wife and a child who needs their husband/father to stay around for a while. I had a daughter who needed her dad to be able to get outside and play ball and tag and dress up in pink tutus and dance ballet with her across the living room, paint nails and wear makeup, eat pretend foods and be king of the castle. I needed to stick around so I could ease her first heart break and walk her down the aisle. 160s/120s was unacceptable and being on medication was not an option for me!

So the decision was made, it was time to lose weight, be healthy and set an example for my child (soon to be children) that would last a lifetime! So the journey began, in Feb of 2012 I decided to lose weight, get fit, be healthy and strong. Not only for my kids but for my wife. I didn't want to be the kind of spouse that got comfortable with the way he looked and stop caring. I wanted my wife to look at me each and every day and think that I still got it. Two things I started, first I started counting calories and noticed that my weight started coming off, but I didn't want to be just skinny, I wanted to be in shape. So in May 2012 I downloaded the 5K runner app and worked my way up to that 5k mark, but I didn't stop there soon I was running 10ks, then a 10 miler and soon I hope to complete my first Half marathon. But running wasn't enough, sure I had some amazing cardio capacity but that came with a downside, I lost muscle as well as fat, so about 5 months ago I started weight lifting and have fallen in love with it!

With that all being said from 25 years old when I got married to 30 years old now I have seen some amazing changes in my weight, my mind set, and my life. I had lost from 250 to 194 and since have gained some weight back due to the lifting but I'm sitting comfortable at 210 and am probably in better shape than I have ever been! My BP is in the normal ranges and life is great! I'm sorry for the very long story, if you read it then a cookie for you! If not... I don't blame you