What made you see the light?

I was working out for a year then joined a bootcamp class run by a RD/PT. I saw the RD for input/advice on my diet when I was about 220 pounds. She asked me how many times I lost weight, how many pounds I lost and why I was working so hard at exercise but not my food intake. Based on those answers, she stated, "I think you have an eating disorder and should consult with a therapist and I cannot help you at this time."

I made an appointment with a therapist, was diagnosed with binge-eating disorder, kept working out and about 3 sessions into therapy had an "ah ha" moment and haven't looked back since. I left the therapist's office that day a different person. The change was so sudden, it was like a light switch flipped. Around that time, the New England Journal of Medicine did a report on weight loss and diets. Their conclusion was opposite what I read here on the MFP forums repeatedly and I chose to believe the NEJM. I picked a "quick" weight loss diet, continued exercising and therapy and feel like a new person.

Long story short, therapy made me see the light.

I started exercising when my sister in law (who is a fitness instructor) had such easy pregnancies and labors. I thought to myself "I want some of that." So, a year later I became a step instructor, then a pump instructor, now just general group ex (with still the first 2). I always thought "I eat pretty good, and exercise, why can't I lose weight." When a saw a fit woman exercising I always thought "yeah, well if I had all the time in the world I'd be a skinny b!tch too."

I lost my job, I finally had all the time in the world, then I realized how easy it is as long as you not just eat pretty good, but you portion properly and feed the beast mode.

I was putting together a souvenir photo book of my trip to the Virgin Islands and realized I was really unhappy about how I looked. The next day I had to break down and buy new work clothes (they were just getting old) and realized I went from a size 14 to a size 16. That was it. I always used to say I was okay with my weight and I liked food to much to change but I realized, I really wasn't okay with my weight, I was unhappy. So I tried MFP and after a week, I realized dieting is actually easy! I never really tried because it was always so confusing. Carbs are bad, carbs are good, some carbs are bad, don't eat red meat, juice fasts, body cleanse, clean eating, starvation mode... I never knew all that was just a bunch of BS! Dieting is actually easy. Find your TDEE, and eat under that number. How simple is that? If you can fit fast food in, do it. If you want to eat a big juicy steak, do it. That was my real turning moment, when I realized how easy it actually was and that I didn't have to starve myself to lose weight.

DH gave me horseback riding lessons as a surprise gift. I've always been horse crazy, but never had the opportunity to pursue it. During a lesson, I practiced posting at a trot for "a while." I ended up with a very painful knee. It was bursitis. I went to my regular doctor, and to an orthopedist, had x-rays and the works. I finally realized that I was too heavy for my own knees and it made me really determined to get healthy so I can enjoy life. The anger at being unable to ride fueled determination so compelling it sustained me through the beginnings of this process.

After my daughter was born, "way back when," I went on a low calorie diet I think of as a deprivation diet. I lost the weight back then, but regained it all and more when I resumed eating with the family. I knew that would never work long term and didn't want to go that route again. I floundered around for a while. I wondered what to do for a week or two, and finally thought, "I wonder if there is an app for this." It turned out there were two, and I picked MFP. It was the best possible luck.

Anger sustained my motivation at first and got me through the beginnings. The MFP system that allows me to "buy" extra calories by exercising made things much more doable for me, and my husband agreed to do this with me. The best thing we've learned is portion control. We bought a scale and dishers. We still get to have our favorite foods, count our calories, and have never felt deprived. I love being able to do all the calorie counting and record keeping on my phone, because travel doesn't stop me or make things any harder. I didn't find the website for several weeks, and have since come to appreciate all the support that is available here. After a little over a year, we've both lost a lot of weight, and are in the healthy weight range. Life is more enjoyable, and we're committed to this forever.

I saw the third picture in my profile pics on facebook after a birthday party. That was just the kick up the behind I needed.

I learned it was a lifestyle change thing about 25 years ago, but the changes only last so long. Fortunately this time there is a pretty good chance they can last the rest of my life.

Anyway, my interest in making this a permanent change probably started when I had foot surgery a couple of years ago. Trying to get around on crutches was just brutal and I realized if I were healthier I would have had a much easier recovery. One of the things that happened as part of recovery is that I tweaked my knee, so it was a constant reminder that I was in bad shape. Early this year I realized that flushing incidents from the niacin I was taking for cholesterol had increased dramatically and I really wanted to stop taking it. But the final straw was when my Blood Pressure crept up and I realized I'd have to go to the doctor and he'd want to put me on a second BP medication. So one day I cut salt, increased potassium, bought a Fitbit and went back to eating the way I've known I should for 25 years. A few weeks later I joined MFP.

BP is now down to the point where I'll soon be cutting the dose on my existing BP medication. Niacin has been gone for some time and blood work a couple of weeks ago confirms my lipid numbers are awesome. Statin dose will be going down soon as well. In fact, my blood work is the best its been in decades as a result of losing weight and going from sedentary to active. Its great motivation to continue with the lifestyle change.

When my husband said, "you are always cropping yourself out of the pictures." And I realized he was right.:huh:

I have suffered with back problems for quite a few years. In 2009 I was supposed to go for a discectomy and nerve decompression operation for some severely prolapsed discs. Before the operation I started to get better again (basically the discs moved off the nerves that were causing me a problem). I didn't have that operation and carried on life as normal.

In October 2011 I started to get similar problems, only a lot worse this time. It used to take me 20 minutes to get out of bed in the morning. Once I was out of bed I couldn't stand up for more than 3 minutes before the toes on my left foot started going numb... this would then spread up my leg until I couldn't stand any longer. If I sat down it was very painful to raise my body into a standing position again.

In January 2012 I went back to my surgeon and he ordered a new MRI scan. The news was kind of the same only this time he offered a cortisone injection into my spine to give me up to six months free of pain. I decided then to try and lose some weight first to see if that helped. I did lose weight by dieting and a regime of Pilates which helped my core get stronger and alleviated some of the pain. By June 2013 I was back in a really bad way, sometimes I used to have to lie down wherever I was (at work, in the street, anywhere!). So I booked myself in for the spinal injection and never looked back.

The cortisone killed the pain within hours. I started doing more Pilates and got myself in the gym. I kind of knew that my back problem had not been "fixed" but there was an opportunity to get fitter whilst the cortisone was working.

Six months came and went and I have never looked back. I haven't had ANY of my previous symptoms and now lead a very active life. I'm now fitter and stronger that I was at the age of 20.

There's no way I can go back to how I was (fat and lazy) because with that comes the inevitable pain — so that's a pretty big motivator!

So yeah, that's my (long) story.

Last Christmas when visiting family out of state, my mother in law (Joann), sister in law (Tracy) and myself were all discussing how we wanted to lose weight in the coming year. At that time I weighed 155. Unfortunately, I couldn't get out of the dieting mindset (instead of a lifestyle change) and so once the holidays were over and my husband got a job offer in another state, packing and moving took precedence over my diet.
Fast forward to July of this year, we went back up to a family reunion that Tracy did not attend. I asked Joann if Tracy had lost the weight she had wanted too and she said "No, she has gained weight too." Ouch. When she said that, it struck a nerve and I knew I had to change my life. She was right; I weighed once I got home...169LBS!
I started my new life the next week. I am now down to 144 and I won't look back!