That lightbulb moment - have you had it?

ksully913
ksully913 Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I struggle to describe this to family and friends. There was a point a few months ago when things just changed for me. I've been overweight all my life, even when I was playing a sport on the national level as a teenager. I've tried to lose weight before, but never with much success. After my last check in at the gym I realized I've made it farther in the past four months than I ever have before in this journey. Down 8% body fat, I've lost 26 pounds of fat (and gained a bit of muscle), and I'm getting closer to where I know I'm going to be.

Granted I started small, cutting out diet coke, cutting out most grains, going to bed at 10 and waking up at six, etc. I made those changes starting in November, and by January I was ready to commit to an exercise program. I started working out with a personal trainer 3x per week, I started logging my calories (I've only missed two days of logging since January). Then I joined a second gym for cardio and classes, and added a second workout to most days.

For lack of a better explanation, there was a lightbulb that went off for me. I know what I want, and for once I have no doubt that I'll get there. I'm not worried about the timeframe, I'm enjoying the journey.

Have you had your lightbulb moment? What keeps you going?

Replies

  • SJKirk51912
    SJKirk51912 Posts: 176 Member
    My light bulb moment was when a friend of mine posted the worst picture I had ever seen of myself. I literlly looked at it and said "who is that?!" That was not the person I saw in the mirror everyday and was so dissappointed in myself.

    Since that day my whole mindset has changed! I have been more committed than ever. I even have been trying foods again that I thought I hated, come to find out they are delicious. It's like I am a new person. And I love it!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    It's funny how different people can get the exact opposite light bulbs and yet get the same results!

    I have been overweight my entire life, tried to diet so many times, tried to cut out bread and sweets, tried to follow programs, you name it.. the most time I stuck with anything was 2 weeks.

    About a year ago, I went to walk the dog but couldn't make it more than 7 minutes. I was out of breath... I decided it was time for a change. I knew I was going to just fail again within a few days, but I decided to try it anyway.

    It went clockwork perfect for 3 days, then as expected, I gave out and ate a candy bar. My 3 day curse was there again to tell me I was weak. I was so fed up with that feeling that I thought "screw it.. so what?" and just continued the day. Next day, it was a big bowl of white rice with juicy mini-stew. I ate that... and then "continued my diet". To my surprise, at the end of the week I lost 5 Kg (about 11 pounds)!

    That was my lightbulb moment! I was a naughty girl all week, eating all the bad stuff, not even caring or feeling guilty about it, yet I lost weight! I knew exactly what triggered all of my past failures.. the feeling of guilt and failure.. the feeling of helplessness and loss of control, that I was not strong enough or good enough.

    A year later and my "take it easy" attitude is still working for me. Had a 4000 calorie day? So bleeping what.. I had enough 1500 calorie days to put that one day to rest. Don't feel like cutting on food this week? No problem, eat at maintenance and there are more weeks to come. (I actually maintained for about 5 or 6 months before I resumed weight loss)

    Turns out I work much better relaxed than I do under a clear structure, which I can never keep up for more than a few days. And there I was all these years trying to shove my square into a circle designed for more structure oriented people, and wondering why I kept failing.
  • ksully913
    ksully913 Posts: 16 Member
    That's such a good point. I think for me it has been so important to not restrict myself when I'm craving. There are some days (usually lasts for 3-5 days) where I'm completely ravenous. I try to keep eating clean, but I don't fear going over my calorie limits. There are some days where I'm not as hungry and stay right around 1200 calories for a few days (generally I try to stay at 1500-1700). I'm at a point where I LOVE the way I feel during/after working out, and as long as I'm doing that I can eat whatever.

    It does help that I work for a company that supplies local/organic produce and at the end of each week I can take all the groceries I would need for the week. I supplement that with chicken breast, but the bulk of what I eat is fruits/veggies.

    I think it helped for me too when I stopped thinking of it as a "diet". This is the life I need to live to be healthy. This is what I need to reach my goals and maintain my results. And I deserve those results. I think it's just a whole new attitude and I've found it liberating.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    I had my "lightbulb moment" sometime in the sixth grade.

    Once I became aware that I was fat, I hated. It wasn't even because I was mercilessly ridiculed or bullied; I wasn't. Just something about being fat felt so wrong, so disgusting, that it really deeply, seriously affected how I operated in life, even as a boy.

    Getting thin was always a matter of when, not if. But unfortunately "lightbulb moments" aren't always enough to instantly jettison you into action, or at least consistent action.

    The next major "lightbulb moment", the one that has directly lead to my current success, was finally, after over 20 years on this road, was to stop moralizing food. 2 decades of dieting and struggling with weight loss left me with all of these common, but stupid, moral issues with food. Was I "on the wagon" or off? Did I "cheat" or not? Did I feel good or guilty about my food choices? This moralizing kept me on a constant merry go round of getting on the wagon, falling off, feeling bad, giving up, getting back on.

    When I finally realized that the damn wagon didn't exist, and that there is no such thing as "cheating" when it comes to food, it was a HUGE bit of deliverance for me. Enormous. I gave myself permission to eat what I want, when I want, and as much of it as I wanted. And interestingly enough that freed me to start just saying "not right now" to lots of old trigger foods. And when I have them, even if I eat a truck load of them, I don't guilt myself anymore. Giving myself the full freedom to do what I want gave myself the full freedom to lose as much weight as I wanted, without any of the moral conflicts.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    Once I starting working out seriously (I was kinda half-assed about it for a couple years) I noticed that the things I had attributed to "getting older" were a product of eating too much and not working out consistently. You can be in very good shape when in your 40's.
  • sino19
    sino19 Posts: 50 Member
    My light bulb moment was when a friend of mine posted the worst picture I had ever seen of myself. I literlly looked at it and said "who is that?!" That was not the person I saw in the mirror everyday and was so dissappointed in myself.

    Since that day my whole mindset has changed! I have been more committed than ever. I even have been trying foods again that I thought I hated, come to find out they are delicious. It's like I am a new person. And I love it!

    funny how the mirror and the camera never seem to agree:flowerforyou:

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