What was your light bulb moment?

invisiblelo
invisiblelo Posts: 98 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What was the moment which made you want to lose weight for the final time?

Including low self esteem, low self confidence, hating my clothes and what I saw in the mirror, my light bulb moment was that I wanted to do a sky dive but when I researched it I realised I was above the official weight limit - that really showed me how out of control my weight had become.

Replies

  • crikey_katie
    crikey_katie Posts: 136 Member
    I went to six flags with my boyfriend and son, one of the roller coasters took your pic. I had my arms up, could see the arm flab catching the wind hahaha. Not very attractive.
  • LessHeavyVeggie
    LessHeavyVeggie Posts: 208 Member
    Stepped on the scale and saw 20 stone (280lbs) (I'm 5'4'') and thought enough is enough!
  • pipertargaryen
    pipertargaryen Posts: 303 Member
    I got a ring (a normal one, not an engagement or anything) for Christmas from my boyfriend. It was the first ring I've ever owned. It was really, really tight on me. My mother said it looked to be a size 9 (my mother-in-law says it's more like a 6) and that she was amazed I could barely wear it, because a few years ago she would have pegged me for ring size 5.

    My hands were fat. How do someone's HANDS get fat? I know it sounds silly, but that was the last straw.

    Well, the ring is hanging off me now and is going to need to get sized down.
  • markiend
    markiend Posts: 461 Member
    Photos my then girlfriend took of me on holiday ... then the scales ...
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    When trying to get up off the floor took me 3 attempts.
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    8301256527_385cbae4b4.jpg

    For me it was fall of 2011, after my father passed away. I was at the funeral and everything seemed fine. I got home and one of my nieces posted some pictures from the reception on facebook. I was looking through them and it hit me, "OH HELL NO" that is not me, I am not that big. Well i was that big. I knew i was big, had not been able to use a normal scale in a long time. Well I was over 380 without a doubt, I started losing some before joining MFP, It was not until I ordered the cattle sized scale at home that i was able to find out where my starting point was
  • jayj1982
    jayj1982 Posts: 11 Member
    Getting dressed for work one day, I could barely button my size 14 dress slacks. I realized I would have to go shopping for the next size up...which would have been 16! That was my last straw.
  • PunchDrunkFunk
    PunchDrunkFunk Posts: 1
    I twisted my knee in February of 2012. I ended up fracturing my tibia with the force of it, and also managed to tear/overextend two ligaments. At the orthopedic surgeon's office for X-rays, I weighed 330 lbs.

    After that, I couldn't walk for more than five or ten minutes without being overcome by severe back pain. At the start of 2013 I was at the same level of pain.

    In June 2013, I started attending Overeaters Anonymous meetings and stepped on a scale for the first time since my injury. I weighed 382 lbs at 24 years old.

    I knew if I didn't address my eating disorder I wouldn't make it another 23 years.
  • teranga79
    teranga79 Posts: 202 Member
    I spent a couple of days in physical pain as my clothes were so tight! I had to hold my trousers on with a hairband and they were still cutting into my stomach. By the time I was getting home from work I had big lines across myself. Realised enough was enough and it might be a good idea to stop eating a packet of biscuits a day.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    My uncle died of a heart attack at a very young age. I smoked, had high cholesterol, was 100 lbs overweight, mainly sedentary. I was on the same path as him, and decided to take a new path.
  • libbylulily
    libbylulily Posts: 11 Member
    Only 10 days ago I went to a university open day with my husband and daughter. Some of the buildings were clad in reflective materials and I didn't like what they were reflecting - a fat, flabby old lady! Also, walking from the main campus to halls was a struggle leaving me breathless and my husband and daughter had to wait several times for me to catch up with them!

    Since then I've been trying to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Most days I succeed and I've lost 5 lbs already! YAY!!!
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    Sitting at my desk at work eating a giant plate of Indian food thinking it was extremely healthy because it was veggies and sauces. A co-worker walked by and said "Oh yay, I love Indian food, but too bad it's so fattening!"
    I was like, "uhm.... huh?"
    So I started googling the nutritional value of what I was eating.
    I looked at my portion size which was triple a normal serving.
    I thought about how I had just been shoveling the food in my face as fast as I could without even tasting it, while working.
    I felt my my hips as they were squished into my office chair.
    I couldn’t believe how ignorant I had been to nutrition and food choices.

    I snapped....

    Thought to myself, 'where do I go from here if I keep going like I am going?"
    And I did NOT like the answer.

    I spit out the rest of the food that was in my mouth and dumped the rest of the lunch in the trash and made a decision in that moment that from hen on I would change my entire life style.
    The very next day I started eating 100% clean, juicing (one meal replacement per day), chugged a ton of water, started eating a ton of veggies, gave up carbohydrates, sugars, processed foods, etc.
    Started exercising daily.

    Never looked back.

    It is a year and a few months later, I am 80 lbs thinner and my muscles are ripped! :smile:
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    i always new i was big, my lightbulb moment was realizing i had to do something about it. happened right after my 21st birthday, i just decided enough was enough. havent looked back
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    These comments are all very inspiring by the way, way to go for everyone who has been inspired to get healthy… keep up the good work!

    OP – Great post. It’s always a good idea to think back about why you started in the first place.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    My blood pressure at my trip to the doctor at the end of April.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    My niece signed me up for this site and set it up for me, so I said to myself, "Oh well, why not". No lightbulb moment, it was pretty casual. Weight loss/fitness is good but not a major priority or importance in my life.
  • shortntall1
    shortntall1 Posts: 333 Member
    I was flipping thru the channels on TV and came upon "My 600lb life" and I thought, "Good grief. Im halfway there! That could be me!!"
  • fitmek
    fitmek Posts: 277 Member
    When I was pregnant with our first baby I had a lot of swelling--and I had not really watched what I was eating while pregnant either. I was miserable, I could barely breathe (because he was a huge baby), it hurt to walk because my feet were so swollen, I had no energy....and I just kept thinking to myself over and over "I can't believe how some people just let themselves go and end up like (the non pregnant) version of THIS." Then after I had him, I had a lot of complications and couldn't get back on the treadmill until about 5 months after delivery. Losing the weight was NOT near as easy as it had been when i was younger and it scared me so much. It took me 2 years, but I finally lost the baby weight and felt more like myself again. With my second, I gained quite a bit LESS and tried to stay active and i think it made a big difference.
    I'm not perfect, I know I have lots of days when I eat more than I should, but I'm not going to ever cross that imaginary line in my head that makes me feel even 1/10 of how I felt when I was getting ready to have our first.
  • tag624
    tag624 Posts: 166 Member
    Christmas of last year my dad took a picture of me and my husband and my daddy looked at the pic and said "look at Honey Boo Boo's mom", he thought it was funny, I did not, I went to the bathroom crying and we left and I told my dad he was an *kitten*. He didn't understand why it hurt me so bad but I have struggled with my weight my entire life and have self confidence issues. I started a diet the next day and ordered T25 and since then I workout at least 5 days a week and keep track of what I eat, I have never been this motivated so I guess I needed that insult to get my life on track.
  • mkemmc6009
    mkemmc6009 Posts: 47
    Realizing that I really couldn't tell my children that they had to stay active, go to every practice for their sports teams and give it their all if I was just going to stand on the sideline and watch. I had to be the image I wanted them to see - to prove that I was willing to work hard too. Now when they're practicing, I'm running or doing other body weight exercises.
  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
    I was having issues with my period, and trouble conceiving is a problem in my family so I went to the doctor to check it out. First, when I stepped on the scale for the first time in several years, my heart dropped to see that I was 343 pounds. Then, when my doctor came in literally the first thing she did even before finding out why I was there was hound me about my weight (I have a new doctor now). She told me I could see a nutritionist for free though, and that I should log my food for the next week to give her an idea of my diet. That's how I found MFP, and this event is what I consider my lightbulb moment. I was just too heavy, and I couldn't do a lot of the things I wanted to at 24 years old.

    There were lots of little things that culminated to that lightbulb moment though. At the same time my cousin had started to log her food and exercise more, so we got into this together. I'd also recently looked into zip lining on a family vacation and was nearly 100 pounds over weight—I'm currently right at the weight limit! Just to top it all off, I'd visited my boyfriend in another state not long before too and was mortified that I had to get a seatbelt extender. I was so scared they'd decide I had to pay for another seat. I don't have to worry about that anymore :smile:
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
    I watched my 8 year-old swim 1.125 miles in an hour without stopping once. I was totally impressed. Then I remembered that I used to be able to hike all day for about 25 miles without stopping. I want to do that again and live a longer, healthier more active life. Plus I want to live to see my daughter take over the world, and be that cool, hip, sexy 70 year-old Mom grinning like an idiot when she's sworn in as President (yeah, I know, no expectations here..)
  • MCW3516
    MCW3516 Posts: 9 Member
    I saw a picture of myself about a month ago and realized how the past 3 years of college had given me a sizable beer gut at age 23.
  • laratacita
    laratacita Posts: 53 Member
    I wouldn't say there's one moment. There were a couple. I'm a freelance writer. Because that pays so consistently and so well, I also work as one of those people who hands out the free samples at Sam's Club. One of the reasons for deciding to lose weight was seeing 400 pound plus men and women in the mobility scooters coming to my stand. I saw myself heading for that if I didn't get the weight down. I was at 347 at the highest weight.

    Another reason is the difficulty I had in finding clothes. Before I began, I could only find clothes in my size at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Catherine's. Now, I can fit into a 3X. It does not give me a much wider range of options, but it is still a wider range of options. I can even pick up things at Kohl's now if i so choose.

    There are several other reasons, but i won't go into them here.
  • feralkitten1010
    feralkitten1010 Posts: 219 Member
    I've gone through three pairs of yoga pants ripping at the seams in the last year, so I finally broke down and weighed myself. I've never seen that number in the mirror. :huh:
  • AngieM76
    AngieM76 Posts: 622 Member
    Realizing that I am 1 year away from my daughter's 21st birthday and our trip.
  • KimberlyinMN
    KimberlyinMN Posts: 302 Member
    My light bulb moment was when both knees were acting up so badly that I almost didn't make it to the bathroom because I couldn't walk. Also, it was so hard to walk a 1/4 mile hallway at my previous job that I'd park my car over by the closest entrance so that I didn't have to walk so far. Our office was at one end of a building and our software testing room was at the far end. Also, it was hard to find business casual clothes in my size.

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