What was your "wakeup call"?

13

Replies

  • TinaLauritsen
    TinaLauritsen Posts: 52 Member
    I never really saw myself as overweight, just always complained that clothes would look stupid, and that I looked fat and so on, but all girls do that, so never really thought about it until my friend told me that I should start working out with her, and that it would be a good idea to track my weight and measurements if I did. Went on the weight the next morning, and somehow it was up to 77 kg. I managed to drop 8 kg that summer, but I never changed my lifestyle, so most of it came back within the next year. Last Autumn I noticed that I couldn't zip my big winter jacket, and walking 800 m to the train would take my breath away. With quite a few relapses I've finally managed to get back down to where I can fit into clothes that I haven't worn for years, and just went shopping today, and came home with only size Small items :love:
    I would never have made it this far if it wasn't because I realized that it's not my boyfriends job to make me happy about myself, but my job to love me, so he can love me too, and to make that happen I needed to change to lifestyle into one that got me off the sofa and out into the sunshine, and so far that has given me more than any piece of candy ever did. :smile:
  • lauramw87
    lauramw87 Posts: 7 Member
    Seeing myself in my sister's wedding photos. I seriously could not quit looking at myself because I was horrified of how far I'd let myself go.
  • ajvilla629
    ajvilla629 Posts: 13 Member
    Going to the hospital last december with Pancreatitis and finding out I'm diabetic. I had lost 20lbs without realizing it, I have since lost another 60. only ~10 more to go!!!
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
    Looking at a picture of me from a night when I remembered thinking " I look GOOD!" Uh, no, I was mushy looking and it wasn't a pretty look. It still wasn't enough though, it took going on vacation with my family and having all my hiking shorts and zip off pants feeling snug and then looking at THOSE pictures. I found MFP the next day and have been here ever since-4 years next month. I hit my goal 6 months in, maintained within a 5 lb range then had some life events happen. Now, I'm losing that weight I regained while lifting a lot and the scale is slowly moving but I look so much better.
  • cub1771
    cub1771 Posts: 4
    ER visit for blood pressure through the roof. Slowly started changing things. Eventually it led to a complete lifestyle change on what I do, what I eat, etc. Add the motivation of my son, my now step son, and my now beautiful (and always much smaller) wife that I had just started dating and didn't want to lose any time with.
  • Mauthos
    Mauthos Posts: 128 Member
    Surprisingly being diagnosed as diabetic didn't do it for me as I was technically fit and in shape as I was still in the military then. I then used the medication as an excuse for why I piled on the weight, avoided mirrors and ignored my friends comments that I was becoming a 'big' guy.

    However, I then had 2 photos taken at work, 1 at a work's do at the local pub and 1 for the work's employee tree. I was then sent these and realised that my face was completely round, I had a double, almost triple chin and even my neck looked flabby.

    That kicked me into touch and luckily through diet and going back to the gym I have so far shifted 32kg, kept it off and now get called the big guy in a positive light.
  • Rivethead
    Rivethead Posts: 9
    Losing my gallbladder, getting GERD, finding out my liver was working OT, almost dying in the ER, being nauseated all the time, learning that diabetes runs in the family, and finding out fiber is both my worst enemy and best friend because of intestinal damage was pretty much the proverbial "Okay, I'm going to die if I don't do something." Haven't looked back since.
  • NinjaJinja
    NinjaJinja Posts: 147 Member
    For me it was when I stepped on the scale and it was over 200 lbs. (205 lbs at the highest). I decided I absolutely could NOT weight over 200 lbs. The other thing was having to go up a size in jeans to size 16... and having them be skin tight.

    Now I'm down to 180 ish, and in size 12 pants again. Just gotta keep at it.
  • Oscarinmiami
    Oscarinmiami Posts: 326 Member
    having to sit down and pull my foot up to tie my shoes.
  • marathonmom72
    marathonmom72 Posts: 191 Member
    Diabetes.
  • FattyFatsoMcTubby
    FattyFatsoMcTubby Posts: 170 Member
    My first grandchild being born. The instant I saw her, I knew I wanted to be around to see her grow up.
  • Britnik96
    Britnik96 Posts: 2
    My wake-up call was when I wouldn't even take photos with my long-distance boyfriend when we met, because I was so obsessed with my self-image. That's when I knew I had to make a change so that I could love myself.
  • tamiv908
    tamiv908 Posts: 1
    I am trying again... . Getting on the Scale and seeing a number I NEVER NEVER thought I would...
    with a 41 BMI - I'm so upset.
    I know what needs to be done... GOD please give me the strength to do it.
  • emilyroberts312
    emilyroberts312 Posts: 9
    When I was waiting in the doctors surgery and a lady sat down next to me and said "ooh, are you here to see the midwife too?" NO I WASN'T!!

    Also, my so called "family" have always made fatty jibes at me and made me feel ashamed of how I look, to the point that I refused to go to family gatherings. So, I am waiting until I hit my target weight, all nice and toned, and I will show them that I did this all by myself!
  • Shalaurise
    Shalaurise Posts: 707 Member
    Well, it's not a call per say, but my phone does alarm every morning to wake me up.... oh! Not what you meant.. Hum... no wake up call. Not sure why I am working to change.
  • faugsu
    faugsu Posts: 330 Member
    I was staying away from cameras, but I saw myself in a vacation picture & "couldn't believe" how fat I was. I lost a hundred, but my struggle never quits.
  • SamDavis48
    SamDavis48 Posts: 15 Member
    Three Major kickers
    1) My son looking at me in my bathing suit and saying " Daddy you got a big belly."

    2) Snapping my diving board

    3) Thinking that I was " Knocking it out of the park" with my wife one night only to find that I was " Squishing her". <-- final straw.
  • Greenbomb
    Greenbomb Posts: 89 Member
    Getting on the scale and realizing I only weighed 5 pounds less than my husband...and he is four inches taller than I am!
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
    A really bad photograph.
  • MMulder68
    MMulder68 Posts: 139 Member
    Breast Cancer! In all my research about how to help prevent cancer from occurring again I learned that hormones live in fat and my body produces an abundance of hormones which caused my cancer. So, my hubby and I changed our way of eating and began to lift weights. Now, I love lifting. I look forward to the gym. I am down 45 pounds and need to get rid of about 45 more. I am doing it slow because I refuse to not enjoy life and starve to death.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    After not weighing myself for about a year I seen that the number was dangerously close to the number that I said I would never get to again.
  • mikda999
    mikda999 Posts: 41 Member
    I had lost 40 pounds a two years ago and felt really good. Even good enough to go backpacking with hubby and two boys. We did at least 50 miles that trip and it was tons of fun. I was still over 300 pounds though, but I was keeping up.

    Skip ahead to this summer and the boys wanted to do something like it again. I planned out a short trip on an island with a walk in site about 1.5 miles from the boat dock. We were all set to go but my backpack didn't buckle. I had to make an extension. I gained 10 of those 40 pounds back and apparently several inches. We still went and only this time both my husband and I were out of breath on an easy 2 mile hike up to a light house. Then we saw this 60 something year old women climbing all those stairs like a champ and we looked at each other and decided something has to change.

    We've been taking long walks and working out everyday and changed our eating habits. Now we're planning another trip for this fall to see some the beautiful waterfalls that require lots of hiking.
  • candacet36
    candacet36 Posts: 353 Member
    My baby brother was diagnosed with cancer. That will really mess with your head.

    He had to have 3/4 of his stomach removed to get all the cancer. He had to learn to eat right for his new life. He is my hero!
  • flatlndr
    flatlndr Posts: 713 Member
    Two things:
    - In early Dec, doc said I could lose 50 lbs, or lose my troublesome knee
    - In mid-Dec, seeing a picture of myself from a work Christmas party.
    Jan 1 was a fresh start, and I've now almost doubled the doc's suggestion.

    (Edited to correct typos)
  • clichedemorgy
    clichedemorgy Posts: 1
    When I tried on my wedding dress and couldn't breathe.
  • ravenzwart
    ravenzwart Posts: 108 Member
    The most recent one: being asked 'how many weeks along' for the second time in a month.
    The first time (10 years ago):my niece suddenly died, for the most part due to the effects of being overweight.

    Unfortunately no wakeupcall seems to have a long lasting effect and makes me enough motivated to keep the weight off. But I''ve started again, so who knows...
  • seleniabailarina
    seleniabailarina Posts: 2
    looking in the mirror alot lately and seeing the ugly relationship weight creep on...i'm getting disgusted because i'm not able to have the schedule i know works for me! i am now at about 234 and my goal is to lose 60-70 lbs and get back at least to 160; first if i can get down to 200 i'll be happy!
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    Four months ago my doc said I needed to go on high blood pressure meds. He gave me two months to go salt free to see if that was behind it. When I went back I had lost 30 pounds and 10 points off the blood pressure. He then gave me three months more as I told him I have no interest in meds. Once you start one medication things just tend to go downhill and the meds multiply.

    I had walked religiously two summers ago and saw little effect because I didn't have MFP to show me the impact the food was having. Now that I understand portion sizes and have found some great alternatives (like PB2) everything is clicking. I look forward to the doc visit in six weeks but still realize there's more work for me.

    I know you're not looking for quick fixes, but I'm a fan of the no-nonsense British nutritionalist Patrick Holford, and just checking one of his books now, he asserts that approx. 450g of magnesium (or as he says, 150g twice a day, and the 150g often already in your multivitamin) can be effective for those suffering with high blood pressure. Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there, as I would share your reticence about taking unnecessary medications if at all possible, and also due to some medical history I need to keep my own blood pressure normal, or even slightly low, something that it thankfully is with the way I'm living (healthy diet/ exercise/ etc) :)
  • julieannebird11
    julieannebird11 Posts: 2 Member
    I hit 200 for the third time in my life. The first two times, I was pregnant, and that third time I wasn't. I also needed a new dress for church, and didn't like the way any fit in the store. So, I decided to sew one myself. The problem was not the dresses in the store (obvious to everybody else, but not me.)
    I think I wore that dress 2 times, and then it was too big. :-) I'm thinking about tearing it apart and making a smaller one now that is not tent-like in any way! LOL

    I never appreciated my body and how normal/healthy I was. With my three kids, I ballooned up 50-60 pounds, and dealing with a number in the 200's was even worse when sufficient time had passed that I could no longer blame "baby weight.

    Besides being 200+ pounds, my six-year-old recently started playing with the fat on the backs of my arms.

    To make matters worse, I was in the family locker room at Life Time Fitness with my three boys (ages 6-8), and my middle one looked at a photo of a beautiful fitness model on the wall and said, "You sort of look like her..." and my oldest added, "but not as thin."

    From the mouths of babes! I don't need to be skinny, I just want a healthy BMI of 23-25!
  • smittybuilt19
    smittybuilt19 Posts: 955 Member
    I always machine dried my t-shirts and as I got bigger I would only hang dry them to prevent shrinking. I was in a large at the time, then had to move to XL. Once I was not only hang drying my XL's but then having to stretch the crap out of them to make them fit, I knew something had to be done.

    Also, I couldn't breathe while tying my shoes lol, had to hold my breath, or just never untie them and slip them on.

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