What was your "breaking point"

dbwebb12
dbwebb12 Posts: 6
edited September 26 in Motivation and Support
I distinctively remember the moment it all clicked for me, the moment I finally decided that I was going to do this. I am finally going to lose the weight and re-invent myself with a healthier more active lifestyle that includes eating right.

I am the Internet Sales Manager for the largest Used Car Dealership in the state of Utah. I work in a very intense atmosphere with a group of seasoned salesman that are my best friends. We work 60 hours plus a week and we love it. We drink Rockstars, coffee, and eat a lot a fast food. Over my six years there I have gained a TON of weight. There is a core of 10 salesman that I have worked with during that six years all handsome all very fit and all very intelligent. I have always been the "Fat Guy" at the dealership. I have never been more devastated then when a client that I worked with the night before came in looking for me and couldn't remember my name because he had lost my card. My Assistant asked him what his Salesman looked like and he responded, "He's the only fat guy that works here." To which my Assistant said, "Ahh, Doug." I overheard the conversation as I came around the corner.

I have never been happy with the extra weight I carry. I have always wanted to lose it so that I can play with my four year old son at the park. I have always wanted to be more attractive to my lovely wife. I have longed to be back in the shape I was in while in High School so I can play Basketball again. I don't know why this one statement was my breaking point, however, it made everything click. I am happy to say I am 20 lbs down and loving the results.

What was your "Breaking Point"?

Replies

  • shipleyd
    shipleyd Posts: 94 Member
    The honesty of a child did it for me. I was out with my daughter trying on clothes and we were in the dressing room. I was in between outfits so I had on nothing but my bra and panties and my daughter turned around looked me up and down and said, "mommy, that is NOT pretty." Yep, that did it for me alright.
  • MaryTheIceCube
    MaryTheIceCube Posts: 1,099 Member
    First, congratulations on your progress so far!!

    My breaking point -- I'd long been overweight and unhappy about it. What really began to irritate me though, enough to make me decide to actually DO something about it and finally stick with changing my body for the better, was when I sat at work and I felt the rolls of fat on my back layered upon each other. It really became terribly irritating, bothering me day in and day out. I downloaded C25K on my iPod and away I went. I haven't looked back since. That was in February 2010, and since I joined MFP at the end of July 2010, I've lost almost 45 pounds. Since I didn't have a scale until that time, I'm guessing that I initially lost about 20 pounds pre-MFP.
  • wgrape
    wgrape Posts: 40 Member
    Seeing the scale at a doctor appointment. I was like, what do you mean I weigh THAT much?!?! Ate like a pig that night, and then it has been good ever since! I am happy to report that I am 18 lbs down, and looking forward to losing a lot more :D Good for you that you found your breaking point and started getting healthier!
  • ronda_gettinghealthy
    ronda_gettinghealthy Posts: 777 Member
    having surgery and saw the history and physical- my doctor said I was and I quote "an well developed, well nourished OBESE white female": not chubby, not plump,not overweight OBESE and he was right--
  • suemar74
    suemar74 Posts: 447 Member
    My one year anniversary of quitting smoking. I gained 15 pounds, and I was already overweight to begin with. I figured after a year, I couldn't play the quit card anymore. At a year, I considered myself a non-smoker, not a smoker trying to quit. It was time to lose the weight.

    The roll of back fat helped too. :ohwell:
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    Seeing the scale at a doctor appointment. I was like, what do you mean I weigh THAT much?!?! Ate like a pig that night, and then it has been good ever since! I am happy to report that I am 18 lbs down, and looking forward to losing a lot more :D Good for you that you found your breaking point and started getting healthier!

    This. I went for my physical and when I saw my weight I was horrified.
  • Selliea
    Selliea Posts: 7
    My breaking point was seeing the disappointment in my daughters eyes when I told her I was too tired to play. I realized I said that every day....and that I would not get on the floor to play with her because it was to hard to get up. I would have her sit on the couch with me. That day she just sighed and walked away. The disappointment on my three year old's face broke my heart. I don't want to do that to her again or ever say that to my 5 month daughter when she is older. I want to cherish the time and fun and joy of their childhood before it's gone.
  • cinnaben
    cinnaben Posts: 9 Member
    I think my breaking point happened when I realized that I was sick of hating myself. I CAN'T spend the rest of my life with a food addiction and no control over my eating habits. I'm sick of the jealousy of skinny girls, the guilt after binging, the failed attempts, the dread I get before stepping on the scale. I'm so glad I found this place, I feel like this is going to be the change in my life I've been searching for :)
  • suzooz
    suzooz Posts: 720 Member
    Congrats on your success so far.

    For me, it was dinner with a long-lost friend. She had moved away, and I hadn't seen her in years. And through coincidence (or fate), my company bought another location in her home town only weeks after we had gotten back in touch. Anyway, she told me how much weight she had lost after a pre-diabetes scare at the doctor. I finally decided that I had better shape up, too!
  • carcar03
    carcar03 Posts: 23 Member
    I love working out and have always gone to the gym 4x a week. However I let my diet get out of control last summer after going on vacation. Even though I was exercising I still put on a lot of weight. My breaking point was when I got all dolled up for my work Christmas party and a coworker looked at me and said "I can tell you don't go to the gym anymore". I was greatly offended that my work was not showing. That same week I tried to wear a pair of jeans that I hadn't worn in a few months and they couldn't fit me at all. My mom tried them on and they fit her perfectly and we've always been the same size. I had been avoiding the scale for months so I finally decided to step on it and I was shocked to see the number. Tears came to my eyes. That was the day I knew I had to get my diet in check!!
  • Ree_Chatelain
    Ree_Chatelain Posts: 229 Member
    I broke a chair.... Thankfully it was only around family but i had never been so embarassed in my life. We were outside sitting around the fire pit hanging out and roasting marshmallows when i leaned back and the solid plastic yard chair snapped. My mom made excuses about it being cheap and just outside too long so the weather had messed it up. But the truth was the poor thing couldn't handle my big *kitten*.
  • andrea10191
    andrea10191 Posts: 24 Member
    My breaking point was spending 15 minutes in a dressing room trying to get out of a size 24 dress without ripping it because I couldn't admit to myself that I needed a size 26. That was 10 years ago and I am now 98 pound lighter and a size 14. Lots of ups and downs along the way, but I think I'm finally getting it right.
  • Azuleelan
    Azuleelan Posts: 218
    This is a great topic... congrats on your weighloss so far!!
    I always was very thin (sometimes even too thin) but almost a year ago I started to take a medication that slowed down my metabolism big time (it didn't help that I wasn't especifically concerned about eating healthy). It made me gain about 40lb in about 6 months, and I knew that I was gaining but I literally did not see it... until I went to my dr and she almost didn't recognize me. She was basically stunned, like she didn't know people could gain that much weight that fast, but she still wouldn't say anything...

    It seems that at some point she had to do something so she showed me a chart: I was just on the "overweight" section. I said "so is it that bad?" and she nodded. That was my "aha" moment, which didn't even required words!
    It's taken a lot from me because I do NOT see me as overweight, I literally still see me how I've been for 29 years, super skinny... but oh well. Now I've lost 12 lb and I'm planning to lose another 20lb. I'm going to end around 120 even though I was always between 105 and 110.
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