Your 'Ah-Ha' Moment

1356716

Replies

  • cheslightsey
    cheslightsey Posts: 13 Member
    My Aha moment came in May of this year. My 3yo daughter and I were on a horseback ride together and the company we used took a picture of us on the horse. I knew I had eaten my way through our very harsh winter...but was blown away by how overweight/out of shape I looked.

    There was nothing that made a huge difference. I haven't really struggled with weight in my life...but I'm over 40 now and I guess my months of over indulging added up faster! I definitely was motivated by the fact that I want to be able to play sports with my 2 kids long into the future.

    Using MFP truly made this almost mindless for me. I was determined to lose the weight and get back into shape. The MFP app allowed me to easily see when I needed to stop eating:). Once the pounds started to come off, I was so much more comfortable in my clothes and felt so much better, that I wanted to keep going.

    Thanks for your post.
  • My Aha moment came in May of this year. My 3yo daughter and I were on a horseback ride together and the company we used took a picture of us on the horse. I knew I had eaten my way through our very harsh winter...but was blown away by how overweight/out of shape I looked.

    There was nothing that made a huge difference. I haven't really struggled with weight in my life...but I'm over 40 now and I guess my months of over indulging added up faster! I definitely was motivated by the fact that I want to be able to play sports with my 2 kids long into the future.

    Using MFP truly made this almost mindless for me. I was determined to lose the weight and get back into shape. The MFP app allowed me to easily see when I needed to stop eating:). Once the pounds started to come off, I was so much more comfortable in my clothes and felt so much better, that I wanted to keep going.

    Thanks for your post.

    YVW! :#

    It's REALLY interesting how something as simple as a photo can wake us up to a good dose of reality. I guess all the whippersnappers may be really on to something with the whole 'selfie' trend aye? :D
  • StephanieT0602
    StephanieT0602 Posts: 58 Member
    It was as simple as seeing the number on the scale and realizing I had gained 20 lbs in the year and a half since my wedding. I didn't have a lot to lose at that point, but I knew that if I continued on the way I was going the weight would just continue to pack on.
  • Archerychickge
    Archerychickge Posts: 606 Member
    edited October 2014
    my Ah Ha moment was on January 8th.... went to the Dr about a terrible cough I had kept for 2 years, that was keeping me form being able to hunt. He said I had a hiatal hernia that was causing reflux and the constant heartburn I had had for years, and that if I wanted surgery to fix it, I needed to lose weight. I was NOT willing to give up hunting for the rest of my life and I wanted the heartburn GONE. So I started that day and didn't look back.

    What's different this time... MFP and How I feel about myself... In past attempts to lose weight on my own, I always saw myself as being fat and ugly no matter how much I lost because I didn't have support. I focused on all of my flaws and what I thought was wrong with me instead of celebrating my success. This time, with MFP, I get support and encouragement from people who are on the same journey as I am. I get daily affirmations that I'm worthy of being healthy and feeling good about myself.

  • nancybuss
    nancybuss Posts: 1,461 Member
    When my cholestoral numbers (especially 'good' one) looked lousy. I was gaining weight for what seemed 'no reason' and I had two very little kids and I'm not young. Realizing its my Health I need to take care of, for THEM, so I can be here as long as possible for THEM that I needed to change.
  • fobs13
    fobs13 Posts: 1,080 Member
    LondonVic wrote: »
    For me it was when my mom had a debilitating stroke. That day I got off my fat bum and changed my life forever.

    Good for you!
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 7,680 Member
    Great Idea for a Thread!

    •My "AH-HA" moment that made me decide to take control of my health and weight was seeing the pictures of my granddaughter's christening. There I was: over 200# standing beside my perpetually slim husband, and let me tell you that it is hard to hide behind an 8 lb. baby. That picture followed hard on the heels of not getting a job because of high BP.

    •This time was different from my hundreds of previous attempts to lose weight because 1) I got active and I didn't go on a diet; instead, I joined Curves and vowed to workout 3 times a week and I used all the nutritional information I had gathered through those previous attempts to control portions and 2) my sister and I did it together - this made those 3 workouts per week a treat.

    •I think the correct mindset is certainly important; this time, I was concentrating on taking care of my health, but most important, I was determined to "just do it" whether I lost weight or not. I lost weight.
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
    Looking at photos and not being happy was my Aha moment. What has been different is that I'm not on a diet so much. I've been following the Eat More 2 Weigh Less philosophy and that's been amazing. I'm lifting weights, being active and eating (just a bit less). I feel good and healthy, versus just skinny. I like it. And it's doable for life!
  • weafrank
    weafrank Posts: 2 Member
    My Ah-Ha moment came at the beginning of 2013. I was going to turn 65 during the year and did not want to be a fat old lady. I went on the Shred Diet for 6 weeks and lost 13 pounds. My brother ran into a co-worker he had not seen in a while that had lost 42 pounds. The friend told him about MFP. I had gotten a Smart phone that week and downloaded the app. It has been 602 days now, and 36 pounds down.
    The difference this time is that my brother, 2 best friends and nephew have been doing it together. We have lost 171 lbs.
    I do have to say, Maintenance is not easy!!!! Losing the weight was not bad, but keeping it off is work!!!
  • apparations
    apparations Posts: 264 Member
    My Aha moment came around my 29th birthday. It hit me that I had spent my entire 20's unhealthy, out of shape and a smoker to boot. I was so afraid that I would turn 30 and then I would be depressed about getting 'older' and still not be able to really take care of myself the way I would like. I saw my friends having kids and having difficulty losing pregnancy weight, and I thought if I get pregnant at the weight I'm at now, it would be insurmountable harder for me to lose the weight afterward. It was enough to push me forward.

    Just over a year later and I feel amazing!! When I turned 30 I didn't feel depressed. Just excited to live another decade where I felt great rather than letting unhealthy habits run my life!
  • mrsmuckster
    mrsmuckster Posts: 444 Member
    I got Achilles tendonitis early in the year, and was having difficulty walking downstairs. That didn't do it but when I started having hip pain when I got out of a chair and walking up stairs I thought "aha". Starting on my weight loss journey, even the first 10 pounds feel much better, but still have a ways to go. I am NOT going back there.
  • LiveLoveRunFar
    LiveLoveRunFar Posts: 176 Member
    When I hit 180, when I couldn't walk to the car without getting winded, when I saw a sac hanging instead of a stomach, when size 18W pants started to get tight....I knew if I kept gaining it would be all over and possibly no coming back.
  • myfitnesspale3
    myfitnesspale3 Posts: 276 Member
    Hitting 201# naked. I thought 185 was sorta normal for my 6 feet, and the BMI said it was sorta high instead.
  • TY TheMedalist & 77Tes!

    I feel so inspired & hopeful to witness all the long term maintainers. :#

    And I agree WeaFrank I think sometimes losing weight seem like child's play in comparison to maintaining.

    A BIG thank you to everyone who responded. <3
  • 13bbird13
    13bbird13 Posts: 425 Member
    The day I realized my eyeglasses had to bow out ever so slightly to fit on my face now... when I bought them two years ago, they fit my 25-pounds-lighter face just fine.
  • Mine wasn't 'a-ha' but 'ENOUGH!'. My closet was full of clothes that didn't fit, my feet and knees hurt if I stood for any amount of time, I didn't want to see my friends because they remember me from when I was thin, my shoes were starting to be too small. I just threw up my hands and yelled, "Enough! I'm done! This is not me!"

    I started drinking gallons of tea instead of turning to carbs for a snack. Mostly, my eating was just pecking away at things until they were gone, so I stopped that. Started writing down everything. I started moving a little bit more even though it hurt. I started cooking at home and stopped going out to eat for a while - until I had a new way of figuring out my new way of BE-ing. I just started living consciously and conscientiously. And I found MFP to help me along the way. I'm so glad I did. :D
  • rand486
    rand486 Posts: 270 Member
    • When was your 'AH-HA' moment that made you decide, 'ahhhm okay it's time to do something about this weight?'
    • What made a difference this time which differed from previous attempts to lose weight &/or get healthy? (motivation)
    • How much impact do you feel that a correct mindset has on the level of achievement?

    Fun questions!

    I'm not sure I really did have an A-HA moment. My goals evolved over time. I started in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ~3.5 years ago, because I'd moved to a new city, had no friends in the area, and was quickly falling into a pattern of work, go home, drink and watch TV. Not a healthy lifestyle!

    After losing 15 lbs by accident (due to less drinking, more exercise), I started to clean up my diet; Started reading more about nutrition, which lead to MFP/calorie counting; Attempts to gain muscle (still ongoing :P)

    My weight was all over the place in the decade before BJJ, but mostly because I was a "victim" of my own circumstances. I worked night shifts at a restaurant, which was boring, so I'd eat all the time - gained a ton of weight. Lived in China for a while - lost of a ton of weight. Came back to Canada - gained a ton of weight.

    BJJ has been the only thing to make me focus on my health and diet. I never did it for its own sake, but once I started training, I became much healthier and ate better all as a goal of improving my jiu jitsu. Being healthy, skinnier, more muscular are just happy side effects :)