wake up call

ihatebeingfat23
ihatebeingfat23 Posts: 62
edited November 9 in Motivation and Support
Lately none of my clothes have fit me other than some tee shirts of my husbands and some gym shorts. I guess I should have let that be my wake up call, but no it took being in the dressing room as the lady helping me had to keep going back for larger sizes. I was the biggest size the store had. That had never happened to me I cried on the way home. I did this to myself. I feel terrible. I also know that this experience will help keep me on track. What was your oh crap moment?

Replies

  • floridamatty
    floridamatty Posts: 93 Member
    The scale at a Publix...i got on it and it said i was in the 290's. I went back to the checkout and said to my wife that their scale was screwed up...got home and got on ours gathering dust oh oh!....nothing wrong with their scales.
  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
    I was living in sweats and refused to buy larger clothes. I'm a tightwad that way, I hate to spend money, I was not going to spend it on being fatter.
  • ihatebeingfat23
    ihatebeingfat23 Posts: 62
    Its easy to not see how much you are gaining huh
  • neveragain84
    neveragain84 Posts: 534 Member
    They call it a wake up call for a reason. No matter how terrible you felt that can't come close to how great you feel once you start motivating yourself and hitting your goals.
  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
    I didn't gain my weight all at once.. but somehow the size I was gradually moving up into was my line in the sand, a size I was not willing to identify myself with.. like the size below was somehow much more acceptable. But neveragain84 is right.. It sucked and was very hard to begin chasing those goals, but once they began falling to me like dominoes, I was on a high like I've never known. Nothing feels better than that. I still, four years later, appreciate every day, I love being fit, I love at 42 years old to be able to outrun, outclimb, outfight, outswim most MEN my age, let alone women. Not that I'm in competition with them, not that I'm better than anyone. I'm dumbfounded that I reached this and now it is my life. I'm still in awe that I can do these things, because the fact of the matter is, I'm no one special.. just a middle aged mom who gained a bunch of weight and went soft over decades. If I can do it, absolutely anyone can.
  • ihatebeingfat23
    ihatebeingfat23 Posts: 62
    Thanks for sharing very inspirational I am ready to hit those milestones I just need to put in the work
  • Negriita2010
    Negriita2010 Posts: 45 Member
    my oh *kitten* moment was 12/31/14 newyears eve when i couldnt button up my fatpants which are a size 12
  • Kimmbberr
    Kimmbberr Posts: 5 Member
    I went for my yearly physical and weighed 217 pounds and my diastolic blood pressure was 92. Heart attackville. I was terrified and honestly, finished out the rotten food I had in my house which took a couple of days and then started using MyFitnessPal. I had been doing really well until Christmas/New Year's and now am struggling to get back on track. I still have 45 pounds to lose.
  • ihatebeingfat23
    ihatebeingfat23 Posts: 62
    Holidays are hard to get through all that relishes food!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    A physical too. I knew I was obese, but I was in denial and thought I could just maintain my 200 pounds by eating whatever I wanted (as I had maintained that weight for 5 years)... I mean, 200 was bad, but it could be worse, and it seemed better than having to starve myself and never eat what I love again... except the scale showed 213 pounds. Then the doctor did an EKG because 'I was at significant risk for heart problems with my weight'. That was a big wake up call.

    It still took me a month afterwards to be mentally ready for it though - I wanted to enjoy the Holidays because I knew I would have to lose weight soon, and I managed to make myself sick of food from eating too much, so in a way it was easier to lose weight after that... The funny thing is I still lost 5 pounds during that month, but I'm thinking that the 213 were due to the round of steroids I had the week before my physical (I had an asthma attack).

    It was still a HUGE relief to find out that I didn't have to cut any food to lose weight after all. Probably the reason I actually managed to stick with it for 2 years (in 10 days!).
  • ihatebeingfat23
    ihatebeingfat23 Posts: 62
    You have a great story! You look amazing too!
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    Mine was going on a business trip with my normal weight boss in 2008 and getting really winded on stairs at the train station and having pain in my lower legs. I knew I weighed around 300 (my heaviest) but I was so used to always having been the heaviest girl/woman around, since my teens, and until that day I had NEVER had any trouble keeping up with normal size women physically, whether in everyday activities or even gym class/casual sports. It was a huge wake up call for me that my gradual gains had gotten WAY out of hand and I started exercising and losing weight the same month.
  • Cherie1n2n3n4
    Cherie1n2n3n4 Posts: 46 Member
    I lost down to 150-155 (im 5`9)and maintained it till 2010 when I started dating my fiance. I gained up to 170 and was so disappointed in myself that I got back on track and altho I only reached 160, I maintained it well....THEN THERE WAS NURSING SCHOOL.. I've fluctuated between 165-180 from the first few weeks.. But in December I stepped on a scale during clinical and it read 194! ..I knew my clothes didn't fit, but I was living in Scrubs or pajamas.. The yard clothes were stretch shorts and sleeveless shirts. I knew they were getting tight, really tight.. But I was in denial.
  • NourishtoFlourish
    NourishtoFlourish Posts: 9 Member
    My wake up call came about a month after I couldn't fit in any of my clothes. Oops.
    Negriita2010 wrote: »
    my oh *kitten* moment was 12/31/14 newyears eve when i couldnt button up my fatpants which are a size 12

    Are you in the UK? If so, since when was a size 12 fat?
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
    I started having numbness and stabbing pains in my thigh. I ignored it until I saw a tv ad for a drug for diabetic nerve pain that sounded exactly like what I was experiencing. Scared the hell out of me and I went to my doctor. He explained that it wasn't diabetes, just that my weight and tight clothes were impinging on a nerve. I decided it was time to do something.
  • ljs385
    ljs385 Posts: 44 Member
    Negriita2010 wrote: »
    my oh *kitten* moment was 12/31/14 newyears eve when i couldnt button up my fatpants which are a size 12

    Are you in the UK? If so, since when was a size 12 fat? [/quote]

    I suspect the poster is American as she writes the date in month/day/year, if so then a us 12 is a uk 16.

    My moment, was more like a series of mini moments - buying size 16 tops for Christmas parties, seeing the photos, hating to look in the mirror, all combined until I finally gave myself a kick up the bum :)
  • palwithme
    palwithme Posts: 860 Member
    There are quite a few heavy women where I work and three of them have had knee surgeries and are in constant pain. At that point, I imagine, it is almost impossible to exercise. I decided I did not want to be in my 60s and really overweight and, if I wanted to do something, I had to do something about it right now while I still have some energy and am healthy enough to really exercise.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    sheldonklein wrote: »
    I started having numbness and stabbing pains in my thigh. I ignored it until I saw a tv ad for a drug for diabetic nerve pain that sounded exactly like what I was experiencing. Scared the hell out of me and I went to my doctor. He explained that it wasn't diabetes, just that my weight and tight clothes were impinging on a nerve. I decided it was time to do something.

    On a similar note, I thought something was wrong with me because I couldn't breathe when I bent over. It never even occurred to me that it could be because I had too much fat and it compressed my lungs when I did... Scary stuff.
  • issyjmc
    issyjmc Posts: 5 Member
    I went to the doctor and I had some blood work done. My triglycerides were so high that they could not accurately calculate my total cholesterol. I joined MFP and started running. I started at 211 pounds and lost 50 pounds. Since starting our adoption journey a year ago and having 2 fall apart on us since August, I have gained back about 30 pounds. But I am still running and buckling back down about calories and stress eating. I don't want to go back to that place.
  • issyjmc
    issyjmc Posts: 5 Member
    My other big moment was when my 250ish pound, 83yo grandmother was nearing the end of her life. She struggled with mobility, and one day she fell and got herself stuck between the toilet and the wall. It was a major ordeal to get her out because no one could lift her. Once they got her out, there was a lot of talk about getting her a hoist. Watching her have to depend so much on others and seeing how much effort and money it would take just to care for made me realize that I did not want to ever be in that situation. She was never a burden to us, but I know that she felt like she was, and I know that she was embarrassed about it.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    issyjmc wrote: »
    My other big moment was when my 250ish pound, 83yo grandmother was nearing the end of her life. She struggled with mobility, and one day she fell and got herself stuck between the toilet and the wall. It was a major ordeal to get her out because no one could lift her. Once they got her out, there was a lot of talk about getting her a hoist. Watching her have to depend so much on others and seeing how much effort and money it would take just to care for made me realize that I did not want to ever be in that situation. She was never a burden to us, but I know that she felt like she was, and I know that she was embarrassed about it.

    Stuff like that played a role for me as well, and is part of my long term goal to stay an "average size"...I worked in an agency that provided services to people with many different physical disabilities and I met so many younger (50 and under, especially) individuals whose weight was the biggest factor for them re: health and/or mobility.

    My mom is very slightly overweight, but she is AVERAGE/normal size -- she's in her mid 60's and when she was having a full knee replacement I saw how well the doctors and PT people treated her by comparison to how they often treat larger people. Which is sad, but true. At that point I'd lost a lot of weight already and was well on my way -- but I definitely knew then, I needed to get to "normal" and stay there permanently so I won't be the woman stuck on the floor with several strong young paramedics or a crane called in. :neutral_face:

  • ihatebeingfat23
    ihatebeingfat23 Posts: 62
    You are making a move in the right direction. My hubby always says if you are moving you are improvin
  • supermomof00004
    supermomof00004 Posts: 4 Member
    I have fluctuated all my life but mine was when i was with my boyfriend and we ran into his ex. She looked at me and said to him "this is what you have gone to?" I was humiliated and for days starved myself. He says it doesn't matter but i don't want anyone to look at me like that again. Unfortunately she is my motivation.....so the next time we run into her i can say proudly YES!!!
  • ihatebeingfat23
    ihatebeingfat23 Posts: 62
    supermomof00004 wrote: »
    I have fluctuated all my life but mine was when i was with my boyfriend and we ran into his ex. She looked at me and said to him "this is what you have gone to?" I was humiliated and for days starved myself. He says it doesn't matter but i don't want anyone to look at me like that again. Unfortunately she is my motivation.....so the next time we run into her i can say proudly YES!!!
    Wow I would have said ya I can see why he left you. That is insane you can lose weight but she will always be a f'd up B@tch
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    I guess mine was when I got on the scale and it said 180, which is 15 pounds more than I was both times I was 9 months pregnant. Funny thing is that my feet hurt a lot when I was pregnant (I guess from carrying extra weight, but also probably from retaining water in my ankles), but when I was 180 I didn't have foot pain. I knew it was time because I was no longer maintaining but was steadily and slowly gaining and it was adding up over time.
  • DedicatedDreamer5
    DedicatedDreamer5 Posts: 9 Member
    Sadly, I feel like I've had lots of oh crap moments! But, I feel like thinking back on the combination really helps motivate me to keep going :)

    My first one was snowshoeing with friends. They invited me to come along, but I literally felt like dying the whole time. I kept having to stop to take a break, and while I thought it was my asthma, it actually was just because I was too overweight and out of shape. I was so embarrassed to slow them down so much, because none of them were tired at all!

    My next moment was when a group of girls in my dorm were all excited about a pair of jeans that fit them all. They begged me to try them on, because they were "sure" they would fit. Yeah. right... I knew they wouldn't fit just looking at them, and I couldn't even get them passed my knees :/ super awkward!!

    And the last one was in a lab at my college. We had to go up and down stairs for 10 minutes and then check how long it took for our heart rate to go back to resting. Well, I was WAY more tired than anyone else on those stairs. And my heart rate took WAY longer to go back to normal. And I realized that I was by far the biggest person in my class.

    I'm trying to get back on track with my weight. Hopefully I can let these oh crap moments motivate me!
  • SJunczyk
    SJunczyk Posts: 430 Member
    Last year I was saying to myself that I don't feel great about how I look. But I didnt actually do anything to change it. I wasn't mentally prepared.
    But this year I changed that. I've decided to be selfish and go out there and get rid of this blubber. I am more prepared than ever and this still shocks me. I still need to motivate myself and push harder. It is only the beginning. But I am doing it for me. I know 170 doesnt seem like much to others, but looking in the mirror...well it just sucks. I don't want to dislike my outer self. So i aim to beat the mirror demon :)
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