What REALLY inspired you to lose weight?
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I first started to want to get in shape when I had a class on the 4th floor of a building, and I would always be super out of breath and had to sit down for a minute to catch my breath before walking in otherwise I'd feel awkward. Losing weight was mostly a happy side effect, but I had noticed I was steadily gaining and did not want to continue that trend. I'm happy to say I've lost about 20 pounds and am now ready to maintain a healthy weight.0
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Two reasons. The first is that I am getting married in about a year and half. I don't want to look back at all my pictures and cringe. I have a lot to loose. Like over 100 lbs. I know that I won't be at my goal weight by the time my wedding comes around. But if I am down a good amount by then, I will be so happy. Because I can look back at those pictures and be proud of the hard work that went into getting my weight down.
The second reason is my health. I don't have any major issues yet but if I keep on the way I am, I will. I want to have kids very soon and my weight will definitely be an issue. I want to be healthy for the family that I want to start.0 -
atypicalsmith wrote: »Asher_Ethan wrote: »I had moved to a new town and all the women were such witches to me for no reason. I tried and tried and tried everything to try and make friends and nothing worked. The only difference I could think of was these people didn't know me before I had my baby and didn't know me when I wasn't overweight so I decided to try and loose weight to see if people would be more welcoming of me. And it worked! Unfortunately, people are extremely shallow and the only way for me to make friends was to loose weight.
I don't think that was the reason. Do you think perhaps that when you lost weight, you felt more confident in yourself and started listening to people instead of trying to be friends with them? I'm not saying that in a mean way. I moved to a different state just before my senior year, and didn't have many friends in my previous school. I decided not to even try to make friends in the new school, but surprise, I had more friends than ever. I stopped my "technique" of trying to impress everyone and instead listened to them. Made a HUGE difference!
I'm still not even confident. I definitely have distorted body issues so it's definitely not because I have more confidence. I have always been more of a listening person and I make more fun of myself than try to impress people with myself. The only thing I can think that happened was that they started to like me when I wasn't overweight anymore.
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Great thread, very inspiring. Thanks for starting this conversation!
For me it was a combination of things over a period of a few years. It started about 4 years ago with my wife and a couple of close friends urging me to get a bicycle and start cycling with them. The friends were avid cyclists, the wife want to start riding. After several months I finally broke down and bought a road bike, motivated by them and the vague hope that I could maybe stave off some of the blood pressure and cholesterol problems my older brother (2 years older, but so similar most think we're twins when they meet us) was having. I was 41, 5'9" and about 235 lbs at the time. I knew I was fat, knew I was out of shape, and didn't like it but wasn't motivated enough to really work that hard and change things.
The bike is what started it though. For whatever reason, the bike and I just "clicked" and I was hooked. My first ride was 8 miles and left me exhausted. Mere months later, I was riding 3-4 days per week, going on meandering weekend rides of 20 and 30 miles and loving it. Riding more than my wife and even the friends that got me started. Over the next year I dropped down from 235 to about 210 just from riding bunches. Another friend got me hooked on mountain biking, so I added one of those to the mix. Eventually started racing the mountain bike some, got a time trial bike, and started racing that as well as just riding and training more. Then added a cyclocross bike to the stable with the intent of doing some cyclocross races.
Last summer I finally broke down and hired a cycling coach. At that point I'd been riding for about 3.5 years, and was generally around 205-210 without doing anything about the diet. Hiring the coach was the final "ah-ha" moment for me. I decided if I was serious enough to spend that kind of money and effort, I needed to be serious about the weight. That was early July of 2014. I started using MFP seriously (I'd been a member for a while, just hadn't really used it much) the day after I met my coach the first time. My weight was 209.
Here we are almost 10 months later, I'm weighing right around 172 lbs these days with about 10-12 lbs to go to hit my goal weight. I'm riding a lot, training hard, climbing well, and getting faster. I completed a road time trial race about 4 weeks ago and beat my previous personal best by almost 2 minutes over 10 miles. I finished a 3 hour mountain bike endurance race 2 weeks ago, and have a full schedule of road bike races straight through July, then Cyclocross season starts shortly after, which will keep me racing and training right through the fall. I love it and I'm completely hooked.
In addition to all that I feel and, according to many, look, younger than I have in years. I'm energetic, healthy, and I feel great. The rest of my family, including my brother still fights high blood pressure and cholesterol. I'm 45 years old now, my resting heart rate is in the low 40s, my blood pressure at my physical 2 weeks ago was perfect, my cholesterol and glucose numbers are great, and even my doctor is making the obligatory "you're half the man you used to be" jokes.
It has been a life-long journey and I wish I'd done this years ago, but I'm here now and I'm never planning to go back.
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You would think my Dad dying at 62 from Congestive Heart Failure would have inspired me to lose weight for good, or even my own cardiologist telling me that my heart can probably only effectively support maybe 130 - 140 pounds. You would think my heart going crazy in my chest randomly would have scared me into weight loss. Or maybe having to put my feet up for a full day or 2 to get the edema to go down after "doing too much" would have made me wise up.You would think that my hips, knees and feet hurting all the time would have given me the kick in the pants that I needed.
But, no....what actually did it is watching my mom's health deteriorate. She cannot get around well at all. For probably 20 years, she's had issues getting up off the floor. She's 70 and now she's having issues just rising from a normal chair. It scares the hell out of me. I started to struggle to stand up smoothly from a squatting position and it hit me. I'm turning into my mother. Her issues are going to be my own if I don't change now.
My husband has all these things he wants to do when we retire and instead of holding him back, I want to be by his side.
Maybe it was a combination of things, but in February I was hem-hawing about getting the Fitbit Charge HR and the Fitbit Aria scale. We were standing in Best Buy and I am saying it is $300 for the pair and thinking of all the things we probably really needed to spend that money on. My husband, who is the love of my life and best friend, said "it might just save your life". He tells me I'm priceless, worth way more than $300 & just generally being the best guy ever so we bought the pair.
Because of the price, and being cheap, I decided to use the scale every day so I get the most uses for the money. I weighed in at 300 pounds then (February 19th) and 263.7 this morning. I'm not stopping until I see 130. I will follow my doctor's guidance from there and possibly strive for 115. I love the fitbit and would suggest it for anyone who needs a nudge. It has literally been life changing.0 -
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I think living on my own inspired me. I didn't decide to try to lose weight until after I moved out of my mom's house. I had space for my workout equipment, could buy whatever workout programs I wanted and bought my own food. Then I found Sparkpeople and all that info on the website helped me realize that I could do it.
I've also never liked the way I looked in pictures.0 -
I had broken up with my boyfriend & he somehow told me something like "my new girlfriend can actually fit in my back seat"
and I was all "oh hellll no you didnt" so yea thats what really motivated me in to high gear that "fvck you im going to make you eat sh1t" . He saw me later after I had lost over 100 pounds and told me I am the most stunningly gorgeous women he has ever seen
Also though, you know all that deep self loathing and wanting to feel like myself again is what kept me going. The thought of ever feeling that utterly worthless again is what keeps me going still
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I'm so glad I could seeIAmTheGlue wrote: »You would think my Dad dying at 62 from Congestive Heart Failure would have inspired me to lose weight for good, or even my own cardiologist telling me that my heart can probably only effectively support maybe 130 - 140 pounds. You would think my heart going crazy in my chest randomly would have scared me into weight loss. Or maybe having to put my feet up for a full day or 2 to get the edema to go down after "doing too much" would have made me wise up.You would think that my hips, knees and feet hurting all the time would have given me the kick in the pants that I needed.
But, no....what actually did it is watching my mom's health deteriorate. She cannot get around well at all. For probably 20 years, she's had issues getting up off the floor. She's 70 and now she's having issues just rising from a normal chair. It scares the hell out of me. I started to struggle to stand up smoothly from a squatting position and it hit me. I'm turning into my mother. Her issues are going to be my own if I don't change now.
My husband has all these things he wants to do when we retire and instead of holding him back, I want to be by his side.
Maybe it was a combination of things, but in February I was hem-hawing about getting the Fitbit Charge HR and the Fitbit Aria scale. We were standing in Best Buy and I am saying it is $300 for the pair and thinking of all the things we probably really needed to spend that money on. My husband, who is the love of my life and best friend, said "it might just save your life". He tells me I'm priceless, worth way more than $300 & just generally being the best guy ever so we bought the pair.
Because of the price, and being cheap, I decided to use the scale every day so I get the most uses for the money. I weighed in at 300 pounds then (February 19th) and 263.7 this morning. I'm not stopping until I see 130. I will follow my doctor's guidance from there and possibly strive for 115. I love the fitbit and would suggest it for anyone who needs a nudge. It has literally been life changing.
This was a very great reason. My own mother jumped into gear when she started gaining a lot of weight then her mother died, her mother battled diabetes and the only reason this infection killed her was because of the diabetes. It was hard to watch such a strong woman lose herself but my mom has lost so much, she actually weighs less than me now, which is very inspriring because all of her siblings are bigger and have more health problems than her.0 -
I would like to say my motivation came from my wedding that is 4 short months away. But it didn't. I tried to make that my motivation, but it didn't work. I would also like to say having open heart surgery in December was motivation. And it kind of was. I've been looking back for the last 5 months thinking "I was lucky because mine was congenital, not health related." But the fact is - if I don't get and stay healthy, it could be health related in the future.
No. My motivation came purely from waking up one day and thinking "I feel awful." I had a binge the night before. Pizza, wings, fries, candy, wine. The works. It took two days before I could climb the stairs again without getting out of breath. It was that moment that made me go "seriously? You stuffed yourself to your eyeballs on junk and crap and now you can't even climb a flight of stairs." That was my motivation.0 -
I had a kid. And not being able to do the things that Dads do was just not on the table. Once you realize how important your health is its likely pretty late and its high time to get it done.0
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It was a suggestion by a very dear doctor. I'm 64 and grew up living with the after effects of polio. I have always been within the weight range for my height 5'4") but in my-then sedentary, high stress job, I packed on the pounds. About six years ago, I began to experience debilitating pain in my lower leg and foot (the left side...the polio side). It got so bad that my social life suffered and each night after getting home from a 12-hour day at work, I'd take Tylenol and go lay in bed nursing my swollen, throbbing leg and foot. I finally decided I had to leave my job, so I retired two years earlier than I had planned.
I had sought medical intervention and had a couple of surgeries (one where two of my left toes were partially amputated!). But nothing worked...until I happened on a surgeon and neurologist who work together to correct deformity in the feet. The neurologist determined I had severe nerve damage in my left leg and the surgeon said that a complex procedure he performs where he removes the damaged nerves and transplants human nerve tissue should resolve the pain. It was a 7.5 hour surgery but it cured the pain!!! The surgery was December 13, 2013.
In my follow up visits he suggested I embark on a mission to lose weight and get healthy. I needed a stable core and to gain muscle so that I could improve my gait and eventually toss the leg brace I wear. So, in March of 2014 I started my "body project." In a year, I was down 23 lbs. I'm so much stronger then I ever have been at the ripe old age of 64!
I have more strengthening to do and five more lbs I want to lose. But I'm having another surgery June 10 that will put me out of commission during my 6-week or so recovery. That's why I want those extra 5 lbs gone. The surgery will further strengthen my lower left leg and further improve my gait. Maybe one day I can toss the leg brace!
Now, (mostly) clean eating and regular exercise and strength training are the second most important things in my life (my marriage being first).
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The mirror and my muffin top
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A photo like the first panel in this series? Having to buy size 38 pants for the first time (my belly was larger still of course)? Disliking every single photo I somehow landed in during last summer's vacation in Europe? Basically all of the above. When I started reviewing photos at the end of the trip in September '14 I asked my wife to start running with me. She kept me motivated until I could do it on my own, and I ran all through a wickedly wet winter. Still 17kg away from my goal but I'm not worried about getting there now.
The size 38's were my "aha" moment but the vacation photo reminder is what sealed the deal.
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I just really love food. If it tasted good I ate it, I didn't really care, my husband was accepting. I also have an autoimmune disorder and about a year of prednisone just about killed any hope I had of losing a lot of weight. That drug is the devil, it was the best thing ever in terms of feeling better, but the worst thing for what I needed to do for myself to lose weight. Now I've discovered, that I don't even hurt that much without it, now that the weight is gone.0
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Nothing specifically inspired me to lose weight at first. I just realized it had to be done when I was almost 200 pounds at 5'6 and a size 11-12. Ironically, the weight loss began during a winter season when I was recovering from a surgery. I was chronically depressed especially since a lot of females from high school who were fit, would bully me for being overweight. A bit over a year later I had lost over 60 pounds and am now a size 0-2, all from healthier eating, smaller portions, and weight training (no calorie counting). The funny part is those women who bullied me back in high school are now overweight, facing health issues, relationship/marriage issues, etc. A few also ended up with young unplanned pregnancies and were whining on Facebook. Oh BOOHOO. Karma's a &%*#!
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I have a brain condition called Chiari Malformation (it's a malformation of the skull which puts constant pressure on your brain stem, and blocks the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, it can make things like walking, talking and swallowing very difficult). It makes life in general, harder. The only fix is brain surgery.
Last year, on top of that, I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation and insulin resistance. My weight (232) was adding to a pretty heavy load that was already on my body. I figured I'd better take control of the things I could, to allow my body the best chance of handling the things I couldn't (the symptoms of my Chiari).
I didn't want to be a diabetic, I didn't want to be a smoker and I didn't want to be fat and sick. So I quit smoking, have reversed my insulin resistance, and have gotten my sleep, depression and anxiety mostly under control. 77 pounds down, 6 more until I'm at a healthy BMI for the first time in 11 years.
I feel better than I have in longer than I can remember.0 -
srschaffer1 wrote: »I'm so glad I could seeIAmTheGlue wrote: »You would think my Dad dying at 62 from Congestive Heart Failure would have inspired me to lose weight for good, or even my own cardiologist telling me that my heart can probably only effectively support maybe 130 - 140 pounds. You would think my heart going crazy in my chest randomly would have scared me into weight loss. Or maybe having to put my feet up for a full day or 2 to get the edema to go down after "doing too much" would have made me wise up.You would think that my hips, knees and feet hurting all the time would have given me the kick in the pants that I needed.
But, no....what actually did it is watching my mom's health deteriorate. She cannot get around well at all. For probably 20 years, she's had issues getting up off the floor. She's 70 and now she's having issues just rising from a normal chair. It scares the hell out of me. I started to struggle to stand up smoothly from a squatting position and it hit me. I'm turning into my mother. Her issues are going to be my own if I don't change now.
My husband has all these things he wants to do when we retire and instead of holding him back, I want to be by his side.
Maybe it was a combination of things, but in February I was hem-hawing about getting the Fitbit Charge HR and the Fitbit Aria scale. We were standing in Best Buy and I am saying it is $300 for the pair and thinking of all the things we probably really needed to spend that money on. My husband, who is the love of my life and best friend, said "it might just save your life". He tells me I'm priceless, worth way more than $300 & just generally being the best guy ever so we bought the pair.
Because of the price, and being cheap, I decided to use the scale every day so I get the most uses for the money. I weighed in at 300 pounds then (February 19th) and 263.7 this morning. I'm not stopping until I see 130. I will follow my doctor's guidance from there and possibly strive for 115. I love the fitbit and would suggest it for anyone who needs a nudge. It has literally been life changing.
This was a very great reason. My own mother jumped into gear when she started gaining a lot of weight then her mother died, her mother battled diabetes and the only reason this infection killed her was because of the diabetes. It was hard to watch such a strong woman lose herself but my mom has lost so much, she actually weighs less than me now, which is very inspriring because all of her siblings are bigger and have more health problems than her.
Thanks for telling me about your mom's success. I'm very happy for her and I'm sure that you are too!0 -
mamapeach910 wrote: »Mine was similar to mama's ( Hi Mama!) last year. I was dignosed with ankylosing spondylitis. Months of high dose prednisone, countless pills plus humira. The breaking point was when I had to have fluid remove from my lungs. I have 3 boys that depend on me. I thought to myself I am never going to get better if I don't make a change to improve my health. I go in a few weeks to the rhemy and hope he starts reducing some pills 31 pounds gone:)
Hi amwcnw! AS is such a pain in the butt, and prednisone! YUCK! I didn't know you were on that.
You're a hottie now!
I have AS (and probable PsA too since humira cleared up my psoriasis and my finger pain... But as long as I'm being treated I'm all good0 -
Hey there everyone
A few things inspired me; in particular though, I was going through therapy and noticing all the negative stuff I'd been saying about myself, to myself, and to other people. I was being so mean to myself! I was my own mean girl! It made me stress eat and despite regular rock climbing, walking, and running, I was allowing my weight to creep back up. I once lost 20 lbs through diet and exercise, but I had deprived myself so much during that it was about self-flagellation rather than self-acceptance. When I gained all but 3 lbs of it back, it was one more reason to feel sorry for myself. So finally I decided to kick the extreme dieting and practice self-love in all parts of my life.
Seeing weight loss as an act of self-love rather than an act of deprivation was HUGE for me. And MFP has really helped me think about making healthy choices early on in the day. I'm even learning to forgive the few days when I go 600 calories over my daily limit; those do happen! But I'm 7 lbs down and with 13 more to go, I feel like I'm finally learning to be kind to myself rather than bully myself.0
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