Your 'Ah-Ha' Moment
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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
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lol i live in china now its funny how people lose weight here, i personally don't like Chinese food, at least the authentic kind. But you can imagine the struggle of trying to count calories of ANYTHING here 
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I don't remember one, it was probably tight fitting clothes, what drives me is wanting to Improve my endurance through the work day and not being depressed about appearance when I get dressed in the morning.3
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I was never really unhappy with my weight; I knew I was overweight since secondary school, but I had always been very confident in both my personality and appearance and never thought that my extra weight mattered. Until one day when suddenly weight really did matter to me and I was suddenly completely miserable about it. The 'a-ha!' moment went it finally came was:
My partner finally took some pictures I was in, hair needing coloured, make up not done, not posing, just having fun at the park on holiday. Having fun until I saw the photos and finally saw what I had been denying every time I had gone up a dress size or only had a photo taken when I was 'photo ready'. I cried and cried that day, I was devastated. Deleted all those pictures (but sorely wish I hadn't now!).
The next day I restarted myfitnesspal, which I had toyed with before. By chance (or fate?!), saw an advert for FitBit while shopping on Amazon the following night- I had never heard of it before. Ordered my Flex, what did I have to lose? Which was the next question actually...
Weighed myself on return from holiday and realised I had nearly 70 lbs to lose to get 'safely' (which, for me, meant 7lbs) within my healthy weight range. Making it about health, as well as appearance was the second 'a-ha!' moment. I knew I would never do it for how I looked alone- until that point I always had confidence in my looks, regardless of my weight. What changed was realising I wanted to be a good example to my partner and his kids and any kids of our own. Realising I deserved more than just saying "oh, I could never run, I'm just not built for it", or not being able to chase the kids for more than 20 seconds at a time.
The final 'a-ha!' was realising there is no end point. I could take as long as I needed to get to goal. I could change my goal, I could extend my goal, I could add fitness goals along the way. Then, finally maintenance itself becomes a goal. It was so liberating!
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ilovesweeties wrote: »... The final 'a-ha!' was realising there is no end point. I could take as long as I needed to get to goal. I could change my goal, I could extend my goal, I could add fitness goals along the way. Then, finally maintenance itself becomes a goal. It was so liberating!
I think you've truly arrived at the #1 secret of success from losing weight to maintaining!
Bravo to you!
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RaspberryTickleChicken wrote: »I obviously have far too much time on my hands as another question out of sheer curiosity has been nagging away at me ... so here goes.
- 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?
Here I'll start this one:- My 'AH-HA' moment was when I saw that my blood glucose level was 101 mg/dL and the normal range was 70-100 mg/dL.
- My motivation this time was not about making that silly little # on the scale go down, but it was about fighting off an impending diabetic future if I did nothing. The thought of all the complications that comes with diabetes. ie. kidney functions, amputations, blindness, etc. petrified me.
- For me, the mindset of 'oh I need to get healthy' rather than 'lose a few pounds' oddly took the pressure of me to 'loose X weight by X amount of time.' I looked at it as I have a lifetime to continue to reach for my goal. So the weeks where I was loosing mere fractions of a pound didn't bother me because progress was progress.
Well Said
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My aha moment was when my best friend sized me for a ring she wanted to get for me and a few weeks later when it came, it was "a little snug". I realized I was on that good old weight roller coaster and I wanted to get off of it. So MFP has now become a real pal of sorts. 0
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I had two things that happened really close to each other that sort of set me on the right path...
First, my nephew who is in 1st grade got on his bus and one of the other kids started making fun of him for his "fat mom" (my sister) who was standing there when he was picked up. My son is in kindergarten and I don't ever want him to be made fun of for how I look.
Second, I had started a new job and there was a morbidly obese lady in another department and I walked past her office a few times a day. Her office was always filled with tons of Styrofoam cups of diet soda and 2 liters on the floor. She must have drank a few 2 liters a day. I had a bad diet soda habit (not as bad as hers) but it just grossed me out so much to see it. It was almost like "Hoarders - diet coke edition". Every time I walked past her office I winced. I gave up diet soda because I just didn't want to have that same problem and seem as sloppy as this person did. After I gave it up and switched to water, healthy food choices came so much easier! (FTR, I'm not saying drinking soda/diet soda makes you gross, just the amount of diet soda this person was drinking and the empty bottles/cups all over her office are what grossed me out).1 -
Seeing me in the pictures at my daughter's college graduation. I realized OMG i will be the fat mom at her wedding if I don't do something. I started immediately and I'm not looking back. 1
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My ah-a moment was in 2011 when I weight myself for the first time in years. I was 21 years old, 5,58 tall and scale showed 181lb. It was the last drop to my misery after years of feeling unhappy with my weight (I never weighted more than at that point) and after last two years of feeling unloved and discusting. Other than that I was failing at college and didn't knew what to do with my life (I didn't really wanted to study what I was studing). So I made a choice at that very moment staring at number 181 like it was a count of my disasters. In two months time I droped school, signed up for different one (paid one done on weekends, not sponsored by country), find a job from Monday to Friday (I was living with my parents), signed up for gym (where I was spending 2h at least 4 times a week) and redefined my whole way of eating. It was hard to stick with proper eating because my both parents are way overweight and don't want to eat healthy, but I was standing by my rules and exactly in 3 years time I droped 51lb. For the last year I mainteined my weight and now I think only about shaping it more at gym.
What makes me stick with my weight? I don't want to lose what I achived. And I achived way more than just proper weight and way more than I could ever imagine. I gained health, career, college degree, confidence, independence (I no longer live with my parents since the end of 2012) and most of all I have found a love of my life with whom I currently live (since middle of 2014). He as much as I care very deeply about healthy eating and thanks to that we can plan to spend the rest of our very long and healthy lifes together.
So this is my story and proof how one little decision can change your entire life.
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Yea, mine was two years ago in June. We were going to my friend's daughters' birthday party and realized I did NOT want it to be summer because I'd have to wear summer clothes! In public! I just couldn't take another frustrating as heck morning trying to get dressed and hating everything about my wardrobe and my appearance. I'd known about MFP for a while and I just threw up my hands and decided to give it a try. Now two years later I'm maintaining and enjoying the fruits of my labor and dedication. Yeah!! I always tell people, losing weight is just a math problem. Do you want to do some math?!?3
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I will share mine. This was my 27th birthday. It was the moment I realized that I had gotten heavy. Weight seems to creep up on you!! - I'm in the purple shirt.
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I visited my hometown when my daughter was around 1 and hearing "oh wow, you've become a little chubby" and variations of it was enough to get me started. But what really freaked me out was when 2 months later, my fasting blood sugars was at 101. And I'm all of 28! I decided to take charge once and for all. I've lost 21.5 lbs since that event occurred 4 months ago. I'm determined for my follow up to be a happy one.1
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Breast cancer. I had been a yo-yoer for many many years. Essentially I gave up and let the weight win. Then I got breast cancer diagnosis--thankfully, small, had not spread, etc. But I knew obesity was a risk factor for recurrence. There are some things I have no control of, but my weight was the one thing only I could fix. I got started right after finishing radiation and never looked back. I've lost 60 pounds since Jan. 2015, and have about 60 more to go. I feel good and more than anything don't want the cancer to return! Slow and steady is working for me and is sustainable. For me, it is true that internal motivation is the key.4
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When my doctor diagnosed me as a diabetic.2
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[how are you ??
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For me it was 2 things. Before the holidays about 5 different people told me I was looking thin. I knew I weighed more than I ever had, but I still sort of believed them and didn't take care of my diet at all. When it was time to go back to work, I realized I didn't fit into most of my pants anymore. The other reason was I've been having lower-back pain, but don't want to go to the dr just to have them tell me I should lose weight. I am 5'4 and started at 162. I now weigh 153 and my goal is to be 135 by july.2
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I had lots of realizations, but never the "Ah-ha" until this New Years. I couldn't do half a flight of stairs without wanting to die, I reached the heaviest weight I ever had in my life, and my fattest clothes didn't even fit. Now I actively log everything, minus a few fun days on the weekend, and work out most of the week (4-6) from being in fun MFP challenges. This requires consistency (in most cases) and I never was consistent.
Since 1/1/16, I am down 14.4lbs so far. Grand total to eventually lose is about 120lbs or so, but so far so good!
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Actually - since maintaining goal weight all my numbers are in range and my doctor is happy. I am on medication but no insulin and I am considered in a "controlled" state. I learned that once you are diagnosed, it never goes away, but doing the right things can delay a lot of the damage that can result. So this is for the rest of my life. Thank you for asking, jo_m_towns.0
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My aha moment was two fold. My daughter is a sophomore. I started to realize that my time with her is limited. She will be off to college and on her own before I know it. I didn't want to hide for the next few years and avoid having fun with her. I didn't want to avoid cameras and be afraid to be seen on senior nights, prom pictures, etc... Vain I know, but I want to be comfortable and proud of myself in these pictures.
It is different this time because I found a program that works for me exercise wise and I have MFP to track calories. I saw quick results and I like the way I look and feel.
Mindset is everything! It is totally a mental game for me.
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Love this thread! Thanks to everyone for sharing your aha moments, it's very inspiring. 1
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RaspberryTickleChicken wrote: »
- 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?
]
My AHA moment was when my bf started tracking his calories and exercising while I just sat there eating sweets. I realised he will soon be slim but I will still be fat. So I joined him. He stopped doing both, unfortunately.
It is easier this time around because I no longer live with my parents who have terrible eating and cooking habits. And because my bf doesn't mind spending money on food. And because I better snacking habits. Soups account for a sizeable chunk of my meals.
I remain focused on my goal so yes, one's mindset is hugely important.2 -
So amazing to see this many Ah-Moments!
Mine was kinda boring really. All through my 20's I never had issues with my weight. I was never thin, but never overweight. I averaged 165-170 for a 5'11 female over the 14 years since HS. I was always either a 12 or a 14 in pants (which didn't look big on my frame at the time). Something happened though when I turned 30. I had a group of older friends that were a bit larger than me, and one was scarily diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (went temporarily blind for an hour on a road trip). My pants were getting REALLY tight and there was no way I was ever getting back into those 12's. I KNEW the last thing I wanted to do was buy a 16. You could say my increasing waistline and my friend's diagonsis was a kick in the head I needed.
I knew I couldn't do a "diet". I needed to find a way to do baby steps. I learned what my portion sizes should be and cut out soda (I was drinking 3-4 cans a day and it wasn't diet). I really don't know what my starting weight was (I say 193, but I didn't own a scale until I was 165). I just starting eating less and the weight melted off. It wasn't until I got to 165 that I joined MFP. Before long I was wearing size 8 pants. Then 6. Then even 4.
Currently and the last 3 years I've been in the 150-160 range. My lowest was 142 and it wasn't maintainable (I basically just wanted to know I could do it). I feel the best at 148, but in the winter I tend closer to 155. I'll soon start to lose slowly for the summer months again. I never want to have to decrease more than 10lbs again.0 -
I take care of my mom full-time. She's 59 years old and entirely dependent on other people for almost everything. She has cushing's syndrome and over 100 lbs of nonoperable fibroid tumors in her body, and after she was immobilized by a stroke the weight just piled on, going from a hefty but manageable 350 to 500.
She has a lot of health problems, with multiple sclerosis, SLE, and diabetes and all the problems that result from them. She's going blind and deaf, she can barely transfer from her chair to a toilet, her feet are absolutely a horror from edema and wounds that wont' heal. We have to wrap her legs every day, and wash and tend for all her sores. Neuropathy ,means she can't feel anything below her upper arms or legs, and she has terrible heart pain as well as random muscle spasms all over her body. She suffers greatly. No person should suffer like that.
Her problems are not caused by her weight, they're caused by her malfunctioning immune system and the genetic changes brought about by exposure to a drug her mom took in utero. But her weight is making everything A LOT HARDER. I can't lift her, even with my dad's help. When she falls, we have to call 911 to get help. I can't handle her wheelchair alone, so she can only go places when my dad, who is 60 years old, can help! We can barely get her into the car right now to take her to the doctor. She's too heavy for one of those cars that has the lift-chairs, and we can't afford a motorized chair for her. We can't afford one of the expensive motorized recliners for bariatric people either, so every time she wants her feet up or head back, I have to do it for her. You cannot imagine how frustrating that is for her, to be unable to do anything for herself, and she's a very independent person. Its not exactly easy on me either, because she often needs help at least once every hour or two around the clock, and this has been going on for years.
Ma suffers every single day. It's terrible to watch. NOBODY should suffer like this. And her weight makes taking care of her SO MUCH HARDER. It has a clear and terrible impact on the quality of her life. She'd still be in pain and miserable if she was smaller, because the diseases she has are her body self-destructing. But the weight makes it worse.
November 2014 I realized I was headed down the same path.
Like my mom, I have systemic lupus erythematosus. Over the past decade I suffered several serious injuries to my back, including one at the C2 vertebra which completely immobilized me for months. Then my immune system started attacking my heart, making me very sleepy (20 hours a day sleeping!). My weight went up, and up, and up... and I did nothing. 165 turned into 175.. to 185.. 195... 205.. 225... 235... 245... 255... I held there for a couple years until the heart problem. I was hiding from the camera. I knew I was fat, but I was tired all the time and I just didn't have the energy to be active like I always used to be. And then I stepped on a scale and it read 270.
My heart skipped a beat. 270. What. the. heck. I numbly went back to my bedroom and wept.. and wept... and wept. Because suddenly I knew.. I was going down the EXACT SAME PATH my mom had been on. What happened if my heart didn't get better? What happened if I needed someone to help me? How could I do that to someone else? I always had a functional definition of weight: your weight is fine, unless its preventing you from living the life you want. Lupus changed the equation for me. It took away my ability to do things; and I realized my weight was NOT HELPING one bit. It was putting a lot of extra strain on my heart.
After a couple days of complete devastation, I logged onto MyFitnessPal. I wasn't ready to commit fully, but I started paying attention to what I was eating. My goal wasn't even to lose weght yet. It was to STOP GAINING. Nevertheless, despite not logging, in the first 2 months I lost 15 lbs.
I had a doctor appointment in January and was put on a drug to calm my immune system down. That day I started logging everything I ate. In May my heart was strong enough I could go on short (15 minute) walks every 2-3 days, and vacuum my house every 2 days (believe me this was exertion!). Over the summer, I became stronger as my heart recovered from the prolonged attack on it, and the walking increased.
I've now lost almost 75 lbs. I'm aiming to lose 23 more. Walking is so much easier than it was, not just because my muscles are more conditioned, but because I'm not lugging around a large Irish Setter in fat. My back is getting stronger than it's been in a long time, so much stress was taken off that as well. Everything else that's improved is just gravy.
Oh, and my mom? She's lost 100 lbs along with me, because I was paying attention to my my diet and by association hers as well.24 -
I take care of my mom full-time. She's 59 years old and entirely dependent on other people for almost everything. She has cushing's syndrome and over 100 lbs of nonoperable fibroid tumors in her body, and after she was immobilized by a stroke the weight just piled on, going from a hefty but manageable 350 to 500.
She has a lot of health problems, with multiple sclerosis, SLE, and diabetes and all the problems that result from them. She's going blind and deaf, she can barely transfer from her chair to a toilet, her feet are absolutely a horror from edema and wounds that wont' heal. We have to wrap her legs every day, and wash and tend for all her sores. Neuropathy ,means she can't feel anything below her upper arms or legs, and she has terrible heart pain as well as random muscle spasms all over her body. She suffers greatly. No person should suffer like that.
Her problems are not caused by her weight, they're caused by her malfunctioning immune system and the genetic changes brought about by exposure to a drug her mom took in utero. But her weight is making everything A LOT HARDER. I can't lift her, even with my dad's help. When she falls, we have to call 911 to get help. I can't handle her wheelchair alone, so she can only go places when my dad, who is 60 years old, can help! We can barely get her into the car right now to take her to the doctor. She's too heavy for one of those cars that has the lift-chairs, and we can't afford a motorized chair for her. We can't afford one of the expensive motorized recliners for bariatric people either, so every time she wants her feet up or head back, I have to do it for her. You cannot imagine how frustrating that is for her, to be unable to do anything for herself, and she's a very independent person. Its not exactly easy on me either, because she often needs help at least once every hour or two around the clock, and this has been going on for years.
Ma suffers every single day. It's terrible to watch. NOBODY should suffer like this. And her weight makes taking care of her SO MUCH HARDER. It has a clear and terrible impact on the quality of her life. She'd still be in pain and miserable if she was smaller, because the diseases she has are her body self-destructing. But the weight makes it worse.
November 2014 I realized I was headed down the same path.
Like my mom, I have systemic lupus erythematosus. Over the past decade I suffered several serious injuries to my back, including one at the C2 vertebra which completely immobilized me for months. Then my immune system started attacking my heart, making me very sleepy (20 hours a day sleeping!). My weight went up, and up, and up... and I did nothing. 165 turned into 175.. to 185.. 195... 205.. 225... 235... 245... 255... I held there for a couple years until the heart problem. I was hiding from the camera. I knew I was fat, but I was tired all the time and I just didn't have the energy to be active like I always used to be. And then I stepped on a scale and it read 270.
My heart skipped a beat. 270. What. the. heck. I numbly went back to my bedroom and wept.. and wept... and wept. Because suddenly I knew.. I was going down the EXACT SAME PATH my mom had been on. What happened if my heart didn't get better? What happened if I needed someone to help me? How could I do that to someone else? I always had a functional definition of weight: your weight is fine, unless its preventing you from living the life you want. Lupus changed the equation for me. It took away my ability to do things; and I realized my weight was NOT HELPING one bit. It was putting a lot of extra strain on my heart.
After a couple days of complete devastation, I logged onto MyFitnessPal. I wasn't ready to commit fully, but I started paying attention to what I was eating. My goal wasn't even to lose weght yet. It was to STOP GAINING. Nevertheless, despite not logging, in the first 2 months I lost 15 lbs.
I had a doctor appointment in January and was put on a drug to calm my immune system down. That day I started logging everything I ate. In May my heart was strong enough I could go on short (15 minute) walks every 2-3 days, and vacuum my house every 2 days (believe me this was exertion!). Over the summer, I became stronger as my heart recovered from the prolonged attack on it, and the walking increased.
I've now lost almost 75 lbs. I'm aiming to lose 23 more. Walking is so much easier than it was, not just because my muscles are more conditioned, but because I'm not lugging around a large Irish Setter in fat. My back is getting stronger than it's been in a long time, so much stress was taken off that as well. Everything else that's improved is just gravy.
Oh, and my mom? She's lost 100 lbs along with me, because I was paying attention to my my diet and by association hers as well.
That is a very big AHA story and I'm so pleased that you and your mum are doing so well. I love happy endings....
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- 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?
My Ah-Ha moment came just over three years ago when our housekeeper accidently shrunk my favourite shirt and pants. In the past I would have simply gone out and bought another but these were a few months old, and expensive. Enough was enough, and that's when my journey began.
I have lost & gained so many times before but this time I lost about 14kg (31lbs) on my own, then after 12 months I hit a wall. By chance I discovered MFP and haven't looked back, losing another 22kg (49lbs). Using MFP to track daily in/out, being completely honest and accountable, and never making excuses has made all the difference.
Correct mindset is everything. I either make a change for the better or I don't. Unlike my laundry, nobody else can do this for me. I tell myself this every day.
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A combination of several factors:
- I have been overweight or obese for as long as I can remember - starting at the age of 5. I weighed 240 pounds by the time I was 19. I lost 90 pounds and dropped to 150 (I am 5'4") when I was 20. Then, married life happened, and 2 kids later, I gained some of it back (weighing in at 190 after the birth of my second child). I was down to 150 pounds again by last year, and my weight crept up to 160 by December 2015. I had had enough of starving or feeling on the verge of going back to my old ways. I now understand that maintaining weight will be my biggest challenge.
- I have never been thin or slender in my entire adult life. I don't know what my body/face would look like without the extra pounds. I want to experience being thin for the first time in my life. I don't *have* to accept being overweight just because I am no longer obese.2 -
My "Ah-ha" moment ... my 5 year old son told me that I'm fat and have boobies. He didnt want to insult me or hurt me. He just mentioned it as a fact.
2nd "Ah-ha" moment. Stepping on a scale an seeing 3 digits (>100kg).1 -
HaibaneReki wrote: »my "aha" moment was seeing this picture
oh and this one too
one 2009, other 2011
Interesting jacket. I notice the pockets are unusual for a jacket.0 -
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