What was your "Ah-ha" moment?

Loved the title of this thread so came for motivation, then realized that I had to come to terms with my OWN ah-ha moment. OMG, that was so painful and I ended up in tears today, but here goes my confession. Hopefully, it inspires someone else.

As I've posted elsewhere on the board, for all my life I was a yo-yo gainer/loser -- 10/15 lbs up and down -- but over the past two to three years I gained 60 pounds and it seemed like overnight. I was buying bigger clothes once a month, but still in denial. I saw photos of myself, but promptly deleted them. In Oct 2014, I had to fly to a client site and had to extend the seat belt completely to the end. I am sure that I would have to ask for the dreaded extender belt if I flew now. However, the BIGGEST turning point for me was people not recognizing me. Since June, three different longtime friends, that I had not seen in over a year, did not recognize me until I spoke to them. They could not contain their shock and I was horribly embarrassed. I had two choices -- face this and do something about it, or just eat myself to death as a recluse. Luckily, I've have chosen Option #1.

I had a lot of moments that should have been ah-ha moments. I lost my dad very unexpectedly at 57. I was turned away 2x from donating blood because my heart rate was too high. I had shooting pains in my feet when I rolled out of bed in the morning. I found myself sweaty and out of breath walking from my car to my office. But it clicked for me one day at the hair salon. My stylist turned me to the mirror after a cut and I thought, great hair, but who is that? Then I realized I was seeing not myself, but my dad. Not the vibrant and healthy dad I choose to remember, but the bloated one who was sick and unhappy. I bought a scale on the way home and was shocked when I weighed in at 247 lbs. I thought that's it, I'm done! If I don't start fighting for my life, I will go down the same path he did. I bought a cardio machine and a Fitbit, started logging here as well. That was almost a year ago. 70 lbs later, I'm not done and I'm not looking back.

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My aha moment came when one of my teenage daughters made a passing comment- the backstory is that I was an avid athlete all of childhood. I played multiple sports in high school, was a collegiate athlete and loved to go to daily aerobics on campus. After college, I stopped training hard, continued playing sports casually and ate a horrible diet. I stopped playing sports and working out altogether when pregnant with my first child. Four more kids and fifteen years and I had packed on a lot of extra weight- think 80lbs.. In my mind, I still identified as that athlete that I once was but obviously that is not what people who met me as an adult were seeing (including my children). One day, in the car I made a comment about how I remembered going to "two a day practices" preseason. My daughter, said casually- "Yeah, it is so hard to picture you doing that." She didn't mean anything bad but I think it struck me because of the contrast of how I still perceived myself as this athlete but in truth had completely let my fitness go. I have only been back at this a few months but am really trying to reconcile my old self with my current life by getting back in shape and eating healthier.

Love this thread!

I had a few a-ha moments: First, I made the mistake of watching the fat shaming video (by a nameless Canadian comedienne). I realized that instead of being offended for obese people, I was offended for myself.

The next a-ha moment was finally stepping on the scale after a year. I was expecting 230, but what I got was 248.5. That was 2 months ago. I've lost 21 pounds and really feel a difference!

The really good a-ha moment was when I realized that what I tell myself really, really matters. If I tell myself I'm a piece of $*** that Will. Not. Help.

Instead, as corny as it sounds, I tell myself out loud: "You can do this. Do not give up."

I'm beginning to actually look in mirrors again and am not so shy about walking around in our bedroom in underwear.

I have a long way to go but I'm on the way!!!!!

I've always been pear shaped and even at high weights, didn't have much of a belly. One day in the shower I noticed it REALLY sticking out like never before, and it wasn't soft anymore...it was just big, and hard. That, and my butt and back of thigh cellulite starting creeping to the front/knees. Nope.

I went to a wedding with my boyfriend and afterwards, I was tagged in this picture. I was at my highest weight of 220lbs on a 5'1 frame.



This is me at 165, although I'm currently around 159.

A picture of me on Facebook... it was my mother-in-laws birthday. Everyone looked so nice and happy and I looked sad. I dressed sad. There are lots of pic of me where I am overweight but in this pic... the heaviest I have ever been. I don't recognize myself. I had my aha moment and even though it was just a week ago and I lost 2 lbs I have never been more motivated in my life. Here is to week two and a new me.