What Finally Motivated You to Lose Weight?
smilesunshinexo
Posts: 13 Member
I'm not feeling very motivated right now so I'd love to hear everyone's stories.
I've been trying to lose weight almost constantly since I was 13 years old... So that's almost 12 years now. It's been a lot of stopping and starting, eating way too little and eating way too much... I've never stuck to a diet before or lost more than a couple of lbs before I started gaining again.
You'd think seeing the numbers on the scale go down would motivate you to keep going, but it's like there's a switch in my head - as soon as I see the numbers start to go down, I subconsciously think "Oh good, I can eat more again!" Even though I'm nowhere close to my goal weight.
It's hard to say what motivates me because I've been trying to lose weight for more than half my life. I don't know what's different this time around, but I really hope I can stick to it.
Here are a couple of things off the top of my head:
I always liked my face in photos.. But it's gotten to the point where all I can focus on are my cheeks, double chin and that weird thing chubby cheeks do when you smile - make your eyes look like little slits.
I feel like my breasts no longer look like breasts, but like sacks of fat, even though I guess technically that's what they are.
Many people in my social circle are getting into fitness and a healthier lifestyle, and I'm feeling a bit left out and left behind.
Tell me your stories
I've been trying to lose weight almost constantly since I was 13 years old... So that's almost 12 years now. It's been a lot of stopping and starting, eating way too little and eating way too much... I've never stuck to a diet before or lost more than a couple of lbs before I started gaining again.
You'd think seeing the numbers on the scale go down would motivate you to keep going, but it's like there's a switch in my head - as soon as I see the numbers start to go down, I subconsciously think "Oh good, I can eat more again!" Even though I'm nowhere close to my goal weight.
It's hard to say what motivates me because I've been trying to lose weight for more than half my life. I don't know what's different this time around, but I really hope I can stick to it.
Here are a couple of things off the top of my head:
I always liked my face in photos.. But it's gotten to the point where all I can focus on are my cheeks, double chin and that weird thing chubby cheeks do when you smile - make your eyes look like little slits.
I feel like my breasts no longer look like breasts, but like sacks of fat, even though I guess technically that's what they are.
Many people in my social circle are getting into fitness and a healthier lifestyle, and I'm feeling a bit left out and left behind.
Tell me your stories
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Replies
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Dressing room mirrors, lol.0
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CassidyScaglione wrote: »Dressing room mirrors, lol.
Those are the worst... You'd think they'd want to soften the lighting to make you look as good as possible, but nope! Haha
I can't remember how many years ago I got into the habit of changing in dressing rooms with my eyes closed and only opening them once I was dressed. I'm sure it's saved me a lot of grief, but also helped me stay in denial about my body0 -
Even tho I looked perfectly fine in clothes, once I took the clothes off I did NOT look good. Fat tummy, jiggly thighs...I just didn't feel like me anymore. I never really had a weight problem since I have always been pretty active my whole life but once I had my daughter I just got super lazy. So in mid-April of last year I decided I was tired of not liking my body and I found MFP. It's been on and popping ever since. I've lost 13 lbs last year (yeah, its not a whole lot but I really didn't have a lot to lose) and this year I plan on losing 10 more lbs. I'm loving how my body is looking from the exercise (running & lifting heavy weights for me), I'm loving that I fit into most of the clothes I have and I'm loving how I'm feeling even tho working out is hard.
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My sister has had Type 1 diabetes since she was 12 - as a result she has been through kidney failure twice (her's plus transplanted kidneys). The hardest thing I have ever had to endure was to be told that I was a match for my sister but at 5 foot 4 and 215 pounds I wasn't healthy enough to donate. I need to get healthy - if not for me then for her.
It took 2 years but I lost 100 pounds. I decided that I wanted to be more muscular for I gained 5 pounds of muscle to make it 95 pounds lost. I maintained there for 2 years and in the last couple of years I've picked up 25 pounds with life changes. I'm down 5 with 20 more to go. My sister hasn't been healthy enough to go through the transplant process again but I want to stay healthy just in case she is.0 -
My husband has been diagnosed with per-coronary artery disease. He's already had a minor heart attack. It's genetic and the chances of our daughter getting it are also high. He has to lose weight, eat better and exercise, so to help him we are doing it as a family.0
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It was the scale at the school I work at. I have always known I needed to lose weight, and I have always had an excuse why my weight went up... stress, work, car accident, etc etc etc. Well the proverbial straw for me was when I stepped on this 'Doctor's" type scale to weight myself... and I exceeded the capacity of the scale! That was two weeks ago. And for the first time in my life I am being serious about healthy eating.0
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SweetestLibby wrote: »My sister has had Type 1 diabetes since she was 12 - as a result she has been through kidney failure twice (her's plus transplanted kidneys). The hardest thing I have ever had to endure was to be told that I was a match for my sister but at 5 foot 4 and 215 pounds I wasn't healthy enough to donate. I need to get healthy - if not for me then for her.
It took 2 years but I lost 100 pounds. I decided that I wanted to be more muscular for I gained 5 pounds of muscle to make it 95 pounds lost. I maintained there for 2 years and in the last couple of years I've picked up 25 pounds with life changes. I'm down 5 with 20 more to go. My sister hasn't been healthy enough to go through the transplant process again but I want to stay healthy just in case she is.
That's a heartbreaking story. I hope your sister's health improves!0 -
My husband has been diagnosed with per-coronary artery disease. He's already had a minor heart attack. It's genetic and the chances of our daughter getting it are also high. He has to lose weight, eat better and exercise, so to help him we are doing it as a family.
That's great of you to do it as a family. My husband hasn't been diagnosed with any health problems, but he eats terribly. Luckily he has a very active job so hopefully that's offsetting it a bit, but it's definitely frustrating to watch.0 -
I actually was the same way that I would get down to a certain weight and eat again. It started a bad cycle of disordered eating.
I never had an "aha" moment. I actually had lost a few pounds due to a digestive issue, and figured I'd keep rolling with it.
These days though, as I continue strength training, my motivation comes from my strength improving. I love the feeling of setting new personal records on weight lifted as well as my increase in endurance in cardio. Bettering my health has become my motivation.0 -
It was the scale at the school I work at. I have always known I needed to lose weight, and I have always had an excuse why my weight went up... stress, work, car accident, etc etc etc. Well the proverbial straw for me was when I stepped on this 'Doctor's" type scale to weight myself... and I exceeded the capacity of the scale! That was two weeks ago. And for the first time in my life I am being serious about healthy eating.
I also went through a time where I avoided the scale like hell. Getting back on it was a HUGE shock... Probably explains why I now feel the need to weigh myself everyday - I'm terrified of that happening again.0 -
Went to the doctor, weighed in at 335 lbs, cholesterol was a bit high, and if my blood sugar was any higher it would have been pre-diabetic. It just hit me i better do something now while everything was manageable.0
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strong_curves wrote: »Even tho I looked perfectly fine in clothes, once I took the clothes off I did NOT look good. Fat tummy, jiggly thighs...I just didn't feel like me anymore. I never really had a weight problem since I have always been pretty active my whole life but once I had my daughter I just got super lazy. So in mid-April of last year I decided I was tired of not liking my body and I found MFP. It's been on and popping ever since. I've lost 13 lbs last year (yeah, its not a whole lot but I really didn't have a lot to lose) and this year I plan on losing 10 more lbs. I'm loving how my body is looking from the exercise (running & lifting heavy weights for me), I'm loving that I fit into most of the clothes I have and I'm loving how I'm feeling even tho working out is hard.
13lbs is nothing to scoff at. Congrats!
I'm hoping this will be my year to finally get comfortable with my naked body.0 -
Panda_brat wrote: »Went to the doctor, weighed in at 335 lbs, cholesterol was a bit high, and if my blood sugar was any higher it would have been pre-diabetic. It just hit me i better do something now while everything was manageable.
It's great you're doing something about it! I went through an embarrassing stage where I went to countless specialists hoping they'd diagnose me with something that could explain my weight gain... But nope, it was all me. Now it's time to take responsibility!0 -
My 'lightbulb' moment happened last June. I have a very bad back. I need surgery. The neurosurgeon told me he was extremely hesitant to do the surgery because of my weight. Basically refused. I hit rock bottom. Since June I have lost 96 lbs. I have another 50 to loose. One lb at a time. Some days are bad but always choosing to get back up and keep going have made me successful so far.0
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Hoping i get more energy if i lose weight
Going to be 44 soon i am on the cusp of plus size 12/14 and always been a bit chunky for the last 15 years but only recently realised i look awful in pictures dont want to lose much just 10 percent if my body weight will do0 -
Mine started with an Ultimatum from my BF. Be at 135 by June or we're done. I started at 175 and now am at 155. Here recently two of my really good friends are competing in figure/bikini competitions so that's inspired me to work hard and have a goal and not just do it for a stupid guy.. LOL0
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courtniekrebs wrote: »Mine started with an Ultimatum from my BF. Be at 135 by June or we're done. I started at 175 and now am at 155. Here recently two of my really good friends are competing in figure/bikini competitions so that's inspired me to work hard and have a goal and not just do it for a stupid guy.. LOL
.. You need a new boyfriend. That is a horrible thing to do to a person.
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I see a bit of myself in @strong_curves. I had always worked out, but never weighed myself. At 49 yrs old, I was feeling very heavy and stepped on the scale. I was stunned that I had slowly gained about 20 lbs over the 18 years since my son was born. So, 1-2 lbs per year - I just didn't notice that much because the spandex in our clothes is so forgiving. My BMI put me into the "overweight" zone. So, I immediately started with MFP and over 2015, I lost 30 lbs and my BMI is around 21.5. I am smaller than I ever have been, and I feel fit and strong. I'm 51 years old and I FINALLY am not self-concious about my body, for the first time in my life.
OP - My personal message to you is not to waste all the years that I did feeling embarassed about my body. At 51, I will wear a bikini in public, am totally OK with the cellulite that hangs around, fine with the fact that my boobs have pretty much disappeared, and I am happy with my healthy body for ME (and do not compare myself with others). I'm very proud of my muscles. I feel very powerful and at 23, I want you to feel that strong, too - and for the rest of your life. If you want it, you'll do it.0 -
courtniekrebs wrote: »Mine started with an Ultimatum from my BF. Be at 135 by June or we're done. I started at 175 and now am at 155. Here recently two of my really good friends are competing in figure/bikini competitions so that's inspired me to work hard and have a goal and not just do it for a stupid guy.. LOL
I hope this doesn't come across as rude, but you deserve better than a fair weather man that will only love you if you are thin. You're beautiful and if you want to lose weight that's great, but an ultimatum is really unfair.0 -
My moment was when I went to a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment back in November. My doctor looked at my chart and then looked at me and said, "You know, you have a BMI of 42 right now. If you have any interest you would be a candidate for bariatric surgery." That was the instant that it clicked in my head that I was THAT overweight. I told him I wasn't interested in surgery, but promised to start working on losing weight. I've logged all my food every day since that appointment and have worked out every day except holidays. There's no going back now, I am all in this time.0
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Pain and people calling me pregnant every day.0
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2 things made me do something about it. The first was the frankly ridiculous reaction to the Protien World advert. I did not want to be like the women who were taking something not even aimed at them so personally. It wasn't even insulting. The second was the thought of having to get into a UK size 20. At 5ft 1 I was heading towards the morbidly obese category and seeing my clothes go from just being able to find them in non plus size store to having to go there was a big no.0
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courtniekrebs wrote: »Mine started with an Ultimatum from my BF. Be at 135 by June or we're done. I started at 175 and now am at 155. Here recently two of my really good friends are competing in figure/bikini competitions so that's inspired me to work hard and have a goal and not just do it for a stupid guy.. LOL
Since you referred to him as a "stupid guy", I really hope that means you dumped him.
When I first said to my husband I wanted to lose some weight he was super excited for me. But supportively excited. I mentioned that I would need new clothes and he said "I will buy you all new clothes if you lose 30 pounds". He has never been mean about it. Never said he would leave me if I didn't reach the goal. He keeps me motivated, while still making me feel like he loves me no matter what.
Find a guy that will support you and encourage you, but will leave it to you to decide what is best for you.0 -
i got tired of being fat.
i got tired of not having a wide variety of clothing to choose from in stores.
i got tired of being tired.
i got tired of being 'too big' for things i love to do - horseback riding, parasailing, roller coasters/ rides.
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When my previously larger friend told me I can have her old (larger) clothes
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Watching my otherwise spunky mom struggle with Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, etc. Not gonna be that. Nope.0
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courtniekrebs wrote: »Mine started with an Ultimatum from my BF. Be at 135 by June or we're done. I started at 175 and now am at 155. Here recently two of my really good friends are competing in figure/bikini competitions so that's inspired me to work hard and have a goal and not just do it for a stupid guy.. LOL
Oh, wow. You're right, he is stupid.0 -
I see a bit of myself in @strong_curves. I had always worked out, but never weighed myself. At 49 yrs old, I was feeling very heavy and stepped on the scale. I was stunned that I had slowly gained about 20 lbs over the 18 years since my son was born. So, 1-2 lbs per year - I just didn't notice that much because the spandex in our clothes is so forgiving. My BMI put me into the "overweight" zone. So, I immediately started with MFP and over 2015, I lost 30 lbs and my BMI is around 21.5. I am smaller than I ever have been, and I feel fit and strong. I'm 51 years old and I FINALLY am not self-concious about my body, for the first time in my life.
OP - My personal message to you is not to waste all the years that I did feeling embarassed about my body. At 51, I will wear a bikini in public, am totally OK with the cellulite that hangs around, fine with the fact that my boobs have pretty much disappeared, and I am happy with my healthy body for ME (and do not compare myself with others). I'm very proud of my muscles. I feel very powerful and at 23, I want you to feel that strong, too - and for the rest of your life. If you want it, you'll do it.
I definitely want the same. I'm tired of sitting strategically to hide parts of my body, or constantly tugging at clothes to make them cover more of myself. It would be so nice to just not have to always be worried about how I look.
And more power to you for rocking a bikini! My 60 year old mum does the same and I always think she's the hottest woman at any beach because she just doesn't give a damn
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I was bought a model makeover photo shoot for Christmas. I felt so bad about how I looked, I cancelled it. Even though it cost my mum a lot of money.
My nephew asked why I'd cancelled it and I said I wasn't feeling great about how I looked. He replied 'don't worry, they only take a photo of your face, not your fat belly'. Out of the mouth of babes!0 -
I just really want to be who I feel I am on the inside. I am full of life. I am adventurous. I am strong and outgoing. I have always had a lot of love to give, but I've never given any of it to myself! I had a bit of a mental collapse involving a great deal of awful events that were out of my control coinciding, and I killed myself through it trying to make everyone else happy (and failing), and I broke. I hated myself, my life, my looks, everyhing. I was desperate to not feel the way I was feeling anymore so I started doing affirmations, listening to self help youtube videos, anything.... slowly I started to come out of the dark and on my way decided that I couldn't keep trying to pour from an empty cup, and decided that my health and happiness matter too. Being healthy mentally and being healthy physically are linked for me. I cant be one without the other so I decided I would do both. 70lbs later, I'm half way through to where I want to be and I truly feel like I'm shedding off what I never was and exposing who I've always been.0
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