Your 'Ah-Ha' Moment

My a-ha moment was being told there was literally nothing else that could be done regarding some health issues which result in a lot of pain on a daily basis. I'm allergic to GA and all opiates, so pain relief is limited and the only surgery that could help is out of the question as it HAS to be done under GA.
I knew endorphins were the only way to achieve long term relief, so I signed up to the gym and started a strength training program and swimming. Sure enough, the days I work out are the days I have significantly reduced pain - and I'm so tired I can sleep through the pain at night too!

I have a long way to go (was 252, now 237, goal 180lbs) but there's no rush. I have two weddings to go to this year, the first in late August and the other a few weeks later, and it would be fabulous to turn up looking and feeling like a million dollars - so I have that as my goal FEELING, not to get to my goal WEIGHT by that point. As long as I'm feeling better and more confident, more flexible, and in less pain, then I'm getting somewhere

Okay I'm not sure this is a closed discussion or not, but I'm going to write anyway!

My first AHA moment was in 2011 ... I had played the yoyo game for years. Tried every diet out there, lost weight and then gained it back plus. My highest weight had been over 240 ... much to high for my frame of 5'4" (I thought ... recent measurement shows me at 5'2 1/2" which is even worse) ... I had lost about 70 lbs, but by spring 2011 it had crept back up to 205 ... at the same time, our doctor mentioned to my husband and I MFP. We jumped on it, were religious about entering our food intake and within a year I was down to 147 lbs and my husband was also down to 185 (excellent for his almost 6' frame) I maintained it for about two years and then minor life style changes and not being consistent recording on MFP and weighing myself took its toll and I realized the weight was piling on AGAIN! I was up to 175 and not liking what I was seeing in the mirror and in photos! I FINALLY had a second AHA ... what works? MFP! Early in 2016 I started recording again and added a Fitbit One to the equation (I had used a different device to track steps which had died.) I have a streak of 30 days recording on MFP, I have lost over 10 lbs. I have 15 to go to reach my lowest point again, which I plan on reaching and heading even lower. At my age, fitness is more important than ever. I am 74 years old and lead a very active lifestyle ... Keeping my weight down and staying physically active is critically important ... I know I am rambling ... kind of stream of consciousness writing!

Bottom line, even if you've had an AHA moment and then slipped, start over again.

What a great thread! I had two ah-ha moments. Growing up I was always skinny. Right up until my mid 20's. Then my weight started creeping up. I was diagnosed a type 2 diabetic in August 2008. I was my heaviest then, 214 lbs most of it showing on my belly and face. I was put on Metformin to help control my sugar. I battled with my sugar levels for several years. My pant size crept up from size 36 in 2005 to size 40 by 2008. My first ah-ha moment came when those size 40 pants started feeling snug and I realized I was in danger of going up to size 42. Something in me just snapped and I refused to buy 42 pants. My wife and I joined weight watchers and I managed to get my weight down to 190 and I went down to size 38. I hit my first plateau and didn't have the will to push past it so I stalled there. I actually maintained pretty well at 190 until March 2015.

In December 2014 I had my 2nd and final ah-ha moment. I went to the doctor for a check up and my A1C was 7.2. The doctor wanted to put me on a 2nd medication. When we did our research we found this drug was strongly linked with causing liver problems. In fact when I went back to the doctor six months later the doctor ordered that one of my blood tests be to check how my liver was functioning.

Again, something in me just snapped. I figured if the doctor was taking my diabetes serious enough to risk causing a second, potentially more immediately threatening health issue then i should also take it seriously. That winter was long and bitterly cold and I had plenty of cardio going out and shoveling snow. But when the beginning of March rolled around and the temp finally hit 40 degrees I started going out walking every day. At first two miles, then three then four. And then I slowly incorporated running. Around that time I also found MFP and started counting calories. Within a month I noticed my fasting sugar was coming down from averaging 120, dropping through the 90's, 80's, 70's even into the 60's. Once it hit the 60's I started worrying about my sugar going too low so I cut my Metformin medication in half. I tested my fasting sugar every day. Still in the 60's so on April 22nd, the day after my birthday, I stopped taking Metformin all together. My fasting sugar averaged in the 70's and 80's. It still averages that today. My weight started to really drop once I started running. I went back to the doctor in June and my A1C was 5.8. The doctor told me I don't need to take Metformin any more. He asked me how I did it. I told him it was through diet and exercise. He was almost as excited as I was and told everyone who came into the room that I'd beaten diabetes through diet and exercise. In October my A1C was 5.5. I've gone from size 38 to size 32 pants. My weight is currently 154.

I know this is a lifetime deal. I've made a vow to never go back to who i used to be. I run 3 or 4 times a week. Only averaging 2 to 4 miles but as someone who a few years ago couldn't run a block without breaking out in a cold sweat and being seriously out of breath I'm over the moon with where I am now. MFP made everything much simpler than it would have been otherwise. Maybe not easier. But definitely simpler.

My AHA moment was when I realized that I was bigger around than my 8 month pregnant sister (at the time). The other AHA moment was when I went to Costa Rica and was in a group with much older people from Finland and I was perpetuating the fat American stereotype by making everyone stop several times climbing up a mountain so I could catch my breath. I was even more unfit than my 100lb bigger than me ex. (Both instances were 5 years ago) Idk I've had many AHA moments. The last AHA was (2years ago) when I had starved myself to the point my hair was falling out and I saw stars getting out of bed and still hated what I saw in the mirror and I decided I didn't want to be that weak again.

This time I didn't focus on dropping the weight fast. I baby stepped my way here. I discovered eating right feels good. That exercising feels good too. That getting fit isn't just about being skinny, it's being strong and capable. I don't want to be either extreme again. I deserve to eat and I deserve to eat quality foods and not over processed, salty, sugary, deep fried crap. I deserve and owe it to myself to be able to run up and down stairs without too much trouble. Finding the middle ground has been a huge blessing.