When was your "Aha!" moment?

cherrypeach1
cherrypeach1 Posts: 30 Member
edited September 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
Have you successfully reached (or are close to reaching) your weight loss goals? If so, did you have an "Aha!" moment that finally kicked off your successful journey to weight loss? i.e.: that moment when you finally resolved to change your behavior to reach your goals. Was it a gradual process or was it instant change? What did you do differently? How did you think differently? Did you feel a significant shift in your attitude towards the process of weight loss?

Replies

  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
    I'm still looking for it....but a couple of days ago, I woke up with ALL POWER - and have been digging hard to reach my goals, so I am sure I will have a testimony soon!
  • Samanthor
    Samanthor Posts: 85 Member
    I'm not close to my goals yet (31 lbs lost out of 90 I'm hoping to lose) but my aha moment was stepping on the scale for the first time in years. I had been considering starting a weight loss program for a few weeks, but hadn't started yet. I decided to step on the scale, thinking I'd be around 185, maybe 195, which was my all time high, but I turned out to actually be 217. That was a huge wake up call for me, in May, and I haven't looked back!
  • hmltwin
    hmltwin Posts: 116 Member
    I'm just a couple pounds away from my weight loss goal. For me, the Aha Moment was when my mom (who was on her own weight loss journey) weighed less than me. She's taller than me, so it was just... it was like a kick in the pants that I needed to get rid of the extra weight I was carrying.

    The actual process was a gradual series of steps that actually just started with me getting more active. I started taking walks during my breaks from work, rather than working through them or just sitting somewhere with yarn and knitting/crocheting. Then, there were these little health challenges at work. One month, we had to move for an extra ten minutes, then we were challenged to halve our potion size at a meal, then we had to do 100 of something (leg raises, jumping jacks, etc.), then we had to track our fitness and food/drink intake. With each challenge, I learned something new.

    First, it was that those extra ten minutes (usually in the morning) weren't so hard to do. Then, it was that I was actually eating too much at times - I learned a proper portion size for a number of things during that month. The challenge to track my fitness and food/drink intake is what brought me here and... then I enjoyed seeing my weight decrease at a predictable rate.

    As for my attitude towards weight loss... I always figured that it would be difficult and that I'd be hungry all the time or have to miss out on eating things I really liked if I was really going to lose weight. However, that hasn't been my experience at all. It's been work - no denying that - but I wasn't hungry all the time and I never missed out on what I liked eating. I just learned to eat less, so that it fit into my calorie goal.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    when I learned about keto. Did it, never looked back. That was 18 months ago
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    three years ago my brother had congestive heart failure at 50 yrs old. he nearly died. two years ago he got a heart transplant. took me a year after that to finally decide that i just can't continue to be unhealthy. Thankfully, at that point while at my heaviest, it was only about 35 or 40lbls over weight.

    Wish my progress was better, but he and I ran a 5k together this spring. I'm down about half way to my goal. I feel good and thats a danger zone for me as i typically slack off at that point. i am resolving to keep going to reach my goal.
  • futureicon
    futureicon Posts: 348 Member
    I was always the scrawny kid growing up. I had a complex about not being able to gain weight and it followed me into my adult life. I spent my 20's and early 30's eating anything and everything while lifting heavy at the gym and doing no cardio, just trying to put on some bulk. My Aha moment came about 6 months ago when a switch flicked in me, and I realized that I was no longer the skinny kid, but that I had put on a lot of extra weight that was aging me and making me feel like crap. Strangely enough, the weight change was most noticeable in my face. I'm tall with a thin build so the extra pounds were evenly distributed over my frame, but it couldn't be hidden in my face. I've now lost over 30 lbs and I'm close to being where I think I should be. I now appreciate being thin rather than taking it for granted.
  • cherrypeach1
    cherrypeach1 Posts: 30 Member
    Samanthor wrote: »
    I'm not close to my goals yet (31 lbs lost out of 90 I'm hoping to lose) but my aha moment was stepping on the scale for the first time in years....That was a huge wake up call for me, in May, and I haven't looked back!

    Wow...you've lost 31 pounds since May?! That is ahhhmazing! I took a peak at your diary and I can see why you've been so successful. Good for you. :)
  • cherrypeach1
    cherrypeach1 Posts: 30 Member
    hmltwin wrote: »
    I'm just a couple pounds away from my weight loss goal. For me, the Aha Moment was when my mom (who was on her own weight loss journey) weighed less than me. She's taller than me, so it was just... it was like a kick in the pants that I needed to get rid of the extra weight I was carrying.

    The actual process was a gradual series of steps that actually just started with me getting more active. I started taking walks during my breaks from work, rather than working through them or just sitting somewhere with yarn and knitting/crocheting. Then, there were these little health challenges at work. One month, we had to move for an extra ten minutes, then we were challenged to halve our potion size at a meal, then we had to do 100 of something (leg raises, jumping jacks, etc.), then we had to track our fitness and food/drink intake. With each challenge, I learned something new.

    First, it was that those extra ten minutes (usually in the morning) weren't so hard to do. Then, it was that I was actually eating too much at times - I learned a proper portion size for a number of things during that month. The challenge to track my fitness and food/drink intake is what brought me here and... then I enjoyed seeing my weight decrease at a predictable rate.

    As for my attitude towards weight loss... I always figured that it would be difficult and that I'd be hungry all the time or have to miss out on eating things I really liked if I was really going to lose weight. However, that hasn't been my experience at all. It's been work - no denying that - but I wasn't hungry all the time and I never missed out on what I liked eating. I just learned to eat less, so that it fit into my calorie goal.

    This is a great answer...thank you for all of the details. :smile:
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Mine was when my husband commented on it. Not on my weight. I knew I'd been gaining weight and commented on it all the time. It was when he commented on how I'd been eating and drinking more since our youngest moved out that it dawned on me how much the empty nest had affected me. That was all it took. I wish he'd made the comment sooner.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I got on the scale at the doctor, and after maintaining 200 pounds for over 8 years, the scale showed 213. That's when I realized that I should probably do something about it... then she ordered an EKG because 'I was at risk for heart problems' and it freaked me out (I had a bad anxiety attack that sent me to the ER a few months before though, so that didn't help).

    I decided to wait until after the Holidays (it was November), then I was ready mid-January to get started.
  • kelsey_frame_666
    kelsey_frame_666 Posts: 37 Member
    My "aha"moment was when I stopped doing hours of cardio and started weight lifting. Fat melting away revealing toned muscles. Cardio just left me sick and untoned.
  • mrs_sjlarsen
    mrs_sjlarsen Posts: 76 Member
    My "Aha" moment was when I went out of town at the beginning of June for a work trip... I got on the plane with my coworkers and was only about 3 inches from having to ask for a SEATBELT EXTENDER!! :neutral:

    That was all it took. I'm DONE DONE DONE being fat!
  • emily_fox
    emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
    Seeing stretch marks on my belly when I hadn't been pregnant...also not fitting any of my clothes and having to resort to wearing yoga pants and baggy shirts.
  • lemonkale
    lemonkale Posts: 1 Member
    When I realized that I graduated from being "overweight" to "fat."

    How did my thinking change? I finally stopped making excuses. Like the wisdom of Nike says, "Just do it." :wink:
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    5.5 years ago--pants didn't fit. I started some simple workouts first (cardio & body weight), then added calorie counting about a week later. I did really well, losing 46 lbs in about 7 months. Then I skipped a period, and over the next 9 months gained almost 70 lbs. I lost 30 of that overnight and then maintained for a while. I started losing again when I was ready, and then skipped another period at around the 15 lbs mark. Then gained 30 lbs, had a rapid 20 lb loss, and yo-yo'd for a while. Since March I've recommitted and also taken measures to prevent any additional rapid 9-month weight gain situations. I'm almost back down to where I was 5 years ago.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
    ryry_ wrote: »
    My Aha moment was getting rid of the all or nothing mindset. Started aiming for maximum of 1 lb loss / week (would usually start with at least two) and even if I had a higher calorie week and only lost 1/2 a pound or even maintained so what.

    My only rules were maintenance was my ceiling for the week. No moving backwards and no giving up.

    -- I agree to a T- once I realized that one snack or day or whatever wasn't sabotaging everything, I was successful and stopped getting mad at myself
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    edited September 2016
    When my pants stopped fitting and I refused to buy a size bigger!! :pensive:
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited September 2016
    My Aha moment was realizing how much more effective bot high activity is over low calorie for me. Both for weightloss, fitness and sport.

    Just walk everywhere (jncluding as I type this) and mix in bodyweight exercise throughout my day. Get up from my chair in the office? Quick 10 pushups.

    Switched from an overly restrictive diet of 1500 net eating 1700 to 1700 net eating 2400.
  • Chilli7777
    Chilli7777 Posts: 112 Member
    I started completely by accident. I went to run some errands one morning and when I got home I realised that I hadn't eaten breakfast. As it was lunch time I had some baked beans on wholemeal toast (no butter) and wondered how many calories were in it. So I logged it, and then I just kept on logging which made me choose healthier options to make better use of my calories. Now I'm almost at the end of week 6 and going strong!
  • Chilli7777
    Chilli7777 Posts: 112 Member
    kelsey_frame_666 wrote: »
    My "aha"moment was when I stopped doing hours of cardio and started weight lifting. Fat melting away revealing toned muscles. Cardio just left me sick and untoned.

    Cardio is good for heart health. Weight training is what changes your overall shape.
  • iamom507
    iamom507 Posts: 15 Member
    When I realized that I was thisclose to needing the seatbelt extender on airplanes and if I was in the seats that were metal on both sides (usually bulkhead or exit row), it was complete agony for the entire trip being wedged in like a sausage! Took a trip in late July and I had belt to spare!

    Next goal is not having my big arms touching my poor husband on flights! He should not have to have less space because I take up too much.
  • goodwork72
    goodwork72 Posts: 1 Member
    Stopping drinking alcohol.

    Once I had done this I realised that it was the calories in alcohol that were keeping me from my ideal weight. Without alcohol I am far less likely to make bad food choices or over eat refined carbs to ease a hangover!
    Without alcohol I make the time for and have the right attitude to workout.

    I wish I had done it years ago!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,519 Member
    I couldn't zip up a particular cycling jacket.

    I figured I'd just buy a new one but they were more expensive than when I got mine, and so I figured it would cost less to lose weight.

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