When was your "Aha!" moment?

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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?
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Replies

  • STLBADGIRL
    STLBADGIRL Posts: 1,693 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    when I learned about keto. Did it, never looked back. That was 18 months ago
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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:

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