What was your wake-up call to lose weight?

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  • healermoon
    healermoon Posts: 74 Member
    My wake call was in January...I stepped on the scale and weighed a few more pounds than I had when I was 9 months pregnant with my son. That is when I looked up what a BMI was, and typed in my height and weight....and it was 41, I was shocked, and sad and decided right then and here I was going to start losing weight. I am losing as quickly as I want but the fact that I have been losing for the last 8 months and it hasn't really been coming back (not to mention new low today) keeps me from giving up. My BMI is now at 36.3, and I feel like I am making great progress, maybe by next year I will no longer be in the obese category, and by the end of next year I will reach my goal weight..and the best that has been working for me is....Eat Less, Move More. :)
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    Having swollen optic nerves.
    In the past three months, I have had a mri, a lumbar puncture (spinal tap), and blood work done to make sure my swollen optic nerves and headaches were not a sign of something more serious like a brain tumor or other conditions that make for many a sleepless night.
    It all came down to that I was one of those unlucky people whose extra weight causes their optic nerves to swell. I am hoping that after I lose twenty pounds my optic nerves will return to normal so I can stop seeing a neuro-ophthalmologist. I want to lose more than that though.

    That's a good reason to lose weight. I suspect a lot of what ails me will diminish as I lose the fat.
  • roxygrissom
    roxygrissom Posts: 35
    Several embarassing situations....my daughter folding laundry, holding up a pair of my underwear and asking "Mama, who's shirt is this"......going to Six Flags and waiting in line for 2 hours to ride SuperMan only to hear "Sorry Ma'am, you don't fit" and having to do the walk of shame while my family rode without me.....
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    My wake call was in January...I stepped on the scale and weighed a few more pounds than I had when I was 9 months pregnant with my son. That is when I looked up what a BMI was, and typed in my height and weight....and it was 41, I was shocked, and sad and decided right then and here I was going to start losing weight. I am losing as quickly as I want but the fact that I have been losing for the last 8 months and it hasn't really been coming back (not to mention new low today) keeps me from giving up. My BMI is now at 36.3, and I feel like I am making great progress, maybe by next year I will no longer be in the obese category, and by the end of next year I will reach my goal weight..and the best that has been working for me is....Eat Less, Move More. :)

    You've really done well. The BMI is good at making us face the reality. It's sad to discover I'm half fat, half lean.
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    You would think that after having bypass surgery 5 years ago that I'd realize that I needed to be healthy and keep my weight in check etc. I did for a while and then fell back into the old habits. In January I was looking thru the wedding album of my nephew that got married last September and saw a picture of myself - I thought I looked pretty good the day of the wedding, but in reality I looked like an old stuffed sasusage! Well - that did it - so here I am 26 lbs lighter with at least another 5 to 10 to go. Love this website! Good luck on your journey!!!!

    I'm usually the one taking pictures or else I hide behind everyone else in the shot, but at my daughter's wedding I couldn't do either. Great job on your success so far!
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    Sad thing is i am still ashamed of my current weight that i refuse to tell people and even post on the site so i have my goal listed. But i am sure most people can estimate by looking at me.

    But i got my ZUMBA DVDs in the mail today so i am excited about that. I can take them on the road with me for work.

    It took a lot of courage for me to post my acutal weight in my ticker here. I didn't do it at first then decided if I was going to be accountable I may as well put it out there. I still sort of cringe when I see it though, so I understand what you're feeling.
  • hikeout470
    hikeout470 Posts: 628 Member
    I have to step on the scale every 6 months for my company medical exam, and then that weight is public record in the computer.
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    Picutres, pictures, pictures. The fact that i couldn't fit into some of my favorite clothes. The fact when i take my clothes off, i still have that wonderful "muffin top". That cute little back crease when i move a certain way, which doesn't make my tattoos look so pretty. And last but not least, the last time I visited my dad, he asked if i was pregnant :sad: .

    I hate having pictures taken of me because they don't lie. I sometimes would rather be in denial. Yes, the pregnant comments are the worst.
  • myfriendamy
    myfriendamy Posts: 131 Member
    I've had a lot of "nudges" - being too big to ride some rides at Disneyland with my son, getting winded just playing at the park... but my slap in the face was when I hit the scale at my doctors office and it said 298. I about crapped my pants! that was too flipping close to 300, and about 10lbs more than I weighed the day my son was born!!

    I started the next Monday, and I'm going strong 6 weeks later :)
  • roxygrissom
    roxygrissom Posts: 35
    Cindy, don't look at the total amount of weight you need to lose! That is too overwhelming and can be horribly discouraging! I am 5'11" and weigh 307 pounds; I need to lose another 127 pounds and if I thought after every pound lost that I still had 126, 125, 124 to go, I think I would just give up and eat a whole chocolate cake! It helps me to look forward to meeting 10 pound goals (I have lost from 333) and I mark these on my calendar.
  • tklarakis
    tklarakis Posts: 23
    Several embarassing situations....my daughter folding laundry, holding up a pair of my underwear and asking "Mama, who's shirt is this"......going to Six Flags and waiting in line for 2 hours to ride SuperMan only to hear "Sorry Ma'am, you don't fit" and having to do the walk of shame while my family rode without me.....

    Omg the Superman thing totally happened to me too like a few years ago. It was so embarrassing! My wake up call has been trying to get out into the dating world only to find that being fat just doesn't do it for most guys... Also I want to shop anywhere! I hate having to shop for big ugly clothes, I want tiny pretty things! So really it's just been a build up for me and, and seeing myself in pictures, also huge, literally! Hopefully with the support of the great people on MFP and some real commitment on my part I can lose the weight.
  • TiffanyA2008
    TiffanyA2008 Posts: 197
    When I looked in the mirror one day and didn't even recognize my own reflection.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    I couldn't wipe myself after going to the bathroom. I cried and cried over that.
  • fitby2012
    fitby2012 Posts: 167 Member
    Depression, anti-social, hypertension, being over 300 lbs, (pre) pre-diabetes/metabolic syndrome, no energy for my son. The list goes on. I believe that if I had just one ailment, it would have not had the same effect. But I started to be afraid for my husband to leave me alone with our son. I was afraid that I would have a stroke and my son would just be there alone. That hit me hard and I have been here on MFP ever since.
  • 30poundsofbeauty
    30poundsofbeauty Posts: 41
    Weirdly for me, it was downloading MFP on my iphone. I became addicted to counting calories PLUS seeing results helped. More than 20 pounds later, I am incredibly thankful for MFP and how it taught me to lose weight the healthy way!
  • Purecity
    Purecity Posts: 115 Member
    When I realized I weighed 314 lbs. I had asthma. I was always tired. I had to buy a bigger size at the clothing store. Lol
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
    A whole lot of things that finally exploded in a dressing room at Target almost 3 months ago. I couldn't fit into the size I normally wear, none of my shorts would fit, I saw photos of myself at a family party and immediately untagged myself from them on facebook, seeing people I went to high school with, unable to run around without getting winded, my brothers are both very thin, my husband is overweight and I didn't want us both to turn into 'that' couple that just grows and grows, I want to have kids in the next few years via homebirth and I want to be strong for it, I saw a photo of me in high school at the same height but weighing 35 pounds less, I want to wear clothes I like instead of whatever fits because I feel like I'm giving up my identity to wear solid tees and plain jeans, two back injuries a few years ago and regular back pain, I don't want to be anyone's "fat friend".

    These all seemed sort of small alone, but they ran into one another and when I left that dressing room I had that expression that is at once blank and seething with anger. My husband sensed it at once and asked what was wrong. I don't know what I said but essentially I related that I was sick finally. Sick of being fat, sick of my body, sick of nothing fitting. Sick of it all. My anger is what made me get moving.
  • CWood323
    CWood323 Posts: 20
    Two months ago i looked in the mirror, and no longer recognized myself.
  • unhinge
    unhinge Posts: 318 Member
    Great post Cindy. I think my wake up moment was my blood tests showing border line diabetes and border line high cholesterol. I had never had a problem with either before and that combined with my 54th birthday was a reality slap that I had to make changes in the way I was treating my body or the remainder of my life looked bleak :sad: Fortunately a friend suggested a book called "Younger Next Year for Woman" and it changed my life. That in combo with MFP and the support I get here is teaching me how to live Younger this Year :happy:
  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
    Pictures posted on facebook last christmas. I didn't recognize myself -- I also got on the scale and weighed almost 230. I've been doing yoga for a few years and I just got sick and tired of my gut being in the way while getting into certain poses.
  • saligator
    saligator Posts: 96 Member
    I didn't fit into my bridesmaid dress I have to wear at the end of September for my sister's wedding. My mom said to me last Friday, "you're sister will be so heartbroken if you cannot be in her wedding because you can't fit in your dress". And it hit me the next morning, she's right. I would never want to hurt my sister on her day. And since last Saturday morning, I've counted all my calories, exercised everyday but one day (my body wasn't having it), lost 2.5lbs and lost a lot of inches. It was a great motivation and I'm going to keep going even after the wedding. I have to be in my other sister's wedding (they're twins) and I want to look great in those pictures. And for my health. I have MS and I was told last May, when I was diagnosed, that I had to lose a sufficient amount of weight. I am proud to say, I finally feel great and can't wait to see what I can do with my weight loss journey.

    well done! sounds like you're doing great!! keep up th gd work!
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
    a picture tagged on Facebook of me. I hadn't seen 'me' in a long time. I realized then that I usually just looked at my face in the mirror and never the rest of me. Then when I started MFP, I realized I was less than 10# from being 'obese'. EEK. I'm so glad I started this and plan to contine eating better and exercising forever.
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    I have to step on the scale every 6 months for my company medical exam, and then that weight is public record in the computer.

    That would be motivation for me, for sure.
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    I've had a lot of "nudges" - being too big to ride some rides at Disneyland with my son, getting winded just playing at the park... but my slap in the face was when I hit the scale at my doctors office and it said 298. I about crapped my pants! that was too flipping close to 300, and about 10lbs more than I weighed the day my son was born!!

    I started the next Monday, and I'm going strong 6 weeks later :)

    Good for you on your success so far! That looming "300" just about did me in too. I remember when it was the dreaded "200" so it was quite a slap in the face for me too.
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    Several embarassing situations....my daughter folding laundry, holding up a pair of my underwear and asking "Mama, who's shirt is this"......going to Six Flags and waiting in line for 2 hours to ride SuperMan only to hear "Sorry Ma'am, you don't fit" and having to do the walk of shame while my family rode without me.....

    That just brings tears to my eyes because I know what that kind of embarassment feels like. I've more than one "walk of shame" and I'm so done with that. Some days I have to fake it to make it but I hold my head up no matter what now.
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    Cindy, don't look at the total amount of weight you need to lose! That is too overwhelming and can be horribly discouraging! I am 5'11" and weigh 307 pounds; I need to lose another 127 pounds and if I thought after every pound lost that I still had 126, 125, 124 to go, I think I would just give up and eat a whole chocolate cake! It helps me to look forward to meeting 10 pound goals (I have lost from 333) and I mark these on my calendar.

    That's great advice. Thank you. I read that just losing 10% of one's weight can greatly improve things so that's the smaller first goal I have in mind..
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    Pictures posted on facebook last christmas. I didn't recognize myself -- I also got on the scale and weighed almost 230. I've been doing yoga for a few years and I just got sick and tired of my gut being in the way while getting into certain poses.

    I realized after seeing the wedding photos from last year that if I just saw my body without my face I wouldn't have recognized myself and would have sworn it wasn't me. I honestly didn't see myself realistically. I'm actually thankful for it though because it was the push I needed.
  • MadamMunch
    MadamMunch Posts: 3 Member
    Earlier in the year, my cycle became very erratic. After some tests, the doctor said I wasn't ovulating and that it was almost certainly due to being so overweight.

    I was devastated. I had never even thought about wanting children, but the thought of that choice being taken away from me because I was too lazy to look after myself really hit home.

    Since that visit with the doctor, I have lost 30kg (I'm Australian - not sure of the pounds) and everything is back on track with my new body :)
  • espinozAgal
    espinozAgal Posts: 160 Member
    when i hit 218 and realized I was 30 p0ounds heavier than I was the day BEFORE I had my 3rd baby! OMG.. aweful feeling of failure and shame. When I found out I had thyroid cancer, I really let myself go. I just didn't care. I felt horrible and I looked as bad as I felt. I had to be strong to take care of my kids, mostly on my own, so I couln't outwardly complain, so my way of telling everyone how I was feeling was showing it on the outside. BAD. The change came when my thoughts about myself and life changed. I'm worth the effort. My kids deserve a mom who has fun WITH them, not just watching them. Here i am 45 pounds gone and I feel so great. I'm not to my goal yet, but I'm on my way!!
  • momcindy
    momcindy Posts: 194 Member
    When I looked in the mirror one day and didn't even recognize my own reflection.

    Been there, too.

    Whatever you're doing about it, you look great now!
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