what was your "moment of clarity?"

Ive always been slightly heavy to now obese. Never have i been thin or skinny. I had my daughter in Oct 2010 and when this summer rolled around i realized i was heavy again, like always, like every summer! Such a yo-yo lifestyle for years going from 140-190! I realized i could not pass that on to her i could not lead her to a couch potato lifestyle. So here at 31 for the first time in my life i have incorporated exercise into my daily routine. I started VERY slowly back in march and really didnt get serious until July. ive lost 17 lbs since just after 4th of july and i even miss exercise the days i dont do it I have my first 5k next week! oh i cant wait to run marathons with my girl!

When I just generally started feeling like crap, acid reflux all the time, not being able to go up a flight of stairs without gasping for air, being a size 20 but still in denial trying to squeeze into size 18 clothes. The tipping point came in the winter of 2010 (a year before I joined MFP) when I realized that I was just one year younger than my Aunt was when she dropped dead of a heart attack. I have hypertension and high cholesterol, so being that heavy definitely wasn't helping my cause. At that point I decided to take charge of my life and health. A year later I had lost 12 pounds, was eating better and walking 2 miles a day but I felt like I was stuck in a rut and couldn't figure out where to go from there. It was during this time that I saw a link to MFP on a message board and decided to check it out.

I joined in March and since then I've lost 26 more pounds and have dropped down to a Misses size 14. I've stepped up my exercise routine and joined a gym. I still have a ways to go (my initial goal is 145, but I will probably shoot for 135-140), but I feel better than I have in a long time and my confidence is through the roof.

My "moment of clarity" was when I left my ex husband who was terribly emotionally and mentally abusive. I had endured so much pain in my heart, that I gave up on myself. The day he hit me was the last straw.

I had always been thin my whole life, but the years I spent with him I turned to food and whiskey. Once I left the relationship, I was still turning to food and whiskey. I went from 120 lbs to 150 lbs in what seems like a blink of an eye.

I went on a roller coaster diets for awhile, then a few years later I met a wonderful man who is now my husband. I also gained four more children, (now we have 5 total), who all love unconditionally. I went from eating out of depression to making huge wonderful meals for a family of 7.

Three years ago, we were expecting a child, but that went horribly wrong and we lost the baby. Back to depression eating. We had been trying again to have a baby, and I again was with child just last month. Come to find out it was a tubal, and I was rushed in to emergency surgery. No chance of ever having a baby again.

Due to my wonderful family however, we all pulled together and are getting back on track. My step daughter who just turned 8, has been a huge help. She tells me, "your butt isn't as big as it used to be", or "those clothes really make you look pretty". Last year it was, "your butt is way too big, how do you go potty?" Ah, out of the mouths of babes.

So now it is time for me to be me again, be a strong confident woman that I used to be, and not saying things like, "I have curves now", or " I finally got out of that A cup bra". No more excuses. I am raising a ton of kids including 5 year old twin boys that I need to keep up with and be around for. (Their bio mom totally abandoned all 4 of them several years ago)

As they say....it's off to the races, and I intend to be in the best shape of my life by the time the big 4-0 hits me in March. I intend on being a great example to my husband and my children.

I hope that my story will help just one person. Mostly, you can do it, and don't allow anyone to knock you down. Always stay strong and be positive, the rewards will come in time. If anyone who is reading this is dealing with domestic violence, or being abused in any way, please reach out to your community. There is so much help out there, you are not alone, and it does not have to be that way. Take care and God Bless

To keep a long story short: I turned 45 this past March and my pants were getting too small. I had more of them in the "I'll fit in to these again some day" pile than I had hanging in my closet. I stepped on the scale and discovered I weighed 140, which is really close to being at my highest weight ever (except pregnancy, which doesn't count!). I realized that it only gets harder from here. If I didn't start to eat better and exercise, this is the smallest and fittest I will ever be. No way! I started eating right and cutting out some carbs, found MFP, started C25K in April and the rest is history.

I had been overweight for most of my life but the death of my husband in 2002 is what really started me in the direction of getting healthy. Both of my parents died young of heart disease and with my husband gone my kids especially my youngest (she was a huge surprise) I feel that I need to take care of myself. It hasnt been easy and I continue to struggle and I;m glad I have found this site for support. I have had a steady decline in weight through the years but it is slow. Sorry for the rambling on. :flowerforyou: Mary

my moment was when i came home from the hospital with my daughter and i couldn't even look at pictures of myself with her because i just looked terrible.
i also devolped gallstones while pregnant and every time i ate something bad i would end up in the hosptial .. made me realize what i shouldnt be eating to begin with !!
not sure if that makes sense but that was my moment !!

I couldnt stand to look at pictures of myself or even in a mirror. When I delivered my 2nd child in March 2009, I weighed 235 lbs. I remember with my first child, when I hit the 200s at one of my OBGYN appts and almost cried. I am 5'10, but was always very athletic and never over 175 before I got pregnant the first time. (I was once at 165 with 15% bodyfat but looked sickly).

My turning point was when my son was born with Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension & we were rushed to another hospital that specialized in infants with heart problems. We lived in a Ronald McDonald House for two weeks and when I came home (with a healthy son) and actually got on a scale, I weighed 230 lbs. I had delivered a 9 lb baby (plus we all know how much all that OTHER stuff weighs that you lose when you give birth) and I only weighed 5 lbs less than when I was 9 months pregnant!
I couldnt get off the couch by myself while I was holding him...I was SO embarrased to have to hand off my newborn to my husband to be able to stand up!

My husband is an avid runner and in 2009, ran his first mini marathon in honor of my mom who had passed away in 2007 from skin cancer. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, I wish I could do something so cool to honor her. I probably couldnt WALK a mini marathon right now." That got me thinking about my kids. I was 27 when my mom died. I already have all the genetic issues that triple my likelihood to die young from skin cancer, and even if that didnt take me from my babies, being fat would. How would I keep up with them in the yard? How would I climb to the top of the sand dune and roll down with them? It was that moment that I decided if I was going to do it for anyone, it was my kids. They deserve a healthy, happy mom.

I am happy to say, I have lost 51 lbs and am 9 lbs away from my mark of 20% body fat at 170 lbs. I know a lot of people say this, but I have NEVER felt so good...even when I was a gymanst, strutting my 15% bodyfat in a leotard! I was skin and bone and now I have muscles and definition Ive never dreamed of! I thank God everyday for my wake up call. I remember the pic we took at my sons second birthday party... and I thought...wow. Theres the pretty, happy, healthy person I remember being inside of me..and Ive lost 20 more pounds since then!

One night I was having dinner with my daughter and had made the comment that I was "so full" and then she looked at me and said "Mom, if you're so full why do you keep eating?" Good question I didn't have an answer to. That did it for me. I knew at that point that I needed to be a better model for my children and, more than that, I needed to be around for them.

Uplifiting story, keep it up. A great reason to be losing!