What was the moment? When did you decide to take back control?
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BraydanTaffy wrote: »I had 2 foot surgeries which went awry & left me in constant pain (the same syndrome that causes phantom pain), feeling grim from constant drug allergies & side effects thus exacerbating asthma, walking on the side of my foot or heel only for 6-yrs. On top of it all, no therapy helped & walking with a cane was tough. I had to stop trying drugs... my body rejected everything. The pain was so excruciating, at times I was suicidal... it was unbearable to endure for so many years. I hobbled into my dr's office at the pain clinic after so many hospitalizations with severe drug symptoms (I'm allergic to virtually everything) & begged him to cure me or kill me. He threatened to toss me into a mental hospital if I were serious. I was, but didn't want more pain. Until I couldn't walk or swim, I had no idea how many miles of it I did regularly.
As a virtual shut-in I ate whatever anyone kindly brought me. 6-yrs later, feeling awful & 20-lbs heavier (I was always slim, so the 20 didn't make me look fat, just not like me & none of my clothing fit), I had to do something different. I stopped accepting fried chicken, fries & pizza or "making" my own meals, which was peanut butter toast & coffee (about 12 slices of bread/day) & requested fruit or prepared salad, only.
My foot is fine now, but I've still got the 20-lbs to lose. I've just returned to walking last week. It feels great, but I'm so unused to walking that the bottom of my feet suffer after just 1-mi. Not horrible, but it just feels so... weird & my skin peels. Lovely, I know, but my pumice board remedies that each evening.
So, I'm still at beginning stages, but it's only as I had to wait for my body to heal... now I can begin to live again.
Super happy to read things are going so much better for you! Can I make a small suggestion of not pumicing your feet every night? It might actually help with the discomfort. Sounds like you're saying you haven't been walking on the bottoms of your feet properly, and I'm wondering if that would mean you have no calluses/tough skin like the rest of us do that help protect us when we walk. Might not help, but I know when I take up new activity that involves my hands and I start forming calluses, scrubbing them off makes it hurt longer.
Good luck on your new active life though! Hopefully pain free for good now!2 -
For me, it was filling out the ADA accommodation form to teach my college courses remotely because of increased Covid risk. I saw how far I was above the recommended max BMI of 30. Knowing that it was not only putting me at greater health risk, but also keeping me from teaching my students in person was a wake-up call. There was a box on the form to check whether or not the "qualifying condition" was temporary, and that was the kicker for me. I needed it to be temporary. My BMI the day that I filled out that paperwork - 50.4. Today - 41.6. Not only is my "condition" temporary, but the end is in sight!22
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I've had a few moments over time, but what really kicked me into gear was when my boss pointed out that I shouldn't be out of breath from carrying a file down the hall .. I could make all the excuses I wanted, but it was true. I am only 36 and I shouldn't be out of breath from walking down the hall. I've avoided mirrors and pictures for years, but after that moment I decided to hold myself accountable. I did not even start out dieting at first. I picked a random day and made it my goal to workout at least 5 days a week. I started with 20 minute workouts and I am now at 50 minutes or more on a workout day. 40 days ago I logged back in to MFP and began holding myself accountable for what I put in my body. Since June 13, 2020 I have lost a total of 27 lbs. I can walk, skip, or run down that hall and not be out of breath. I am losing inches, very slowly. I feel better. I am off some of my meds. 79 pounds to go!22
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Mine. Was just my daughter’s 1st Birthday is coming, and I actually want to be in the pictures and not look like the Goodyear blimp. So I set myself a goal to start with for 30 days to see just the changes and improvements and what a difference with making 30 days.7
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I've known for a long time that I've been gaining a lot of weight, particularly when visiting amusement parks and *barely* fitting in the rollercoasters. The turning point though, and I apologize if I'm sharing too much, was during an intimate moment several weeks ago when I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror, and immediately started crying. I was horrified at how big I had gotten. It didn't even look like me. The next day, I got back on MFP (I've been on here off and on for nearly a decade) and was determined to make a real effort to lose weight and get my body back to something I recognize. I've lost 10 lbs. so far over the last three weeks and am going strong!12
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TealTrinket wrote: »BraydanTaffy wrote: »I had 2 foot surgeries which went awry & left me in constant pain (the same syndrome that causes phantom pain), feeling grim from constant drug allergies & side effects thus exacerbating asthma, walking on the side of my foot or heel only for 6-yrs. On top of it all, no therapy helped & walking with a cane was tough. I had to stop trying drugs... my body rejected everything. The pain was so excruciating, at times I was suicidal... it was unbearable to endure for so many years. I hobbled into my dr's office at the pain clinic after so many hospitalizations with severe drug symptoms (I'm allergic to virtually everything) & begged him to cure me or kill me. He threatened to toss me into a mental hospital if I were serious. I was, but didn't want more pain. Until I couldn't walk or swim, I had no idea how many miles of it I did regularly.
As a virtual shut-in I ate whatever anyone kindly brought me. 6-yrs later, feeling awful & 20-lbs heavier (I was always slim, so the 20 didn't make me look fat, just not like me & none of my clothing fit), I had to do something different. I stopped accepting fried chicken, fries & pizza or "making" my own meals, which was peanut butter toast & coffee (about 12 slices of bread/day) & requested fruit or prepared salad, only.
My foot is fine now, but I've still got the 20-lbs to lose. I've just returned to walking last week. It feels great, but I'm so unused to walking that the bottom of my feet suffer after just 1-mi. Not horrible, but it just feels so... weird & my skin peels. Lovely, I know, but my pumice board remedies that each evening.
So, I'm still at beginning stages, but it's only as I had to wait for my body to heal... now I can begin to live again.
Super happy to read things are going so much better for you! Can I make a small suggestion of not pumicing your feet every night? It might actually help with the discomfort. Sounds like you're saying you haven't been walking on the bottoms of your feet properly, and I'm wondering if that would mean you have no calluses/tough skin like the rest of us do that help protect us when we walk. Might not help, but I know when I take up new activity that involves my hands and I start forming calluses, scrubbing them off makes it hurt longer.
Good luck on your new active life though! Hopefully pain free for good now!
Hey TT...
TY kindly for your good wishes!
You're absolutely right, but... (for the squeamish, tune out now), I have large skin flakes all over the balls of my feet, big toes & heels... never had anything like it before. Even pumicing doesn't remove flakes, just smooths them down a bit. It's gross in that they stick to blankets & wake me up, stick to my socks & require adjustment & sometimes when the flakes are manipulated by walking, stick into my foot & it actually feels like I stepped on a glass shard or pin, so I hop up in pain.
I've slathered my feet in Vasoline (& some OTC foot cream supposed to smooth flakes) after soaking & covered them with socks... it makes it a bit smoother following day, but the "hanging chads" are still there. Nothing has removed them & they only manifested once I started walking level again, on the flats of both feet.
I think you're totally right on why they're there, but I don't know how to get rid of them besides keeping chipping away at them by soaking, pumicing & slathering in cream? And, you're right... some nights, my feet are sore & I have to lay off the pumicing for a couple of days & just deal with the creepy feeling of flakes getting caught on everything.
BTW... don't know if mani-pedi salons are open, but... I have such overly-ticklish feet, no one can get anywhere near them, so I'll have to find a remedy on my own.
I was told walking barefoot in sand might help, but at the moment, I'm staying in the mountains, hundreds of miles from the nearest sea.
Any ideas are appreciated.
Cheers for the nice words!2 -
I don't know if this stuff would be available anywhere other than Germany, but like you I used to have hard flakes on my feet and my chiropodist recommended it. The whole series is amazing: https://www.allpresan.com/de-de/. Especially this one for those kind of hard flakes: https://www.allpresan.com/de-de/produkt/allpresan-fuss-spezial-original-schaum-creme-101136/.1
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I don't know if this stuff would be available anywhere other than Germany, but like you I used to have hard flakes on my feet and my chiropodist recommended it. The whole series is amazing: https://www.allpresan.com/de-de/. Especially this one for those kind of hard flakes: https://www.allpresan.com/de-de/produkt/allpresan-fuss-spezial-original-schaum-creme-101136/.
TY very much. I can't even read the info, but the point is, I guess there are products out there. I'll ask the pharmacist... maybe there's something OTC I can use. I think it's just that my feet are so soft & tender from years of not walking, they're suddenly reacting to a lot of walking. As a last resort, I'll go to a podiatrist. Never thought of that, so thank you for your suggestions!
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Do I buy the next size clothing or not?1
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Do I buy the next size clothing or not?
I can relate. The thing that's always made me lose the 5-lbs I gained by being careless is that I never bought the next size up in clothing. To me, that would make it easy to justify another 5-lbs in weight gain. I made myself wear my usual size & be uncomfortable... that was my incentive to lose. Sometimes that meant, holding skirt/pants waistbands together with a safety pin (I gain weight first in my waist/stomach).
My reasoning was... whatever made me gain a few lbs in 1-2 wks (usually baked potatoes with a LOT of butter), was the thing I could delete from my daily diet to drop that 5-lbs & return to my normal weight. The discomfort of a tight waistband always worked.
To further heighten my desire to say 'no'... it normally takes double the amount of time to lose the extra lbs as it did to gain it. Don't know why that is... but, that's enough to keep my lips tight when I want 2 slices of pizza at night washed down with an ale or 2... what I could do easily 'til age 47, without gaining an ounce. Ah, youth...4 -
BraydanTaffy wrote: »Do I buy the next size clothing or not?
I can relate. The thing that's always made me lose the 5-lbs I gained by being careless is that I never bought the next size up in clothing. To me, that would make it easy to justify another 5-lbs in weight gain. I made myself wear my usual size & be uncomfortable... that was my incentive to lose. Sometimes that meant, holding skirt/pants waistbands together with a safety pin (I gain weight first in my waist/stomach).
My reasoning was... whatever made me gain a few lbs in 1-2 wks (usually baked potatoes with a LOT of butter), was the thing I could delete from my daily diet to drop that 5-lbs & return to my normal weight. The discomfort of a tight waistband always worked.
To further heighten my desire to say 'no'... it normally takes double the amount of time to lose the extra lbs as it did to gain it. Don't know why that is... but, that's enough to keep my lips tight when I want 2 slices of pizza at night washed down with an ale or 2... what I could do easily 'til age 47, without gaining an ounce. Ah, youth...
The first time I got my act together in 2001, I could not find any clothing that I liked how they fitted. I recall trying to decide if I should lose weight to better fit "regular" clothing, or gain weight so that Lane Byant clothing fit right. I decided to lose.
This time, again it was clothing. So if you know me, I love to wear aprons in the house. Well with these pounds, they provided an extra perk. I could wear my pants unzipped and no one knew what was behind the apron. Down 11 lb in 6 weeks. My jeans zip again! So glad I chose to not go shopping. It's cheaper, and feels so much better all around!
Sounds like you have a lot of common sense to using your clothing as a guideline. Going forward, I need to shut it down faster.
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BraydanTaffy wrote: »Do I buy the next size clothing or not?
I can relate. The thing that's always made me lose the 5-lbs I gained by being careless is that I never bought the next size up in clothing. To me, that would make it easy to justify another 5-lbs in weight gain. I made myself wear my usual size & be uncomfortable... that was my incentive to lose. Sometimes that meant, holding skirt/pants waistbands together with a safety pin (I gain weight first in my waist/stomach).
My reasoning was... whatever made me gain a few lbs in 1-2 wks (usually baked potatoes with a LOT of butter), was the thing I could delete from my daily diet to drop that 5-lbs & return to my normal weight. The discomfort of a tight waistband always worked.
To further heighten my desire to say 'no'... it normally takes double the amount of time to lose the extra lbs as it did to gain it. Don't know why that is... but, that's enough to keep my lips tight when I want 2 slices of pizza at night washed down with an ale or 2... what I could do easily 'til age 47, without gaining an ounce. Ah, youth...
Sounds like you have a lot of common sense to using your clothing as a guideline. Going forward, I need to shut it down faster.
Same. I buy nice clothing, but at bargain prices... still... it's too pricey to waste good clothing cuz I can't eat 1 slice of pizza with a salad & call it a meal, but instead justify 6 slices throughout the night. I long ago learned if it's not in the house, I won't venture out to buy it. Crave it, yes, but I can't buy things to store for later... they get eaten... all of it... fast.
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My favourite pair of shorts didn't fit me anymore and my friend's mum laughed when I said I wear a size small in t-shirts.
I've been on and off MyFitnessPal since the age of 12, and I always told myself this would be the last time I quit. It's taken me 7 years to realize the biggest problem was my relationship with food; I used to starve myself before a takeaway, or eat too few calories for a week in order to binge on a special occacion.
I'm learning to cook and to enjoy eating healthy. I woke up the other day craving salad and wondered if my brain had been switched with someone else's...11 -
Someone at a beach picnic once asked if they were feeding me one last time before rolling me back into the ocean...18
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corriemumma wrote: »When my 6 yr old said to me one night... “mommy, did you know some ladies are skinny and have flat tummy’s?” 😕😧
He actually said that in a very kind way.. much more kind than most kids!4 -
EliasAlexander01 wrote: »I'm learning to cook and to enjoy eating healthy. I woke up the other day craving salad and wondered if my brain had been switched with someone else's...
Oh my goodness, I remember the first time I started craving salad, plain veggies, fruits, things like that - it was an eye opener. I'd often complained about "why is unhealthy food so darn tasty?" But after a while, the healthy food was, in its own way, even tastier and my body felt better afterwards too. That makes me SO happy.5 -
Sand_TIger wrote: »EliasAlexander01 wrote: »I'm learning to cook and to enjoy eating healthy. I woke up the other day craving salad and wondered if my brain had been switched with someone else's...
Oh my goodness, I remember the first time I started craving salad, plain veggies, fruits, things like that - it was an eye opener. I'd often complained about "why is unhealthy food so darn tasty?" But after a while, the healthy food was, in its own way, even tastier and my body felt better afterwards too. That makes me SO happy.
LOLOLOL. I’ve got a bunch of calories left over this evening and am debating chocolate bar vs fruit and cottage cheese. I need to use up all my calories because Mondays are a particularly heavy workout day.
The fruit sounds way more appealing, except I’m already stuffed and the chocolate bar is smaller, lol.
Who is this person?!
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My father passed away at the age of 67 from lung cancer. That was the wake up call I needed as I had a sense of my own mortality. 9 months later, I've hit my goal of being down 30% of my original weight and a 20 BMI. It all came down to portion control (TY MFP!) and getting my steps in.12
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I've had so many moments... The time I had to do a walk of shame off a roller coaster when the seat belt wouldn't fit. When I hit 200, 225, 250 and 275 lbs. When I had to buy clothes in size 14, 16,18, 20. Seeing how big I looked in my wedding pictures. When my dad passed away from complications of type 2 diabetes. My divorce ended up being "the moment", but it wasn't what made the difference. It was doing something different - hiring a trainer and falling in love with lifting. Finding that passion made me want to take care of my body and fuel it properly.10
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I don't know if I had one particular moment, but last year I was good at watching what I eat/working out and lost some weight. But gained it back most likely because I was not into tracking. August of this year I just decided to give MFP a try, I had made an account a long time ago but never used it. I also do not want to be sick in the future because I didn't take care of my health now. Trying to take preventable measures for a healthy life, I suppose.
Not to mention, the small airplane seats, the way clothes don't fit right, the way you can't find anything to wear because nothing you have makes you feel good. The wake-up moment that the junk food I eat is not even real food. Many moments, many reasons, but the journey has started and it will be a lifestyle:)6
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