What inspired/motivated you to lose weight?

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  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
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    I was always, big strong, healthy looking - could out drink and out eat guys much younger - just havin' a ball! Then in April 2011, I found out my blood sugar and triglycerides were completely out of control. That was it for me! I've seen people walking around on 1 foot, losing there sight, no use of there "junk"! Not gonna happen to me! Not now, not ever!
  • Thetera
    Thetera Posts: 49 Member
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    "growing" out of every last one of my pairs of pants in four months, and having to wear my boyfreind's mens XL pj bottoms (which were loose on him) untill they got too tight. i didnt want to know what my size was so i just bought new mens xl pjs at wall mart with draw strings and didnt tie them. Then i had a job interview. and my only pair of nice slacks were a size 2. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. :D i can now fit in those pants again after a year and a half.
  • h82bfat
    h82bfat Posts: 77
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    What a great topic! A couple of strong motivators finally nudged me in the direction I knew I should be traveling.

    I develop websites and a lot of my colleagues are heavy. One had a heart attack in his 50's. I met up with him a few months later and asked how things were going. He rolled his eyes and said he had gained 15lbs since his attack. Then he continued, "If I'm not careful, I'm going to get as big as you." I knew I was out of shape, but didn't think I was the line in the sand no one wanted to cross.

    Another developer, about the same age, explained he tried to eat well and worked out regularly. I shrugged and muttered, "Yeah, I need to do that someday." Trying to encourage, he continued, "Just get started...if you don't by the time you're my age you'll be 250." A look of shock must have come over my face as I knew I weighed substantially more than that. He stammered, "Or, um, maybe more." Again, although he never intended to be anything but encouraging, he demonstrated I was far past being "a little overweight."

    Lastly, I'm 40 and "someday" has come. I've not had a real health scare yet, and I want to avoid permanently damaging my body. Instead, I want to live a long, healthy, and active life. I envision running through a large field with my kids. I want to be in front calling "Come on" and not from the back yelling "Hold on."
  • Cdcaldwe
    Cdcaldwe Posts: 189 Member
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    I use to look around and say, "At least I am not as fat as that guy." Then i realized there was no one else left to compare to.......lol


    I was way to overweight and felt awful.
  • bkthomas2004
    bkthomas2004 Posts: 130 Member
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    I've always had self esteem issues since before I was old enough to know what self esteem was, so I started picking up pounds towards the end of middle school. I was never obese, but I was surely larger than the majority of girls in my school. I remember around 10th grade I got on a scale in the mall and I weighed about 183 or 186 pounds, I cried my eyes out and of course it ruined my shopping trip for that day, I'd been in denial since then hanging around other girls my size or larger going to the gym every now and then 30 mins, in and out.

    My inspiration to lose weight came from within, something really just clicked in my head one day and I said I'm going to do this. (Edit: I think I saw a picture of myself and said I can't believe I really got to be this big) so I jumped on amazon and ordered a scale, then some hand weights, started out with 30 day shred onDemand until my tape came in the mail and used the gym in my apt complex everyday for 45-60 min a day and i walked to the local corner store with my boyfriend just about everyday. I said screw making a bet to try to get me started, forget trying to impress everyone else, I decided to do it for myself. and 4 months later, I was down about 20 or so pounds.

    After losing close to 40 pounds and about 18 more pounds to go, I can say that it takes a helluva lot more than a few minutes on the treadmill to lose weight. It takes time, dedication, mental strenght, and lots of trial and error. Weight loss is not a fad, it is really a lifestyle change and while I am still making adjustments here and there, I am very proud of the person I have become and the person I am becoming.
  • LaEsperanza
    LaEsperanza Posts: 14
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    When I Found out my husband is cheating on me with a girl i thought was my friend... and she had the nerve after that to come back and rub it in my face,, because i was fat he cheated on me..

    NOT DOING IT FOR HIM , BUT FOR MYSELF ,,, I DONT EVER WANNA BE DISRESPECTED AGAIN ABOUT SOMETHING I CAN CHANGE !! IT WAS A VERY TOUGH TIME .

    CW: 163 lbs
    STG:150 lbs
    UG: 120 lbs




    We are back together, but still Cant get over that,, so am working hard to lose the weight.



    P.S
    STG:short term goal
    UG:Ultimate Goal
  • me525
    me525 Posts: 155
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    My boys (6&4). They are super active, and after spending our first summer in our new house while they played and ran in our new big backyard I knew it was time. I don't want to be the mom on the sidelines at their ball games because i'm overweight and don't have the energy to "warm up" with them. So here I am, taking in all the success stories and diet/workout tips I can, and working my butt off to meet my goals:smile:
  • michelec64
    michelec64 Posts: 120 Member
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    I think these are my favorite threads on the MFP message boards because I like reading about how people came to their "aha" moment.

    Up through high school I was at a pretty healthy weight for my height (5 ft.), but when I started college (in the mid-'80s) I put on the freshman 15 and it was pretty downhill from there. Except for a couple of years in the early '90s when I did manage to get down to about 135, I held pretty steady in the 180s. That is, until a couple of years ago when my weight slowly crept up to 200 lbs. I felt sluggish, always winded, and had serious acid reflux issues. On a certain level I knew this wasn't good because I have hypertension and high cholesterol (both controlled by medication), both of which run in the family. But I still wasn't ready until last year when I was looking at pictures of my Aunt, who died suddenly of a heart attack 17 years ago at the age of 48. The realization that I was now just a couple of years younger than she was when she died hit me like a ton of bricks and I decided right then and there I needed to really start taking care of myself.

    A year and a half later I have lost 38 pounds and have gone from being a couch potato to someone that exercises for at least an hour 6 days a week. If you had told me back then that I would be hitting the gym at 5 a.m.--and loving it--I would have told you to put down the crack pipe. Last month marked another milestone when I walked out of my go-to store for the last 20 years, Lane Bryant, for the last time because all their clothes were too big. I forgot how awesome it is to have an entire store to shop from, instead of just one corner for plus sizes.

    I still have a ways to go in this but I feel great, have loads of energy and have gained so much confidence. This is such a great feeling that there's no way I'm giving that up by slipping back into a unhealthy lifestyle.
  • Minnesnowtagurl
    Minnesnowtagurl Posts: 406 Member
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    Hello, I love topics like these!

    I had quite a few hurtful comments that were said to me. The funny thing is, that people are completely oblivious that they are stomping all over your number one insecurity when they make comments in reference to you being overweight.

    Once My supervisor was explaining a story to me said "I mean she's even BIGGER than YOU!" I was speechless. I thought about to comments for months because I was so hurt. I am sure he didn't even think twice about what he had said.

    Then, I was getting ready to X-Ray a patient that had a developmental delay and she says to me... " Are you pregnant?! I paused and said "nope!" with a nervous smile. She then said "Well yah look like it!"

    I realized that comments like this only bothered me because I was unhappy and there was something I needed to make a change about. Also I needed to understand that nobody could make me feel better about myself but ME! I was my own problem and I am my own success.

    I had a similar experience several times throughout my life but I don't think they were as bad as the "are you pregnant?" comment. I remember several times when I was younger (elementary age) being asked by either my tiny grandmother or my next door neighbor's mother (about the same age as my grandparents) how heavy I was and mentioned that I should lose weight. It's sad that even as young as elementary-age how aware I was that being considered fat was a bad thing. From that point on 'til finally at the beginning of college I avoided scales at all costs. I'd cry every time I'd have to go to the doctor in fear that I'd be told I was overweight, as if I didn't know and the doctor's main concern was how heavy I was not the fact that I was sick and coming in to get medicine.

    The only comment that comes to mind that really pissed me off was when I started my first job at a retail store. An older woman came up to me and asked what size I wore because she said I looked about as big as her grand daughter and she wanted to buy her grand daughter some clothes. I was insulted by this thinking, ok lady, it's obvious you didn't go and ask anyone else what size they were because I'm the only "big one" around. Ugh!


    Wow! I would have looked at her super crazy then smiled and walked away. People are super rude what else can we do but fix the park that bothers us....
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    being fat inspired me to lose weight. :-P i have been fighting so long, i don't remember doing otherwise. i try harder and harder and harder. 20 years and counting.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    being fat inspired me to lose weight. :-P i have been fighting so long, i don't remember doing otherwise. i try harder and harder and harder. 20 years and counting.
  • leilani♥
    leilani♥ Posts: 579
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    This picture:

    7RDmw.jpg
  • nananie2
    nananie2 Posts: 272 Member
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    I use to look around and say, "At least I am not as fat as that guy." Then i realized there was no one else left to compare to.......lol


    I was way to overweight and felt awful.

    LOL

    I used to do that too! It hit hard when I realised that I was often the biggest one in the room....
  • wannabeinshapeSandie
    wannabeinshapeSandie Posts: 25
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    I went to the doctor and she told me that my Cholesterol was high! ugh! ...My mom had just passed away due to a long struggle with breast Cancer and I decided that the craziness of taking care of my mom was over and I needed to get Healthy! My mom was such a healthy person and I have tried my whole life to be as healthy as she was. I am 5'1 1/2 inches tall and needed to get this 70 pounds OFF of my body! I have hired a personal trainer that comes to my house five days a week at 8:30 AM. whether I am out of bed or not. instead of car payments I have "personal trainer payments" the payments will end when I am at 117. LOL
  • Telsera
    Telsera Posts: 19 Member
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    I decided I needed to do something when people started asking me if I was pregnant and I definitely wasn't. I tend to gain in my tummy instead of my thighs, and for some reason ONLY my tummy/back area. At my heaviest I still have stick thighs. IMO you thunder thigh people are lucky, i'd rather have those any day. At least I could watch them feel awkward when I told them I was expecting a burrito...
  • sandhillcrane
    sandhillcrane Posts: 301
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    I avoid going to the doctor because I don't want to be weighed. Crazy but true! I am changing that. I really need to be around for my 27 yr old son. He really needs me so I decided to take care of myself. I don't like being over weight but gave up on myself after my older son died. Enough self indulgence. Time for the old me!
  • CrystalFlury
    CrystalFlury Posts: 400 Member
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    I decided I needed to do something when people started asking me if I was pregnant and I definitely wasn't. I tend to gain in my tummy instead of my thighs, and for some reason ONLY my tummy/back area. At my heaviest I still have stick thighs. IMO you thunder thigh people are lucky, i'd rather have those any day. At least I could watch them feel awkward when I told them I was expecting a burrito...

    I know where you're coming from. I gain my weight in my belly area, always have. In fact, when I was heavier (low 200s was my highest) finding jeans that fit me was difficult. I don't have much butt and thigh therefore buying a bigger jean meant fitting my 'waist', NOT fitting my butt (too loose). I know I'll be making progress with my weight loss when my spare tire disappears.
  • CrystalFlury
    CrystalFlury Posts: 400 Member
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    I avoid going to the doctor because I don't want to be weighed. Crazy but true! I am changing that. I really need to be around for my 27 yr old son. He really needs me so I decided to take care of myself. I don't like being over weight but gave up on myself after my older son died. Enough self indulgence. Time for the old me!

    Aww sorry about your older son :-(. Glad you realized it's time to change.

    I do get the not wanting to go to the doctor to avoid being weighed. I posted earlier on here about that as well in response to another post. I think most people fear the scale in the doctor's office if they're overweight. Hearing the dreaded words, "you need to lose weight", makes you feel that much worse about yourself.
  • CrystalFlury
    CrystalFlury Posts: 400 Member
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    Thanks everyone for sharing your inspirations and motivations!! Great responses, congrats if you've met your goal and keep going if you're still on your way to reaching your goal! We can do this. In words of Nike, just do it.
  • NoWeighJose74
    NoWeighJose74 Posts: 581 Member
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    I'm a short guy, so when I was getting as wide as I am tall I figured that was it...

    Or maybe it was when my double chin started developing a double chin...

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