What motivated you to begin your weighloss journey?

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Replies

  • Jennak87
    Jennak87 Posts: 112 Member
    Having to untag myself in practically every single photo that goes up on facebook.

    My boyfriend getting annoyed because I won't let him take a photo of me so we have no photo's together.

    My best friend is a photographer... and she will not stop snapping pictures of me!! No matter how much I beg..

    Working with a group of beautiful size 6-10 girls in a high street clothes shop and discovering that the biggest size we sell (UK16) was getting way too tight.

    I haven't worn a pair of trousers/ shorts/ jeans for about 5 years.

    My boyfriend has a type... I am no longer it!

    Realising that my BMI is 30 and that I am officially obese.
  • sailorgrad
    sailorgrad Posts: 26
    I hadn't gotten on the scale in probably about 8 months. I knew I was gaining weight, and I felt horrible, but I did not have the courage or motivation to make a change just yet. Then I got on the scale, and I had gained 40 pounds from the last time I had weighed myself. I knew that if I didn't do something to change right then, I would end up on the other side ofthe holidays with another 15 pounds.

    So, I started right after Thanksgiving of last year. I've logged my calories religiously, been kind with myself, and realized (and truly believed) that I AM IN CONTROL! I lost about 20 pounds in the first month, and another 16 pounds in the second. I feel better, look better, and am more motivated to lose weight than I ever have been. I've got a lot of weight to lose, but I believe that I can do this because it's all up to me. NOBODY ELSE!

    Onward, and upward!
  • key1238
    key1238 Posts: 16 Member
    I started my weight loss journey because I was not feeling healthy or happy. I was too fat, and hated how I looked in clothes. I kept getting bacterial infections, and my belly was ballooning out larger than my breasts. I also had pigmentation changes in my skin which is a tell tale sign of insulin resistance-- my blood sugars were fine though. People in my family struggle with weight, and I didn't want to be over 250 lbs, and having to get knee surgery in my 50's and take diabetes and blood pressure medication as I got older.

    I was studying for my master's and had free access to a gym and low cost personal trainer. So I started working out and didn't watch my diet and I ended up gaining 20 lbs back but I increased my lean body mass. Then I joined a gym closer to home and hired a different trainer and lost another 15-20 lbs. I stalled because I could not get the diet thing right. I didn't have an easy way to track calories, and I used a different online program where I entered everything in. So I just made healthier food choices, but since I didn't track the calories the weight didn't come off, and I yoyoed down and up another 10 lbs over the next year and a half. I started hot yoga and continued with the gym, and had a net loss of about 30 lbs from where I started in January 2010. Then After the first of 2012, I wanted to get serious about reaching my mini goals, 180 lbs, which is where I was graduating from college, and then 160 lbs which was my lowest weight in high school.

    I was frustrated at the lack of progress and stupid calorie counters that I tried. Finally a co worker suggested MFP, I started a couple of weeks ago and I am not looking back.. It is so easy to keep track of food and exercise. I am so glad for the Iphone app as it makes it easier to keep track of everything.
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    Hitting rock bottom.

    Before I decided to lose weight in early January, my life circumstances had led me to a very sedentary and depressed way of living. Being unemployed made my sleeping schedule horrible, I'd stay up until 6 or 7 in the morning and sleep in until 4 pm. There were some days where I barely left my bed, some days where all I did was cry. I cut off all contact with my friends. I was a mess, had a horrible self-image, no confidence to even look for work, and I knew that I couldn't go on like this for much longer. I was in a very, very dark place, and the only way to go was up, or into the ground. I've yo-yo dieted a few times before, but this time felt different from the get-go, and I don't think I'd be able to do it this way if I hadn't been in shambles before, because I realized that it's so much more than wanting to wear smaller clothing sizes. I let my weight keep me back from almost all aspects of living a happy life, and I'm ready to stop living like this.
  • KimBee45
    KimBee45 Posts: 27
    Similar to everyone else, tired of buying large sizes, tired of feeling down because I know I don't look my best anymore, tired of feeling like less of a person (stupidly) because I don't feel I look good anymore. Crazy how weight can affect so much of our lives. Because I don't think I look good/attractive, I figure how can my husband possibly? Because I think it, I place that on everyone and assume they think the same, which of course is not true. But only a month into this, I have lost a total of 15 pounds (lost 5 before I stared this program) and I feel amazing already. I feel happier, stronger, and proud of myself for sticking with something. And hey, at just under 160, I already think I'm looking pretty good! Can't wait to share some pics at my first goal of 150. One of my daughters has also began her own weight loss journey, she says that I motivated her to do so. Can't get any better affirmation than that!
    Good luck to you on your journey.
  • lumina0o0
    lumina0o0 Posts: 498 Member
    I have gone up and down after puberty, and looking back at old pics always feel like crap. I never thought of myself as skinny in the past, but I looked good and was pretty small. I'm 25 almost 26 and I've been trying to lose weight, I will and I'll start to feel good about myself and wont keep up the work I'll fall back into my old habits. When I got on the scale at the end of 2011 I wasn't very happy. I realized in that short year... even less than that i went from a size 12 to a size 16w-18w and put on 50lbs. I can't keep going like this. I have kids I need to be here for and I want the energy to keep up with them. I want to set a good example for them.
  • CandyO50
    CandyO50 Posts: 4
    When I went for a checkup and saw that I had gained 10 pounds this year. And it was a number I never thought I would see.
  • Kittie_Kat
    Kittie_Kat Posts: 101
    General health, diabetes, and just so I can look better
  • KaySaver
    KaySaver Posts: 92 Member
    My best friend passed away before Xmas and he was only 40 years old. He wasn't over weight, he didn't smoke, and hardly drank at all. He ran, did yoga, ti-chi, and meditated on a very regular basis.

    He went to bed after dinner and he died in his sleep due to a heart failure.

    I have more reasons to have a heart attack, stroke, or god knows what else, then he did.

    I have NO excuses to not lose this weight anymore.
  • slimgal613
    slimgal613 Posts: 52 Member
    What motivated me was a huge wakeup call at the Dr.'s office 4 years ago. High Cholesterol, HBP, morbid obesity (that is what she wrote on my chart). I had to go on HBP medication. I was mortified. I had at the time, a young child at home...he's a teen now. I wanted to be around to see him grow up and be there for them. It hasn't been easy, I have been on this journey now for 4 years. Lost 80 lbs, then regained 25 of it back. Trying very hard to get that off, plus the other 30 lbs that was still needed to get to my goal weight. Losing weight is not easy; it's a day to day lifestyle change. But I don;t think it's supposed to be easy. It's in this journey that we discover hidden qualities in us; they start to appear...Determination, courage, strength and persistence.

    **On a side note....I have no more HBP or are on meds, and no more high cholestrol. One of the greatest days was when I was in the doc's office and she threw my HBP medication in the garbage. I was elated!!

    :smile:
  • BrianRamm
    BrianRamm Posts: 1 Member
    Old pictures (looking thin) and new pictures (looking bad). Also, I was down to three pants that I could fit into, and my suits made me feel like a stuffed sausage! Heading toward 50 is a good motivator, and I wanted to shed 30 by May. I have 11 left, and I'm going to make it! In fact, I think I might make it 40 (pushing it, but maybe).
  • fantabuloushoney
    fantabuloushoney Posts: 17
    Originally it was turning 40 and deciding to put me first in my list of priorities. I lost 18 pounds from March 2011 to May 2012, not really knowing what to do. In May 2012 I was approached by a friend after a class that was willing to help me (she is a personal trainer and was also a peer teaching opportunity for the class we were teaching). She had me write down what I had eaten and on the day she looked at, the only veggies I had eaten were the dehydrated onions and ketchup on the McDouble for dinner. (yeah, not really veggies!) She asked me to increase my veggies, write everything down (food, exercise, water...which led me to this site!) and I took it from there! I joined LAFitness in July 2012, first doing water aerobics and then started personal training August 25th. Friday's monthly eval was recorded 85 pounds lighter and 42.5 inches less than I was on my 40th Birthday and for the first time, there was a number that registered on the body fat % thing instead of an E4. I allow myself to get super excited about each and every little milestone...today's was being able to buy a bra from Walmart and then bring on a shirt a size smaller than I thought I was.
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
    I had a dream my husband cheated on me and wanted a divorce
    I was 248 lbs, slept 16 hours a day, and just in terrible condition overall
  • TOYGRRRL
    TOYGRRRL Posts: 251 Member
    I can say the things that almost didn't matter... edging into double digit sized clothes, seeing pictures showing how chubby I was getting, all my clothes not fitting properly any longer, someone asking when I was expecting, wanting to feel better and have more stamina, etc...

    But the BIG thing that pushed me to get started on my journey was feeling my *kitten* bouncing and flapping against my thighs when I would jog up my stairs along with my thighs totally rubbing as I walked. :embarassed: :noway: :sad:
  • ramsesmeza
    ramsesmeza Posts: 14
    Ever since I was a little kid, people teased me over the fact that I was overweight.
    My teen years were not the easiest. I decided to visit a nutricionist when i was 15, I weighed 225 pounds when i was that age.
    I lost 45 pounds that year, but i gained and lost weight over the years.
    It´s not until this year I decided it´s time to get healthy for good. I've lost 20 pounds in one month, I workout 6 o 7 times a week and I try to drink just water and eat healthy.
    MY MOTTO: I CAN DO IT.
  • tmbobe
    tmbobe Posts: 11
    I won't let anyone take pictures of me because I feel so fat. I want my kids to look back and remember that their mom was healthy and active. I want them to see pictures of me with them. I want to not be ashamed of how I look.
  • tmbobe
    tmbobe Posts: 11
    ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! except i don't work in a clothes store. but when i go into A & F or Hollister, even their larges don't come close to fitting me :(
  • Sagruf
    Sagruf Posts: 26 Member
    Being 31st and thought I was having an heart attack

    Called 999 and it was just Gastric acid, Then being told that at 33 and still in good health (apart from weight) that I need to think how I want my future to be because in 10yrs time keep going the way I was it would be a different story.

    That day made me think alot for the next few days, My gf found myfitnesspal on the app store and made me a docs appointment.

    in the past 3 weeks ive change the way i eat/buy food and took up walking, lost 11lbs so far, got along road to walk down untill I reach where i need to be, but this site and my family is really helpping me so far.

    :happy:
  • ThisisMiss
    ThisisMiss Posts: 187 Member
    I just wanted to be able to not feel like an ogre standing next to people. To be able to go to the store and not have to search all the way in the back of the rack for my size only to find out they don't even make clothes that large. So I could feel more feminine. So I won't have to face the embarrassment when my fiancee finds out I am .literally twice his weight. I want to be able to go outside and run around with my daughter when she grows up and enjoy my life with her and my future grandchildren. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and not cringe or feel like I always need to suck in my stomach. I need to feel like the person I feel I am inside. I can't let my PCOS control my body. I am going through a lot of tough things in my life that I can't control, but this... this I can control. And I will.
  • Effervescent17
    Effervescent17 Posts: 61 Member
    I started to notice that when I smiled I was getting a double chin and that's something I knew I didn't want so I was like this has gotta change!
  • Lilacstar
    Lilacstar Posts: 1
    Two things actually....when I hit a 100k I began feeling so HEAVY!!! And then I looked around and saw what heavy people really looked like - even my walk looked so ungainly! I felt I had to do something...
  • gumigal82
    gumigal82 Posts: 350
    At first, to be totally honest--wanting to look great for a guy...I know HORRIBLE!

    Now, to look and feel great for ME:)

    (Also, I want Killer Buns and Thighs;)
  • shadowkitty22
    shadowkitty22 Posts: 495 Member
    Finally seeing my scales tip into the 300 pounds. It was bad enough having a weight that started with a 2, but starting with a 2 is just unacceptable for me personally. When I'm done with this weight loss journey of mine I refuse to even have a weight that starts with a 2.
  • Abbey70
    Abbey70 Posts: 82 Member
    Seeing old pictures of myself. Also being diagnosed with premature ventricular contractions AKA extra heartbeats and leaky heart valves. Dr said it is nothing to worry about but I can't help but think my father had a coronary heart attack in his 40's, my brother was born with a hole in his heart and died at 28 from heart failure along with other health issues. My mom has leaky heart valves and has had a small heart attack and is battling emphysema. I don't want to go down that road so I am doing what I can to better my health and to set a good example for my children.
  • sulph
    sulph Posts: 3
    a couple of reasons, one, it was either loose weight or gain weight whilst waiting for my greencard ( being 4500 miles away from wife and kids) i chose to loose weight

    2. new baby due in august

    3. hated the way i looked
  • Muirenn
    Muirenn Posts: 24
    My moment was at the dr's office. He told me he wanted me to have gastric bypass. I was 314lbs and my Fibro was out of control. I am in my late 30's and it does not get any easier to take off weight as I get older. I just decided this was enough. I was tired of being tired and fat.

    My husband got a new job and they have a lot of corporate type events. I was embarrassed to go because I was so heavy. I want him to be proud to have me on his arm.
  • newma6
    newma6 Posts: 100 Member
    I will be celebrating my 30th birthday this November. I feel I am entering a new phase of my life. I know who I am as a person, and am strong in my faith and beliefs. There is one thing left...to be comfortable in my own skin. I have been big my whole life. For once I want to be the thin one. I want to be completely healthy, to live a long life with my Husband and children. To set a good example for my children, and have more energy for them. My 1st goal is to be under 200lbs. by my birthday. I have 46 lbs. to go!! I can do this!
  • macylane4
    macylane4 Posts: 224
    I work part time at a restauant. One night I had a table of people from Ireland. It was a man's birthday at the table, and after he got done with his large plate of food his family ordered him a dessert that feeds like 8 people! I sat it down infront of him, and said now you need to eat it all!! (you know as a joke because of it's size). He said " I'm not fat like you I couldn't eat it all". I went to the back and cried and felt so worthless. The sad thing was that it was true...I was really fat, and needed his comment to change my life. I joined a gym the next week, and from that moment on started eating a lot less calories. (wouldn't say healthy all the time, but always stay under my calories!) I guess if anything it motivated me to lose the weight, and when that Irish man comes back if he ever does...Ill show him who isn't going to be fat anymore!!!
  • Kerryket
    Kerryket Posts: 19 Member
    My weight gain has been on my mind all the time, then my clothes were getting uncomfortable, I could not believe how fast I was packing it on. I think it was my bra that did it, I could not stand how tight it was!

    Then I had a weight loss challenge come up in an online group that started me going again and I found MFP :)
  • dslmech98
    dslmech98 Posts: 12
    Last company required physical dr gave me very ugly results. tipped the scale at 250 lbs, high blood pressure and colesterol was at 1008 (200 is high). Plus I get that runners high you hear about from marathon runners by climbing a flight of steps. Figured its time to start living
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