what pushed you to get healthy?

4lelito
4lelito Posts: 90
edited November 12 in Motivation and Support
I love hearing about peoples success stories and motivations. When I feel that i'm lacking motivation it helps drive me :) to know that i'm not alone. I have been overweight my whole life and I got to a point in life where I finally couldn't take it anymore my tipping point was when I hurt my foot and couldn't put ointment behind my pinky because I was too fat.. I had to ask my husband to do it for me I am only 24....if it's this bad now how bad is it going to be when we get older.. that day changed my habits for good :) and I am thankful!
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Replies

  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    diabetus.jpg
  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
    I was tired all the time and felt generally unwell. Changing my eating habits and my lifestyle helped so much! :)
  • diabetus.jpg

    omg that drives me nuts! Its diabetes! lol mine is when i stepped on the scale and was 30lbs over the heaviest I've ever been in my life. I was like ok, no more. This needs to go down NOW! I've been at this since right after christmas probably, haven't lost a whole lot of weight, though it takes a while to figure out whats going to work FOR YOU.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    Haha! Finding out my mom and my grandma both have diabetes was a big motivator for me. I think that, and just a general sluggish feeling that I was ready to get rid of.

    I don't mind being overweight. It's all the effects of being overweight that I want to avoid.
  • nnylee
    nnylee Posts: 811 Member
    My reason was pretty shallow :( . My friend got engaged and asked me to be her bridesmaid. I realized that I was overweight and needed to make a change! Might as well make a change to be able to look awesome in a bridesmaid dress, so that was my reason. Being stronger and having better endurance were just perks.
  • What pushed me was actually negative events in my life, & now I'm just trying to pick up the pieces & build some confidence. As well as self-esteem!
  • Tulipgirl1223
    Tulipgirl1223 Posts: 91 Member
    The first time I was super serious about it was when I was 26/27, my dad had just died (not due to being over weight or anything, he died from basically old age) and I went to the Dr and he said that I was in very serious danger of being put on b/p meds. This time, it's because a lot of my clothes don't fit, and I refuse to buy clothes in a bigger size when I have a perfectly great wardrobe in a smaller size
  • Abrowe313
    Abrowe313 Posts: 189 Member
    i had a feeling that if i dont get off my *kitten* and do something about my weight that i will probably die soon and i thought about what my son would go through and it broke my heart. my dad was sick my entire life even though he wasnt obese and he could never do anything with me and i dont want him to go through that or ever be embarassed of my weight. so that is what brought me here
  • still_crafty
    still_crafty Posts: 682 Member
    I went to the doctor just after Thanksgiving with a cough that I just couldn't kick and when I got on the scale I weighed 190 pounds. I almost fell over. I hadn't weighed that much since I was pregnant 7 years ago. The strange thing is that I've been wearing the same size since I lost the "baby weight" so I hadn't even really noticed that my weight had changed so much. It was kind of amazing that I stumbled across the MFP app the same day when I was playing around with my phone. I took that as my sign to do something about it.
  • Mia2891
    Mia2891 Posts: 54 Member
    I got tired of saying "I'm going to lose this weight one day." One day I thought that to myself and thought No! I'm going to do it now! here I am 5 months later and so far 53 lbs lighter.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Well, for me it was a bit circuitous. I knew I was out of shape and over weight. I knew I should do something about it.

    One evening during my son's soccer practice I noticed a couple of adult teams playing on an adjacent field but it wasn't a younger mens competitive league - it was old guys like me and there was one player in particular who was big, really big and I thought "if he can do it what's my excuse". That fall I signed up for old-timer indoor soccer and that was when I really realized what rotten shape I was in - a few minutes on the pitch and I was ready to barf.

    Coincidentally that fall my older brother (who had always been skinnier than me and at least moderately active) had a mild stroke.

    So I started running to improve my fitness and reduce my chances of having a heart attack or stroke. I could barely run around the block but I persisted and slowly built up my endurance. I viewed it as a chore but actually grew to love running. In 2009 I ran my first 5K, in 2011 I ran my first 10K and half-marathon.......(and I'm still playing soccer, we've had an over 50 league in Ottawa that grew from 6 teams in 2010 to 12 in 2011)
  • Sooo many reasons. I'm trying for a baby and have poly-cystic ovaries, so the more weight I lose the better my chances. I lost my job last year and have depression, so have not been taking care of myself, and comfort eating. I swore I would never get over a size 12 (again) and have been living in leggings to convince myself I'm not an 18/20 now. My mum has serious medical complications due to Type 2 Diabetes and caring for her has made me realise what an awful condition it is :( I'm getting married. I can't look at myself naked in the mirror anymore. I have new stretch marks.
  • piezoeyjune
    piezoeyjune Posts: 186 Member
    honestly?

    I think what got me to really start to change was the fact that I couldnt walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath.:embarassed: :grumble:
    :bigsmile:
    I dont like being winded... :embarassed:

    makes me feel weak...

    hate admitting weakness ( of which I have many...)

    :laugh:
  • Coco_Puff
    Coco_Puff Posts: 823 Member
    I'm not getting any younger. I don't want to look back on my life and say, Why didn't I ever get in shape? If I had I could've hiked that trail or chased after my Grandchildren with ease!
  • For me it was many reasons! The two most major reasons were infertility and all the other medical problems I have, I felt like I was on my death bed. I was eating myself into an early grave! So, knowing all this started to push me to do better, to be better so that I can have kids before it's too late and so I can be healthy as well!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    On Christmas I went to my grandmas house and she has a bathroom scale (i didn't have one at the point so I had no idea how much I weighed) so I stepped on and I was 162 or something like that which is more than I had ever been. Decided to try and lose some wight. I am 143 as of this morning and at a good weight (I know, it wasn't much to lose) Now I'm just really into it. I'm not stopping at losing weight, I want to tone up and build muscle and run races and just be fit and healthy.
  • Luke_Quist
    Luke_Quist Posts: 43 Member
    Became tired of being lazy and just not living to my potential.

    On December 18th, 2011 - I decided that I would not use the following two weeks as a crutch (excuse) to pig out. Instead decided to begin logging in my food diary everyday and to hit the gym 5 days/week. During those holidays, I only took two days off (Christmas Day and New Year's Day).

    To date, I've lost 18 pounds and 5% of my body fat. Just began lifting (for the first time in my life) three weeks ago - muscle definition is difinitely increasing and makes me want to push even harder. Thanks to all of my (current and soon-to-be) MFP peeps for the support and encouragement along the way. It's been a fun ride! :)
  • pholbert
    pholbert Posts: 575 Member
    I lost and gained a few times. Just got really sick of yo-yoing.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
    I was curious if it were really possible for me to lose weight. Turned out it was. :D
  • Fretzy
    Fretzy Posts: 9
    tired, depressed and sick. Wanted to be more confident, especially with the females.
  • sarahs440
    sarahs440 Posts: 405
    might sound silly but I got some pictures developed and there was a pic in there of my best friends boyfriend and me and a Christmas party. I looked horrible. And what got me is that I thought I looked cute that night! The picture showed differently! So I decided to do something. A day later a friend posted a FB status talking about MFP, and I signed up that day and never looked back! God was working there, with the timing of everything. Now if I could just get these last 15 pounds off....:wink:
  • Saruman_w
    Saruman_w Posts: 1,531 Member
    I felt like crap and I pretty much hated myself. I wanted to get in shape so that I could boost my confidence and hopefully look great along with it. I've now made it my permanent lifestyle. I refuse to go back.
  • I have been over weight all my life. I am currently the heaviest I have ever been. I also want children, but my husband and I are worried about pregnancy concerns with being overweight. I also want to look and feel great and be able to buy clothes anywhere. Mostly to be happy about what I see when I look in the mirror.
  • BrownEyedJerseyGirl
    BrownEyedJerseyGirl Posts: 97 Member
    1. Got tired of not wanting to wear shorts in public
    2. Recently found out that my heart was not exactly perfect when I was born and losing weight will put less burden on my system
    3. Not getting any younger
  • My mother in law passed of heart disease January 2010. Nobody knew she had it, and it runs in my husbands family. It hit him really hard, and he began working out and eating well. He kept trying to get me to go, but I thought I was fine. Until I started noticing that none of my clothes were fitting. I looked at some old pictures and saw how big I had gotten. I wasn't big in most peoples eyes by any means, but I was the biggest I'd ever been. That was not acceptable to me. I've had two children, and I was using that as an excuse as to why I didn't work out and eat healthy. This year is my year, because I'm not using ANY excuses anymore. I've lost 13 lbs since January 3rd. I feel fantastic. I want my children to have a healthy, energetic mom.
  • boggsmeister
    boggsmeister Posts: 292 Member
    On the 15th of February I was in the shower and realized that I was almost exactly two months from my 40th birthday, so I decided to lose 20 pounds before then. I started MFP 2 days later. I won't likely lose that 20 before my 40th, I won't likely even be at my goal weight by my 41st, but I will weigh at least 70-80 pounds less than I do now, and I will be able to move a lot better.

    This is a lifetime journey for me now, and MFP makes it sooooo easy. No muss, no fuss, no gimmicky plans or lists of foods I can't eat. Just stay at or a little below your calorie goals, do some exercise, and watch the scale needle start to back off. Sure it's a little work to keep punching stuff into my diary, but it's awesome to not have to feel guilty about eating, well, anything because I planned well and stayed below my goal calories.
  • Curt959
    Curt959 Posts: 21
    Could not wear suits I bought a couple of years ago to my Dad's funeral (who had a heart attack)!
  • spectralmoon
    spectralmoon Posts: 1,179 Member
    My photographs showed someone near round standing where I thought I was supposed to be.
  • becoming_a_new_me
    becoming_a_new_me Posts: 1,860 Member
    The doctor told me that if I did not make a drastic change in short order, I would die within 5 years. With a 3 year old I wanted to see graduate, get married, and have babies of her own, I had to do something. That was my start...this is my finish.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    Late March last year I was diagnosed with high blood pressure.

    The person who first told me was the Nurse from the insurance company. She said that I would certainly be dropped by the company unless I got the pressure down and that I should see a Doctor ASAP.

    Went to the walk-in clinic the next day, waited for 3 hours to see the Doctor. After a brief exam the Doc confirmed the high blood pressure, prescribed the first set of medication and told me that if I did not lose weight I would almost certainly suffer a stroke before \i turned 50. I was 46 yrs old at the time.

    This was my eye opening turning point!
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