What was your "lightbulb moment"?
GTOgirl1969
Posts: 2,527 Member
When did you realize that you needed to do something about your weight, lifestyle and eating habits?
For me, it was when the size 16 jeans I had JUST BOUGHT were too small:noway:
I knew then I had to do something. My grandmother died of a heart attack at age 49, and her weight was a factor. My aunt is also overweight and has diabetes, and I do NOT want that in my future. There may be a genetic predisposition in my family (for the women, anyway) to be overweight, but I won't let that stop me.
For me, it was when the size 16 jeans I had JUST BOUGHT were too small:noway:
I knew then I had to do something. My grandmother died of a heart attack at age 49, and her weight was a factor. My aunt is also overweight and has diabetes, and I do NOT want that in my future. There may be a genetic predisposition in my family (for the women, anyway) to be overweight, but I won't let that stop me. 0
Replies
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When did you realize that you needed to do something about your weight, lifestyle and eating habits?
For me, it was when the size 16 jeans I had JUST BOUGHT were too small:noway: I knew then I had to do something. My grandmother died of a heart attack at age 49, and her weight was a factor. My aunt is also overweight and has diabetes, and I do NOT want that in my future. There may be a genetic predisposition in my family (for the women, anyway) to be overweight, but I won't let that stop me. 0 -
A friend of mine from high school that I had not seen in 5 years sent me some photos from her homeymoon in the Dominican. Her and her husband had hired a photographer to phograph them on the beach. She was always a pretty girl, with a nice body and she looked FABULOUS. It made me think of how I will look on my honeymoon if I do nothing... That was my moment.0
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:blushing: My lightbulb moment came when I went back home to my beloved Oregon and saw how fit my parents are at 81/82 years old. Neither is overweight. There are reasons (serious accident/surgery) that I became overweight and now I need to take control of myself. I want to be healthy.0
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I don't know mine, really. I guess I was just sick of seeing the scale go slooooowly up and realizing I want to be in shape and such. it was a new years resolution so that's when I started0
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Jan...got a membership to the gym and finally took a good look in the mirror there.0
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I guess this is an indicator of my self-consciousness, but I had a best friend all throughout high school and we always were on diets together and bingeing on fried food on the weekends together. We could swap clothes because we were always the same size.
We go to the same school now but we're too busy to see each other. Over Christmas we decided that we were going to go out one night. I saw pictures of her and realized that she was skinnier than we were in high school and I had gained much weight.
I was so jealous and ashamed that I bailed on her and stayed at home despite her many attempts to hang out with me.
Its ridiculous that I let it happen this way, but I did and its time to get this together.0 -
A very close friend of ours had a heart attack late January. He was in the hospital for 3 weeks.
He could've / would've died if his wife would not have been there to resuscitate - he's only 46 years old (one year older than my husband).
I don't want that to be my hubby - if I stick with it, I know he will, too.0 -
This is almost too embarassing, but.....my uncle is friends with a guy who works at Lays, and would get chips that were almost expired. He was giving us garbage bag full of bags of chips, and my husband and I were eating them before the week was out. Finally one day we're like What are we doing, this is so not healthy!!. Since then we've been trying really hard to stay away from the junk food. But since I do love my junk I allow myself a cheat day a week. I guess this just really brought to attention just how much damage we were doing to ourselves.0
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This is almost too embarassing, but.....my uncle is friends with a guy who works at Lays, and would get chips that were almost expired. He was giving us garbage bag full of bags of chips, and my husband and I were eating them before the week was out. Finally one day we're like What are we doing, this is so not healthy!!. Since then we've been trying really hard to stay away from the junk food. But since I do love my junk I allow myself a cheat day a week. I guess this just really brought to attention just how much damage we were doing to ourselves.
I had a similar situation...a friend of my brother's worked for Entenmann's delivering all that good stuff:devil: to the grocery stores. Every week the guy would bring boxes and boxes of cookies, cakes, donuts.....all the stuff I'm trying to stay away from:sad: I think I gained 10-15 pounds just from hanging around with my brother...:laugh:0 -
I've had a few lightbulb moments before I actually started to make the effort. BUT, I hadn't weighed in awhile and finally decided to join ediets last September and you need to weigh-in....so I stepped on the scale...and saw a number that almost made me throw up. It read 270!! I was SHOCKED!! Also, I had just gotten back from a trip that I had to fly on and the seatbelt BARELY fit me. It was pulled SO tight, but I refused to get an "extension!!!"....Man, that was an awful feeling! AND, the fact that I didn't want to go to the beach with my son or get family pics done. I just realized what that saying "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels" meant. I want to enjoy life.
I am down to 195 s far and feeling so much better and have so much more energy! I know I will get to my goal weight!
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I am down to 195 s far and feeling so much better and have so much more energy! I know I will get to my goal weight!
Wow! Great job!0 -
I realized I needed to do something when I started getting stomach pains in the evening. They terrified me and I started MFP a week after the pains started. I don't know what they were but I had a gut feeling it was related to eating too much. I think I may have been right cuz I'm proud to say that I have not had that kind of stomach pain since eating properly. I'm 9 weeks pain free! :flowerforyou:0
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Mine is a long story I think.
I had a lot of problems for a long while that I'd rather not get into, but lets just say I was in a very bad place, with numerous addictions. Finally one night I had a moment of clarity while i was coming down, and just so happened to be watching "Stranger than Fiction" and it all suddenly made sense. The only thing holding me back from the life I wanted was me. And how could that possibly make sense? I think that was my moment.
So I was left contemplating how I could try to get my life back after alienating all of my friends, etc. And then the funniest thing happened.
The next day I was trying to figure out what to occupy myself with since I had decided to get rid of my old life. That meant I had to find a way to occupy myself. So, I figured I'd start fixing up my apartment. Well, I went to walmart to buy some lightbulbs, and some other household stuff and lo, there was a massive group of my college buddies. We've been hanging out constantly since. I swear to God it was a miracle, because they have been my wings through all of this. It was like God said, "Ok, you want the chance to get your life back? Here it is."
I haven't looked back since. And for once, i think god for every day I get to spend in this new life. For once, I feel like I can do anything, and I've systematically going through my life improving everything I've ever wanted to improve.0 -
I have a lightbulb moment every time I buy the next size up. I cried but did nothing about it, how stupid!
I also want to be healthy, teach my kids the same, and not have any worries about a plane seat, a folding chair, finding clothes at stores, etc. Time to be confident!0 -
I can't think of any one moment either. But like many, was just tired of wearing bigger & bigger sizes and always feeling like the fattest one in the room.0
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my lightbulb moment was in january my grandmother called and said my grandfather wasnt doing good and i should visit before he passes away..... so i hopped on a train with my kids to go down to toronto and i could barely fit my fat *kitten* in the seat. And when i got there i was embarassed to let my family (who i havent seen for years) see me. Also i have been avioding pictures for a long time and my daughter took a picture of me on the train and i looked HUGE ...... as soon as i got back i started trying to lose weight and im down a grand total of 32 pounds and already my confidence is way better im so proud of myself :bigsmile:
j~0 -
Well actually it was a few things combined. After slowly putting on the weight and two kids later in the last five years enough was enough. I vowed I was not buying any bigger clothes when the stuff I already had was getting tight. Then I saw pictures of me from summer vacation and was disgusted! Now I have a healthy lifestyle that I will stick to, TONS of energy and not be embarrassed to go clothes shopping. Also I am doing something I thought I would NEVER do. Training and running for a 10 mile run in August and a half marathon in October. In some sick way, I actually enjoy it. I am so forever grateful for this website to help me log what I eat and think about everything I put in my mouth. Also the support on here is phenomenal!!!! I have been doing this since 1-10-08 and lost 34 pounds and inches everywhere. I have 43 to go but now I know I can do it.
Thank you everyone for the advice, support and yummy food ideas!!!!!!!0 -
Mine is a long story I think.
I had a lot of problems for a long while that I'd rather not get into, but lets just say I was in a very bad place, with numerous addictions. Finally one night I had a moment of clarity while i was coming down, and just so happened to be watching "Stranger than Fiction" and it all suddenly made sense. The only thing holding me back from the life I wanted was me. And how could that possibly make sense? I think that was my moment.
So I was left contemplating how I could try to get my life back after alienating all of my friends, etc. And then the funniest thing happened.
The next day I was trying to figure out what to occupy myself with since I had decided to get rid of my old life. That meant I had to find a way to occupy myself. So, I figured I'd start fixing up my apartment. Well, I went to walmart to buy some lightbulbs, and some other household stuff and lo, there was a massive group of my college buddies. We've been hanging out constantly since. I swear to God it was a miracle, because they have been my wings through all of this. It was like God said, "Ok, you want the chance to get your life back? Here it is."
Funny you mentioned "stranger than fiction' that movie had an effect on me too. Not weight-wise, but love wise. it made me want to leap.
I did. And we're so happy. Instead of being paralyzed with fear of "what if". I just decided to make my life happen .
I haven't looked back since. And for once, i think god for every day I get to spend in this new life. For once, I feel like I can do anything, and I've systematically going through my life improving everything I've ever wanted to improve.
Funny you mentioned "stranger than fiction' that movie had an effect on me too. Not weight-wise, but love wise. it made me want to leap.
I did. And we're so happy. Instead of being paralyzed with fear of "what if". I just decided to make my life happen .
I haven't looked back since. And for once, i think god for every day I get to spend in this new life. For once, I feel like I can do anything, and I've systematically going through my life improving everything I've ever wanted to improve.
As for my LIGHTBULB moment. I don't think i had one, just a culmination of pants getting tighter and tighter and only being able to fit comfortably into 2 pairs of jeans anymore (I own over a dozen pairs). I don't want to buy bigger! so I had to make myself smaller.
Also I Found an old pic of myself. Nearly nude, taken from behind. I wanted to cry when I saw it, I was so toned and skinny. I looked at myself in the mirror and just saw.... well... i guess YOU KNOW....that's what's great about these boards, we all know what it feels like to look in the mirror and be unhappy with what you see.0 -
I weigh 155 pounds - 7 pounds away from what I weighed when I gave birth to my daughter (17 years ago).. I started using this site about a year ago and was really seeing progress (I think tracking your food/exersize is the way to go)! My mom passed away and I just went back to my old ways and gained everything back that I had worked so hard to lose. I stepped on the scale and thought "what am I doing"? If I keep it up, I'll be at 175 lbs, and then 195 lbs... need to take charge. And I like having this community of people to do it with. Good luck to all - we can do it !0
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Mine was pretty recent. I have been a dance teacher for 10 years and the last year and a half I quite to work full time. I gained 40 pounds (i was already 35 pounds overwieght:blushing: ). I didint realize how bad it was until I finally went back to teaching dance and couldnt even get through one hour of teaching. it was extremly depressing and I knew it was time to change!0
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oh I think it was when I was at work, and myself and another co-worker have both been at our job for like 12 years.....so she said....OMG back in the day this girl here was smoking hot! you should have seen her......:huh: okay.....I mean I never thought I was smokin' hot...first off, but I didn't think I'd have to have her tell people they should have seen me when either...ya know....lmbo
I think I've had a lot of lightbulb moments....that one was one of the shallower ones....but still hurt just as bad ya know LOL
I think the real one THIS time was just wanting or knowing I have to be in the best health of my life to be around as long as I can for my sweet son!
here's to all of us being smokin' hot soon....and to live long, healthy lives!
Ali :drinker:0 -
Mine was when I was carrying my son into the store, by time I got into the store I was out of breath, I was so embrassed that I couldn't walk that far with my son. Thats when I knew I had to do something.0
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umm ignored scale sneaking up . . dumped boyfriend. .. had thoughts of "who'd want to date butterball me looking like this" . . . blah blah
the "lightbulb" moment was went i said something to my doctor at a routinue check-up about how maybe i ought to start working on this whole weight thing and he looked back at my chart, showed my my high school weight and told me he'd see me back in 9 months @ <120 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was the kick i needed, signed up for mfp that day!:happy:0 -
All that was very interesting,
its strange from reading all this stuff from you guys i'm feel like i'm starting to know you all !
my lightbull moment ,, i didnt have one, it all came gradualy, for a couple years now i knew i had to do something, i though i was eating healthy, being vegetarian and all. but everybody was telling me that i should loose weight and i hate being told what to do, and that meant admiting i was obese.
In the mealwhile i had a couple of insidents, like my 8yo niece asked me if i was pregnant, yikes
and then she said that i was not allowed on her trampoline, because i would break it, while its ok for the rest of the family to go on it (all at once !!) , and at her disney vacation, i was not allowed to sit with her in the dumbo elephant because she said we wouldnt fit, i had to sit in my own dumbo :sad:
so i decided that as a new year resolution i would start exercising (no diet !!), so i did, then a couple weeks later while reading about calories online found this website and the rest is history. It all kinda sneaked up on me. once i saw that i lost a couple pounds i was hooked.
even by boyfriend cant believe it, i can hardly believe it myself
cheers to good life !!! :drinker: (thats unsweetned apple juice)0 -
My lightbulb moment took a couple of months to finally say now is the time. I was going to a diet centre, trying desperately to lose weight and I was on a plateau for almost 6 months after losing only 20 lbs. They wanted to lower my amount of food and have me take more and more supplements and I realized that this was more of a diet and not a lifestyle change. So I left, didn't care that I lost money and started trying not to be afraid of food anymore.
I wanted my health so I signed up with a personal trainer in January. Boy does she work me hard. But I still am not seeing any results (although I am able to do a lot more now than I could when I first started). But the biggest lightbulb was when I was trying to find a t- shirt that would fit me without showing every bump and lump to go to the gym. I wash and rewash the same 2 t shirts every week as I am am refusing to buy anymore "big girl shirts". I have many "thin"shirts left over from days gone by, so I am looking forward to fitting into them.
I have only been here for a week, and am very happy with my pound and half lost last week.0 -
cheers to good life !!! :drinker: (thats unsweetned apple juice)
LMAO!!!!!! Unsweetened apple juice! LOL!! We're outta control! :laugh:0 -
My lightbulb moment , well , I am a small women (4ft.11in.) with a small frame , and a short waist line. Most of my life I have weighed in a range of 95 to 110 being my highest weight. But in 2000 I began to slowly go past that 110 and just tried to ignore. By the time the year 2004 rolled around I was all of 145 lbs! During the summer of that year I became ill and that continued on through until aboout March of 2005 , at which time I had lost alot of weight and was down to 85 lbs. I did not like that either. SO... never really having to DIET any time in my life I just went back to the same old eating habits( being that I was no longer ill) and in the year 2008 here I sat at 125lbs. right on my way back up again. :sad: Miserable!!! I carry what seems like 90% of my weight in my belly , and look like an apple on a stick ! I have minor stomach problems , I am uncomfortable most all the time, ect...ect... I was really at a loss as to what to do ( as dumb as that might seem ! ).............Until a friend of mine stopped by last month whom I had not seen since christmas. Boy did she look good. She shared with me that she had dicovered this site MFP! THAT was my lightbulb moment!!!!!!! I logged on that day ! I love this site.
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My "lightbulb moment" came when I was playing on the computer and just wanted to see what my BMI was.....I was absolutely mortified that I was JUST under the OBESE range. ME?? Obese???? I was skinny all my life until I hit 40, and have slowly crept up in weight over the past 10 yrs. I would go clothes shopping and come home depressed and disgusted with myself because everything looked horrid on me. I was tired of not liking me, and even though my husband was always supportive and wonderful, I knew I wanted to look and feel a whole lot better than I felt at that moment.
So...My Fitness Pal to the rescue! I lost 18 pounds in about 3 months, have kept it off for 4 months now, and feel FABULOUS! ....... and getting in to single-digit sizes sure makes shopping more fun!0 -
My lightbulb moment occurred at Victoria's Secret right after Thanksgiving. My best friend got the cutest bra from there and it made her boobs look amazing, I was so jealous. I decided that I would finally spend some decent money on a good bra and went there just knowing that I would come out feeling good. Nope.....instead I walked out of there in tears cause all the bras I tried on gave me cleavage on my back, yep the dreaded back fat.:grumble: It was then that I realized that my delusions of having only gained a few pounds were just that.....delusions. Several days later after I quit crying I made the decision that I would lose the extra pounds and also reward myself by having a boob job. I had been living with only 1/2 of my left boob for 9 years and since I was a AA before losing part of it there wasn't much left. Well, now after being on this site since January I am proud to say that I have lost 18 pounds, had the boob job (which produced cleavage in the front), couldn't work out for 4 weeks and still managed to not gain. Yep, I'm tootin my own horn but I am proud!0
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I gained weight after my FIL was diagnosed with cancer and then passed away...I was stressed and started to stress eat...
I still didn't think I looked *that bad* or anything....but I did know I wanted to lose weight.
The *lightbulb* moment came at Wal*Mart though! lol
I was coming out of the washroom and ran in to my cousin and she hadn't seen me in ages...eyed me up and down and said, "Are you expecting again?"
*DIES A THOUSAND DEATHS*
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO was NOT expecting again! Unless I was going to give birth to 20 lbs of fat!
:sad:0
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