What did it take for you to want to make a change?

13

Replies

  • redcollins78
    redcollins78 Posts: 95 Member
    Three weeks ago I was sitting on the edge of my bed, bottle of pills in my hand, ready to swallow them all. I was so miserable in my life. It is not the life I had imagined for myself. I started having kids 15 years ago and I have only been someones mom since then. I came to the realization that my stupidity would kill my husband and my children emotionally. I love them far more than I hate myself. So I put the pills back in the bottle and put on my shoes and went for my first real walk. I have walked every day since. I have decided that losing weight, getting healthier and feeling better is a way to escape some of the pain I am in. Mentally, emothionally and physically. I am making other big changes in my life like trying to get my first real job or else enroll in school. I refuse to be a prisioner in my own mind anymore. Walking is about all that I can do at this point but it is so freeing to my mind and my soul.

    Well now, you definitely made the right decision, life is too important!! In everyone's life a little ran must fall, but you have to remember that hard times don't last always. I've too seen my fair share of lifes underbelly but that just makes me go harder. When you fall down, you have to learn to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep it moving! It will get better!!
  • dianniejt
    dianniejt Posts: 175 Member
    Three weeks ago I was sitting on the edge of my bed, bottle of pills in my hand, ready to swallow them all. I was so miserable in my life. It is not the life I had imagined for myself. I started having kids 15 years ago and I have only been someones mom since then. I came to the realization that my stupidity would kill my husband and my children emotionally. I love them far more than I hate myself. So I put the pills back in the bottle and put on my shoes and went for my first real walk. I have walked every day since. I have decided that losing weight, getting healthier and feeling better is a way to escape some of the pain I am in. Mentally, emothionally and physically. I am making other big changes in my life like trying to get my first real job or else enroll in school. I refuse to be a prisioner in my own mind anymore. Walking is about all that I can do at this point but it is so freeing to my mind and my soul.

    Well now, you definitely made the right decision, life is too important!! In everyone's life a little ran must fall, but you have to remember that hard times don't last always. I've too seen my fair share of lifes underbelly but that just makes me go harder. When you fall down, you have to learn to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep it moving! It will get better!!

    Thank you. I can honestly say that in just 3 weeks things have changed a lot for the better. Still having a few rough days but I lace up my tennis shoes and go for a walk. Today was a bit of a rough one, I got in 5 miles, feeling much better. Some day I will be a runner, my mind needs it as much as my body does.
  • thingal12
    thingal12 Posts: 302 Member
    1. I can't fit into my nice clothes anymore.. for about 2 years now.

    2. At work & at home everyone doesn't really say anything to my face, but I can sense the staring and judging when I am present- wearing 2 sizes larger than I used to. I feel FAT and UGLY.

    3. Among 6 siblings, I feel like the biggest YO-YO dieter. Sad part is, I'm the single lady with NO KIDS. I need to get back to 130 and STAY PUT!
  • senyosmom
    senyosmom Posts: 613 Member
    a picture of me holding my son at the aquarium- it was horrible!!! I carried it around for weeks trying to stop myself from eating crap.
  • senyosmom
    senyosmom Posts: 613 Member
    Three weeks ago I was sitting on the edge of my bed, bottle of pills in my hand, ready to swallow them all. I was so miserable in my life. It is not the life I had imagined for myself. I started having kids 15 years ago and I have only been someones mom since then. I came to the realization that my stupidity would kill my husband and my children emotionally. I love them far more than I hate myself. So I put the pills back in the bottle and put on my shoes and went for my first real walk. I have walked every day since. I have decided that losing weight, getting healthier and feeling better is a way to escape some of the pain I am in. Mentally, emothionally and physically. I am making other big changes in my life like trying to get my first real job or else enroll in school. I refuse to be a prisioner in my own mind anymore. Walking is about all that I can do at this point but it is so freeing to my mind and my soul.
    Hang in there honey!! The best thing you can ever do for your kids is lead by example. Impress them and show them what their mom is made of!
  • NomNomCupcakes
    NomNomCupcakes Posts: 135 Member
    My jeans kept getting tighter. My shirts stretched out. I was tired of my clothes not fitting. Tired of being surrounded by super skinny friends. Wanted to wear cute summer clothes. WiiFit kept telling me I'm "OVERWEIGHT."
  • Dawna954
    Dawna954 Posts: 183 Member
    When getting up off of the floor meant using all 4's. Knowing that people look to me as a leader. I really want to set a good example for the next generation and live long enough to see them into adulthood. It's for me and it's for them. It's a win/win. :)
  • I see my mom who is 55ish (she lies so much about her age, nobody knows for sure lol) and how she is at her age. I see her struggling to get up, I see her so uncomfortable in her own skin she won't wear a swimsuit to swim with her grandkids. I see her limp in pain because her knees hurt so bad from carrying extra weight. I see her struggle to find nice cute clothes. I don't want that for me. I don't want my children to learn my mom's food habits + my food habits.

    I want to lose weight by my 25 birthday. I want to go into adult hood sexier than ever! :)

    Someday soon, I see my man proposing. I don't want to look back at pictures with disgust!
  • IRun4Me_12
    IRun4Me_12 Posts: 240 Member
    When I married my husband. :) He loved me for who I was and I wanted to love myself too.

    I love this!

    I have never loved myself. I have always wished I looked different, weighed less, etc. I was overweight my entire life. I had gestational diabetes in both of my pregnancies, plus have family history of Type II diabetes. I knew for a long time that I needed to change my life and lose weight, but I never did anything about it. I can't pinpoint the exact moment that it all clicked. I just decided to make time for myself for a change - something that I really struggled with (and honestly, I still struggle with it!). I watch what I eat, but I don't restrict anything. If I want it, I eat it and don't sweat it. I just try to make up for it in exercise. And if I don't - tomorrow is a new day. I look at this as a lifestyle change, and I am not about a lifestyle where I tell myself I can't have something!

    For the first time in my life - I can look in the mirror and I like what I see. My outside is finally catching up to what my inside has always been - a beautiful, confident and sexy woman. (And I can assure you - just 6 months ago - I NEVER would have used those 3 adjectives to describe myself!)
  • Ladyvirgosdj
    Ladyvirgosdj Posts: 34 Member
    I had my 3rd child and just holding him walking to warm up a bottle I was out of breath, and I thought that just don't make any sense for me to be out of breath and i'm just walking to the kitchen to warm up a bottle. I just want this change for me, I feel like I'm always holding others down and letting myself go. Now it's time to do me...
  • runninggirl262
    runninggirl262 Posts: 58 Member
    I posted this elsewhere, but it makes sense to share it here:

    Maybe it’s a success story maybe it’s a motivational story; either one it’s mine and I own it!
    Today is one Year of posting every morsel of food and every bead of sweat on MFP.
    Today is Day 60 of P90X.
    Today is my day.

    Last year I was sitting uncomfortably at my desk at work. My pants were tight. I felt terrible. At lunch I went to the store to purchase a larger size pant (size 12 USA) just to feel better. I phoned my sister and said “That’s enough; we are doing something right now”.

    And that was the birth of a new life, a new viewpoint, a new attitude.

    What I did: Exercise
    Purchased 30 day shred, Butt Bible, Killer Buns and Thighs, P90X, I run on a treadmill, hula a hoop with a weighted hoop, and jump rope. I did anything to keep me moving and keep it interesting.
    That’s the key; keep changing the workout

    What I did: Food
    For me; Bread, pasta and rice were now the enemy. Anytime I wanted a sandwich, I pull out lettuce instead. If I want pasta I replace it with spaghetti squash. Rice replaced with Quinoa.

    I do not eat out. I make all meals. When preparing dinner I make one additional container for lunch the following day. I do shop more frequently for fresh fruit and vegetables. I make low fat snacks by replacing oil and butter with apple sauce and ground flax seed.

    I have made a commitment to myself. I will not disappoint me.

    When you find “IT”, nothing will stop you from your goals. The excuses will disappear. The hurt, the pain, the inches and the pounds will too.

    The results:
    Weight Pounds: 172 to 120
    Size USA: 12 to Size 0-2
    Hips inches: 42 to 35
    Attitude: dejected to confident

    Be safe, good luck, be strong
  • tessaeve
    tessaeve Posts: 75 Member
    After burying both of my parents in a two year span, both were in their mid sixties, and realizing that I wouldn't be able to continue to do the things I love.
    I love riding my horses and was so heavy that I couldn't get on anymore. Sounds silly I guess, but after both parents died never getting to retirement, I realized that life is for living. And not sitting on the sidelines because you are too overweight to do the things you enjoy.
    I also want to set an example for my son who sadly picked up his eating habits from me. I don't want him struggling with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and weight issues as I have. I'm happy to say that he is also losing even more than me!
  • hark15
    hark15 Posts: 148 Member
    For me it was getting engaged.

    For about a year and half prior to that I had been unhappy with my weight. I was always very athletic, making time for the gym and running 10 milers or half-marathons. Then, during the bar exam and starting my first job my schedule got busier and working out and eating healthy dropped off. I was eating a lot of snacks and not really paying attention to what I was putting into my body.

    When I got engaged, my fiance had engagement pictures taken that same day. I was not happy with how I looked. Then a few weeks later we went on vacation with my family and I had trouble finding things to wear because all of my clothes were too tight. It was hard to get ready for work because my skirts and pants didn't look quite appropriate due to how tight they were. I decided I wasn't going to buy bigger clothes but I was going to lose weight to fit into the clothes I already had. I wanted to feel beautiful on my wedding day and confidant in a bikini for the first time in years on my honeymoon. 2 1/2 months to go and I'm getting close to feeling good in my own skin :)
  • SIG9
    SIG9 Posts: 4
    Size 38 pants. I swore to myself I would never buy a size 40. When I wasn't able to button those size 38 pants I new it was time. Frankly, it was long overdue.
  • Benji49
    Benji49 Posts: 419 Member
    Many small things started to add up - but I really didn't think I looked fat! Then my husband showed me a picture from a camp that we did and in the background of the picture there were 2 large backends flipping pancakes for the group. I asked him who that was and he started to laugh. It was me and my best friend. I absolutely hate that picture - and I will keep it for ever. :laugh:
  • I got engaged in April of this year, our wedding will be in April 2013. I've known for a while that I had about 20-30 pounds I could lose, but it didn't really hit me until this past weekend when my mom and I went wedding gown shopping. I was shocked when I tried on what I though would be my size, and it wouldn't even zip up! My fiance always tells me he thinks I'm beautiful, but it's about time I agree with him.
  • lilmzzgreeneyez
    lilmzzgreeneyez Posts: 133 Member
    when i realized I was running out of clothes options to wear in my size in most stores and I had to start buying the extended sizes in bras which were so few options that i had to deal with wearing uncomfortable bras. oh and i got tired of my children asking me if I was pregnant again....im 30 lbs down now and i have ton more to go to be happy but im glad now that im finally making this change.
  • Csitri
    Csitri Posts: 132 Member
    I am a single mom of a 19 year old son.

    Got diagnosed in 2004 with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis and told I would be in a wheel chair. I am walking, slightly with a limp and gained a lot of weight.

    Want to lose some and get more fit.

    I do not want to land in that wheel chair. Its hard work trying to lose weight when I am limited to what I can do. But I will keep trying my best every day.

    My friend lost a lot of weight by using this site and recommended it to me.
  • melneh
    melneh Posts: 25
    I went out to a restaraunt with my bf, and as we were standing at the register to pay, there was an angled mirror that was tinited and had tiny designs all over it, and I saw this girl in the corner of my eye through the reflection and thought hmm, goodness, that is a big girl. i guess you can all guess how the story goes from there. That reflection was actually me. No joke. The thought was a quick one, as I was scanning through my purse for my wallet. It wasnt a mean thought, it was just... hmm, big girl very matter of factly. Realising it was me, shocked the holy hell out of me. I NEVER SAW MYSELF LIKE THAT in my mirror in the morning. I never thought of myself as a BIG GIRL. yes I was plus size and active, but I never ever would of thought of myself as the way I saw myself in that mirror. It was shcoking and sad and motivating and liberating all at the same time.
    it was the pivotal moment - that has define that past three years for me.
    and let me tell you. I am greatful.
  • thingal12
    thingal12 Posts: 302 Member
    when i realized I was running out of clothes options to wear in my size in most stores and I had to start buying the extended sizes in bras which were so few options that i had to deal with wearing uncomfortable bras. oh and i got tired of my children asking me if I was pregnant again....im 30 lbs down now and i have ton more to go to be happy but im glad now that im finally making this change.

    I too have the clothes problem! I have too much clothes that'll go to waste if I go buy some bigger sized clothing! I keep wearing the same clothes to work, over and over! And on the weekends I wear swetpants and the same jeans and t-shirt. :cry:
  • rachelmorgan77
    rachelmorgan77 Posts: 131 Member
    I remember after having my first child my husband looked at me one day and said "You look like your mother." I knew it was time to do something. It took five years later for me to actually act on it, and once again it was my husband. When complaining that I didn't have time to work out, he called my bluff and told me it was just an excuse. "Let me watch the kids," he said. And I did. Bless him for loving me enough to help me on this journey.
  • lilmzzgreeneyez
    lilmzzgreeneyez Posts: 133 Member
    when i realized I was running out of clothes options to wear in my size in most stores and I had to start buying the extended sizes in bras which were so few options that i had to deal with wearing uncomfortable bras. oh and i got tired of my children asking me if I was pregnant again....im 30 lbs down now and i have ton more to go to be happy but im glad now that im finally making this change.

    I too have the clothes problem! I have too much clothes that'll go to waste if I go buy some bigger sized clothing! I keep wearing the same clothes to work, over and over! And on the weekends I wear swetpants and the same jeans and t-shirt. :cry:

    i wasted 100 bucks on new jeans back in february they were too tight by the end of march. i didnt wear them for a while and i was pissed at myself. only wearing yoga/activewear pants for a long time (i still do but because i have no jeans since those are too big now) i tried them on this month and i must have passed the point where i could wear them already lol cause they are too big in the waist. but some of my nicer "slacks" fit again that i havent worn since christmas time lol. that was a nice thing to have...
  • Pollywog39
    Pollywog39 Posts: 1,730 Member
    My revelation came as a result of a physical last July (gee, almost a year ago now!)

    I never thought of myself as a "fat" person. I looked GOOD, and my numbers were good - cholesterol, sugars, heart, no diabetes or blood pressure..........hell, I was a perfect specimen!

    And then the doctor said THAT word. Oh, many of us KNOW that word........and we shrug it off, and think "only people who are REALLY fat are THAT word!!"

    But that word shocked me.........I WAS OBESE!

    I was 5' 3" tall, 182 lbs, body fat way up there - tryglicerides in the highest range (that's FAT in your blood, folks!).......................
    I was so mad at my doctor. How DARE she say that word to me!!!! And she wants me to do what? To TALK to a dietician? oh, hell no!

    But I did..........and I learned that yes, I was fat and needed to start working on that. So I did something I'd done about 20 yrs earlier (and had lost weight then) - I bought a few little notebooks, and started to log my food - just calories, fat, and fiber.....................and GUESS where I found the best food database? Why, it was on MFP!

    It took me a few weeks to really discover what MFP could do for me (thanks to my sister), and I've been here ever since. 23 lbs lighter, NO LONGER obese, feeling pretty danged good.................and more motivated to keep going towards my goal of 140 :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

    Hugs to all!
  • redscylla
    redscylla Posts: 211 Member
    Watching my 300+ pound mother struggle to walk the short distance down her driveway to the mailbox. I did the math. It took me 20 years to go from 110 lbs. to 210 lbs. If I kept on at that rate, I was going to weigh 300+ pounds in another 20 years. That's exactly how my mother got to where she is. Slow, steady gains. I decided to hell with that, I was turning this bus around.
  • Joanne_8595
    Joanne_8595 Posts: 64 Member
    For years I had been having various health problems and I found that once those were gone I suddenly felt like I wanted to do more, simply because I felt so much better. Each day I feel even better, with exercise and eating better, it just was a revelation that I was feeling good for once!
  • sl1ngsh0t
    sl1ngsh0t Posts: 326 Member
    Whilst shopping, I discovered I couldn't fit into a pair of Levis 501's in any size. I used to wear them all the time when I was younger. Instead of buying clothing that day, I went home and bought JM's 90 d. BR. I fit into those Levis now!
  • profgal43
    profgal43 Posts: 115 Member
    Love your story. You are an inspiration!

    I hadn't stepped on a scale in 6 mo and when I did found was at my heaviest all time weight. My clothes didn't fit and that number 193, just scared the crap out of me. I had been playing with trying to lose weight by just cutting back and was getting nowhere. I didn't know the person in the mirror and at 48 and already dealing with the many impacts of aging, I decided I had to do more. Oh and then we booked a trip to Aruba in November. The thought of being on a beach in a bathing suit on a tropical island was the last kick in the butt I needed.


    Then my sweetie decided nine months ago to run a minimarathon. He is also above his desired weight and he hadn't run in several years, but he just trained and went out and did it; ran the whole Indy 500 mini 13 miles in May. When I saw him do that, I decided if he could do it, I could start running again too. After three months I'm running two slow miles, but the weight is coming off and I can feel a difference in my clothes. And I rediscovered my enjoyment of running.


    Finding this site was like the last piece of the puzzle. I do better with tracking and accountability and community and found them all here. Sooo looking forward to shopping for and buying a sexy swimsuit to wear on the beach in Aruba come November!
  • iris8pie
    iris8pie Posts: 224 Member
    so, this is totally embaressing, but my rock bottom is/was buying pregnancy pants even though I wasnt pregnant to compensate for my gut!
  • i went to a wedding and Me and my boyfriend took pictures and I look like 5 months pregnant i was so a shame. didn't want nobody to see me that was my breaking point
  • Goobies818
    Goobies818 Posts: 1 Member
    A doctor's appointment telling me that if I don't make any lifestyle changes, he wouldn't be suprised if I died or had a stroke by the time I reached 40.