what started it all for you?

I started Pilates. It was not even a break-through decision...just that I have been reading and thinking for years...but never quite started anything. I was quite inspired by a friend whose body has transformed via Pilates. I found a good studio close by and started a few classes. it was a major "click" that I have been looking for! and with that as a base, the ball starts rolling....and I am onto more and more. There have been both successes and set-backs, but overall that "click" has stayed with me since last fall and it is still going strong.


I hope you will find your "click" soon. It is all about what works for you! Good luck.

My boyfriend asked me (while we were, ahem, enjoying each other's company) if I wouldn't mind going to the gym. It hurt, but it gave me the motivation I needed. Now I go to the gym almost every day and I'm starting to keep track of what I'm eating. I haven't lost a lot of weight, but I've lost inches and gained muscle.

I had spent my entire adult life morbidly obese. I had destroyed my left knee. I had a grand daughter that I couldn't play with the way I wanted to. My grand daughter's parents split up, and I went from keeping her every day to not even seeing her for over a month (due to the spitefulness of her mother). I spiraled deeper into depression, I was having some very scary physical symptoms (heart arrhythmias and blacking out being the worst ones), and I didn't even have a primary care physician... and didn't want one. I really was at the point where I just didn't care anymore - and I don't just mean about how unhealthy I was, I mean I didn't care if I lived anymore. Honestly, I got pissed off most mornings when I woke up...

My husband and the few close friends and family members that I have, the ones who really do care about me, were constantly on my case about getting to a doctor to get my heart checked out. They tried begging, pleading, even threatening... So I finally scheduled an appointment, just to shut them all up.

I went to that appointment on 3-June-2012. Within 5 minutes, this doctor "strongly suggested" gastric bypass surgery for me. I said "uh, thanks, but no thanks." He did blood tests, EKG, mammogram, upper GI imaging... ran me through the gamut. I went home from his office that day with 5 prescriptions, covering heartburn, cholesterol, and who remembers what else.

Now when I finally went to see a doctor, I had already begun losing weight, though it wasn't on purpose. I was unable to eat due to the stress in my life. My choices were either eat knowing it would make me throw up, or don't eat... so I wasn't eating...

Doctor wanted to see me again to do more testing in 2 weeks. I went in, had lost a few pounds, still not trying, and he added more prescriptions. I got home and was even more upset because not only was I tired of all the crap life was throwing at me, but also because we could NOT afford for me to be taking all this expensive medication. My husband is an insulin dependent diabetic, using an insulin pump, taking multiple medications, and he HAS to have his medicine... I couldn't stand the thought of wasting money on myself for medications when I didn't even want to be here anyway... Kind of the same way I stopped smoking... (finances were bad, and I counted out what change I could find. I came up with enough money to either buy one pack of cigarettes, or sandwich meat and a loaf of bread to feed my husband and kids for the 2 days till payday, but not both. I didn't choose cigarettes and haven't had once since, will be 5 years in January)

I still wasn't eating, hubby was monitoring that I took my medicine. One day, my son and daughter said they were going to go for a walk (she was 24, he was 16). I decided to tag along. Less than half a mile in and I thought I was going to die. I even told my daughter so. I told them that one of them was going to have to go get a car or call 911. They did neither. I managed to drag myself the remaining 1/4 mile home and swore I'd never do that again...

The next day, we walked a whole mile. And I walked with them every day for a week.

I hated it at first. I had grown to hate the thought of food too. Especially the way this Southern girl always cooked everything (fried, with bacon grease, mayo) and vegetables around here consisted of corn and potatoes... every "cooked" meal had white rice... but in my frame of mind, most suppers we had been eating for several months were either bacon sandwiches or hot dogs and french fries. And the french fries were deep fried, and were a 6 out of 7 nights a week thing.

Well, I could no longer eat all that grease. With the reflux, the hernia, and the fact that my nerves had my stomach in a constant state of turmoil, I had to find other things to eat. Not because I wanted to eat, but once again to shut those who cared enough to worry about me up.

I started making small changes. Baking the fries. Getting salad stuff.

My son and daughter weren't as keen about going walking every day anymore. I had started to look forward to it. I downloaded an app to my phone to track my walking. I liked the positive feedback.

I downloaded the MFP app on 9-August-2012 and have logged the foods I have eaten ever since that day. Now I may quick add calories for some things, but I've logged caloric intake since that day. Again, I liked being able to SEE what I was doing. Some of the people who were so "proud" of me, began to call me obsessed... to tell me I was getting too "into" tracking everything. My doctor, on the other hand, was excited to see the positive changes.

I don't know exactly when I realized that I was worth taking care of, that I had taken care of everyone else all my life, and that it was ok to take care of me now... but I DID realize it. And I'll never go back there.

I still don't see the 160-something pound Angie when I look in the mirror. Most of the time, I still see the 300 pound one. Occasionally, I startle myself when I catch my shadow or reflection in my peripheral vision. When I look at photos, I can clearly see the difference, but I can't believe it's me.

I've still got weight to lose, and I hope that a lot of this excess saggy skin will tighten up some... but for the first time in 40 years, I LIKE ME... I don't love me yet... don't know if I ever will... but hey, I LIKE me!

This time?

Well this time it was getting diagnosed with type 2 DM in early May. :sad:

At my Father's funeral, the first thing anyone said to me was, "Wow, you got FAT!!".

It was not just one comment, but many.

I had to buy a new pair of pants in the next size up and no longer could wear my medium sized t shirts. I decided I wasn't going to buy a new wardrobe in a larger size. I made the decision to get back down to my normal weight and fit into my old clothes (that aren't so old actually) by next season.

My trifecta of reasons are as follows:

Enough is Enough

**I'm 43 and I realized that 1/2 my life is over, and I've spent most of those years overweight. Did I want to spend the rest of it fat, not being able to do the things I want to do? My fat keeps me home and keeps me away from the life I want to live.

**My son is 17 and will be a senior in high school. He has told me he worries about me and my health. I want to have one last year with him living at home, where we have a fun ACTIVE family life. Mostly, I want him to be able to go away to college and not have to worry about me.

**My daughter is 8 and I see her developing my eating habits. She's definitely becoming overweight. I WILL NOT pass on my weight problem to her.

THANK you for sharing that! I have felt the same way for many years. I am glad that I have my own voice now. You can do it! It is hard work, but you are worth it!

I am glad you do to Awe, thank you! Your right We are worth it ;-)

I've always been about 10-15 pounds overweight; but in my early 30s, I put on an additional 20 pounds. I had always considered myself to be thick and curvy, but that extra 20 pounds put me over the edge to pudgy and flabby. Then one night, about two years ago, I was looking in a full length mirror, and I thought, "I hate my body, but I guess I'll just have to live with it." That moment, it was like I had been struck by lightning. Was I really just going to give up on loving my body??? HELL NO!!

That night, I made a resolution to do a 2 week juice fast and spend that time researching a healthy eating lifestyle that I could commit to permanently. Over those 2 weeks, I lost 10 pounds; and when I came off the juice fast, I went straight into my healthy eating plan and lost another 15 within a year. That was almost 3 years ago. I've lost about 30 pounds now, and I've kept it off. I'm thinner than I was in high school, and healthier, too. I LOVE my body, and I don't dread looking in the mirror or taking pictures.

The key things for me have been the following: (1) I celebrate my good decisions instead of dwelling on the bad; (2) I try to create healthy versions of the things I crave (carrot chips with soy sauce and vinegar instead of salt and vinegar chips); and (3) I try to always keep in mind that, just because I blew it for one meal, I don't get to blow it for the whole day. You can get back on track anytime. Do I make perfect choices every day? No. In fact, sometimes I have 3 or 4 days where I just totally blow it. But then I smile, look in the mirror and say, "That was fun. Now time to get back to real life."

My father passed away in January due to complications of diabetes. Once everything settled down, I took a long hard look at myself and decided that things had to change. Five months later I'm still here and half way there.