What was your first light bulb moment that made you think "Hey, I better do something...RIGHT NOW"
Mine was my father. One Jan. 1, 2005, he suffered a major heart attack. He made it through and came home after a week in the hospital. He went back later to have 2 stints put in. It scared him enough, that he changed what he ate and etc... But, like many people, everything fell by the way-side and he went back to his old ways.
A little over a year later, he had another major heart attack. This left his lower part of the heart damaged. This time it resulted in heart surgery, in Feb. 2006. After having an 8-hour surgery for five bypasses, he started feeling better. He came home and everything was looking good. Then for some reason(we are not sure...possibly the meds he was on) he started getting weaker and weaker. To the point he couldn't get out of his chair. Back to the hospital and they changed some meds and things looked good again. Little did we know, that this was the beginning of a roller coaster ride of many hospital visits. Eventually, he landed in a nursing home. At some point, he suffered a stroke, which limited his mobility and his eye sight. He didn't end up completly blind, but all he could see were shadows. He was just going to be there long enough for him to be able to get around on his own.
He just kept getting weaker and weaker. No one knew what was going on. Doctors or anyone.
My mother, little brother and I had to make the hardest decision of whether to keep him on support or not. He was showing all signs of actively dying (thank goodness for my SIL, who is a nurse and whom gave it to us straight, and put everything into laymans terms,when some doctors woudn't). We took turns staying by his bed and making sure he was kept comfortable. Then on Sept. 20, 2006, after a week in the hospital, my father lost his fight. My mom and I were there when he passed.
After seeing what my dad went through, I don't want my girls go through the same thing with me. Heart disease runs heavy on my dad's side and that is what has motivated me. Seeing my dad lay there, not himself, is what has motivated me. Being able to see my grandkids (when that time comes) is what is motivating me. Life is motivating me.
My Life is crazy, I am alone ,had a WC accident, Lost my new home(Paid for) moved into a mobile...Cant take care of yard....etc....and my life is out of control,....The only thing i have control of is what i eat.......Drs Appoints....are just crazy and waiting for my check every two weeks is nerve racking...they can stop my payments at any time and i am still unable to work...I hired a lawyer, and going thru with my settlement......life is crazyyyyy thats what driving me....PS... My right arm is bad sorry for the typo's....
I am a young mommy. I'm 26 and and have 2 children who are almost 2 and almost 1. I've been married almost 4 years to a man who I love more than life...I want to have many more kids. Last year, I started having a flutter in my heartbeat. This led to anxiety attacks, depression, and hypochondria (which I still suffer with to this day). I'm pretty sure that this all stems from my being overweight. My motivation is my husband and kids. I want to be around to see my kids grow up. I want to be able to chase after my kids at the park and not be out of breath within 2 minutes. I want to be able to be "creatively intimate" with my husband. In other words... I want to try new positions, but it's hard to throw your legs over your head when you have 240 pounds to maneuver around..... hahahaha!.... This is my motivation.....
There have been so many things that SHOULD have motivated me ... the fact I developed type II diabetes, being unable to walk more than a few yards without backache, unable to enjoy fun days with the family etc but they didn't seem to be enough to ignite the touch paper.
What did it in the end was one day, on an outing to the Natural History Museum in London with my youngest (11), some friends and their kids, I was watching them whilst their mums went out for a cigarette. My youngest was sitting on a step with my friend's five year old son just chatting within earshot when suddenly, he said to her "Your mummy is REALLY fat". My daughter's face looked shocked and she glanced up at me.
In that moment, our eyes met and all I could see in her was pity. She knew I'd heard the comment and was hurt for me. It was one thing for ME to be hurt by unkind comments: quite another for my young daughter to take on the burden of hurt in my place.
She glanced down and said back to him in a hushed voice "That's not a very nice thing to say."
He said it in innocence - it was just an observation. But the look of pity on my daughter's face will haunt me forever. For the rest of the outing, my daughter stayed close to me and held my hand, knowing I'd been hurt. I held back my emotions but when I got home, I shut myself in the bathroom and cried for hours.
It was like all the pain from the last 20 years just flooded out - I sobbed until I was exhausted. That was the day I decided something had to be done. This happened in March of last year ... I still have a way to go but losing SOME of the weight has already transformed my life. Now I want to experience getting all the way to my goal.
I've added a link to my progress pics in my signature: hope this isn't violating any of the group rules
My work was my recent motivator. I am a freelance makeup artist and I have to stand long hours. I love the work, but it is hard on my feet, knees and back. Carrying the added weight does not help. After the last event that I worked, I limped to my car and spent most of the evening icing down the front and backs of my knees just so I could work the next day.
I needed to post this because this evening I have been struggling with eating things that I know will not move me toward my goal.
The kick in my pants was when my nephew's 31-year-old father died from his 2nd heart attack. He left my nephew, his step brother, 2 half brothers, and wife 18-weeks pregnant with his 5th son. I don't want my kids to lose their mother! The day that he died, my husband and I joined a gym. We went very regularly for 5 months - I lost over 30 pounds and tons of inches without modifying my eating, just adding the exercise. December 2005 we let life get in the way of the exercise. From Jan 2006 to December 27th, 2006, I was in the gym exactly 2 times. The motivation hasn't changed, I still want to be able to watch my children grow up. I got a late start with them, and I'm hoping to at least meet my grandkids.
I guess what forced me to go back and get serious again right now, though, is that we've got a fancy party celebrating 30 years of my husband's company in June. Though I'll be nowhere near goal, I would LOVE to be small enough to be able to wear something cute to the party! I'm ready to just get the weight off and be done with losing forever, and worry about maintaining.
i was way motivated a few months ago and (of course) lapsed away from it and now im back with avengence! (sp?)
my 2 best girlfriends came in from out of town for a week... the only times men approached me (unlike them who kept getting drinks bought for them) was to ask me questions about my other friends.
Actually, i haven't had that light bulb moment! I've waited for it for about 15 years, and it's never happened....so I thought I better go ahead and bust my *** to get this weight off me before i DIE waiting !!!
Maybe I walk around with blinders on, or maybe it's because I live in Canada and we're all really nice , but I've NEVER and I mean NEVER experienced anyone snickering or laughing at me, calling me names, nothing! Maybe that would have helped I don't know??? I would have gotten ARRESTED FOR BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF THEM, but prison food is slimming I think
Trazey...you make me laugh! I love your sense of humor.
I've been overweight all of my life, but never this big. My primary motivation came when I went to Disney for the weekend two time in the last two months. I had a very difficult time finding clothes for trips and keeping up with my family in the parks. In the mornings, I could barely walk. My knees and my feet were so sore...I moved around like a very very old lady. It was a sad site. We are going to Disney again for the first weekend in February. It's not a lot of time, but I'm hoping to make a difference before we go.
Mine was a combo of seeing myself look like a blimp in picture (it's amazing how the image I've carried around in my head is 50 lbs lighter than I am!) and a fight with my mother. It wasn't about food/weight/etc, but it was the angriest I can remember being in a long time. That day I walked everywhere I needed to go that day and decided that was that. I don't know if it was my lightbulb, but it definately was the catalyst!
I am motivated by the fact I have always been able to hide my fat pretty well. But I am to the point where I can no longer do that. So I have been staying in the house hiding! My "big" clothes are tight and uncomfortable..yuck! And I get exahuasted walking from one end of the house to the other. And my house isn't that big! And I look and feel like crap!
For me it was a combination of things: literally having three shirts and one pair of pants that fit in my closet full of size 24's, getting tired and sweaty with any exertion whatsoever (sometimes just standing still), and approaching my 35th birthday. There are so many things I want in life that I feel I'm either not going to have at this size no matter how I try or that I would have to settle for at this size and I'm so tired of being left behind. I want to be part of life, not limited to being a spectator because participating is too strenuous for me. I never want to worry about weight/size limits again, be it a folding chair, an airplane seatbelt, a restaurant booth, or clothes. I'm tired of not being attractive and feeling invisible!
I had several mini-kicks and 1 deal breaker that led me to make the change. I have also been overweight for most of what I can remember of my life...but really my weight gain had been slower and steady over the years...nothing so drastic that I really took notice. Things that have bothered me in the past few years....
Winter 2004, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the same time my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer....went through a nasty breakup and that is where my upward spiral with my weight began and was the seedling for me rediscovering my once under control alcohol tendencies.
Summer 2005, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, basically we were camping on a farm in 100* heat with 15,000 people....lots of walking, lots of hills. The sun bothers me enough as is but I was so miserable that I really couldn't have a good time...and I love festivals and camping and music but I was just so miserable and embarrassed... and extra hot from making sure I covered everything up while everyone else was running around in bikinis!
Fall 2005, quit my job with nothing lined up and hit a bout of unemployment...this was when my drinking...which I had had under control for years, really started to get out of control again....
6 weeks later...landed a job, in my field even! I was pretty broke cause it was only part time but hey...gotta start somewhere and its gotten better...a job where I sit at a desk, and was around gourmet catering, office junk, lunch takeout, after work bar food and what seemed like an endless open bar
Summer 2006.... flight to London in coach...horrid.....rooming with 3 very thin girls, horrid, I was so hot and tired and sweaty the whole time I was there another trip ruined....
October 2006 work conference in NYC (which is really fun cause I work in theatrical entertainment so we get to go see a bunch of Broadway shows etc...it was really just as much of a week long party as it was working) we were out at a bar after a show and were outside smoking....some guy from a bar next door who was also outside yelled to our group of girls.... 'hey, yo whats up FAT chicks' ....big mistake to yell that to a group of feisty overweight women who haven't slept and have been drinking.... you bet we chased him off! Other than that yet another trip was ruined...my nice clothes didn't fit, I was tired all the time, my feet were killing me from running around in heels. I had stayed to visit friends before and after the actual conference....and I was whiny and cranky and plain old miserable the whole time.
November 2006 I got on a scale and realized in a year since starting the desk job my weight had done more than just gradually increase...I had gained over 30 pounds in 1 year. I then looked in the mirror and excepted the fact that at almost 240lbs I was no longer just overweight I was technically considered in the eyes of the medical community as obese and fast on the heels of morbidly obese. I felt bloated, had trouble doing simple things like bending over to tie my shoes! that was the real click day...that made me look back on all of the others and realize how much fun I've missed. I've spent the better part of my early 20s letting the world pass me by....being absolutely miserable. It had led me to staying home with a bottle of wine, my tv and my couch on Saturday nights.
I wasn't living the way I wanted to be living. I realized that I can live the rest of my life better, if I work hard enough I can learn the healthy habits that have never been a part of my life, I can advance in my career and be that savvy business woman I envision who can run in a hot suit in a pair of stilettos, I can be in control to go to a work event and not hug the buffet and drink 12 glasses of the free wine to get me through the night....I can be strong enough to just have one and be work the room like I once could...I can have a good time when I have to go back to NYC in March, I can leave the house and go on day-hikes, I can go back to my favorite festival in August and wear summer clothing and not be a cranky witch! I can be comfortable enough and love myself enough so that I can be able to date again....its just not a good idea for me to do that now while I'm unhappy with myself and my habits...first rule...love yourself first.
There are some things I'll never be, I'll never be rich or famous, I'll never be taller, I'll never be blond, I'll never have a tan, I'll always just burn, I'll never like my toes, I''ll never have less freckles...but I can be fit and healthy and enjoy my life so that is where I'm trying to go.
My motivation came from my hepatologist. I was told very bluntly that I would need a liver transplant in the future and that in my current state of health that I wouldn't be able to receive one. My weight was causing problems with Diabetes, Congestive Heart Failure, Asthma, Severe Hypertension and Tachycardia. All of these could be controlled best with the loss of weight and then I'd be healthy enough for a transplant. I cried and I got over it and did something about it. I decided right then and there that I wanted to Live. I wanted to see my DD raised. I wanted to be around for my grandchildren. When it truly does come down to life or death, the choice to lose the weight is an easy one. I'm now at goal and my health is so much improved. I think it will be quite a while before I get a transplant but I intend to stay at a healthy weight and exercise until this time. I want the best possible survival chance.
My motivation was finding my hubby in an online affair. (though he swears it wasn't an affair). He was ready to leave, his biggest points, the fact that I didn't take care of myself anymore. That I had gained a buttload of weight and sat at night doing nothing but eating and gaining even more. That I didn't wear my makeup and that I didn't care what I looked like. That was mid October. I had lost 30 lbs already but was putting back on what I had lost cuz as usual I had quit trying again. So then I got serious, real serious. I have now lost another 30 some lbs., dropped several clothing sizes. He is now snuggling again. Loving buying me new clothes. After I drop the next 4lbs I get my first tattoo. He even got me a sapphire necklace for Christmas. I'm dealing with my depression through therapy and medication (by the way the depression was part of the reason for the weight gain). We are dealing with our marriage and at this time there isn't another woman online. I should tell you too that his little online thing turned out to be a scam. It got figured out when she had started asking for money. I do know that she wasn't the first online fling, but he isn't aware that I know that. I also know that it hasn't been a constant and continous thing. There have only been 2 that even his best friend is aware of. The dh is 42 and for the past couple of years he has not dealt with life well. I believe he has been going through his own midlife crisis. These women were telling him what he wanted to and needed to hear. He doesn't admit that either but I have my ways of finding things out. He even got a motorcycle almost a year ago. (he has ridden for years, though he hasn't had one and been able to ride in a long time.)
What I have to remember is that they weren't good enough for him to actually leave me, and as much as finding out hurt now we are dealing with the issues in our marriage and are actually working on our marriage. I am working on me. He will have to work on him. And no ladies, it wasn't a sexual thing. We are finding ways to reconnect. Motorcycles are becoming a part of that. I am learning to ride and getting my own and we are planning on going to a bike rally in September.
Last edited by wannabsexy; 01-08-2007 at 06:47 AM.
What finally got you motivated?
Julie
, but I've NEVER and I mean NEVER experienced anyone snickering or laughing at me, calling me names, nothing! Maybe that would have helped I don't know??? I would have gotten ARRESTED FOR BEATING THE CRAP OUT OF THEM, but prison food is slimming I think 
Trazey...you make me laugh! I love your sense of humor.
We are going to Disney again for the first weekend in February. It's not a lot of time, but I'm hoping to make a difference before we go.
