[little pony]

I was wondering what everyone's breaking point or motivation was to lose the weight and start exercising?

I am 45, 130 lbs over weight, no kids and single. I have been over weight my entire life. Oh I have lost the weight, the most 50 lbs but then something major happens in my life and I go back to my destructive ways. I know I should lose it. I know how to lose it. I keep buying weight loss books, and exercise tapes knowing I need to use them, but can't seem to get my brain and body on the same page. Even snide remarks from my family isn't enough to get me going.

Anyone willing to come and give me a swift kick in my spongey behind to get me going?

[musictchr]

Hi little - You hit a nerve with me with your question, so I'm going to ramble a bit . Feel freee to fast forward at any time!

I'm actually a little like you, although more overweight, mid 40's and single. Almost my whole family is heavy, so the support isn't always the greatest either. This is what led up to my resolve this time:

1. My dad died about a year and a half ago after living with cancer. It took up to 4 people to move him toward the end because he was so heavy.

2. My mom is now extremely dependent on other people due to her weight and weight related health issues.

After seeing these two things get worse and worse, I've decided that I will not depend on other people in my old age as they had to. My dad's couldn't be helped, but it could have been a little easier physically for the rest of us had he weighed less.

And besides, wouldn't it be fantastic to have a great guy look at me on the street, and not because he can't believe how big I am?!

Good luck with your quest. I'll kick your butt any time!!

Shirley

[Janny O]

Hi Little-
I'm 46 and when I started this journey, I was the exact same weight as you are now. It took getting pissed off at my self!! I couldn't stand seeing the reflection in windows and in mirrors!! You will be soooooo amazed at what you can do once you hit your goals. Take it day by day and don't look at the big picture-it's too overwhelming.
I'm married, no kids, but guys are coming up to me and talking to me-people that wouldn't take the time to do otherwise. This floors me. SO-that in itself can be a great motivator.
Good luck and we are all here for you!!
Jan

[Slashnl]

For me, it was the noticeable aches and pains that were coming on fast. My knees would hurt going up stairs. I'm 43 and I just couldn't see that getting worse. I just wanted to feel better and have more energy. I got tired of pantyhose and underwear rolling down because of how big my stomach was/is.

I am married with 2 kids, 13 and 11 yrs. I want to be able to be around for a long time to share in their lives.

[ShyCammie]

Little Pony (Sound's like a Native American name ),
I grew up slender and healthy...even somewhat athletic. But between 28 and 32, PCOS kicked into high gear and sent me a weight gain curve ball.
In college I could eat an order of fries, an order of onion rings and drink a chocolate shake for lunch and not gain weight. As the weight crept on, I tried one thing after another...eventually (like at 212lbs), I started to panic.
Finally at 231 lbs, I found a TCM doctor who helped me with my PCOS and got me started losing weight. I got to 205-207...then got pregnant (THAT was a huge surprise!).
My post pregnancy weight was 245, I got down to 213-215 then had knee surgery. I was recently back up to 239.
So what was that one thing?
It wasn't one thing for me.
It was a number of things. #1 Looking in a full lenghth mirror and truly seeing me the way I am now (instead of the way I see myself in my head, with skinny knees and a waist).
#2 Realizing that I'm worth it. I'm worthy of being healthy, being able to look in the mirror and like what I see. But moment to moment, I'm worth putting healthy portions of healthy food into my mouth. I'm worth more than a half a gallon of ice cream shoveled in with my eyes glued to the TV. That's not respectful of the gift I've been given - my body, my soul, my health.
#3 The support here. There are ladies here who help me change all of those "unworthy" negative thoughts and feelings to positive ones. Knowing that today I'd have to report how my weekend went, how my workout's gone today, etc...that motivates me. I don't feel like I'm "reporting" to some skinny person. I'm volunteering to be accountible to people who've been there and are just waiting to cheer for me. If there's nothing to cheer about...they have gently steered me back to postive thought.
I really would have rather taken a nap at lunch today. I would have liked more than 3/4ths of a bowl of soup for lunch after my workout. I'm peeing like a racehorse because of all the water I'm drinking, but I'm actually proud that I've had half a gallon of water already today...besides, the extra walks to the ladies room are "free exercise."
Honey, you let me stop in IL on my way to vacation in Wisconsin and I'll...NOT kick you in the butt, I'll give you the biggest hug you've ever had and laugh and cry with you. Look in the mirror. See that wonderful woman? You are a princess.
Don't EVER forget that. YOU are a PRINCESS. Why aren't you treating yourself gently, like royalty? Treat yourself the way you'd treat a friend who's trying to lose weight...with kindness and respect, with love and support.
(With the help of the ladies here, that's what I'm doing...not trying, doing.)
Cammie

[little pony]

Thank you Ladies for all your input and support. I felt all the kicks you were giving. Why is getting started to hard?

[ShyCammie]

Little Pony,
Not to be glib but, "Anything worth having is worth working for..."
"The harder you work for it the more you will appreciate it..."
You know the sayings.
But it's true. You will SO appreciate the sense of feeling healthy once you start to reach a weight that you're more comfortable with. (In fact I secretly believe that I "get comfortable" when I lose a certain amount of weight and that's why I plateau. Just a suspicion.)
So, really...realize that you're worth the work and join us on 47 and no idea.
Smile sweetie...you have people cheering for you to get moving and treat yourself well when you eat.
Cammie

[ladybugnessa]

for me it was many things

1. my husband's cousin died of weight related Complications (the 750 pound man on the TLC show)... and my husband was about 50 pounds from bedridden his eyes were being swallowed up by his fat...

2. we did NOTHING we sat around the house and did NOTHING

3. I could not turn over in bed without getting breathless.

4. EVERYTHING HURT ALL THE TIME

5. it was (TMI HERE) becoming impossible to keep myself clean in certain areas. i had YEAST in all my creases... YEAST smells bad..... it burns it itches and i was MISERABLE

6. VERY TMI HERE..... we had lost our sex life... as newlyweds this was not acceptable to me...... it was not out of lack of love but more that we just did not have the energy or the ability to move in a manner necessary for everything to work properly.

7. my 72 year old father was in better shape than I was.


so we started. and we did great... now nearly 14 months later... the loss is not spectacular and my DH being down from over 400 to about 360 is taking a bit of a break (maintaining but not losing) and i'm losing slowly.... but we've totally revamped our lives and how we eat on a daily basis and the rest will come off. I've lost 50 i have 60 to go!

[Transforming]

I walked by a plate glass window and caught sight of my reflection. I didn't recognize myself at first. Who is that woman? She looks not only out of shape, but sad. I didn't think I was sad, but I certainly look it. If this is the image I've been projecting to the world, it certainly doesn't match the way I think about myself. Or does it.......?

So I've been changing myself from the inside out. The last step is to get the outside to match all the wonderful things I've been doing inside.

[mikandmari]

I've just returned to this forum after 3 years. These stories were all very inspiring! Thanks!

[bethmart]

Originally Posted by musictchr

And besides, wouldn't it be fantastic to have a great guy look at me on the street, and not because he can't believe how big I am?!

And he I always thought is was because they liked my big bootie


Sadly my motivation has always been men. Yup Thats it.

[bodhisattva]

There have been a few things....

Like many women, I have a range of sizes in my closet....from 6-14. I always swore I would never buy anything bigger....but then I outgrew my 14s. I now pretty much live in loose yoga pants, lol.

I got on the scale one morning and discovered that I weighed as much as my husband. He is a 6'2" big-boned guy...and although I am 5'10", I was apalled!!

I'm tired of not being able to move properly. I have a moderate herniated disc in my back and a bad knee from a torn ACL years ago, and my added weight really exacerbates these. And just everyday bending, twisting, etc. is much harder. When I carry a 50 lb. bag of pig feed to our barn, I think about the fact that I am also carrying that much extra weight on my body.....it's no wonder I don't feel good!

And finally, the SHALLOW reason, lol: I used to be hot. I used to be able to walk into a room with unbelievable confidence. I got whistled at...stared at...could get any guy I wanted. Obviously, since I am married I am not looking for any guy I want....and I'm mature enough that I find catcalls and whistles kind of annoying. But I still want those options!!! LOL!! I just want to feel good about myself again....I miss feeling like I am hot!!

[hopingtobehopeful]

Oh yeah. Feeling sexy and confident. Hard for me to do that when I am constantly trying to hold my body so no article of clothing touches the rolls on my back LOL!

My moment was putting on my "fat" jeans and finding out that I couldn't button them comfortably. So, driving to the mall, buying the next size up AGAIN! and wearing them out of the store

Plate glass windows are always discomforting too. Walking the the door of the drugstore and hoping that it auto-opens before I catch a glimpse of what's really going on with my body.

One of my mini-goals is getting back into my "fat" jeans that are rolled up in a ball in the trunk of my car!

There is hope for us all!

[RousseRonde]

For me, it was having to have my wedding ring cut off my finger by a jeweler because my fingers were SOOOO fat and swollen! My mum died in Feb this year and I hit the comfort eating big time, thinking I *deserved* all those cookies and chocolate because I was sad. But as a PP said, I'm worth more than all those empty calories shovelled in without even thinking about it.

My mum spent the last 15 yrs of her life confined to a chair because her knees were too weak to support her weight, I want to sort my weight out before that happens to me...

My mum had me when she was 43 and I never remember her running around with me or playing, she was just sitting on a bench or in a deck chair watching... I was 36 and 42 respectively when I had my 2 boys, and I want them to have memories of me as a "fun" person who was willing to run round with them!
RR

[balloonlady]

For me the motivation came from a simple hair cut. I cut 8 inches off of my hair and nobody noticed. It was a drastic change but because I'm fat (150lbs to lose) people don't look directly at me. I saw the same group of women 2 hours before I cut my hair and about 4 hours afterwards. They didn't notice at all, driving home something I have noticed for awhile. The fatter you get the less people notice your existence.

The haircut (which looks great by the way) wasn't a huge thing, but it was the final straw. I'm tired of changing my life to compensate for my weight. No more judging if I can fit between cars or in chairs. I decided to change my weight to compensate for my life.

That was a week ago yesterday. Today is my first weigh in since I started. No matter what the results, I do feel good, so something must have changed.