For me, I got extremely frustrated one evening when getting ready for a party. I kept trying on outfit, after outfit, after outfit, and I was happy with nothing. I suddenly came to the realization (and this is going to sound ridiculous, because it is) that I looked fat in everything because I am fat. No clothing item I owned was going to change that fact!
I'd dieted on and off before that day, but never with the mindset I have now. It was like I saw myself for the first time that day and decided I didn't want to be obese anymore.
I'm curious to see all of the reasons we are here to lose weight!
Ok, it wasn't that I hated seeing myself in pictures, it wasn't that I could no longer keep up with the family, it wasn't that I found myself leaning on the sink to do dishes, it wasn't even when I dropped something on the floor in front of my boss and I was too embarassed to bend over to pick it up, knowing that I would have to grab the wall for support - all of those were straws - but the final straw that broke the camel's back was when I looked at my wrist - and saw this thin little wrist with a big blob of fat all around it. It looked like a balloon that someone had blown up. It was the "duh" moment - you really ARE fat. It isn't about genetics - it isn't about being over 50 years old - it is about being so fat that all of those other things are affecting the QUALITY of your life. Suck it up - change your lifestyle so that you will HAVE a LIFE and ENJOY that LIFE.
UPDATE - just last week I looked at that wrist - the fat balloon is finally gone
And I am fit, and enjoying life the way a vibrant, sexy 50+ woman should
Last edited by CountingDown; 06-19-2008 at 10:40 PM.
One morning during April, my husband looked at me right before he left for work and said, "Since I'm having to work so much, you think you could take <our daughter> to swimming lessons this year?" I said okay. He left.
Then I started thinking about it. And I realized...I didn't even own a swimsuit. And then I thought about shopping for a swimsuit. And then I thought about actually wearing said fictional swimsuit in public! I broke down and cried.
I finally came to terms with my own BS and realized - the fat and flab I'd gained over the last 7 years was NOT going to go away with me occasionally exercising, eating junk, and sitting in front of my computer all day. I had to actually get out there and DO stuff on a regular basis. I had to modify my eating habits, and not on a 'I can do this for a week' idea but 'I'm making a lifetime change here.'
So that's what I've done. I'm low carb, and I exercise - barring injury or illness (and I don't mean the 'oh I'm too tired today' illness) 6 days a week.
21 lbs. lost at last weigh in, will weigh in again in 2 days.
Like most people, it's really an accumulation of things:
-In the family wedding photos, I'm progressively fatter in every one.
-I love clothes & have boxes full from size 8(Australian)to size 20.
-I no longer even think of dancing, even in private.
-Shopping for clothes is a nightmare.
But what really clinched it is that I no longer feel sexy-ugh!
i have had many occasion where something happened that made me want to lose weight...the two final straws were: going on a hike with two people who were older than me (one was at least twice my age) and way not being able to keep up! the other was a very close cousin of mine (who weighs 70lbs more than i) decided to get wls, and i didn't want to be left behind in the realm of fattness!
My son begged me to be a room mother for his 3rd grade class field trip to the circus. I told him I couldn't. I was deathly afraid that the other kids would tease him about his Majorly Fat Mother. I was also terrified I would not fit in the seats at the auditorium...if I could even make it up the flight of stairs to be seated. He was so sad. His little face just broke my heart.
I've been a stay at home mom for 10 years, (work part-time from my home office). My job is being a mother, and my weight has got in the way of fulfilling my job duties.
Well I had tried to lose weight but I always failed.. then my mom told me about a program a few people at her work place did where they lost weight and kept it off.. (This was my freshman year in high school).
I didn't bother checking it out, I was so depressed, I thought what was the point?
Then that summer, when I was around skateboarding (lol, my skating/goth phase).. a bunch of kids called me fat. I also had come back from Chicago and I saw pictures of me.. I realized how big I really was and then gave it a shot during sophomore year. It was a rocky start, because I had trouble committing to the diet.. then finally, enough was enough. I realized that I would be going to college soon and I didn't want to be in college at the weight I was at. So finally, senior year, I did the program, lost a lot of weight, but ended up not going back to the program for the transition period (which is the most important part to keep from gaining it back) and well I gained a lot back.
In college, I tried, but with the meals there, it wasn't working. So I did manage to maintain some during the time but ultimately, I gained a lot back during the last semester but I planned on doing it over the summer.
So here I am, committed as ever to this program.. Since I lost it before, I know I can do it, and I'm about 10 lbs away from where I was last time, so I'm just trying to lose the rest!
The fatigue, the depression, the clothes not fitting, seeing other girls my age being so thin, and realizing I didn't want to be at that weight during the "best" years of my life.. well it was all a wake up call.. not to mention the diabetes that runs in my family.
I fell down the stairs and was in severe pain for a while having injured my coccyx. Although I didn't blame my weight at the time, I realized that the pain and lack of mobility was in my direct future if I didn't do something.
I was in total denial about my weight ever since I'd gained it. I thought all the pictures were just "bad" pictures and the size of clothes was "just part of getting older/having kids/being married". I bought a really good scale back in 2004 and when I stepped on it and it registered 250 I could not believe it. I must've gotten on and off of it like 20 times and just stood there in amazement. So I started losing weight, had 2 kids in the midst of it--both pregnancies with gestational diabetes and thought--no way am I going to get diabetes --- I CAN DO SOMETHING to prevent it!
It's been a long hard road, with alot of struggles, but I do plan to reach my goal one day!
I saw a picture of myself with my girlfriends and I looked disgusting. Not just fat, but gross. I was super skinny in high school and it was shocking to me to see the difference in the pictures.
1. My loose fit size 18 Eddie Bauer jeans (which hadn't been "loose" for ages) became so tight that I drove home from work every night with the top button unbuttoned. I was completely demoralized by the thought of buying size 20 jeans. I had been wearing the same pair of 18 jeans for years (they were my only pair of jeans), I hadn't bought any other 18s because I didn't think I would wear them much longer, they were only supposed to be temporary utnil I got back to a smaller size. Now they were tight! and I needed bigger jeans! It was really traumatizing.
2. I hadn't seen my mom in person in at least 2 years. She's a true, naturally slender woman (5'4" barely 110 lbs my entire life). She wanted me to come visit for Christmas and I was horrified by the thought of my mom seeing me at 200 lbs, she had never seen me so heavy. I was dreading, actually dreading a Christmas visit to see my mom whom I love very much. It was tearing me up.
3. I went to the movies - Dawn of the Dead to be exact. I went to the bathroom, sat on the toilet and CUT the outside of my left thigh on a sharp-edged metal trash receptacle. If I'd been a "normal" sized person, my thighs would have fit just fine, but because I was heavy, I didn't fit. All of a sudden, all I could think of was seatbelt extenders on airlines and a lifetime of being too big to do normal things. I sat there, bled and cried, just bawled like a baby.
So, all of those things were churning in me. I was browsing in B&N, I looooved reading weight loss/diet books. I picked up a book by Dr. Stephen Pratt - Superfoods Rx: 14 Foods that Will Change Your Life and it was like I grabbed an electric fence. After 20 years of dieting, where I went from a slightly slightly overweight 140 lb high school sophomore to a 200 lb 35 year old depressed, tired, lethargic woman, all of a sudden I GOT IT.
Instead of dieting, losing weight and then stopping (and regaining weight), I would change how I ate forever and be slim forever.
Nearly 4 years later...here I am. 130 lbs, size 6, gorgeous legs, gorgeous arms (which I would never have dreamed possible), beautiful cheekbones, I lost 10 inches off my waist, I went from a 42DD to a 34D. I have changed my life, I make good food choices 95% of the time. I don't eat fast food, I gave up soda...and I am happy, I LIKE ME. Me and the mirror - we're PALS. Pictures? Love em, can't get enough. I live to shop. Forget one pair of ratty old jeans, I have a closet of adorable clothes and getting dressed every morning is a pleasure.
From the first moment I thought to do this, I didn't say "I'll start Monday, I'll start in January" I started that second, I never once truely doubted I would lose the weight and keep it off.
The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back
