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Old 02-10-2009, 10:56 AM   #1  
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Default but what actually made you start?

I don't mean the reasons we want to lose weight.

I don't mean the last straw glimpse in the mirror/rude comment or the upcoming wedding/event.

I know about all these things but what actually made you start?

October 2007 I found I was getting a sabbatical in Germany in May 2008.
I was ticking along at around 200 - 210lbs.
Great, I thought, 7 months, that could make a real difference, I could definitely move from very fat to cuddly in that time.
And I started, on again, off again.

Christmas 2007 was on the horizon. I hadn't lost anything but hadn't gained either.
I'll wait 'til after Christmas, I thought. January's a new start.
And I started, on again, off again.

About 2 months from the sabbatical, I hadn't lost anything but hadn't gained either.
8 weeks, I thought. A nice round period of time to lose some weight in. At least enough so I don't get stuck in a plane seat.
And I started, on again, off again.

My sabbatical lasted 3 months, the first 2 were in Germany. I walked and walked and walked miles.
Great, I thought, it'll be good to show people when I get back that I've lost wieght.
And I started, on again, off again.

When I got back to England, I was 205 - I suppose compared to many trips abroad, it wasn't bad but really, what a cop out again.

As soon as I was back, I applied for a new job. The interviews were in September.
Great, I thought, 2 months to lose a bit of weight, I tend to think people make assumptions about the capabilities of fat people.
And I started, on again, off again.

I didn't lose any weight but I did get the job, with a start date in January 09.
4 months! I could lose a lot in that time, show people the difference.
And I started, on again, off again.
I gained weight, up to, I estimate 220, I left the scales behind in the old house, going back for them on Friday. My ceremonial robes (I'm a minister of religion) didn't fit right.

Life is settling down in the new job. A fortnight ago I booked a holiday in Spain with a platonic male friend. It's not a beach holiday but I'd still want to
look as good as I can.
Great, I thought, 4.5 months, that could make a good difference.

And for a week I ate.

I'd already started eating frugal and semi-vegetarian - love the food, love the interest making the food gives me.
On February 3rd I typed my day's food into an old version of DietPower on an old computer. It was about 3,000 calories. Which was a surprise.
On February 4th I upgraded my DietPower programme.
From February 4th I've eaten under 1500 calories a day. Although I don't have scales, I can tell in my uniform shirts, seriously button-up ones, that I'm shrinking.
I'm taking a bit more exercise.
I'm choosing healthy options and enjoying the calorie juggle.

After all grand starting moments, and plenty of good reasons for every one of them, not least my health, this weightlosing time just slid in one day. Just one day I realized I was doing it, like a kid riding a bike. Strange.
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Old 02-10-2009, 11:27 AM   #2  
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I can tell you that I have similar, "Oh I have plenty of time...I can lose x amount by that wedding, or that party or that holiday..." or whatever and I've never done it. I don't know why.

This time around I just said, "THIS year, I am going to focus more on ME. I am going to take better care of ALL ASPECTS of me (not just weight) so I can be a better wife, mom...person. I want to feel good, look good and really live, not just exsist, anymore."

You know, thanks for posting this. I've been a little off focus this week. I needed to remind myself of WHY I was doing this and WHY I am NOT going to stop.

Last edited by irishsarah; 02-10-2009 at 11:28 AM.
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Old 02-10-2009, 11:33 AM   #3  
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Very similar story to mine its always been trying to lose weight for a certian day, prom, weddings, knowing you will see your ex again at a party in 3 weeks, etc etc, until i realized that i wasn't going to be a size 6 in 3 weeks and that until i could totally accept myself at my current weight that i finally found the clarity and focus to make it happen for real this time. So far it has been 10 weeks and i have yet to really fall off the wagon, i mean christmas happened and i didnt deprive myself of the once a year 'treats' that sit out but i didnt make it my number one priority like it has been in past years!!
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Old 02-10-2009, 11:44 AM   #4  
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I FINALLY found a plan that works for me (Atkins) and actually gives me amazing results even with insulin resistant PCOS.

My motivation is my first cruise in May to the Bahamas with NKOTB!
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Old 02-10-2009, 12:05 PM   #5  
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Gosh, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve said “that it, this is IT, I’m really going to do it this time” and started the diet…only to crash and burn…. Sometimes that day, sometimes that week, sometimes even a month or so later… but the common thread was that if I STARTED a diet, I knew there was going to be an END date.

And I’ve got some weird psychological thing (gee, NO KIDDING, 300 pounds and there’s more to it than liking chocolate? Go on with ya! Hahahah) about being denied anything. As in, ‘wow I’m so awesome, clearly the laws of physics should NOT apply to me, I should be able to eat whatever I want and how much I like”. So the minute, the absolute second I was ‘on the diet’ I felt almost a panicky thing, panicked about all the stuff I couldn’t have, could I do it, could I stick to it, what if I fail, gulp what if succeed?? Ack! So I’d give up.

So over the course of 18 months or so, I’ve managed to whittle off 75 lbs., and I’m not exactly sure where the change came??? I decided one week to eat what I wanted, as long as I got enough fruits and veg. ok… I did that, didn’t die…. Then I decided to eat breakfast every day, a healthy breakfast and then I could eat whatever I wanted all day…. Did that, didn’t die… so that was 2 things, eating fruits and veg, and eating breakfast. Seemed ok…. And then I thought, let’s quit the diet soda it’s useless and I always seem to eat chips or peanuts with it when I drink it… so I did that, replaced it with homemade iced tea for a while (just cold tea, no sugar, never cared for sweet tea)… hmm.. look at that I was down 15 lbs. without even trying… maybe there was something to this!

So for me, realizing that I could lose AND live the way I wanted, something clicked. And then I just grudgingly made the ‘better choice’ over and over, made the hard choice to stop snacking at night and the rest is history LOL
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Old 02-10-2009, 12:12 PM   #6  
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OMG how I can relate to the start again and again and again diet! There was always a great reason to lose weight, always a good time frame to do it in and I always saw that date come and go with no effort (or little effort) to make the change.

It wasn't until my friend was diagnosed with an advanced cancer that I made the change for good. I not going to choose to kill myself with food while she fought a disease she could not control. I realized how lucky I was to HAVE control over my health and stopped taking that for granted. She's doing better (thank the Lord) and now...so am I!!
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Old 02-10-2009, 12:39 PM   #7  
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I was very much the same way. For years I would think - if I start in January I can lose this weight by summer. That was when I had around 50 pounds to lose. I would always put it off and summer after summer would come and go and I would be the same size or bigger. Then I would think if I start in September I can lose the 75-100 pounds by next summer.
I think it was all about looking good then.
This time something clicked. It took a few months for the click to really kick in, but I was determined to get the weight off, no matter how hard it was or how long it took. I didn't set a date, I just stuck my nose to the grindstone and was determined to keep it there. It really had to do with health. I was seriously losing my health.
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Old 02-10-2009, 12:47 PM   #8  
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For me it was 2 things - 1) realizing that I had been depressed for 20+ years without knowing it (seriously, sounds stupid but I'm not kidding) and that I wasn't depressed anymore, and I could do anything I want and deserved happiness, health and to look good; and 2) best friend asked me to be in her wedding and I absolutely refused to do that as a size 32--that was the catalyst/kick-start I needed to get back on the Atkins bandwagon.

Now here I am 5 months and 4 1/2 weeks later, having lost 92-ish pounds. No cheating, no deviations off course--my initial enormous enthusiasm has subsided into calm and peaceful determination. But I won't go back. I refuse to weight 360 lbs, or 300 lbs, or 280 lbs, or anything higher than I am right now, ever again. Soon as I get back down to under 200 I will refuse to ever let THOSE pounds back into my life again.

And as soon as I get to goal I will refuse, REFUSE to EVER be fat again. It's just not who I am anymore. In fact, I've already met goal. My body just hasn't quite caught up with me yet.
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Old 02-10-2009, 01:20 PM   #9  
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For me it was prayer and finally relenting and realizing that God would help me but He wasn't going to do it for me. I woke up within a week of admitting this/praying about it and had energy for the first time in years (That was God's part) and started figuring out what my part was.
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Old 02-10-2009, 01:36 PM   #10  
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I tried to start so many times. I say “try” because it seemed that I could just not get started. It was like there was this large obstacle in the road and I could not get enough momentum to get over it.

Then, I tried to help my son who I dearly love. He had dropped out of college and was looking to go back, but was having a hard time getting himself geared up to start. He told me that looking at the big picture was so discouraging to him. The idea of 3 more years of school, 90 hours of courses, many many hours of studying, was just overwhelming. I told him to stop thinking of the big picture, just concentrate on what he needs to do NOW. It dawned on me that I should take my own advice. Don’t think about the big picture, it is too overwhelming. Just concentrate on what I need to do NOW, today.

Last semester, he had a 4.0 gpa and I lost 25 pounds. I have this notion that my weight loss and his education are tied together. We both encourage each other to do what we need to do TODAY. I plan to be a healthy weight by the time he finishes his degree.
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Old 02-10-2009, 02:30 PM   #11  
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Thankyou, that has been really helpful and interesting to read.

I'm hoping my enthusiasm continues!

I lost 107lbs in 2002-2004, pretty much steadily, mostly in the frame of mind of let's just keep going and enjoy the journey. Where the 51 months since then went, I just don't know. 2002 was when I was 242, as the thing at the side of posts says. I still include that, because I still had 16lbs to go, I consider I'm still in the same weightloss journey, I just had a really long break!!!

How did it all creep back? I'm not asking in a beat myself up kind of a way, I just don't understand how to be so off plan for so long.
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Old 02-10-2009, 02:54 PM   #12  
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I started because I was on an all out binge last month for 2 days straight (due to a work off-site meeting and using it as an excuse to eat like a madwoman), and I made myself literally sick from all of that food. I had been frustrated with trying diet after diet and failing each time, so I was giving myself a reprieve from it all before embarking on something new. well, I binged and I got sick. plain and simple. lol. oh, and I gained 8 pounds.

so...from my bed (because I was bloated and couldn't move), I got online and researched diets. long story short, I settled on calorie counting. I was sick of being restricted from foods that are typically "healthy" because I couldn't have them on this diet or that diet. I was craving yogurt and fruit, and I couldn't have those on atkins or medifast (2 diets I kept returning to in the past). my body just needed something else.

so, on 1/23/09, I joined the daily plate to started tracking calories, started coming here for motivation and to contribute (when I have time), and here I am today. I have no stress AT ALL with this - in fact, I find it fun logging in to TDP and tracking what I've eaten and being creative with my calorie budget - and I have such a sense of peace, I guess you could say, knowing that I can have what I want if it fits in my calorie range. I don't feel like I'm "working hard" or trying to "stick to my diet." so far its all coming pretty naturally and my body seems happy. I NEVER want to feel like I did a few weeks back after that fat/salt/sodium/alcohol binge. ugh.

so I guess I'll continue on with this. I'd secretly like to have a nice chiunk of weight off by my b-day in July, but I don't want to get tied in to time-based goals anymore. The steady and easy pace of this is starting off well, and my body will do what my body will do. Ahhhhh.



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Old 02-10-2009, 03:59 PM   #13  
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a handful of things have contributed to me getting serious. My mom is having weight loss surgery and she weighs the same as me. She however is a type 2 diabetic and the insulin she is on makes her gain weight so she is in a catch 22. In going through the research and some classes with her i have met people that are my weight and people that are 500 lbs. The one thing in common is they are all sick and miserable. I have realized I do not want to be this way. I am a new mommy and during my pregnany I became gestational diabetic. This went away after the birth but it still could come back. Losing some weight after the birth made me feel good. I want to keep going!
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Old 02-10-2009, 07:25 PM   #14  
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I read for years about all the health risks attributed to being overweight. I was clinically depressed for years and then diagnosed with bipolar. In talking with many doctors...they all agreed that eating a clean diet and excercise will help with my brain chemistry. I hate to admitt it, but they are right. SO, when I have to struggle about working out....I think if anything ...this is to help my brain. I don't know why that this excercise thing clicked this time when they talked about endorphines...but I am glad something did.
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Old 02-10-2009, 09:03 PM   #15  
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What finally pushed me over the edge was looking at pictures of me at a convention in April 2008...I didn't realize I was actually as big as the scale told me. Weird huh? I guess I was in big time denial.
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