Aside from guys being turned off and hurtful about my weight that I tried to date (evidently I saw myself as much thinner than they did, funhouse mirrors, ya know...)....what really made me hit my bottom was when I went to the grocery store and the very overweight checkout guy ringing me up said to me, "Funniest thing, that guy over there (he pointed at the other worker) thought you were my sister, isn't that funny?" I was confused because we look nothing alike in our faces and I said, "Why'd did he think that? I look like your sister?" He goes, "Well, no, I don't have a sister, it's probably because we're the same build, we're both bigger people." My eyes just looked him up and down like 20 times. I was in shock, humiliated. I went home and just stared at myself in the mirror with tears in my eyes, I was just so upset, embarrassed and beyond disgusted with myself. That was my final turning point. I hit my bottom.
I read these stories and think...I'm not happy that these things happened to all of you, but I'm happy that you all decided it was time to do something about it and that you are doing something about it!
After raising kids for the last 18 1/2 years and still having 16+ to go, I needed to have something that was mine. My time at the gym is mine. Last night the guy who works the front desk said there was a young kid making a comment about the crazy girl who sings while she works out. That would be me. You try listening to Linkin Park and NOT singing.
The first time I lost these 88lbs, it was due to a picture. A shot was taken of me sitting on the couch next to a family member whom I had always thought of as overweight. I was bigger than her.
This time, after having our 3rd and 4th children less than 2yrs apart, I knew I was in trouble. A few weeks post-baby #4 I stepped on the scale and was back at my high weight again. Lord only knows how much I weighed before I delivered!
I don't care if we DO have any more kids...I will NOT be working to loose these same pounds again!
For me the turning point was when I saw my grandmother after not having seen her for almost a year...and she started crying! Not about how great it was to see me, mind you..but crying about how fat I got..her words exactly
Anyway, many of us let ourselves go for a long time and let ourselves get as big as we are/were and obviously weren't as worried about it as we are now. Not to be crude, it's honest...we all didn't do what it takes to lose weight for how ever long it took us to get as fat as our starting point.
What was the turning point for you? What made you decide it was time to lose weight?
I've always been the fat kid. Even as a little wee one, I was 3-4 pounds overweight; my mom made a note in my baby book about having to fight that my whole life. I was ALWAYS in the big kid (my granny always asked the sales assistant for the "husky girls' sizes"). I hated exercise. I loved eating. Dad bought us a bag of chips when we visited every weekend; we ate a lot of junk food at his house. Granny always had awesome desserts for Sunday dinner. Birthdays, Halloween, Christmas and Thanksgiving were days we could stuff ourselves silly. School served fries and pizza every day (I used 2 lunch tickets- one for a pizza and one for a burger/chips). I loved eating.
I moved to New Zealand in 2002 after university (gained 20 pounds there). I was about 190 pounds and a size 18. When I got married in 2003, I was 205. Three years later, I was 235, which was my heaviest. My 18s were tight. I didn't want to get to a size 20. I started slow- 5kg the first year. Then another 5kg the next year. When I hit 95kg, I started going hard out. I realised that I wanted and needed to lose the weight. My health is excellent, other than PCOS and sometimes low blood sugar. I was happy in my life, but not fulfilled. I got depressed about my weight; I looked forward to every meal and snack. I panicked when I didn't see Diet Coke or ice cream in the house.
I went home in May 2008 for my sister's wedding. Looking at the photos now, there is a HUGE difference (literally). I was just on 97kg. I was FAT. No denying it. In my mind, I was fat and ugly. Something desperately needed to be done. I didn't want to go home in 2 or 3 years STILL being fat. I wanted to change it. I was 29.
Fast forward to October 2008, when I started being totally serious about the weight loss. I weighed every day, tracked my calories by hand first, then online (lately, though, it's been a struggle to find the motivation).
DH and I decided to go back to the US for a visit in November 2010 roughly in September 2009. I wasn't going to be fat. I upped my game. I would be thin for the first time when I stepped off that plane. I want to be able to hug my mom and sister and hear them say how good I look.
My granny always said when it's your time, you'll know. This is my time. It's hard, it makes me want to quit, cry, scream, laugh, jump for joy and throw myself into heavy traffic (good luck with that in Tokoroa New Zealand!!). It's a challenge. I love it.
BTW: Thanks. Writing all this down has given me a renewed and positive outlook. I'm looking forward to starting my journey again and writing everything down and weighing every day.
For me it was seeing myself in pictures. I remember saying is that really me, I never felt as heavy as I actually was. Looking through old photo's I started deleting the ones I was in. I stopped myself and decided it was time to make a change!!
Also, I want to have energy for my kids. I have three girls ages 12,9 & 4. They are full of energy and I want to enjoy them and do fun things with them.
Just tired of being unhealthy. It's more about being healthy now instead of I need to be a size XYZ.
This.
I mean I still have that weight goal I want to achieve, but I'm not thinking so much about the size I want to be because clothes are all made differently and they are going to fit differently on everyone. I'm doing this for me and my health. The other stuff is just a plus. I'm just tired of being known as 'the fat one' or 'the girl that has a cute face'. Heck I know I'm cute. I want the world to see the rest of me beyond just the cute face.
On a personal note, I'm hoping to be an influence and encourage my mother to do something for her weight as well. I don't want her to develop more health problems than what she is already going through. I hate to see her depressed and angry because she isn't able to enjoy life while being overweight.
Hi everyone!
I guess that moment is today for me. I just cant stand it anymore...I look old, I look like I am my mother...and my mother looks are not great! I never looked like a child or a girl or woman...I always looked like an old women...I am 35 now and I look like almost 50...No man asks me out...I get only married leftovers...and even they don’t appreciate me...I am 2 days just laying down depressed...not moving out from the house...and I was not a depressive person before...I just cant stand it anymore...
And I also look pregnant because the most of my weight is at my belly...at some times I had bigger belly that my friend that was pregnant....we laugh to that but even than I wanted to cry and I was so embarrassed of that...
I just want to sit down and cry....I am not a bad person...I am just freaking fat...
I am going on a diet tomorrow...I am
So when I first decided to lose weight, 5 years ago, it was also because of a picture. I guess a combo of a picture and Dr. Phil. The pic is of me getting ready to hop into bed with an Oreo shake. I used to have a large shake at least twice a week after my dd was in bed for the night. I was at my biggest, and it is just a perfect reminder of what got me fat - lying around eating ice cream and other junk. I was watching Dr. Phil a lot at the time and I think he had just started the Ultimate Weight Loss challenge stuff. I figured if all of these other people could do it then surely I could! And I did. But then I put it all on again eventually.
This time around it continues to be the way I feel, physically and emotionally. I don't like being tired and out of breath and lazy. The more I work out the less I feel those things. I don't like hating myself, constantly comparing myself to others, and being obsessed with my weight and what I'm eating. I need to just get it done and move on with my life, while being nicer to myself and enjoying my life. It is of course a work in progress but at least I don't quit trying.
No turning point for me, as much as finally finding the components of success. after nearly forty years of trying to lose weight.
The only problem with taking nearly 40 to find "the answers" - is the difficulty in believing those answers and in reversing decades of bad habits.
Now that I know WHAT works for me (the low-carb dieting, I avoided for decades because "everyone knows it's unhealthy"), I just need a lot more practice sticking to it, and "unlearning" most of what I thought I knew about weight loss.
Ok. I have reached out bottom last night as you can see from previous post. Good thing is that I finally hit the bottom as now I can just go up. I am changing my diet starting today and that is all I am going to put here :-) I feel embarrassed because my last nights post but I realized that is a good thing because I am always saying - its ok, it does not bother me, its fine, I am fine alone, I am fine with my looks ...this is the first time I did admit how do I really feel and how depressed I do become...so....I feel embarrassed but relived also! Thank you for this subject!
p.s.
I have something to admit also - I am kind of chat adict. It makes me so frustrated to chat but I still do it. I will quit that first because it makes me frustrated and depressed. But for now I dont want to talk about it :-)
Aside from guys being turned off and hurtful about my weight that I tried to date (evidently I saw myself as much thinner than they did, funhouse mirrors, ya know...)....what really made me hit my bottom was when I went to the grocery store and the very overweight checkout guy ringing me up said to me, "Funniest thing, that guy over there (he pointed at the other worker) thought you were my sister, isn't that funny?" I was confused because we look nothing alike in our faces and I said, "Why'd did he think that? I look like your sister?" He goes, "Well, no, I don't have a sister, it's probably because we're the same build, we're both bigger people." My eyes just looked him up and down like 20 times. I was in shock, humiliated. I went home and just stared at myself in the mirror with tears in my eyes, I was just so upset, embarrassed and beyond disgusted with myself. That was my final turning point. I hit my bottom.
