My 'ugh' moment was on October 16th when a bunch of friends and I went to an amusement part for a Halloween fest. We went to ride my favorite roller coaster (which I went on Summer of '08 for the last time) and I was SO embarrassed because my seat belt wouldn't click because of my thunder thighs and the lady that came around making sure everyone was strapped in had to tell me I was too big for the ride..... I was mortified
Hmm, part of it, I believe, was a friend from college telling me all she was going to do from the end of the year was sit in her mom's basement getting fat. I stepped on the scale a couple months afterwards and realized I was nearly 190lbs. I decided, I don't want that to be me. I never really had an "ugh" moment, but I am getting them a lot more recently. Like seeing the way my belly looks when I lay on my back. I don't look overly fat in the clothes I wear, but I wear them to complement my body. I don't want my butt hanging out when I bend over, I don't want to have to wear sweaters to cover my muffin top. I don't want to doubt myself because of my fat.
I've had countless UGH moments and tried countless plans that didn't work for me. What finally did it was little really. My lower legs have always been very toned. I've done dance, martial arts, soccer, etc. and no matter how heavy I was, my lower legs were shapely and attractive. I wore tons of knee-length, A-line skirts that focused the attention on that area. One day, I went into a store and was trying on some knee-length dresses. I looked in the mirror and realized that my legs looked fat. This devastated me because it was the one bit of my body that I had always been happy with. I went home and tried on my tall boots (which I hadn't worn in some time because it was summer) and realized that I couldn't zip them up anymore. That did it. After that I decided to do whatever it took.
My "Ugh," moment is a little personal, but I'll share it because motivation can come from very surprising places. Sorry; this is a long one...
I was unexpectedly widowed a little over 2 years ago. My late husband was the man of my dreams, we'd worked very hard to be together and losing him was the most horrible thing I've ever suffered. I had gained a lot of weight during our marriage cooking the things for him he loved, but it was he who, despite being fit and thin, died of a massive heart attack at the all-too-young age of 55. My grief knew no bounds, and I consoled myself with food and liberal amounts of wine. Though a little worried about my own health, I didn't really care if I died for a long time.
Gradually the funk began to clear, and concern over my health began to poke at me harder. I'm very healthy -- no diabetes issues or hypertension -- but obesity catches up, and I know that. Still, my efforts to lose weight were overcome by feelings of guilt that I might become attractive again... I really didn't want any male attention, and losing weight always invites that. So I carried on with the unhealthful ways.
Then something unexpected happened. In my usual morbid fashion, I was perusing the obituaries in a newspaper from where I used to live. I came across the death notice of the wife of a man to whom I had once been very close; in fact, he had had a significant crush on me. Nothing inappropriate ever happened... it was one of those, "if things were different," situations. He was married and honored his vows, and I would never traverse someone's marriage in any case, so we left it alone. But I sent him a sympathy card. I realized my biggest fear was that he would see me now, 100 pounds heavier than I'd been when last we knew each other. UGH. And I understood I was finally ready to move forward with my life and lose my "fat cocoon."
He drove nearly 800 miles one way to come see me about 5 weeks after we first spoke, and I was terrified of what his reaction would be. It was much too soon after his wife's death, he realized this after he arrived and left to continue with his grieving process within hours after his visit. We had a nice chat and that was about it. When he left, he said, "We really must keep in touch." I put my hands on his shoulders, looked at him hard and said, "I'll leave that entirely up to you." I wanted to give him a graceful way out now that he'd actually seen how fat I was.
He called a week later and we've carried on with our conversations... who knows where things may lead? He's planning another visit in the spring.
Funny thing, though... I mentioned during one of our phone calls that I was working on losing weight... he said, "Well, please don't lose TOO much, like 14 pounds or something. I'd hate for you to lose your 'stuff!'" Honest to god, he can't even see how heavy I've gotten... which is kind of cool... but I had already started this journey toward better health in earnest even before he called. Whether anything comes of our renewed friendship or not, I will always be grateful to him for showing me the way out of the dark. And his upcoming visit next spring is a pretty powerful motivator.
My "Ugh," moment is a little personal, but I'll share it because motivation can come from very surprising places. Sorry; this is a long one... And his upcoming visit next spring is a pretty powerful motivator.
that is such a good story. lots of good stories here.
considering how high my weight has gotten a couple of times, I think I'm very lucky healthwise. A few years ago, I had bleeding from my breast, completely freaked me out. I thought I might have something serious, possibly cancer. Going to the doc, getting a mamogram, all that made me realize how serious a thing it is to be healthy and for me to take care of my health. I guess I had this idea in my head that I was physically invincible. (turned out to be ok, btw, I didn't have cancer.)
yes, I struggled with all the social issues, fitting into seats, finding clothes, being embarrassed, even depressed, lack of stamina. But that run in with doctors and the hospital did it for me. That goes beyond ugh, maybe that's more like holy freakin' cow. Marge, what are you doing to yourself?
I have a much greater respect for my body now, what it needs and deserves.
Mine came in August 2008, two small ones back to back. First was the Old Navy $12 jean sale. I had my 3rd child in July of 2008 and was larger post partum, needed some bigger jeans. I grabbed a size 18, the largest they had, and could barely wedge myself into them. I wore them but man, they were unflattering, I'm surprised the button and zipper didn't just give out. A few days later we were at the county fair with my parents who were visiting from cross country. I saw a picture of myself from behind and holy crap! Who was that fat girl whose big butt had eaten me?
That was in the back of my mind and then on another message board I saw someone's weight loss ticker and they had lost a lot of weight. We used to live near each other and she was a really big girl, so I PMd her and asked her how she did it. She told me about her experience with Weight Watchers and then, on September 17th, I signed up online. I lost about 65 lbs and it really improved my health, I'm so glad I did it!
1) Realizing I have to see my sister in NY for thanksgiving...she wants to "shop" with me... meaning I need to haul my butt to the gym!
2) My parents want me to visit them sometime in February and I was 15x lbs last year around last December.. I want them to know I have things under control and am a capable adult
most importantly though ...
3) Holding my boyfriend back from doing things he wants to do because I feel ugly going out nor can any of my going out clotes fit. ...
we're young but I want to enjoy life not live like a hermit
... I burst into tears about 1 month ago when my boyfriend asked "why do you wear the same outfits every week".... and I replied "nothing fits"
Mine happened this past June. I've been changing little things gradually the over the past year, but nothing major. Then in June my husband and I went to Disney World for a week for a pre-deployment vacation. It was a wonderful week, full of great memories. When we got back, I got out my camera to show the in-laws and my parents pictures of our trip, and realized that out of 506 pictures, I was not in a SINGLE one of them, because I hate the way I look. Went through my other pictures and realized - I have no pictures of my husband and me since our wedding, two and a half years ago, because my weight makes me so ridiculously self-conscious.
I'm slowly losing, and when he comes home to a brand new wife () we are going on a romantic cruise and there are going to be MANY pictures of the two of us.
My first one was when my little girl (2.5 yrs old) told me I was pretty. I realized what a powerful role model i COULD be for her, if only I could develop a little self-worth and take care of myself!
My second one was when I realized all my clothes, even my "fat" clothes, were too tight. The idea of having to spend money on clothes in BIGGER sizes rather than smaller sizes finally hit me! Money is tight right now and the thought of having to "waste" money on clothes that would'nt even be any fun to shop for was devastating.
I had a couple of UGH moments too, within a couple of weeks of each other:
1. My digital scales had run out of batteries, and for a couple of months I kept "forgetting" to buy some more. I thought I was about 120kg tops (about 264 pounds) but when I finally got new batteries, I was horrified when 135kg (297 pounds) flashed up. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
2. For ages I couldn't shop at "regular" shops, but even at the fat girls shops the clothes only went up to size 24. I'd been through size 20, then size 22, and when I started having to get size 24, it was a massive wake-up call. Where would I go from there?
3. A friend gave me a really stern talking to. I was complaining about my weight and how hard it was yet again, and she laid it bare. She said I was the only one who could do something about it, and it wasn't really that hard etc etc etc. A bit of tough love was exactly what I needed!
I needed those moments, because before whenever I tried to lose weight my heart wasn't in it. This time, I know it's for real!
I wasn't sure how to answer this because the truth is the past 10 years have been an UGH moment for me.
It all just came to head on April 5, 2009 when I decided to stop wanting and to actucally DO! Something clicked that day and I haven't looked back since. Now I'm 10 pounds from goal. Unreal!
I was growing out of all my jeans. I also realized that every time I sat down I always made sure a pillow was nearby so I could put it in front of my belly.
A few things happened earlier this year:
- I only had a few outfits I actually fit. I went to the store and had to buy my first item of clothing in a size 16.
- I wore that item, jeans, to the movie theater and as I sat down my thighs touched the armrests on both sides of the seat. That had never happened to me before.
- I stepped on the scale and saw 192. I realized how close I was to the 200s.
My ugh moment is relived every day. I loooove clothes. I used to be so cute in all of my clothes, and now my size 8 skinny jeans that I wore a year or so ago (at 145lbs) don't even go over my thighs. and at the time when i wore them, i thought i was fat (i was very wrong). So now I'm in denial, with a closet full of clothes that I can't fit into.
great stories, ladies! My 'ugh' was trying on a bridesmaid's dress and realizing that people were going to see me spilling out of the dress in a few months time. I wish I had gotten it in gear sooner - I lost a lot of time turning down invitations to do things with friends when I wasn't feeling great about myself or didn't want to be seen in a bathing suit or whatever. I'm looking forward to taking part in everything now!
) we are going on a romantic cruise and there are going to be MANY pictures of the two of us.
