What was your redefining moment?

[chaostrulyreigns]

Ok, I have been sitting on my arse for a dozen several years waiting for that catalytic moment when I would decide that enough is enough and actually bloody do something about it.

I've had:

awful photographs,
not being able to squeeze out of car door,
only being able to shop at farking Evans,
getting people to do stuff with DCs on my behalf (energetic things),
yearning after smashing clothes,
and many many more humiliating or saddening experiences.

Sooo, please tell me about your wake up calls and how you used them as as incentive - maybe hearing about some positive experiences may finally be that lightbulb moment for me.

Getting on well, have lost half the weight I wanted to. It hasn't been as hard as I'd thought 'weightloss' would be, it just been about making choices. So if I have a biscuit with my tea at toddlers then I can't have a glass of wine with my dinner. I've also eaten all the same meals but have weighed out my portions instead of guessing how much rice/pasta to cook. I've also become more aware of hidden calories, so if I have a latte I have skimmed milk as its loads less calories than a normal coffee shop coffee. I must say this website www.foodfocus.co.uk has been really useful in helping me monitor food intake and track progress. The website is a bit clunky but it's free unlike a lot of others.
I also don't beat myself up if I have a weekend off the wagon because its a family party or whatever, I just get right back on on Monday.

There are so many interesting points on here.

Patten That's a fine old eye-opening thought - I am heavier than my husband.

I'll keep reading and absorbing your kind words and ideas.

BTW - I'm 40 in March - what words of wisdom spring to your mind?

Chaos Once I started to lose weight, my 40th birthday became my goal date. Not to be a certain weight, just not to be the fattest person there! In pride of place on our fridge is a photo of me and my 3 sisters at my party, and although I'm not the smallest, I'm not the biggest. I used to shred all photos of me before anyone else saw them, even DH who said I was gorgeous anyway.

Have you got a lot to lose? I reckon that in eight months (not counting December from my own experience) you could make a real difference.

Going back to what you were saying about others expecting you to fail. Please try to take no notice. Some people are really strange when they see others trying to take control, I don't know why. My best friend was a cow at times and only admitted at xmas that she was pissed off with me for doing something she couldn't.

I really struggle with my smoking and people saying "It won't last." or "How long do you think you'll stop for this time?" really gets me down.

Wishing you all the best for that light-bulb moment.

Sith am a smoker myself who has tried to give up so many times that I would be too embarassed to tell anyone I was even thinking about giving them up

taxi driver "joking" id burst the springs in his car > bastard. I have lost 4 stone since January and still going strong

i am now a size 12

Ouch Vintage funny in his head maybe but at least if it spurred you on then yay for his stupid comment Congrats on your weight loss, sounds like you are doing great.

naetha, that was me three years ago, lost loads of weight for my wedding and carried on loosing and training after that.
I put it all back on during my pregnancy (I blame SPD for it) and been on a diet/working out at the gym for a month now seeing results already, hoping to get to 70kg by this time next year where I know I am happy at.

My lightbulb moment was the photos with my baby, it was also the photos a few years back when I had got fat then.
That and my older brother died of a heart attack when he was 33, I'm 33 this year. I lost my mum when I was 18 and I really want to be here for my daughter for as long as possible!

Mine was chronic knee pain, and a group of women from work suggesteing an en masse outing to Slimming World, about 3 months ago.

I am now 17lbs lighter and have many more to go, as my BMI is 40, but one of my lovely colleagues has a similar BMI and has been told she has no chance of IVF unless hers greatly reduces.

Also a SW member announced that her target was to lose one stone every 3 months, which is really quite doable and means you can gain a few lbs one week but not 'beat yourself up' as if you take the long view, it's a journey.

Photo's never did it for me, as I always make sure to be behind the camera ,but i have a secret plan to be 4 stone lighter in time for my silver wedding anniversary this time next year. ( still won't be able to get into the moth eaten wedding dress tho')

Urgh. I've just had a lightbulb moment. DH and I have just taken 'before' photos of ourselves, front, sides and back. I have proper love handles and my arse is massive! My abs are covered in flab. I'm going to look at those photos every day to help keep me going

Photos did it for me.
I also have that image in my head (and in the mirror!) where I think I look fine and then the photos show me looking hideous.

I was also really good at avoiding the camera until someone pointed out to me that if anything happened to me, my kids would have no happy photos of me with them to look back on.

That just made me so sad

I've lost 2 stone and have about 1 more to go.

My lightbulb moment: my friend's 3 yr old just asked if I have a baby in my tummy. I'm 5'6, size 14-16 so it was a bit of a surprise TBH. So after years of procrastinating, I have had my moment.

Do you know what made it worse - instead of brushing it off, my friend was truly embarassed for me. Perhaps she think I should have been. So then I really did get embarassed.

Back to the pilates dvd tonight methinks. Have already given up alcohol (since Sunday - doing well so far as I love my wind down glass of an evening!).

Wish me luck...

Best of luck button

Oh Chaos, mine was a video of me with my tiny ds, ( made me look even huge-er!)

Once I'd lost a couple of pounds instead of adding more, I realised I could do it. Its not about losing it al at once, Its about losing just a little at a time,
You can do it

I may have just had a moment.

Just seen photo's of the crushed crowd at the Germany Music Festival, where a woman was been dragged upwards to safety by emergency services.

Well if they had to make a choice - it certainly wouldn't be me they tried to save, but the normal-sized person next to me surely?

Inspiration. Huh?

I friend I hadn't seen for years commented that I had put on some weight (I had gained around 1.5 stone over about 10 years). That wasn't great to hear but it was what she said next that gave me the light bulb. She said "It doesn't stop there, you know."

I realised that I was just going to keep getting bigger and bigger unless I did something about it.

When I realised I was heading towards size 18 clothes .

Not a lightbulb moment because I had already decided to do something about my weight but this stuck in my mind recently.

A (very good) friend of mine's son said he didn't want to see Shrek 4 because Shrek was 'fat'. My friend was horrified and really told her son off. Then she turned to me and said, "sorry Enomarse, he doesn't get those ideas from me". The fact that she felt the need to apologise to ME was the worst thing about it

ctr have you lost any weight since starting this thread?

Erm..... no, the scales are in Coventry as we speak.

Enormarse - that's what I found when my friend was apologising so much about the pregnant comment! That she felt she needed to apologise to me instead of just brushing it off!

When i had gone on holiday and went swimming. I was in my costume and as you walked into the pool there was a massive mirror - i looked at it and thought jesus christ you have let yourself go.

I started exercising when i got back and cut back on crap - i lost about a stone and 20 inches!

It has slowly crept up a little bit so im back watching it again

racmac, well done. How long did it take you to lose the stone?

i think about 6 months but i hadnt got that much too loose so didnt stick to a diet ridgidly - i just cut back.