What was your turning point?

I guess most of us have had those 'hell no!' moments where we've decided enough is enough and something has to change.


I thought it might be good to put yours down here so we can see we're doing this for a good reason and support each other in tougher times.




Mine was seeing recent photos of myself and getting very upset! I'd avoided buying a mirror for 2 years and in my head I didn't look [i]that bad but the photos were proof and when we were given mirror shortly after I put it up in a place I couldn't avoid it and the whole truth has been staring me in the face since!

Mine turning point was having to buy bigger clothes (size 14). I had always been a 10 and then snuck up to 12 then to 14. The whole process took a few years but when I saw a photo and my tummy was as large as my boobs that did it for me.

I was not particularly big 10st 8lbs but after having been 7st 6lbs for most of my life then settling at 8st 6lbs (ish) after my children I was happy with my weight. Sneaking up to 10st 8lbs caught me by surprise. I also found at work I would not have my shirt tucked in as my mummy tummy was certainly more visible.

First time at a gym told me I had not been taking care of myself. 10 mins of Jillian's 30DS nearly killed me also. So I decided to do something about it.

I now go to Curves 3 times a week. I am trying to do the C25K, but struggling even with day 1 so have repeated it twice. I find I can only run 30 seconds at a time. Really unfit for a 45 year old.

I have been fat for forever, at least since I was 7 or 8 there was a brief time in college when I got down to a size 10 primarily because I walked everywhere and we were too poor to eat a whole lot.

I started going to zumba twice a week about a year ago and started getting the worst knee pains, went to the doctor and he said oh your too overweight to exercise just eat less and when you've lost some weight try exercising again. Went to another doctor who said I was too overweight to exercise and should join weight watchers. Finally got in to see my regular doctor (yes this is military medicine at its finest) who said I needed to be refered to the bariatric surgery program at the army hospital.

Went on vacation and took the kids to Knotts Berry Farm. Waiting 2 hours in line to ride a roller coaster with my husband and oldest, sat down in the seat and there was no way on earth that the seatbelt was going to buckle. Told the attendent who put one foot on the side of the car, grabbed the seat belt and said tell me if this hurts I'm going to make it buckle. It didn't buckle. Had to be escorted off the ride in front of hundreds of people, probally the single most embarasing moment of my life.

So I'm in the bariatric surgery program, but before you are a candidate to even talk about surgery you have to make an attempt to loose weight the old fashioned way. I really don't want to have surgery, I've heard good and bad stories but I like food too much to never eat normally again. So now I log on MFP every day, I have to print my logs and be held accountable at the hospital every Wednesday by a nutritionist and a behavioral psychologist. We talk about why I eat, what I can change, and how I'm doing. I've lost 17 lbs in the last 6 weeks. I don't want to go back.

This photo was my turning point;



It was taken when we went to an 80s fancy dress party in August 2009 .... I was disgusted when I saw the pictures afterwards ! It took me until January 2010 to do something about it and I finally joined Slimming World ... my weight when I joined was 240lbs !!! By July 2010 I had lost 42lbs and I wore a skirt for the first time in years !!



I kept on and off plan and put about 18lbs back on .... that's when I discovered MFP and then the FFL groups !

I have another 7lbs to lose to get back to my weight from July 2010 and then I have more to go after that .... but I will get there, especially with the support from all the wonderful FFL family

I don't have a specific turning point. In February of 2010 I started a modified HCG diet and lost a crap load of weight and in May I stopped the shots and started WW. I continued to lose and in June I had my tubes tied and all of a sudden I found I was STARVING and no matter what I ate or did nothing seemed to satisfy me, so I went back on the HCG shots. I lost a bit more weight and by August of 2010 I had lost a total of 60lbs. But I started getting very sick, massive headaches, dizzy spells and nausea so I stopped the HCG again did not rejoin WW and by February of 2011 I had gained every bit of weight I had lost plus an additional 10 lbs back.
I hated myself and was miserable for allowing myself to get that big again. I wallowed in the misery for a couple months. In early July a member of a forum I belong too had posted a thread about how overweight she was and unhappy. I replied with my story and how depressed I was. A couple members posted in that thread that they were members of MFP and that those of us that were ready to do something should join, so I did. A few weeks after that a friend was talking about how she had joined Curves and how well she was doing. So I jumped on that bandwagon also. Followed by the best motivation I've found, FFL.
I've lost about 12lbs so far and have another 62 to go. I know with the support and motivation I've gotten through FFL this is an attainable goal. I don't care how long it takes me, I will be diligent in this healthier lifestyle and I will reach my goals!

I have always been over weight. ALWAYS... When I was 10, I wore a size 10... age 12- size 12, age 14-size 14, age16-size16, age 18, size 18, and so on and so forth.. It was horrible. When I was in my teens, the average size of a woman was a size 10-12... I was at least 3 sizes bigger. I had many horrible experiences because I was fat. Lots of heartbreak and words said that couldnt be taken back... it all stung. But.. I got engaged to a man who loved to cook, whos father was a chef! And then I got pregnant.. Put on 40lbs AFTER giving birth... and by the time I got to my heaviest weight of 279 (that I saw.. im sure it was higher)... I had since... gotten my fiance off drugs, gotten married, lost my father in law suddenly while i was on my honeymoon, had no where to live, left my mom and baby sister to move 2 states away, started our lives over.. where I tried WW and lost 23lbs and then had to move again.. and felt so alone, i just ate.... and by the time i could even catch my breath.... I had gained more weight (gerth mostly), lost at least 2 babies to miscarriage (thank you fat for making me uninhabitable..), had my mother in law live with me for almost 2 years and then turn on me suddenly (hubby has spoken to her in 1.5yrs now... since it all went down.), had my husband change careers and then get laid off 6mos out of every year.. And here I am... FINALLY starting to see life the way it was meant to be seen... And I see myself at the same time. I dont like what I see... more now then ever before... this... ALL of this... my entire life was/is my turning point.

My turning point was that my work clothes were getting a tad snug and I didn't want to have to ask for a larger size. Even though I've only lost a small amount so far, I am starting to feel the difference in my uniform.

I've always had a weight problem. I've done all the regular diets. Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, shakes, shakes and more shakes. I'd lose weight but then put it back on when I stopped.

The day I found MFP was a great day. I know that this is the way I can lose weight. I can continue what I'm doing and know that I will get to where I want.

I have never taken a before photo before but I have now.

I wrote mine out the other day. You can see it here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/bregalad5/view/learning-the-hard-way-143771

Mine was when I was one day after dropping 2 of my 4 girls off at primary school My other half and I where walking into town with our baby to do a few bits of shopping and some girl that used to be my friend said loudly to her m8 "OMG look at the state of that" I was hurt and upset by her comment but then I thought to myself why should I take that from someone who herself is not much smaller than myself. a few weeks later My other half and me decided to set a date for our wedding next year and about the same time a friend of mine on facebook posted an update from her MFP so I checked it out and thought would give it ago in my 1st week I lost 5lbs and I was so chuffed I emailed my friend and thanked her for posting it on facebook I'm now on my 55th day today and have lost to date 25lbs (weight in day tomorrow so finger's crossed that number will go up) I aim to loose 89lbs for my big day which is oct 27th 2012 and show these girls that I'm not "a state" at the same time can't wait for the day I walk past them knowing I'm smaller and healthier than them

I have been overweight & lazy (you have no idea hard it is to admit that) since I was a little kid. I think about 3rd grade is where it really started getting out of hand. I was never in any sports, not that I didn't want to be but I have always been very shy & uncomfortable around too many people. So by the time I was in high school I hated doing anything to really exert myself.

In high school I know I went up to 160 & probably more. So I decided I would lose some weight (at least 30lbs) but I didn't do that healthy. The only exercise I got is when I walked home from school. I only ate one meal a day. This was a really bad time in my life I had a new step-dad (& I thought the evil ones were supposed to me step-moms- thanks Disney) So I just starved myself & slept all the time. I wasn't allowed out of the house with friends so all I could do to escape was sleep & read.

Then I met my fiance my senior year. We have had 2 wonderful girls (4 & 6). I started to love life again & you could see from all the weight I have added. What do they say? Fat & happy- yes that was me.

My final turning point was when I moved 2 states away from my home state (WV to IN) this May. While I was a happy person I wasn't happy with how I looked. I was seeing so many active people now that I was in a town with a population bigger than 800. I made the decision that I will be one of these active people & I will love myself completely. Started counting calories on WebMD & then found MFP in mid-July. I have found that it's not easy but it's not impossible like I had thought. I have found exercise that I enjoy doing & I haven't eliminated anything from my diet completely. I don't drink pop anymore but that's only because I don't remember the last time I actually wanted some.

I just have to say how happy I am that I have found MFP & this group. All of you guys are my heroes! We will succeed & we can all be the people we should be instead of being buried under fat. I don't know about the rest but I feel like I have been hiding behind it & I'm ready to come out!

I have always been chubby through my childhood until the age of 24. At that point I lost 53 pounds (My profile picture shows that weight.) but then the very month I finished my journey I became pregnant. I did not eat the right way and gained 35 pounds, had a C-section and only lost 5 pounds of those 35 pounds. Then I got pregnant again and gained some more. Baby #2 was a preemie, so I ate a lot of fast food the month he was in the NICU. Then we took a 15 day cross country road trip as we moved from Alaska to Florida and once again I ate tons of fast food. I had wanted to loose weight for a while, so I had my daughter take some "before" pictures. But I was not ready to start that day. BUT, when I looked at the pictures a month later I was HORRIFIED. It was then that I decided I needed to do something.

Here are the pictures we took that day-

Last year in July, my son asked me if he could go to a beach holiday with his girlfriend and her family in August this year. As I very much like the place they planned to go to, I told him he could go if he took me with him ;-) So we planned that holiday, being a group of 8 people. I was by far the biggest person in a group of slim and skinny people and thinking of being big at the beach and wanting to wear a bikini... I didn't like that thought at all!
So I looked for a site I once used to track calories and exercise, but it didn't exist anymore. I only found a message by someone saying they now use MFP. On August 1st 2010 I joined MFP. Christmas 2010 I received a 3 month membership at a gym, with the usual free personal trainer lessons to start. The personal trainer was great and I decided to keep him as a trainer.
Within a year I lost 17 kgs and 3 clothing sizes. I had planned to lose 20 kgs, but working out with a trainer slowed down my weight loss.
Holidays are over now :-( I was still the heaviest of us 8, I hadn't reached my holiday goal, but I didn't mind. I felt that my body looked much better than it would have without trainer workout (and 3 kgs less at the scale).
My ultimate goal was to lose 40 kgs until next summer, 20 per year. As I did not reach my first goal, I have 2 options: speed up my weight loss by following the program more strictly, or setting a new end date. I opted for the 2nd, as I still want to live life and enjoy every party or event that comes up my way. So hopefully by Christmas 2012 I'm under 70 kgs :-)

My turning point was last year August 15th when i had to buy a dress to attend my mom's wedding and nothing seem to fit. I remember buying a dress labelled xxl and it just would not go up, i sat in that room and cried like a baby. However that night when i got home, i said hell no i am too young for this crap, i took my before pics and stared power 90 that very same night.