Yearofhealth2023's Journal, 12 June 2023

For me? it's been a slow decline with diabetes. I think when I got that thorn in my big toe and couldn't feel it - that was the moment of shock that made me think 'just gotta stop eating carbs.' Don't want them to have to amputate toes or debride ulcers or any of that creepy disgusting stuff. Now I just gotta remember this. :D 

Summer of 2018. My fav aunt visited me with my mom and I had to push my aunt in a wheel chair at the airport. I’m more like my aunt than my mom funny enough and I could see myself in the future if I kept going like I was. That was my moment. I’ve never looked back since. 🥹💖 No wheel chair for me I hope!  

Someone dumped me for being fat. I didn’t want him back but it woke me up to how I felt about myself vs how I wanted to feel. 

A photo of big me standing next to all my thin co-workers was my wake-up call. I probably lost 5-10 pounds before joining FS during Covid lockdown. Another push was running out of clothes to wear. Was trim & fit all my life until that job. Got rid of the fat, got rid of the job. Hope I didn't permanently damage my organs during those 2 overweight years.  

So for about half of you it was. Seeing a picture or the idea of someone seeing your picture memorialized. I call it the switch. The switch that gets turned on where you get doggedly determined to be healthier. Different path for everyone i was just curious. Thank you guys for sharing! 

YOH those are some great reasons, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to look good! I was always chubby as a kid, then a bit overweight afterwards. I was always trying to take off ten pounds here and there but it would never stay off for any amount of time. Most of of 30’s I weighed around 220 to 230 which on me isn’t healthy but didn’t look too bad. It’s when I shot up to over 300 lbs that I really went downhill. My knee would kill (had knee surgery) just moving was a chore, but my defining moment was when I went to visit my mom, went up the stairs, felt out of breath, used my stepdads blood pressure machine and saw crazy numbers. The very next day I started this journey and here I am today! Oh and yes wanting to look better was also a part of my reason! 😊 Great post! 👍🏻😊 

Ridiculously high cholesterol last year, just a few months after my father had triple bypass surgery. I also had some scary heart palpitations following a viral infection right at the same time. Those two things together put the fear in me. I’ve always been active but bad habits catch up with you as you get older, you can’t “outrun” them forever. Cholesterol is normal again and now I’m just trying to mostly keep track of what I eat so I don’t mess up that badly again. That all happened when I was 38yo. 

I didn't have an ah ha moment, mine was just a realization that I was fat! I started dieting, lost 20 lbs and stalled. I took some cardio classes and hired a trainer. Then I started getting into weightlifting. I eventually got a nutritionist and that was a game changer. I just kept moving forward and here I am...in maintenance. I love that I can still do what I love! 💜💜  

I got bored of being a hedonist. 

I love your honesty and nothing wrong with liking positive comments! You are beautiful inside and out and truly want to help others in their journey. My aha moment was the doctor telling me almost 4 years ago that he gave me 6 months to get my BP down, cholesterol & glucose in check. He wanted me to go do something that made me sweat and follow the Mediterranean Diet. I yo-yo dieted my whole life and hated exercise. I found a trainer who also took care of the nutrition side. The first few times going to the gym I wanted to puke and I thought the warm up was hard! 🤣 But I found something I ended up loving that would be my lifestyle change. The doctor was amazed and no meds needed to control BP, cholesterol and diabetes. 

When I was diagnosed with diabetes... 

It's mostly vanity for me. When my clothes get tight, it's time to lose weight. Exercise has always been constant because I enjoy it very much.  

Finally getting a much needed hernia repair and being told to walk 30 minutes a day by my Dr in order for her to do it! "You need to be much healthier for this surgery." She seemed extremely sceptical that I could do that! She doesn't know how stubborn I can be! I have only missed 2 days through no control of my own. Down 28.6 pounds so far and surgery is next week! I'm only 3.4 pounds away from the goal I set myself. I think I'm going to be very close! 

Mine was when I stepped on the scale 3 years ago and seen I was 183 the heaviest I ever weighed in my life. I was so uncomfortable, out of shape and I hated myself and how I looked. I only bought clothes if I really needed to, because I hated buying clothes. I feel so much better and starting to like myself a little better. I'm not 100% happy. I still have a stomach Id like to get rid of and believe Id need surgery for that, which at some point I may do, it's loose skin and you can only tighten it so much.  

Doctor said I was prediabetic and obese at 25. I was also having a hard time getting up and down the stairs. I really hated how my body looked in my clothes too. I noticed that I would purposely buy baggy clothes to hide myself. I just got tired of feeling like crap. 

i like looking good and feeling good. i knew i wanted men to be WOW'ed when i started dating again. and i wanted to be comfortable with myself, naked. 🤷‍♀️ I also wanted to crush my own times running.  

A few things really got to me some of them will be tongue and cheek... some will be serious. I remember a few instances that stand out glaringly. I've always taken the trash out to the road. I remember seeing trash maybe 15 or 20 ft to the right of me. I was so pathetic that I wouldn't put anymore effort than walking the path I had always taken. Another instance was seeing myself in pictures at my kids birthdays. I had no idea I looked the way I did. I know that sounds crazy because who doesn't know how they look right? But I was unaware as I had a lot of turmoil going on in my life during that period. One time I couldn't even bend down fully to tie my shoes without being slightly out of breath. I liked Kaylin's point about feeling better being naked. I remember watching my sex tapes and not being happy🤣JUST KIDDING.... WELL MAYBE 👀 LMAO [please offended people don't be offended] pretend it's blurred out for christ sake. Now the serious one that really got me heading in the right direction. I had a couple guy's I went to school with who were practically living the same life as me. They were 300 lbs plus or more. Eating whatever they wanted not doing any exercise. Honestly just living like most people do... like we were invincible. Well they died in their sleep... in some cases leaving a wife and multiple children behind. I didn't want to do that to my family! I felt that would be very selfish of me. So from that moment on I made a commitment to improve my health. With the hope that it helps extend my life! Sorry for the lengthy post. But this was a great topic that could and should inspire other's.  

I started this journey when I was 10. My father thought I didn't exercise enough so he had me walk a mile a day. It has been a battle ever since. This leg of the journey stared the third week of May. I was feeling more despair over things I could not change and wanted to cope better. Walking helps me meet peace. So, the current goal is to eat better - progress not perfection - and spend more time walking than I did last week.  

Been on several "diets" which were successful temporarily. Now I am utilizing "fat secret" to help with weight loss and self esteem gain. Thanks ya'll for being here! (Slow but steady.) 

The defining moment for me occurred June 1. It was a traumatic event. I heard my neighbor yelling that my dog got into her yard. I could also hear snarling and growling. I went over as quickly as I could. Her male dog had mine by the tail and the female had a grip on her head. I managed to separate the females but was not strong enough to keep hold of my dog's scruff and her dog's collar. This resulted in more fighting and more injuries to both animals. The physical effort of grasping, bending and twisting did me in and after I and my dog got home, I had to sit and catch my breath before I could wash the dirt and blood off of my arms and hands. The next day, my back and legs were stiff and I had difficulty walking. My dog could have been mortally wounded while I watched because I was too weak to protect her. I want to recover the normal level of strength and endurance I used to have so I can walk up and down stairs, walk at least half a mile, and lift/carry two bags of groceries at a time.