What was your breaking point?

[Mothercooter]

Not sure if this is the right place for this-

And this is a totally stolen idea from another site, but so great I had to post it...

What was the clincher for you. When did you decide, okay, thats it!!! Im doing something about my weight! Did you see a pic of yourself? A rude comment? Couldn't fit in the rides at the amusement park?

I'd love to hear your stories about what finally made you decide to change your life.


Mine was the day I ws getting out of the bath and my 4 yr old son walked in before I was dressed and asked "Mommy, why is your belly so fat if there isnt a baby in there anymore?"

I wanted to yell and cry all at the same time but I wasnt mad at him, just myself. So I kinda dodged by giving him the old, everyone is shaped different speech and reminding him its not nice to bring up peoples weight and decided that was it!!!

I had been one of those that laughed at atkins and thought it was the craziest thing ever. I thought it was very unhealthy. Of course I hadnt read the book! My best friend from tennessee called one day out of the blue, i hadnt talked to her in almost a yr and she was telling me her dad had lost over 100 lbs on atkins after his heart attack and got his diabetes under control. I showed her my disapproval and told her I couldnt give up yogurt and other "Healthy things" and she said I could have those things still later on and they make them low carb now, I had every excuse in the book. I blew it off.
Then My father passed away and I went to mississippi for the funeral where I saw my older cousin Josh who was nearing 300 lbs last time I saw him and he looked GREAT!!!!!!! He had lost over 100 lbs too! He said he did it on atkins.

That was proof enough for me. I got the book and actually read it and knew it was healthy and the right thing for me.

[CroweKitty]

Great Question!

I think for me it was the fact that I had to take a REALLY LONG trans-pacific flight in about a month, and at almost 200 pounds and completely out of shape, I had convinced myself that I was going to get deep vein thrombosis and die. So I started low carbing again and exercising, a lot!

Well, I didn't die, and at almost 4 months and 33 pounds down, I like how I feel and how I'm starting to look. I think I'll keep it up.

[Brook]

I wrote mine out here:

No Excuses!

[KittyMomma]

The breaking point for me was when my Gut became it's own "person'.

I would have to tuck blankies and such under my belly at night so I could sleep on my side without it straining my belly...

I would have to tuck the material of my pants under the 'crease' of my gut when I sat at my computer or the friction/sweat would irritate me so much...

I would have to stand sideways to keep my gut out of the way when I reached up in a high cupboard for something..

I would have to squat down to try and see around my gut to tie/put on my shoes...

I could go on and on.. but honestly.. one morning I woke up and said to my Gut.. I hate you, Gut. And I want you dead (gone).

So here I am. and My gut is nearly half the person it used to be..

[dreamof145]

I've told it before, but it is a day I'll never forget. I went to a writer's convention and hid at the back of the room. I looked around at all the people and as a lot of fat people do, I compared my fatness to everyone in the room. I was the fattest one there. I went back to my hotel room and cried. Then I got mad. I decided right then and there to do something about it. Thank goodness I decided to do low-carb when I heard about one of my daughter's girlfriends who had lost a huge amount of weight counting carbs. I started checking out how to do it on the internet when I found the ADBB.

[jimmie 48]

my pictures made me ill
i was tired all the time
but the clincher was i couldn't breath to bend over and tie my shoes.

[Curveegrrl]

I've been fat all my life. I'm alctually thinner now than I was when I was 13. I weigh more, but I'm a smaller size.

I've done dozens of things to lose weight. But I never really committed to anything for very long.

Then I met a remarkable woman who had lost a lot of weight. She looked fabulous. I'd met her once when she was at (or near) her highest weight. When I met her again 2 years later, I could not believe the transformation. Of course, she had been doing Atkins.

She lent me the book.
She lent me work out videos.
She gave me a VCR so I could watch and do them.
She gave me curtains for my living room so my neighbors did not have to watch me do them.
She showed me amazing recipes.
She has cheered for me all the way.
She sorted me out.

I could not do this without her and I am thankful everday that I had the opportunity to meet her.

[sallyseachange]

Started out doing it for an online pal. Didn't want to be the 'fat friend' when we eventually met. But...very soon I began doing it for me. I felt better, looked better and had more energy than I'd had for years. I was also amazed that this was a diet I could stick to..meaning a WOE I could do forever! Hooray for Atkins!

[Bren]

I can honestly say there was no magical moment for me. A friend decided "we" needed to lose weight. Having done every diet out there I was reluctant. She wanted to go to Weight Watchers (and of course I had been there done that) So, I suggested Atkins, thinking she would not go along with it. She said "ok". Great....so I pulled out my book. Which had gathered dust sitting on a shelf and never been opened! Decided I would check out the internet to see if there was a place to do the "Cliff notes" version as I really did not want to read the book. I had basically given up on ever losing weight permantely. Lost so much over the years only to gain it all back plus more. I had no idea what it was like to feel great, be energetic and mainly I lived to eat.
ADBB was where I ended up! Once I started reading the posts here I thought maybe I could do this. So I geared up and started. Lost 8 pounds my first week and thought Hey........this is not too bad. Still not completely sold on the idea.
At some point of going through the motions it all clicked and here I am!
So, I guess you could say I am one of those that "went through the motions and felt the emotions".

[MommaGlass]

OOh! Good thread!

The first time I started losing weight, I was creeping up on 300 lbs. At 5'2", it was a harsh sight for me to look in the mirror. I couldn't put my arms down "flat". They would lay against my sides, but they stuck out at an angle from my "actual" side. My husband (at the time) told me his mother said "Melinda would be as pretty as that girl over there if she could lose weight". I had started shopping for size 24s. It sucked. Life sucked. I felt hopeless. I had a coworker who started losing weight and said she was having fun doing it. This was in 1999. She was doing "Atkins". She ate hotdogs everyday and cheese and steak and said she had so much more energy. Now, I know, hotdogs and cheddar is not Atkins. LOL She ate green beans sometimes and salads occasionally. It didn't sound like the healthiest of diets but being as wide as I was tall wasn't healthy either. So for the first time in my life I tried dieting. I ate steak and green beans all the time. I didn't read the book, I didn't really do "Atkins" as we know it. But it started working. I lost 25 lb the first month. Then my marriage started its quick spiral down the toilet drain. I didn't think about dieting anymore. I was preoccupied with dissolution of what I thought was my future. But I didn't feel like eating as much anymore anyway. Upheaval will do that, ya know?? LOL I had a major change in lifestyle. No longer sitting behind a desk chuggin' southern sweet tea all day. I was back on the road, working at Renaissance Faires. That meant alot of walking during the week and eating less 'cause I was only making a little money and living in my van. But on the weekends, I had been hired to pop kettlecorn. By hand. That means stirring that huge kettle of the sticky sweet popped corn allllll day long and then also during the week to make extra for the weekend. When it's just oil, corn kernals and sugar, the stirring with the 3 foot paddle ain't too hard. When the stuff pops and gets stick, it takes effort. I lost another 30 lbs during that 6 week period. I continued to have jobs that kept me physical. Physical enough, that I ate like crap and continued to lose weight. I got down to about 165 over the next couple of years just being active. I did "Atkins" for 2 weeks and then got pregnant during my second marriage. Had the baby, lost 5 lbs during the pregnancy. Got post partum. Watched the scale climb while I wallowed in misery, clueless as to what was up with me. DH gentley urged me to go see the doctor. I did. Went on Zoloft and started feeling better that afternoon. Granted I walked around clenching my teeth for no reason, but I wasn't depressed anymore! Stepped on the scale. 196!!! I was almost 200 lbs AGAIN! That was the major straw that broke the fat camel's back. I WOULD NOT be over 200 again. I could not go back to being that sad fat girl. I did not love her. I loved the "real" me. This was the end of November 2005. I immediately thought of Atkins. So I did some research, found ADBB. Learned about the "Real Atkins". I ordered the book, read all the stickies. I spent hours everyday for weeks reading and studying and waiting for my book to come in the mail. I had been on induction a month and lost over 15 lbs by the time my book showed up. I met my Atkins partner, Austlyn. We did The January Bootcamp. And I have been having fun and loving it ever since. I fell in love with this way of eating and this community! Yeah, I have had my share of bumps in the road but that sad, fat girl is 120 lbs behind me and I will be leaving her there forever. I have been armed with the knowledge to control my body, not be controlled by it. Atkins works... if you let it.
Hope I wasn't too long winded.