What was your lightbulb moment?

[Reveal]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

I have loved reading all of these posts, and it got me thinking about my "lightbulb moment." For a long time I thought I didn't have one, but the more I think about it the more I know I did, though there were really several small things that happened around the same time that started me on this journey.

But the big one came last Christmas, when my family gathered on Christmas night to watch some old 8mm films my grandmother had. Most of them were from the late 70s-early 80's (when I was a kid. I'm 29 now.) We had a grand time watching the films, most of which were of birthday parties or picnics or big snow days out in the country on the horse farm I grew up on. But one of them was just an ordinary day when I was about 7. I was wearing my favorite green leotard, the one I thought made me look like a gypsy, and my long dark hair was tied back in a ponytail. My grandmother kept the camera on my sister and I as we ran all over the hill, up and down about a thousand times, then up into the woods to jump out of trees, or down the big hill to the creek. Something about watching that video made me so sad. Watching it I could remember exactly what it felt like to inhabit that seven-year-olds body - the one that could run and jump and didn't feel self-conscious in a leotard - and I MISSED THAT FEELING. I sat on the couch and looked that that younger me and realized that I'd let myself down. Not by weighing a lot, but by not taking care of that body that had carried me so far in life and had given me so much. I wanted to feel that sense of ease and confidence again. I wanted to know that if I wanted to I could climb a tree or run a mile without feeling like I would die. I wanted that *me* back.

And I'm not there yet by a long shot, but I am a lot closer than I was.

[kpoll19]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

Awesome stories. Thanks so much for sharing. This WOE Rocks! I have never before felt so in control of my eating. Mind over matter!

Continued success to all of you and I hope I get to hear even more!!

Kelly

[Devi]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

My lightbulb moment was the events leading up to and then following my anniversary trip with my partner. I had finally gained enough weight that I was absolutely NOT fitting into anything below a 14. I just couldn't fit into 12's anymore. I was really upset, because none of my clothes fit. My partner was sweet enough to let me take his credit card shopping for some new outfits for our trip. We usually go shopping together, but I didn't want him to see me this time. Seeing that the 14's actually fit, and how none of the 12's did really killed me. I did find 2 really nice outfits that day, however - and I forced myself to buy a pair of white linen capri's to rebel against the "white makes people look like elephants" philosophy that my Grandmother had always spouted. I figured if I could buy white pants and not look huge, then I wasn't THAT fat. A gret source of distraction.

Anyhow, when we got home from our trip - which was lovely, by the way - I dumped all the pics off of my camera onto the comp so I could send them. I was horrified. Even in the shots that I knew I was 'sucking in' I still had a gut that I couldn't hide. For the first time, I actually looked heavy in my pictures. I had to PhotoShop my stomache out of 2 or 3, smooth my rolls over in another, and slim down my butt in yet another. I was so angry! That tore it.

I was angry at the size 14's and I was angry over having to PhotoShop my pics in order to feel ok about sharing them. I was heavier than I had ever been and things were slowly but steadily climbing. I wasn't comfortable letting my partner, who I love more than anything else in the world, see me undressed. I just couldn't sit there and let it happen anymore.

[kpoll19]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

Wow, wish i knew how to photo shop my pictures! Maybe I would let people take them of me if I could "air brush" them first!

[dpshaw]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

My 'lightbulb' moment came when other people were laughing at me and talking aloudly about me as I walked down the street...some people are so very cruel, yet in some weird way I need to thank them - I am sooo very driven/focused right now. Oh yes, and having MAN BOOBS was also a good reason to stick with it ;-)

[Heidi3]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

my blood pressure was a biggie ..it was very high ...so being a "do as I do" type of nurse ....rather than a do what I say and to **** with my own body...I knew I needed to at least follow my own advice ....loose weight and move more...so I did and I do and now the blood pressure is fine....hmmm go figure? there is some science in healthcare!

[Devi]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

LOL dpshaw! It's good that you were able to keep a sense of humour about it all. It is awful what people can do and say. I saw a Dr. Phil once where they had very overweight people on, as well as the skinny people who unabashedly make creul comments to those with weight issues. I was absolutely floored!
It is odd the way life works though, as now you're really working towards your health! I'm really happy for you!

As for PhotoShop Kpoll19, it was actually alot easier than I thought it was going to be! I'd never used it before this past month. You just pick up a "clone" color of whatever background you are against, and then paint it over whatever bulges you want gone! It works best if there isn't too much color variation, obvisouly. If you were wearing or standing against a busy pattern, you probably couldn't bee too successful - unless you were a real computer wiz, which I'm not! It would be funny to send you some before and after shots, but I saved the PS'd pics over the real ones so there wouldn't be any evidence! I'm so silly.

Anyhow. Woke up this morning with 1.5 pounds gone!! Hooray!

[Lisa M]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

You will reach your goal and make it to Disneyland! I wanna goo too!

My lightbulb moment? I could say it was 2 years ago, then life happened and I let it take over.

Yep, people's words do hurt and should be banished to an island of mirrors and no sunblock.

This time around? Well, lets just say some people have MIL's that have big mouths and can't stop what comes out of them, I have a Step Mother (lovingly referred as the "Step-Monster", "My Father's Wife", and my personal favorite, "My Husband's Mother-In-Law"). She's good for sabotaging and I finally had enough when I heard her say, "Well, you are bigger than your sister with a wider butt..." Yep, got to love that woman. And to my defense, we're 1/2 sis's and she looks like her mother while I on the other hand have our father's figure...got to love that man!

All in all, the words were just added fuel to what I already knew yet couldn't face myself to see in the mirror or say outloud. I hate feeling fatter then everyone in the family, because I know I'm been measured up against someone else. Not fair, but it's true.

So, I guess my father's wife had a point...crude, but yet had a point. I'm doing this for my statisfaction of knowing I CAN conqure my eating habits from stress, and nobody else's.

[kpoll19]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

Thanks to all who posted these very inspirational and personal moments. You have undoubtedly inspired others.

Kelly

[Susan33]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

My lightbulb moment was when I took a picture with my kids 4th of July and I looked like I was smushed into the chair I was sitting in, and the rolls on my stomach looked bigger then my chest. I almost died when I seen that picture. Then a couple of weeks later, I went to the doctor and he said my cholestrol was almost 300 with my bad cholestrol at 157. Not good at all. I turned to Atkins, cause I don't ever want to take a picture with my kids and look like a house sitting between them. Plus I want to be around to see my kids graduate college, get married and have grandkids.

[ShannonK]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

Thank you so much for this thread. I love your stories. I have had many of the same experiences with the pictures, but I think that I convinced myself that it wasn't me. My light bulb moment came when I spend month after month getting up in the middle of the night and going to the guest room because of my constant snoring. I do know that my snoring was related to my being overweight and I knew that it was causing difficulty in my marriage. Basically, every night after I feel asleep, I would wake my husband up with the very loud, discusing snoring. My light bulb moment came the night that I didn't even bother to go to bed in the same room. I went directly to my new bed and slept there. I cried myself to sleep at the reality my life had become. I was sleeping alone. I was thirty four. I couldn't imagine what came next. I was so sad. That was when I bought Atkins book the first time and I got within three pounds of my goal weight within six months. Yes, the snoring went away with the first ten pounds. I kept the weight off for a few months and gained it back. Thus, here I am in the Second Time Around Club! No snoring right now. I will stay on Atkins for that reason, if no other!

Thanks for listening. I have never told that to anyone before. Not even him...

[Susan33]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

Shannon,

I have the snoring thing too, but my fiancee can't say anything cause he snores louder then me. LOL!!! Anyway, when one of us or snoring really loud and the other person can't seem to fall asleep, we usually just turn around in the bed. It's kind of funny actually. But we just work with it. Hopefully, I will stop snoring once I have lost some weight.

Thanks for sharing your story with us.

[kpoll19]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

Oh my gosh Shannon! That is one of my biggest problems! We never slept together because I kept him up. I also now have sleep apnea and have to sleep with that stupid air thing (DH calles me Darth Vadar) but by next year, hopefully that will be gone. And for now, we can sleep together because I can't snore with that stupid thing!

Kelly

[soliwit]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

It's been said before but lemme say it again: this thread is so wonderfull, it's really inspiring to read all those stories and makes you think hard about your own process.

I have been chubby all my life, also dieted some times more but in fact was kinda sorta ok with the weight I had.
Of course I did have some moments I didn't like being fatter than others, especially when pictures were made or when I looked at girls wearing tight cloths.
Some years ago I stopped smoking and had put on 30 pounds or so, I managed to lose 20 of those again, got back to smoking and after that gradually put on weight again more and more.
I was going up and down in weight all the time, felt really proud when I managed to lose some but didn't really take care of my body as I should and every time I got bigger again and imagined I was comfortable with it.
Then on the 20th of january this year I have quitted smoking again, 2 weeks later I was standing on my scale and realised I was steady and surely heading towards the heaviest I have ever weighed (that was years ago, 203 lb) I was still under 200 but I saw it coming.
I hated it, I hated being fat at that point, I realised I had all the time told myself I was ok with it, but I wasn't, I felt crappy and unhealthy and FAT.
At that moment I realised I HAD to do something cause this was only 2 weeks after I stopped smoking and this time I already weighed so much more than I did back then when I stopped and ended being more than 200, I saw it coming, another 30 pounds would mean I would end up weighing something like 220 pounds !!!
So I went to the bookstore that same day and started right away (I had looked into low carb WOL before, so I kinda sorta knew what to do)
This time it all is so much easier, in that way that I feel so much more dedicated, I really want to be healthy and look good on top of that.
I also feel so very proud that instead of quitting smoking and ADDING weight I quitted and LOST weight, makes me feel so good about myself!!!
Just a few lb's more and I weigh the same as I did when my hubby and me met for the first time !!!!!

I stopped snoring too!!!!!

[is thin possible?]

Re: What was your lightbulb moment?

My light bulb moment came one day when I looked in the mirror and my neck was as thick as a tree stump! I am pear shaped and therefore, if I only focused on my upper body (i.e. hair, make-up) and didn't spend too much time using full length mirrors, I looked "normal." It was like as if, as long as I did't look fat from the waist up, that maybe I wasn't too obese. Anyhow, I think when I realized that my neck was so large and my face was to full, that the fat had "maxed out" all the room available in my lower body and was on an upward movement looking for last ditch places to store all of the junk I was putting into my body, I realized, "It's time to get a grip!"

At that point I took a hard look at myself in a full length mirror and the denial I had been in melted away! And I thought to myself. "Oh my God! Look at you! You are repulsive, I don't even recognize who this person is!" I had always been athletic in high school and my early 20's. The athlete look was definately gone!

That day I vowed to find the real me and to recover the lost athlete! I am proud to say that my neck is very thin these days and I have lost over 4 inches from that area of my "bod" alone! Sad but true!

I thank God for a second chance at life via this WOE! I feel wonderful and have sooo many people shocked and in awe at the changes my body has undergone! I even have men telling me how sexy I am! What? That is so weird, I have not had this kind of male attention in 20 years!

One of my favorite quotes is by Oprah and it goes something like this: "You need to have the 'A-Ha' moment, when you realize that this is the way to live!" I am truly thankful that I have found Atkins and that this WOE has introduced me to the "A-Ha" moment.