For all the people that are going through their first transformation, and to those that have already performed a transformation, I was just curious as to the event or series of events that finally made you make up your mind to make a lifestyle change.

For me it was actually a couple of things. First of all, late last year, I ran up the stairs to my apartment, taking them two at a time. However, when I got the top, I actually had to stop for a second, and regain my breath. I didn't like that, and half-heartedly decided I was going to do something about it. Then, as New Year's approached, I was reading another forum that I frequent (one completely unrelated to fitness), and there was a thread asking what everyone's resolutions were. There were several people that said there were going to start doing the Body For Life program. I had never heard of this, so it sparked a bit of intrigue. I started researching it, and thought that it looked like a pretty good idea. Although, I never specifically started Body For Life, it all started then, for me.

Likewise, it was because of that thread that I found out about JSF. I checked back a little bit later, and people were talking specifically about BFL, and one of the people was listing good fitness sites, and this was one of them that was listed. I signed up, and haven't looked back. :flex:

As a side note, if anyone reading this posts on another board as "Philly Sports Dude", get ahold of me...you are the one that informed me of this site. :tu:

1. I used to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I was in top shape when I was 18, but after I finished my training I didnt have any other goals so I just finished school and went to college where I partied and ate crap. Finally I realized I was pretty much done with partying and decided I should try to get that body I have always wanted (Super-Hero type ;) ) and so I began to look for information sites. And I stumbled onto JSF and really I can't remember the first time I got here its been so long.

2) Almost all of my friends are in good shape and I felt so left out, and scared to take off my shirt, so I finally decided the only way to beat that was to become fit and so my journey began.

Supa

JSF ultimately but what lead me to look into it is:

1. Like many others I'm sure, I was athletic, played many sports, was never cut but always had a good amount of bulk in muscle, then I started gaining weight and it sucked and I guess that depressed me a little.
2. Friends, girls.
3. tired of my appearance, determined to change my life in more ways then just this
4. I am competitive and have a ego so I'm looking forward to the time where I can just show it off and be arrogant about my weight loss and look.

2.5 years ago... still had some post baby weight and did not like how my body looked after two kids. I did a BFL challenge and that is what really catapulted me into healthy eating. So here I am, 2 1/2 yrs later and 30 lbs. lighter.

My motivation... (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showpost.php?p=47222&postcount=27)

I always had an ideal body issue, I think it started since grade 3. But people never called me fat or anything, maybe because they were focused more on my height, which is as tall as an adult. I don't exactly know how I develop this weird syndrome, but anyway I've always dreamed of being lean since I was a child and back then the only way I knew how to do it was starving myself. But thank God, I had a pretty fast metabolism and I was engaged in different sport activity. I participate in any sport and daily too. Some of them were PE class and sometime extra-curricular activity. Bottomline, I was very very active during elementary until 3rd year high-school. So even though I eat crap in high dosage, I never get overweight, just a bit chubby :d_tongue:

Not until we moved back here in the Philippines when I was about to take my 4th year at high-school, where things took a turn for worst. You know, new enviroments, new friends, feeling lonely and the worst of all, no phisical activity! The only thing I did was go to school and that's it. My bad eating habit was a bad habit I developed since I was very very young (parents taught me how to eat, go figure! :lol: ) so how do I deal with all this stress? Food is the answer! (I don't think I need to explain that...)

So up until the second semester of my 4th year high-school, I was in my life's worst shape, weighting in at 180 lbs. Yeah I know it's not much, but if you have body issue, it is! By the way I'm 6'0'' so I'm still not overweight, but I didn't like what I see. I've been starving myself but it seems not to work (I wonder why? :lol: ) Anyway, since I was reading a lot of stuffs from magazine, internet etc, I decided to join a gym and put everything in action. So i think what pushed me was my ideal body issue

Well what pushed me over the edge was the culmination of a few things


1. I want to start Air Force ROTC in August, I have to make military weight limits by then.

2. Tired of the low self esteem that comes directly from feeling fat and out of shape. felt very undesireable.

3. Want to be able to finally go to the beach, pool, etc. and not feel like "the fat guy"

4. Proposed to my longtime GF, want to be in the best shape of my life for her. 3 years till we plan to be married.

5. High School reunion in 2 years, dont want attention due to how Ive let myself go to crap since High School. I wanna look like a million bucks.

Im only 3 weeks into my transformation, and have seen small results at this point, but I feel 110% better already.

Atkins Diet, followed by a little black book. No kiddin!

I started lifting in highschool, end of grade 11. I think I could do 20 x 6 with the DB on the decline bench (powerhouse!). I knew nothing, and worked from there.

I went to university two years ago, and gained a bit of weight, maybe 5 lbs. I had never been in great shape, always slightly overweight. I think I was at about 155 lbs, soft, very little muscle. After Xmas (now in Jan 2004) I started sniffing out information on the Atkins diet after hearing about it's scientific successes in studies. I decided that I would give it a shot, more as an experiment than anything. I had toyed with the idea of getting into shape the previous year, and thought wistfully of it again, but didn't really think much further than that.

I started the diet, I started the exercise, and like that I was off, bitten by the fitness bug.

Over the span of about 2 months, I dropped 20 lbs and gained in every lift. I would only sleep about 6 hours naturally, I felt mentally sharper than ever before (until around now), and I had tons of energy. I managed to gain the glorified 4-pack (sketchy on the 6-pack) and everyone was surprised when they saw me again. It was pretty neat.

Exams came around, and I fell off the wagon. Atkins is great for some people, me included, so long as you could eat straight. I eased off it pretty quickly, due to the damn good cookies, beer, and other junk foods. I gained about 5 lbs back, and ended up at around 145-150 lbs.
Over the summer I went to about 150-155, not being able to go to the gym much because of work.

This fall I began going to the gym a bit, but ended up slacking off and gaining weight. After Xmas, I was about 155 lbs. It was mostly fat, since I hadn't built muscle, and new nothing about nutrition.

This is where the black book came into play.
I decided to write down what I ate in a day to see what I did eat. Nothing fancy, just another one of my experiments like the previous year's. Within 2 weeks I had started a cut, gained all sorts of knowledge on nutrition thanks to the web, and purchased clean foods, a protein supplement, Omega3 fish oils, started going back to the gym, and revamped my whole lifting schedule. Essentially after the first day of recording things down, I thought "This is *beep*-y food, I need to eat better!" I couldn't lie to myself about what I would eat, and as long as I kept recording things in the book, I wouldn't eat what I didn't want to write down!
I lost mostly fat from 155 down to 143 over a 5 week cut, and then I got tired of that so I began to bulk. Here I am today.

So essentially I never decided to get into shape... Both stages were just experiments gone haywire.

July 11th, 2004, I stepped on my crappy home scale that I had recently bought to get a rough estimate, and it said 238 lbs. I stepped on it a couple more times just to make sure I was reading things right.

I finally realized that I had passed that "pleasantly plump" mark and was truly fat. Obese. I felt ugly and unhealthy, and I had run out of places that sold clothes I could fit into.

I vowed to start losing weight from that day on, and have been dropping the pounds ever since.

Bought a new camera last year. Took pics of everything I could find, only thing i didnt have was photos of me. Over the years ive avoided the camera because ive never really felt that it caught my best side you know? that was throughout primary school where i was skrawny to uni where i put on a lot of weight especially as i was filling up. Anyhow I took a photo, and WHOOSH... pie in the face. Couldnt believe what i saw. I looked hard at it and thought "....oh".
So i decided to get back to the gym (started a year back but didnt go for a year because i put my studies on a higher priority - which wouldnthave been so bad if i actually passed :lol: ).

Of course what i see in the mirror now is improved but i could be seeing it better than it actually is, so i never truly rely on it. Only till ive got popping veins and the faintlines of a six pack will i know for sure the flab is nearly gone.

Wow, Bluestreak's and my own motivation are very simlilar. When my friend gave me a picture of myself from a party, and I could see my chubby face and stomach. This was after I had been playing soccer year round for over 3 years, so I was accustomed to being in the low 150's and at the time of the picture I was closing in on 190. I just reached 160 today, and by next week I hope to finally break that 150 barrier again. Thank god for that picture..

The movie documentary, "Supersize me".

everyday leading up to the day I watched that movie, I would tell myself as I got into the shower. "I gotta stop drinking soda pop" everyday for several years! **SEVERAL YEARS!**

I allways felt lethargic, like crap, couldent compete in my favorite sports anymore, really got into paintball a couple of years ago and found that I couldent keep my wind while playing and only played a couple of times last year becuase of it.

After watching that movie, it made me litterally sick to my stomach.

Its now been allmost 3 months since I started making changes and 7 weeks since I found this site and finally made REAL changes to my diet, lifting and cardio.

I feel like a million bucks now, I don see huge weight changes, but I see huge size differences, ive lost just over 6'' off my abdomen, 2 1/2'' off my chest and my muscles are becoming defined.

I am now, in better shape than anyone I play paintball with, im in better shape than anyone in my family and just today, I am wearing jeans that I bought over 10 years ago and they fit PERFECT!!!

I still have a long ways to go, but comming here everyday keeps me motivated!

Thanks guys! :tu:

"What Finally Pushed You Over the Edge?"

Multiple knee problems, being clinically obese, shortness of breath, failing health, lack of self esteem... But the thing that finally pushed me over the edge was twofold:

1) My doctor telling me I was pre-Type II, but luckily I was in the earliest stages and could take steps to prevent it's development.

2) A special person in my life who told me she didn't care what kinda shape I was in, as long as I lived a good long life.

Couldn't have the second without the first, and what i finally had was real support, it took less than a year to do a complete 180, and only a few short years later, I have my whole life to look forward to, sounds cheesy I know :lol:

I went to the doctor for a check up and they took my blood. Come to find out I had high cholesterol - over 300. High cholesterol runs in my family, but the doctor said I had to basically change my diet and start exercising more, or risk a heart attack early in life. Well, seeing as my grandfather passed away at around 50 (from a heart attack), and my dad has to take Crestor and all types of other drugs (which I want no part in taking), I wasted no time in joining a gym and making life style changes. Actually, I think the next day I joined a gym. Also, after coming back from the doctors, I jumped on the internet in search of a fat loss program and I found JSF. Since then, I've drop from about 240 to 194 (weighed myself today). And the other day I had my cholesterol results again. This time it was much better at 170, though the doctor wants me to lower it even more. But I honestly have to say that this is the best I've felt in over 5 years, right before I stoped exercising and got fat. I still have 20-15 more pounds I'd like to lose.

From 1997-2000, I went from 180lbs to 240lbs. Since it happened gradually I had no idea I was that big (http://img42.exs.cx/img42/3866/sunburn0cw.jpg) until I got my yearly physical at work. I was blown away. Even though my pant size went from a 34 to a 42 over that span, it took me actually seeing the scale before it set in.

Jason

For me it was getting on a scale after coming back from a vacation this Christmas. When the scaled said "205" I realized that I couldnt keep up my former college lifestyle without the daily swimming workouts that I used to do. It was about that time that I found JSF and made some major dietary changes and I haven't looked back since.

For me, it was when I would look in the mirror and I wouldn't see the person I thought I was. In my mind, I was the slim, 25 year old, flirty chic. But actually I wasn't that at all. I was overweight and very unhappy.

Then for Christmas in 2003 my husband bought me a Palm. I found a program that runs on it that tracks your weight, calorie input/output, bf, protien, fats..pretty much everything.

So I just did basic math...decrease input, increase output.

From there it was just making myself do it, and I am glad I did. I feel better then I have ever felt and now in my mind, I am exactaly who I want to be. :cool:

I'll start out with what didn't push me over the edge. What motivated me to, say, go to the gym a little more often, worry a lot more often, and generally feel bad about myself, but didn't persuade me to really do what was necessary.

The following things didn't spur me to do what was necessary to lose weight and get in shape.

1. Seeing my scale weight rise to the point where I was "obese" on the BMR.

2. Having to put all my clothes into storage because I got too fat to wear them.

3. No longer being able to recognize myself in the mirror. Hating seeing my image in photographs.

4. Getting taken to task for binge eating by my parents.

5. Developing chronic back problems and joint pain.

6. Developing chronic acid reflux.

7. Trying to keep up in sports that I was once good at and failing.

8. Seeing my cholesterol rise past safe levels.

9. Having my then-girlfriend call me fat.

10. Having people write blog entries on the Internet and spreading them to all my friends making fun of me for being fat and having a binge drinking problem.

11. Realizing I had a binge drinking problem.

12. Being hospitalized for depression, hitting rock bottom, and quitting drinking.

13. Graduating from college.

14. Finding a gym and getting a gym membership.

15. Being repeatedly told by doctors and prospective trainers that I was dangerously overweight and needed to lose body fat.

16. Being told by my then-89 year old grandfather (now 90 and still vigorous) who recently had eye surgery that I was fat and needed to "lose about 15 pounds" as he patted my stomach and laughed at me.

What pushed me over the edge and finally propelled me forward was very different. Most of what came before just made me feel cruddy and hopeless.

This is what did push me over the edge.

I went shopping with a male friend of mine from college for workout clothes. We were talking about women and whatnot. He had recently moved to the City, and I had joined a gym a few months back. In college, he had been overweight, then, right after graduation, when he got off cafeteria food, he lost a ton of weight, and the muscle he'd been building from lifting all those years really showed through.

Anyway, he was trying on those sleeveless, futuristic running tops that are way too expensive, and the female store clerks were all over him. They were chatting him up and complimenting him, and I remember looking in a tall mirror across the store at myself. I was wearing ill-fitting business casual clothes, khakis and a button down shirt, the khakis strained around the pelvis and my gut hung over the belt. I looked a damned mess.

Then my friend got my attention and sad, staight up, right to me without any sort of condemnation, "You know what would help you with girls? Maybe if you lost the paunch."

And I looked at him and realized how far he had come and how much fun he was having, and suddenly, where before I had only had guilt, I now had a goal. I had a positive way of visualizing what I wanted. I had a promise not just of the bad things I had been through that I felt I could not change, but of the good things that I could make happen! My competitive spirit kicked in, and I realized I was going to do it. If he could do it, I could do it.

The next day, I went to GNC and picked up a bunch of thermogenics. I resolved to permanently give up soda. I had been lurking on JSF for a while by then; I went back and pored over it.

I bought my first can of sardines (since then, a main staple of mine, and sort of a symbol of my efforts), read all the labels on the cereal boxes in the grocery store, checking for HFCS (well, not all of them, the Lucky Charms were ruled out ahead of time) and bought a box of Grape Nuts. I started measuring my food. I upped my cardio to 6 times a week, 45 minutes a day.

I had every reason in the world not to be fat for years before my shopping trip with my friend, but what he gave me was a reason to be slim. That's what I'd been missing the whole time.

Of course, over time, my competitive impulse has become more generalized, and I don't do it so much to outdo my friend as to keep up with the other guys in general who have been successful in doing this important and difficult thing. And for that, JSF has been invaluable.

Thanks very much, guys.

When my fiance and I were talking one night about our favorite pictures of eachother and she showed me her favorite of me; a solid 190 lbs back sophomore year in high school... it was my football pic for the yearbook. Made me almost bust out in tears to see how fat I let myself get.

1997 - 187 lbs.
2005 - 269 lbs.

sick.

Pug

Jason, I don't think I'd seen a before picture for you yet - you've been sort of "fine tuning" since I got here. Awesome work! Wow! What a difference!

Got some blood work and my fasted sugar and tryglicerides were in the pre diabedic range. He told me lose some weight or be type 2.

I reached a point where it was either become who I wanted to be or not be at all. I sometimes wonder what made me choose the right path, because at the time the other road seemed much quicker.

My self-disgust, coupled with a sense of impending ill-health, reached a critical level. Then I suddenly discovered several things on the net, including Tom Venuto's e-book and this message board, which flicked an inspirational switch and that was that.

Philph

I have always been overweight.
At 16 I got more friends and drank a lot, because I was over weight and older looking I could get drink very easily becuase the legal age here is 18. While my friends where going out with girls and all that, I wasn't, I drank and ate and tagged along everywhere.

I got called fat a lot, blah blah, most of us went through that here, but they never really hit me hard. What did hit me hard was this.

My friends 17th birthday in his house, he had a digital camera and was taking pictures, theres a picture of me and my friend, arm around each other smiling with a bottle of beer, and I couldn't look at the picture.
Small fitting clothes (and bad fashion....), red fat face, double chin, with fat hands and just a bad picture overall. I still hate it.

From that week I went on a diet. I didn't research apart from typing into google "how to loose weight". I decided Atkins and others wherent for me, so I devised my own diet that wasnt a lot of food, and i worked out a lot with cardio. In the end I lost 30lbs, but I was just a smaller version of what I was and wasn't happy. I researched a lot, and got the idea into my head that a calorie was a calorie :rolleyes:, so I maintained that weight for a long time while researching as much as possible. I've come a long way since then but I'm not finished.

A lot of my teenage life has been lost because of weight problems, that idea is what pushed me over the edge.

I think for me it was only because I was able to get the rest of my life on track to actually dedicate the energy and mental effort required to take on the task of a physical 'remodel'...

The real moment when I figured out that I needed a change was after my 24th birthday, looking at the pictures from the nite (which I vaguely remember, lol). While most of them were very funny, I found myself disappointed while looking at them - who I saw in the pictures was not who I wanted to see.

A Zen Buddhist goes to a new york hot dog vendor, hands him a $20, and says 'Make me one with everything'.

The vendor makes him the best hot dog on the west side, takes the $20 and slips it in to his register. The Buddhist looks at him and says 'What about my change?'

The vendor looks at him and says 'Change must come from within.'

Dave (decided this thread could use a joke, even a lame one!)

Guess I'm probally just like everyone else, just seeing pictures of myself and being unhappy. Espically when I went to try out clothes, I'd have to look for 38" pants that were "loose" fit... I was terrified of ever getting a 40. I bought Tom Venuto's BFFM in 2003 and I read it... and I started to put it to practice by starting out slow... eating right and taking daily walks. Unfortunately, for whatever reason or another I got off the wagon and just sort of gave up. I still ate pretty good, but I wasn't making any progress and still had fastfood whenever my friends went out a few times a week.

Then, one day I was walking around campus and I saw myself out of a reflection of a door (side profile) and I was just disgusted... I was tired of looking like that. Although I carried my weight decently, it wasn't as good as I thought and I knew that I wanted to look good no matter the lighting conditions/clothes/side/etc. So I picked up Tom's book and combed through it (I highly recommend it, very nicely put together) and sooner or later a Weightloss Megathread on the SA forums popped up. I subscribed and began to do cardio 5 days a week at 6am. It really was hard to get down there... even that early at the morning I was a little self concious and tried to make excuses. But I would eventually make it down there and do my thing. The first couple weeks of thirty minute sessions were hell... I would feel extremely tired afterwards doing just steady state.

It's been about 6 or 7 weeks since then I look forward to my cardio 6 days a week and lifting. Being someone who was always vaguely interested in the sciences, I even became a little interested in biology and suppliments/drugs (nothing illicit, just how thermogenics et all claimed to work) and researched other things like Omega fats, Vitamins, etc. I always feel better after cardio and the 45 minutes just seem to breeze by... although after some 55 minute sessions (the morning after cheat meals -- Calzones are the best) I really have to tweak the tunes I listen too to push through :d_smile:

Anyway, for anyone by chance who is reading this thread and hasn't been tipped over the edge... just go ahead and do it. You'll only regret it the more you delay, and you'll feel much better when you go through with it. If only I had stayed with Tom's book back in 2003, I'd be enjoying the pool a lot more right now.

I ordered size eight pants through the internet and had to exhange them for size 10 because they were too small. I had been an eight my entire life, since middle school, and at 29 I was not going to keep ooching up and up and up...went on slim-fast, got back into my eights but became completely fascinated with losing fat...www.skwigg.com got me looking at body for life, then began eating many meals a day, etc. I'm now a six looking to get into a four... that has been a long road for me.

-Sweating while sitting in class because I had just climed 3 flights of stairs to get to the classroom.

-Not going out or doing stuff, because I was too self conscious , thinking everyone was staring at me. If some people were laughing, I would think it was at me.

- Finaly realising that my body, was holding me back, I thought about all the opportunities and experiances I had missed out on (days out, parties, family events, weddings, job even a holiday!), which was quite depressing.
Then I thought that times gone now, can't get it back, what I CAN DO is make sure I don't waste anymore time

Mine came while I was on vacation and it was one of those show + dinner joints where they took a picture of all of us when we came in and tried to sell it to us during the show.

I bought the pics just to get the guy out of our face and as the show went on - I slid out the pic of my wife and I and our two little girls (She was pregnant with what I thought was my 3rd little girl at the time - but turned out to be a son!) and as I looked at myself in the picture all I could think was "My god - am I really that nasty fat? Why on earth has no one told me how fat I am getting??!?!?!?"

Almost a full two years and a hundred pound later - I am comfortable and a lot more healthy than I ever was. I find myself coming up with new reasons to stay healthy now - the prime one being - I'd like to be around when my kids are my age - I think all three will be a fun person to hang out with. :)

Turning 30

1) Tired of being physically weak. I didn't have the presence, posture, and overall confidence of those who are in top shape. Instead, I was skinny with a gut- a demoralizing combination. Consequently, I was often a target for bullying in childhood, and taken lightly by many in adulthood. This had to change.

2) During the summer when I was 20(I'm 25 now), I took on my first attempt at transforming. I signed up for kickboxing and ju-jitsu classes at a dojo with a gym. I worked out every day and learned a lot about fighting while gaining strength and a form of mental discipline I've always lacked. I switched from glasses to contact lenses, which was a big deal for me. Women began flirting with me. That was the FINEST summer of my life. Hell, it was the finest time of my life. It lasted for two months before things went wrong at home as well as with me...my defeatist mentality reasserted itself.

I've started up again over the past two months. I still slide back into mediocrity and sloth once in a while, but changes are coming slowly. I want to feel the way I did that summer. I actually felt like I was going somewhere for the first time in my life.

Aside from wanting to be strong, I wanted above all else to feel like I was becoming the person I want to be. And so I'm trying again.

I'd been a competitive athlete since middle school and was always in great shape. I went to Australia last year for a study abroad. I had a great time. Amazing country, great people, great american friends, tons of actitvites. But I also had a great time drinking and eating. We proabably went out drinking 5-6 nights a week, and every meal was like a cheat meal. I ended up putting on 30 pounds in my 6 months there. I was active scuba diving and surfing but got no structured exercise most of the time and abandoned my weight training half way through the trip. The funny thing is, none of it bothered me while I was there. I was on a break with my girlfriend, and getting girls wasn't a problem. I went to the beach and let my beer gut hang out, surfed and had a blast. I don't regret any of it. But I did come back from the trip feeling really unhealthy. And I was 'fat' for the first time ever. And when my dad's 36s were the only pants that fit me, I knew I needed to do something. :eek: I had never had a weight problem in my life, so not knowing much, I started out at too low a calorie diet. Went back to lifting and running. The exercise part of the equation has never been an issue. The weight did come off, but then I stalled. So I did my homework and read around and learned I needed to bump up the calories. I did and continued to train hard. The rest of the weight except for maybe 5-8 pounds came off. The whole deal took from July to Thanksgiving. Took two months off to maintain-I did, and maybe put on a little muscle without any fat gains. Began again to lose the final weight at the end of January. Then I joined JSF, and I picked up some great tips. Like dextrose PWO and the benefits of zig-zagging and focusing carbs largely around workouts. Worked for me. The final weight came off. Now I'm starting a bulk and have switched up the HIT style I've done for years to a MAX-OT approach. JSF continues to be a great resource. I have some pictures of my bulk starting point and will try to get some up from australia at my fattest (though they're with a shirt and with other people). JSF is awesome!

My turning point was when my girlfriend told me she didn't think i was attractive anymore, and things weren't good for her anymore. She still loved me but just was too uncomfortable with my weight.

I find my girlfriend VERY attractive, and love doing things with her. Including sunbathing, going to the beach or lake, and nakey time. When she says i'm too fat to do any of that stuff without making her feel uncomfortable- well then i had to change something. I like nakey time, and if i have to lose 50 lbs to rub tanning oil on her back, then thats what i will do. (now i sound like a pansy, but hey- i love this girl)

I started working hard on losing weight as soon as i got out here, but nothing was happening. Then i found this site and so far i have lost 8 lbs only after four weeks! Like any guy out there, i'll do anything for T&A and losing weight is at the top of my list right now.

give me an amen if you know what i'm talking about!

Playing basketball like crap, when I used to be able to run the courts all day.

I've never been fat. I've always exercised and have been in pretty good shape. So why am I here? Because I can be better, fitter, stronger. I've never been fat, but I've never had a six-pack either. Why am I here? Because I don't want to be my dad and have knee troubles at 45, or diabetes. I want to live a long, healthy life. It all starts now and here.

Amen! :claphigh:

My turning point was when my girlfriend told me she didn't think i was attractive anymore, and things weren't good for her anymore. She still loved me but just was too uncomfortable with my weight.

I find my girlfriend VERY attractive, and love doing things with her. Including sunbathing, going to the beach or lake, and nakey time. When she says i'm too fat to do any of that stuff without making her feel uncomfortable- well then i had to change something. I like nakey time, and if i have to lose 50 lbs to rub tanning oil on her back, then thats what i will do. (now i sound like a pansy, but hey- i love this girl)

I started working hard on losing weight as soon as i got out here, but nothing was happening. Then i found this site and so far i have lost 8 lbs only after four weeks! Like any guy out there, i'll do anything for T&A and losing weight is at the top of my list right now.

give me an amen if you know what i'm talking about!

My motivation is that I want to be a leader and an individual.

I put on the kilos at a very young age, when I was about 6 I got hit by a car and was in hospital for 13 weeks n with a broken leg. I could do nothing but lie in bed all day while the plaster cast annoyed the sh*t out of me. I made the mistake of eating like crap in hospital (hey when you're a young kid and upset and in pain, whats the 2 things that cheer you up? Toys and McDonalds) so unfortunatley I made the mistake of eating too much of that and the pounds started to stack on, none of us thought much about this and my parents just thought "As long as he's happy its all good." How I wish I could turn back the clock. From then on theres been another broken leg which more pounds were stacked on, and bad eating habits.

My main motivation to succeed is a) my health, and b) like I said I want to be admired and respected for the courage to wake up at 5 every morning to do gut wrenching cardio, and while the boys sit around and stuff themselves with KFC and beer, I'm the one drinking water and eating a salad.

Sorry to go off on a rant but were all in the same boat here.

First of all, AMEN!!

Now my story:
After being in the top shape of my life just 2 yrs ago, and letting that totally go, I remembered how I used to look. I've got a picture of my wife and I on my refrigerator from our vacation in Cozumel and I had no shirt on. I was cut and built. This past winter, I started noticing just how tight my pants were getting. Pants I couldn't wear because they were too big were now too small. I could hardly even button my pants, and I certainly couldn't see the southern hemisphere. Without clothes on, I would glimpse myself bending over to get a towel out of the cabinet in the bathroom and see fat rolls... not a pretty sight. No energy, feeling terrible, no sexual mojo and the sex drive started really plummeting. Again, nothing good could come of the way I was going. I finally stepped on a scale at my parent's house on Easter, and saw I was 250! That's when I snapped. I stumbled on this site when John Stone posted on bodybuilding.com and you guys gave me motivation to keep going. I'm going to pass where I was 2 yrs ago and make a new benchmark for fittest in my life. That's my goal... see how far I can go.

my friends/family started to notice i gained weight

I couldnt get up heel side snowboarding because my fat gut was in the way

about 2 years ago-225pounds, 30+ BF% :d_eek:

my friends/family started to notice i gained weight

My friends and family are also noticing that I'm gaining weight. Unfortunately, the term use here is only, "Hey, you're getting thin" and "Hey you're getting fat". There's no such thing as "Hey you're getting leaner" or "Hey, you're getting more muscular"

On first glance I would be rather consciuos whenever they say, "Hey, you're getting fat".. But the they'll say with a follow through, "You look better now than before"... Then I'll say "thank you" with a smile..

But I think they're not lying, since I'm 6'0'' and now I weight 150 lbs, where after cut I weighted 147 lbs... And looking like a drug addict :lol: But I still have the trauma of hearing, "Hey' you're getting fat". I still remember the painfull truth that I was gaining fat last year...
Just want to share to you guys... :)

My job is what pushed me over the edge. I am in the navy, and in the fleet the part I work in, there is an abundance of apathetic people who do not care about bettering themselves or improving their situations. The majority of my co-workers will take no responsibility for their actions and refuse to work as a team. Because of this I feel a drawing to the more closely knit community of the special warfare units. However, to enter these unit's one must be in almost superhuman shape and in order to be able to maintain that level of fitness one must eat right. Hence I balanced a rewarding career with goal oriented people versus a career in a field where I am led by people who are not only physically weak but also mentally. And I decided to get my diet together and move forward.

I have found through expermintation that carbs really do not effect my body but saturated fats do. So I have taken to eating tons of veggies, fruits, multi-grain breads , pastas, and rice and the occasional chicken or fish as the main staples of my diet. In addition to this I peform about 60 minutes of running and 60 minutes of swimming daily. Ok now, I'm getting off topic so I'll steer myself back on.

I've realized one thing through these forums, through my goals, and through others and my own weight loss. There is virtually no difference between myself and most of the other people on this site. The majority of us became fat from just lack of caring we became complacent with the situation we were in and decided that we were fine as is. This continrued until one day it was realized that omg I'm really outta shape. This is often followed by a relentless 2-4 week period in which you eat clean but then eventually fall off the band wagon most of the time because you miss a meal or a workout and vow to make it up the next day only to miss another and then it snowballs.

I have found that the people on here who succeeded in their goals did so because they were able to cope with the speed bumps that life throws at us and keep going. A thought process that has really helped me stay on track is to set a workout plan and if I miss a day then I miss it I don't try to make it up I just keep on going and eventually I get to the point where I miss fewer and fewer days and sooner or later I am going 100% everyday. Your body eventually becomes dependent on exercises as much as it can become dependent on caffine or nicotine you just need to give it addicting doses of exercise and diet over a long enough time for it to become dependent upon them.

I leave these random thoughts of mine with two quotes I find particularly useful for weight loss and exercise.

"If people can make permanent decisions in their life regarding their choice of mate, religion, or political party, then they are equally capable of making permanent decisions regarding their food choices, fitness commitments, and goals. (The human species is not biologically weakwilled, though you'd never know it if you observed typical human behavior.) Making sweeping, definitive, all-encompassing, and enduring commitments is an incredibly powerful and liberating experience, both in the making and the living up to them."

"Know that the ability to achieve excellence is determined far more by mindset (which can be changed) than by genetics (which can't be changed)."

-Phil

Interesting thread!

I had shortness of bread, sleep apnea, difficulty finding the right clothes and all that kind of horrible stuff, also avoiding photos, never taking off my tee-shirt and even not getting in a tee-shirt when I could keep a sweater, but none of these were the determining factor.

I wrote about the day that I made the decision, and the reason why, and it's been published here: http://www.allyourstrength.com/ArticleDetail.aspx?ID=96

(The title is not mine and Part 2 will be published later).

If you're with GHF, you can already read the full article in this month's newsletter.

So far I have been from 200.2lbs to 165lbs in just over six months. I don't know where the bf% was at the start, but surely above 25%, possibly as high as 30%, and now it's about 11% I guess (I measure at 9.2% but look more).

I never published pictures because I am too embarassed about the before and not ready for the after but my avatar is a picture of me taken a few months ago (probably about two months ago, I don't remember exactly).

Vincent.

This is my first time posting and just came across this site a few weeks ago. I have been eating clean, doing cardio and weight training since October. I use this board and other sites like Jeremy Likeness (sp?) as inspiration. So far I have gone from 235 lbs to 203 lbs, I am six foot tall.

Anyways, what drove me over the edge was my daughter. For Halloween this last year my three year old daughter asked me to be superman. I thought no problem, I will just get a superman suit like from the movie and go for it. Well I bought the suite and I looked horrible and because it was so tight (like the original suit) I looked as fat as I really was. So I ended up going out and buying the type of suit that had the pads in it that gave a six pack and big fake muscles.

From that day on I promised myself that Halloween 2005 I will not need the fake suit, I will have my own muscles and look ripped in that original Superman suit.

I know it doesn't seem like too good of a reason but for me I want my daughter to always think that I am Superman!

Great thread! I liked the post about all the things that did not make you do it, so I am copying it:

1. Having to buy 40's, then 42's, and even 44's did not do it
2. Having my fitness level drop to the point that I got winded taking the trash out of my fourth floor apartment or climbing the stairs out of the subway or up to the El platform
3. Having my triglycerides levels dangerously high, around near where my grandpa had his heart attack
4. Being able to wear less and less clothes
5. Have my knees start creaking from all the weight
6. Feeling like I have been passed over for job promotions because of my weight
7. Hating to see myself in pictures
8. Repeatedly failing at dieting after a month

What got me going in the right direction:
1. Developed gout in the beginning of this year and doctor said I was on track for diabetes
2. My wife saying she was prepared to leave me if I did not get myself under control because she did not want to invest herself in someone that was going to die young

That pretty much got me going. I have started doing Weight Watchers as I needed the rigidity of the point system. Before, when I tried eating right, I would eat more of it since it was healthy.

I have lost 18 pounds in two months, down from 299 to 281 and feel good. I am wearing clothes that I have not been able to wear in years. I am already starting to get compliments on my change.

My next step is to get into a consistent exercise routine.

A number of things finally pushed me over the edge, but only a few stand out as being the most important. I used to (and still, I am trying to stop this) look back at myself a few years ago and think how much happier I was, how much more enjoyable to be around, and how much better of a person I seemed to be then and compare it to now where my life seems to be spinning out of control. I'm only twenty one, and this is a pathetic thing to do.

These past few months have been hell for me. My grades are slipping and finals are around the corner, I was fired from my new job, my fiance and room-mate (a great friend) both let me know that I make them uncomfortable to be around when I've been drinking recently, frequent fights and arguments with everyone around me, and on top of it I started drinking to forget rather than drinking because I enjoy the taste of beer and bourbon. This isn't even mentioning the fact I am 30 pounds heavier than I used to be, and eat trash day in and out.

In the past couple of days, with a little help from a good friend, I've been able to step back and look at what I've become. It was then I decided to start to take control of my life again, instead of just letting it happen to me. Exercise and a correct diet is one of things I am starting with, because it really is a confidence booster because when you start the gains are so noticable and concrete. I lurked here off and on over the months, but joined a few days ago so I could feel responsible to someone, because someone would know what I was trying to do. That, and it is always nice to know of people in the same boat I am.

Thanks all.

Well going through college i was in good shape and met my first serious g/f who id been going out with through college and first year of uni.

Well things went pear shaped in our relationship reasons she couldnt give me but my weight had gone up due to knowing i was with someone becuase i felt comfortable around her especially my weight.

She wud say i wasnt fat wen i asked her but she broke up wit me for no reason and deep down one reason i know cud of been my weight and the way i looked.

i had enuf of they way i looked and felt deep down inside the hurt she caused me and the hurt i caused on myself so my motivation to get into shape was there and never looked bk im currently in my 3rd month of getting into shape and im doing so well i still cant believe my progress heres some photos from wen i started and till now!

to put it simply, it was almost dieing that made me take control of myself...the fact that i almost died had nothing to do with being obese but it was a damn hard wake up call, i thought i was given the gift of life for a second time so i got no choice but to be thankful and to take care of that gift i was given...i had for a while before i was in hospital being losing abit here and there and putting it back on but after that i got on the computer literaly the first day out of hospital and searched google for fitness and this is what came up and i havnt looked back...
(the almost dieing was being in a coma in ICU for a week with meningitis and encaphilitis and while there catching pnumonia)

I left school in 2003 and had nothing to do, so I guess I just used weight loss to kill time. I lost 30lbs in 6 weeks, the WRONG way, then I got a job in September of that year which put an end to my exercising. Despite losing weight the wrong way, I didn't pile it on as such, it took over a year to regain about 10-14lbs. Then in October 2004 I thought 'I wanna be slim in time for university', stopped eating chocolate, crisps and Pot Noodles, and from that alone re-lost those 10-14lbs in a couple months. My weight then stabilised at 174lbs, and 2 weeks ago I decided that with university coming up in September I'd left it pretty late to make a real go at weight loss. So here I am, 170lbs, with about 15 weeks to lose roughly 20lbs and gain some muscle.

I've been overweight (not huge, but anywhere between 30-40lbs overweight) for the past 12 years all the way through school, and wanna use uni as a fresh start.

I was fed up having to buy bigger trousers every 2 -3 months, and I was fed up with everyone laughing and making comments in the street.

So one day I was watching a tv program and saw how people changed their lives, so I started walking everynight- a mile at most to start with. Then I got my old bike out and started cycling lots, and doing weights and lots of that.

I still have a long way to go, but it is better than it was.

I found this site.

looking at johns weekly pics were really all i needed. I just decided "whatever that dude did, I'm doing!"

Who'd a thunk it that eating healthy food and exercising could be the answer.

It's like I thought there was some "secret" to lossing fat. I never woulda suspected that eating the type of foods that everyone knows are healthy (fish, chicken, whole grains, oats, veggys) and doing exercise was actually something that could work.

I thought in order to not be fat you had to have a certain type of body OR you could only eat 3 grains of rice a day and run a daily marathon for 15 years. I really thought that since I had the later of the two body types that it would be way too hard for me to actually do anything. Sadly, I think many people vaugely ascribe to this notion.

First and formost.

AMEN!!

My wife said that she had a hard time trying to tell me that I was too heavy as well. She finally did just that. I told her that my feelings were not hurt one bit. In fact, I was glad she did. I since then lost 50lbs (I'll be darned if i didnt gain 20 back :mad: ) and have yet to hear that again.

There you have it. The real reason I started to lose the fat. :D

I joined the Navy and when I finished BootCamp I was 6'0, 183Lbs. I was in the best shape of my life, but not the greatest possible. I let myslf slide over the years, not thinking too much about it. Finally two things within a two week period pushed me over the limit.

1) I was getting my 5-year physical and had complained about pains in my lower legs everytime I did anything that involved running. The doctor looked at me and simply said, "You are Fat." I was 236Lbs.

2) Two weeks later, I was on vacation in Jacksonville (Aug 2004). I was sitting on the beach with my wife, my mother and my daughter when this dude walked by. I heard from, I think my wife said it, "Now that's nice!".

I finally began to work at losing weight, and since Jan 2005 I have lost 26Lbs. That makes me 210Lbs, and I'm shooting for 185 by Oct 1st 2005.

:db:

I hope you're still not starving yourself!!! That is the WORST for your body and your health!
When I first found this site I was eating 900cal/day... and EVERYONE said I needed to be eating around 1500 or so... ever since then, I've had great results and have never felt better.
I understand "idealistic issues"... I've had them for years... but you've got to fuel your body, NOT deprive it!!

Keep on striving for your best... but do it the right way! :nod:

About a year ago, I went to see the doctor about my general 'wellbeing'. I guess, in retrospect, it was a cry for help with depression. There was no reason I could see for it - I'm very happily married to a beautiful woman, have a well-paid job, great family and friends - in fact, life should be great for me.

He suggested that it may be down to hypertension, and perhaps losing some weight would help. I wasn't keen to go on anti-depressants yet, so I accepted the offer of some fat-loss helper pills, and went home.

The pills seemed to work, but in a bad way that it just went straight through my body, often not under my control - no way this was what I wanted, so I stopped taking them after a week, and just settled down to healthy eating and a bit of exercise.

The next 6 weeks, I did really well. Then, my brother's wedding came up, and we had three nights away at a fancy hotel and.... cooked breakfast, mucho beer, and I fell well and truly off my wagon of life.

Spring forward to this year, and my 34th birthday, and I decide that I'm going to change this for good - for myself, and for my wife. There's a lot of other things I'm slowly trying to change as well, but the important point is that it's a part of my life completely now.

I'm reading Jeremy and Tom's ebooks, and all the posts here, to keep that motivation going, and re-assure myself that it certainly is possible. The next big step will be a journal with pictures, to finally shame myself into pushing harder.

It's astonishing how long you can convince yourself that there's not a problem. Maybe for some folk it really isn't a problem, but I know that where I am right now is *not* who I am.