What was your spark of motivation?

[Centurion]

For me it was a couple of things. I've never had problems with weight, always been slim so kind of assumed I was in alright shape from casual exercise now and then, but my cardio was always awful, I knew it but ignored it. The thing that made me want to change was when I realised that had to catch my breath a bit after jogging up the three flights of stairs in my house, I decided that if nothing else I should at least be able to go up to my room without needing a drink of water afterwards. On top of that I've struggled with depression for a number of years and realised I needed to change something. Other than that I think I just got lucky, I decided I wanted to try out a martial art and decided kickboxing was for me, I tried it and fell in love with it, I was lucky enough that my university club was filled with fantastic people who pushed me in training but also provided a great social atmosphere so that training was always enjoyable and never a chore

[BinaryPhoenix]

I've been unhappy with my body for a long time, but wasn't sure what to do about it. There were always a million excuses for why I couldn't loose weight (I was tired, I was sick, my thyroid made it so that nothing I did worked anyway so what's the point, and on... and on...). Then, in April my stepfather died of a massive heart attack. He wasn't even sixty. It was a huge wake up call for me. I want to live to see my kids grow up. I want to live to have relationships with my grandchildren. Then, a few weeks ago I found this site, and the post about Paleo and read Saint's story. As an avid gamer I loved the idea of a leveled up life, and connecting my geeky interests with becoming a healthier person.

[Nion]

Getting a tumour removed form my neck. Realizing I was just getting fatter and sicker. A lot of bad things happened around that time; this past 2 yrs has been sort of a changing, shedding period for me. I feel like i'm coming into my own self now.

[Lukup]

My dad was having a heart attack a day, >500# and wheelchair bound, and he told me heart disease and diabetes runs in the family. That was my wake up call.

[Maledictus]

So I went back to Criss to find out how she did it.

Holy crapballs. 1.5 years?

For me it was my youngest making me jog back home and screaming at me to "keep those knees up" up the hill, while all the mothers on the school run looked on trying not to wet themselves too much.

Update: I'll point out that having a bigger waist than my 2 week overdue pregnant wife wasn't enough motivation but having my daughter humiliate me was. Kids are awesome like that.

[Hammlin]

For me it was watching my dad die from his untreated diabetes, alcoholism and high blood pressure coupled with my marriage falling apart (him-alcoholic, me-food addict)

I started walking, and calorie tracking, got in to running and now I try to eat primal. Nearing 100# lost. I never knew life could be as good as it is now.

[Wicked Pixie]

I was tired of being TIRED! I wasn't fat, but I wasn't healthy. I lost my athleticism to laziness. I wanted to play with my kids. I'd gone from a state champion in Sparring to someone who couldn't run 30seconds without being winded!

I came across Spezzy's story and came to NF to check it out. I read one of Steve's blog posts and I was sold! Anyone that could write like that with Star Wars references HAD to be an OK guy!

Because of NF and the family I've found here, I am 86 days smoke free, and on February 17, 2013 I will run a half marathon....290 days after I quit smoking! And I will run a full marathon in April.

[Wicked Pixie]

For me it was watching my dad die from his untreated diabetes, alcoholism and high blood pressure coupled with my marriage falling apart (him-alcoholic, me-food addict)

I started walking, and calorie tracking, got in to running and now I try to eat primal. Nearing 100# lost. I never knew life could be as good as it is now.

Every time I cry! I'm so proud of you & we're going to do amazing things in April!!

[Thimecules]

Seeing others who weigh less than me being bed bound or dying.

[MoFro]

I had the opportunity to visit a client of mine in Vancouver for an entire month of onsite work this past February. Their business (which I won't name but you might be able to figure out) is focused around yoga and activewear, and as you'd expect just about everybody in their organization was energetic, health-focused, and active. Vancouver itself was also a very vibrant and outdoorsy city, even in February. At 345 pounds, I spent the month there being out of breath after walking up the hill to lunch, feeling left out of discussions about mountain climbing and winter sports, and worst of all, being the biggest person everywhere I went. It was then that I resolved to make a difference - I just felt like there was too much I was missing out on for being overweight.

I created my avatar (links below) as a symbol of that motivation. It mimics the "manifesto" that my client organization lives by, except I've geared it more toward weight loss and healthy habits. I officially embarked on my journey in mid-April, and thanks to this and my new-found dedication, I can proudly say I've lost nearly 45 pounds and counting. My goal is to have lost a total of 100 pounds by this year's end! I'm not turning back - the next time I visit Vancouver, I'm gonna go skiing and mountain climbing and everything else, and I will feel great and confident doing it.

[ICB]

This is pathetic, but: my girlfriend dumped me. I was fat and bored and living in a college town with few friends and no girlfriend. I visited a martial arts gym and poured myself into it, lost weight, discovered fitness, and grew up a whole lot.

Don't feel too bad for me about that girlfriend, though: I'm married to her now.

[CyningaDena]

Jeezis, you guys are awesome. You keep inspiring me.

I just realized one day after hitting some pretty solid flirting-rejection that I had invested twenty years and crazy money in developing a frackin sexy brain, but nothing for housing it in an equally sexy body. I decided I needed to create more balance in my life.

[Archer]

For me it was more philosophical. I no longer wanted to be part of the agri-business, consuming high fructose corn syrup, white flour, or finding my spinach was shipped all the way from China. I read "Ishmael" and "The Story of B" and went Paleo that week.

[Pulse]

My spark of motivation was being past my mid-twenties and still hadn't "started working out". I continually put off just starting, and finally decided to seriously pursue fitness. I'm so glad that I did!

[kflows00]

I was 18 and realized I was too big for my doctor's scale and we had to "estimate" my weight. During the same doctor's visit I saw the phrase "morbidly obese" on my chart and from that moment on I had to make a change.

[Kewilson]

Honestly I was just tired of being uncomfortable in my own skin; always easily the biggest person in the room/department/whatever, always having crap selection when shopping for clothes (if any at all!), getting winded by going up just a few flights of stairs and sweating as a condition of existing in the universe (etc, etc). At some point I essentially just said to myself something to the effect of, "I don't like this. It's mediocre, remedial and over."

Seventeen months, 97lbs, and about eight suit sizes later and I haven't looked back since.

[Sea Level]

I love this community!

Jeezis, you guys are awesome. You keep inspiring me.

This.

My spark of motivation was being past my mid-twenties and still hadn't "started working out". I continually put off just starting, and finally decided to seriously pursue fitness. I'm so glad that I did!

This was pretty much it for me, too. Though, I should write: "...hitting 30 and still not working out..." I'd never been really heavy; just never fit. A combination of lack of energy and strength for an adult male of 30 were turning points for me.

[wenmac61]

All of you are very inspiring!! Kudos!! Nice to see the younger people looking at their food and their bodies and choosing a healhty happy life.

For me it was slow.. I was always active and ran/trained on and off my whole life until about 6 years ago.. I was training for a marathon and fell ill. they thought, MS, Lou Gerhigs... had tons of tests and was told to stop training etc. Eventually it was Fibromyalgia.. i spent 3 years on crutches, eating ice cream. I was depressed and watching my life slip away.. I was slowly getting bigger and went to get new clothes when someone I thought was bigger than me asked if they could have my old ones. That woke me up.. I decided to start drinking water more and eating better... my partner at the time didn't want the diet change and was very difficult about it.. i kept it up and soon was strong enough to leave what was a toxic relationship.. I was starting over with my daughter and we were finally going to have it all!! NOPE. 2 months later I was diagnosed with cancer so spend the next year 2 surgeries, chemo and radiation.. after going thru that I knew I needed to eat better... so I did.. I lost so much weight tho and due to the surgeries they said I would never have good abs again.. they took a lot of tissue and it was very uneven.. so i did what I was told and took it easy,concentrated on eating right, walking but still wanting to run... finally I said to myself..that's it.. 3 weeks before a spartan race I walked into a gym and asked the trainer to train me for that!! She did and I am taking off!! I am strong, healthy and no longer severely disabled. I learned to swim this summer, got back on motorcycle and am living my life with joy!! Sure there are down days but I go to the gym and work it out and appreciate being able to do all the things I missed and loved... I could get cancer again or I could be hit by a bus tomorrow ( especially they way they drive here!!) lol but I am enjoying myself now!

i tried to put up before and after pics...

[Jenn]

For me, I've always been "skinny fat". My approx body fat is 32%, my cardio is pitiful. I've got a wedding coming up, but I really decided to get'r done when I booked our deep sea fishing trip. I told my friends I was going to catch a marlin. All I got from them is a cocked eyebrow and a whole lotta doubt. So from that Operation:Marlin was born.

Started paleo, started crossfit, gonna reel in a Marlin.

[chemicalalizero]

I started college weighing around 140lbs. I was 18 years old and 5 foot 8in. By the time I was 22, I was 5 foot 10in, but I weighed 215 lbs.

I went through a really bad breakup, and I realized I had to do something. It was hard to tie my shoes and none of my old clothes fit me. My biggest motivation ended up being my mom. She wouldn't let me get away with excuses or anything. She paid for my first month membership at a martial arts gym to do Cardio Kickboxing and I went because I felt bad. One month later, I was 10lbs lighter and feeling a hell of a lot better, so I decided to stick with it. I started eating less crap and cut out soda.

That was back in May 2011. I hit my goal weight of 170 lbs in November and then I dropped down to 165 in January and have been holding steady ever since. I realize I need to make some more changes in my diet, I still eat like crap (just less of it), but I feel so much better.

[Tocks]

My son was born and after 3 weeks and looking at pictures, I knew that I could be a better father than what I was providing. I didn't want to make excuses for things if he wanted to play or something. "Dad - wanna play soccer?" "It's really hot outside son, I don't think that's the best thing to do" when really the answer would be more like "I don't want to because it's too hard."

I'm 55 pounds down after 10 months and still going!

[Legacy]

I googled food addiction and found this site. It's a product of my depression and my relationship with food. It has always been difficult. I've always been the "skinny" one, but I was 220 lbs. Most of my family is 250 or more, with a history of diabetes and heart disease, on a plethora of meds. I started July 9 and I'm already down to 210. I guess my "spark" was I was tired of being the stereotype of fat nerd girl. That and I always wanted to rock climb. I love to hike, but I just couldn't do it anymore without feeling like I was dying.

[67alecto]

When Tyler over at www.344pounds.com lost 100lbs counting calories, I knew that if some random blogger could do it, I could, too. No more excuses. I started on 7/10/2009 (two days after this post). Exactly 1 year later, I was down 157lbs.

I have kept that weight off.

pictures taken 1-year apart:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4822[/ATTACH]

[PrincessHeather]

It was the day I realized that my "happy marriage weight" that my mother insisted was "normal" was not making me happy... I had gained 20 lbs in two years from being inactive and eating like it didn't matter what I put into my body. I had a favorite pair of jeans and wanted to wear them for date night and I couldn't and realized that I needed to change how I viewed food and myself. This happened not too long before I saw the article about Stacy, and knew that lifting was how I was going to make that change. Got involved here in the challenges, and while I'm not near my goals yet, I could not be happier with the support and lovefest that IS Nerd Fitness!

[Thilde]

For me it was about 6 months into my current job. I am 30 yrs old, a social worker, and I started working with the local elderly population about 1 year ago. 6 months in, doing home visit after home visit in a very rural, low-income area, I realized that if I didn't make a change, each face I saw would be my future....the diabetes, COPD, obesity, heart disease, CHF, wheelchair-bound, severely limited in functional abilities, and the extreme, extreme pain a lot of my clients are in. Not to mention the mental health effects my clients carry after decades of dealing with the effects of these conditions. I mean, my job brings me up close and personal to what these diseases actually mean in people's lives. I love my job and I love working with the elder population, but it is also a wake-up call to lose the fat and strengthen my whole self...bones, muscles, organs, and mind. I feel like I had an epiphany about how short life is and that my body is going to truck right along whether I'm paying attention to it or not....so better to pay attention now, get strong and healthy, and have a better chance for a healthy future.