What made you fat?

CSARdiver

Eating as if I was running 6mi/day and swimming 2mi/day, but not running or swimming.

DearestWinter

Eating too much food.

Back in my 20s I lost 20lbs by conscientiously logging everything and eating better. I understood portion sizes and was quite good at estimating calories. But over the last five years I gained weight and when I tried losing I would always fail because I'd deliberately fool myself with serving sizes and calories burned.

I knew that the enormous burrito I ate was much more than 300 calories but I would lazily record it that way anyway. I was sabotaging myself and (again, this is the part that I find frustrating with past-me) I absolutely knew I was logging many things incorrectly. I knew I didn't actually burn 400 calories doing yoga. I knew that the entire pizza I ate was more than 900 calories. I can't explain what was going through my head then, other than some magical thinking that if I didn't log over maintenance then the pounds would melt away.

urloved33

Good ol fashioned eating more than I moved.

HaleysHeartfeltJourney

Not giving a damn made me fat. But I didn't care because 1) I was told to diet at the age of 8 and then was only allowed certain stuff, diet soda, etc., and 2) when I got older, I was miserable so I ate. 9 years later, and 3 kids, and still being young, I care. And damnit if it kills me to lose this weight at least I'll be easier to lift at my funeral. Seriously, I have activity induced asthma and no inhaler. But I'm still counting calories an busting *kitten* on my treadmill and off it, to lose weight!

HaleysHeartfeltJourney

CSARdiver wrote: »

Eating as if I was running 6mi/day and swimming 2mi/day, but not running or swimming.

This. Today is the first day I've actually ran, I'm a really fast walker/slow jogger every other day. But I ran today, and it was brutal, worth it, but brutal. But damnit I ran without passing out so I'm happy! Also, hopefully this exercise that I've neglected, as well as counting calories which I never did before because I didn't care (see previous comment), will help me reach my goal in a healthy way.

Khukhullatus

I did.

ButBurgersAreDelicious

A mixture of things. Mostly myself, but I think more so defensively. I ate and ate and ate. I had an abusive boyfriend, and the more I ate, and more I gained, the less he hit me, and the less he spoke to me. I think because I was doing the harm to myself, hating myself for him. Eventually he was embarrassed by me, and no longer wanted to be with me because there was nothing left to break in me.

NOT ANY F***ING MORE!!

holly55555

I had a super fast metabolism as a kid so I got used to eating huge amounts of food and junk and never gaining weight, even though I wasn't active.

Then I hit like 20 and my body went "yeah, you're done with that!" It was a good run while it lasted...

knt217

Meeting my husband and eating with him. He's a big guy. Played college football and can really put it away. I didn't pay attention to what I was doing and ate along with him. I gained, he didn't. Then we had kids and I continued the trend of not paying attention in three pregnancies and have really payed the price for slacking off.

MzShelleRenea

Swallowing too much . . . .

itsladyb

It was really a mixture of eating a lot of junk food at a young age, having no self-control and emotional eating.

OhReally42

knt217 wrote: »

Meeting my husband and eating with him. He's a big guy. Played college football and can really put it away. I didn't pay attention to what I was doing and ate along with him. I gained, he didn't. Then we had kids and I continued the trend of not paying attention in three pregnancies and have really payed the price for slacking off.

Ugh Me too, It's eat fast or don't eat at all in our house. I've gotten to the point where I am so tired of being bloated and overstuffed from eating too much to fast that I don't even care anymore. I fill my plate to what I think I can eat and let everyone else fight for seconds.

jonjaxmom

In our house growing up, we ate seconds and thirds, until the pans were empty. I grew up unable to distinguish a proper portion size because my parents hated leftovers. We would Eat until there was no more. We ate until our sides hurt and then we laid around and watched TV. Really hard to break that cycle as an adult.

PaulaWallaDingDong

I pretty much just didn't pay attention and would give in to every craving and temptation. I hoped my perceived awesomeness would get me through life. It's not a good strategy.

RaggedyAnnazon

Growing up, at a very young age (3), my mom would go off to work and my dad would watch me. He had no idea how to entertain a toddler. So when I asked for food out of boredom he'd obliged. This got paired with both parents not understanding portion size, a mom who would give me whatever I wanted, and intense bullying for my height that caused me to depression eat. As I got older I just didn't care. I ended up gaining some muscle in my shoulders on a camping trip w my dad from swimming so much and that started my health kick

CaliforniaRower

Stress followed by Depression followed by Stress followed by Depression followed by...hmmm....anyone else seeing a pattern here?

hyIianprincess

Pasta and bread. I cannot stay away from them.
Still have them pretty much everyday, but I've found balance now. Moderation is key.

didda1

Eating too much. Prednisone on and off for years. When I was on it, if I didn't eat and eat and eat, I felt like murdering everyone around me, and then eating them.
Now that my doctor and I have my health issues mostly under control with other medications, I shouldn't need it anymore. I'm back to eating like I did before I got sick. I will lose this, but it wont be anywhere near as fast as how I put it on lol. My first go round with it was 70 lbs in just over 6 months. After that, it was just a slow steady climb of about 5 lbs every time I needed it.
My weight is coming off though!

deviantcupcake

Stress led to me overeating and drinking too much. Chronic illness and injuries whenever I pushed my limits with activity, be it exercise or just being in a job that was too much for me, also contributed. But mostly it was comfort eating and drinking beer to try to relax and forget. That's the trap I have to be very careful to avoid.

wathjo1

Pizza made me fat. & TONS of ranch dressing. Now my main struggle is the social thing... Going out to eat and having a few drinks with friends.. I don't emotionally eat anymore, and if I do I reach for healthier options. I reached 200 lbs for the first time in my life Dec 14... I had lost control. Now i'm back down to 175-ish. Just joined MFP last week, hoping for some real life changes!

vchan000

Cutting off my nose to spite my face, laziness, and stubbornness.

I was normal weight through high school, but like many teenage girls, I obsessed about it. I bounced in and out of diets, and lost the same 10 lbs over and over again.

Once I was out of school, I was broke, tired and angry. (You know the usual angsty) I decided that my relationship with dieting was unhealthy mentally for me, threw out my scale and flat out ignored my weight for the next 18 years, over which I managed to put on 125 or so lbs.

When I was still broke, I ate a lot of ramen, pasta and cheap starches, which started the gain. When I was not broke, I found I really LIKED ramen, pasta and junk food. Especially since I could now season it with meat and the occasional vegetable. I let the bad eating habits continue for the next several years, combined with my favorite hobbies/interests, which are all sedentary (reading, leatherworking, video games etc)

The latest Doctors appointment brought up some concerns, not with the weight, which I'd been ignoring the last few times it had been brought up but other markers like cholesterol, blood sugar etc. That was the reason needed to actually start working at taking it off again.

I'm overweight. By a bunch, but I'm not ashamed of my body, or my looks. I'm losing weight to fix the health issues that are beginning to crop up as I get older. While I could always follow a recipe, I'm now learning to actually cook, and forcing myself to do it every day.

MrCoolGrim

Laziness / Procastination and a ton of food to go with it

_lyndseybrooke_

Consistently taking in more calories than my body burned. The same way most of us gained weight. I absolutely loved food (still do) and poor self control took over for most of my teenage years and into young adulthood. The result: about 30 excess pounds. It was such a relief realizing that I could still enjoy food and indulge while getting down to my goal weight.

The thought of eating 2000 calories makes you cringe? Yikes - good luck with maintenance when you get there, because that's likely what you'll have to eat to stay where you want to be. The thought of eating 1500 calories per day makes me cringe - my idea of a strict cut, which is what I'm doing now, involves 1700 calories 6 days per week and 2000 calories once per week. Any less than that and I'd be one hungry, cranky girl.

caddir

I was a prescription drug addict as a child. They gave me Ephedrine for my asthma which suppressed my appetite and I had no desire to eat at all. When they finally decided it was a bad idea and took me off it, I discovered food. Mashed spuds! Chips! Chocolate biscuits! Cheese!

I went from being a "skinny little famine child" to a tubster in a year.

It has taken me nearly fifty years to learn how to control my appetite.

Laurend224

I was always the chunky kid. Not the biggest one, but always stocky and solid. It didn't get really out of control until I had my first baby at 25. I gained 100 lbs, Which put me at 250 lbs. I'm 5'3. I've been on a roller coaster of losing and gaining the same 80 lbs now for almost 10 years with each pregnancy. Oh, and I got fat by eating too much, of everything. I'm on the downward trend this time. For good.

meierhofer21

Food and having babies

morf13

AgentOrangeJuice wrote: »

Living in new jersey, I ate pizza, cheesesteaks and hoagies every day of my life. I was 205 lbs from high school through 27 years old. I move to the midwest and started eating corn fed everything and i blew up to 300 lbs. science.

Right there with you in NJ. I ate lots of the same stuff you did, cheesesteaks, pizza, etc. I'm not going to lie, I still love that food, and will never give it up completely, but it has to be as a special treat, not a daily routine, and portion control is needed. But Jersey, the Jersey Shore, Philly, etc..there is a ton of great tasting(and really bad for you) food

forgtmenot

Eating too many high calorie foods. Eating when I was bored.

Altagracia220

Up until age 18, I was slim, had a nice body (mind you In my head I was fat), and at 5'9 I was a size 6-8. At 19 I started working in the restaurant business and was able to afford my own unhealthy foods and I was regularly eating white castle, papa john's, McDonald's, etc etc. It was like that up until 5 months ago, when I saw a photo of myself and realized how big I'd really gotten and at that point I was 218 pounds.

DeterminedFee201426

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

Eating and drinking too much.

me too