What made you fat and how are you overcoming it?

sandieecakes

In all honesty I made myself fat. I'd like to blame it on pregnany or jillion other things but the solid truth is I made myself fat by using eating as a passtime. I'm watching my food intake now and exercising 6 days a week.

GormanGhaste

I gained weight because I didn't care about my health. Now I do.

jennifer_417

Emotional eating. Happy, sad, bored, mad, stressed? EAT. And I had LOTS of stress for a long time, so it became an 88-lb problem over the years.

I'm becoming emotionally healthy enough that I don't need to turn to food in order to cope with strong emotions.

Suzy82

I'm a great dessert cook! I realise now I need to watch my calorie intake daily and enjoy desserts on special occasions and as a special treat ???? sometimes.......

Ally_93

Honestly, I used to play online pc games all of the time during my adolescence, and never knew anything about calories or starvation so I used to eat whatever and whenever I wanted to without ANY exercise. I'm now 19 and only just realised what I'm oing to do and how I'm going to overcome it.... good diet and exercise

grimendale

Eating when I was bored and being in denial about how fat I was getting led to the weight loss (along with a broken metabolism from an earlier crash diet). I could sit down in front of a couple of tv shows, and go through several entire junk foods (a box of cheez its, a bag of skittles, a bag of combos and a soda) without paying any attention. When I reached the point where I was going to have to start shopping at a specialty store because I couldn't find pants in my size anymore, I decided to change my ways. I got help from a dietician to learn how to eat and haven't looked back since.

beckieboomoo

Me and my bf moving in together. When we first got together i was 154 lb (11 stone and my height is 5"4) so always been a bigish girl. Couple of months into our relationship he had to move to a city a hour away. We only got to see each other at weekend so moat of time we never had much money other than for train fare so we would get junk food and watch movies, as this weren't all the time we didn't really put any weight on maybe 5 -7lb in 6 months after about 6 months my bf came to live with me as we had habit of movies and junk food , 2 years of living together and 56 lb later here i am so now am wanting to lose 63 lb and then maybe another 14lb. Already I've lost 20 lb (so only 43 to go) by exercising and eating 1310 calories a day. If i
Weren't at college and if we both had jobs then we could afford to do something else other than stuff our faces

RM10003

Mindless eating and no exercise.

This. So now I plan everything I eat (thank you MFP!) and I've stopped making excuses about why I can't work out.

Megadautilus

I have been fat ever since I was little, I had to teach myself how much to eat and educate myself on what and when to eat. I really only cared once I got into MMA.

getfitcharles

What made me fat recently was depression, because I'd overeat as a way to try and feel better. I'm more aware of it now, and the meds I'm taking seem to be helping me eat more sensibly.

caitlinjm74

Using chocolate as a (rubbish) emotional crutch; living abroad with a larger disposable income than I was used to and spending it all on food. Now trying to cut down and I've got back into running

FearAnLoathingJ

late at night when I was sleeping little garden gnomes dressed as ninjas would slip into my room,and force feed me twinkes and big macs.

rachseby

CARBS. Also I didn't even know what a calorie was or that they existed. I thought you could only get fat if you were eating burgers and milkshakes all the time. I was eating pretty healthy just in MASSIVE quantities. I didn't believe that you could get heavy that way. Boy was I wrong....

This, and denial. Being afraid to step on a scale, so never knowing how much I had gained. Not believing that I could lose weight. Wanting food more than wanting to be at a healthy weight.

mumtoonegirl

a ton of little reasons, three miscarriages close together, one beautiful healthy baby but very high needs so I ate what I could which was fast and bad for me.

Before that I gained a ton after my mother's suicide when I was 21, I had gained some in university from poor food options and partying too much. But after my mother's death my whole world fell apart and I ate. Not a lot but the wrong food.

Fast forward almost 20 years later and I have battled depression, years of therapy, celiac disease, 4 surgeries for other medical issues, 4 pregnancies and one child.

About 2 years ago I looked in the mirror and hated what I had become and for the first time in my adult life I wanted more for me. So I did this for me.

Athena53

I blame my parents and my wife and my sister in law and Hostess and Sugar Pops for being good, and Oreos and Chips Ahoy and Chester Cheetah, and all the marketing firms and McDonalds, and Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Same 'Ol Joe's Pizza (OMG the Pizza Pie there is to KILL for!!), and shells and cheese, and tv and comfy chairs and air conditioning and the internet and good cooking and family size lasagna and fried chicken and hot dogs and hamburger helper and pop tarts and coke and Sonic with their happy hour and commercials and restaurants allowing the smell of food waft down the street when I'm outside, Chinese food, buffets...just all the buffets, clothing manufactures for not cutting things off at XL, and science.

LOL. This is my favorite! I say put all the people in jail and ban all the substances/restaurants!

Seriously- I was a skinny kid and a slim adult, even after having DS, but somehow after marrying second DH (who does all the cooking and makes wonderful down-home stuff) I gained almost 20 lbs over 10 years. He eats minimally himself (age 74, normal weight, not very active) and has always been supportive of whatever I eat/don't eat. We also both watch cholesterol, so it wasn't that he was deep-frying every meal and topping it with cheese. It was my decision to enjoy too much of a good thing. I may also have had it in the back of my mind that these things happen after menopause.

Two things worked. First, 5:2 fasting means I enjoy DH's good cooking only 5 days a week. The other is that about 4 years ago I got roped into a sprint triathlon for the local athletic competition. Yeah, I was 56 and the skinny 20-somethings were telling me, "you can do it!" I didn't want to collapse on the course (1/3 mile swim, 9 mile bike, 3K) so I went from 45 to 55 minutes of workouts every day, more on the weekends and worked harder. And yes, I could do it. I just did the same tri last week and cut 6.5 minutes off my bicycle time from 2 years ago because I use a HRM during exercise and now have more stamina.

When I was a kid not being fed the right things and shamed out of trying in P.E from teacher and students.

This is criminal. That teacher should have been fired. I was ignored in PE because I hated team sports, and was always terrified a ball would land near me and then I'd have to (a) catch it and (b) throw it to someone. A decent teacher would have shown me how to do that stuff because clearly I was clueless. PE teachers should be encouraging EVERYONE to do their best, whatever that is, and not enabling the other students to make fun of someone's efforts just because they're not superb athletes. I was fortunate- I had a bicycle and rode it a lot, and every summer we had a membership at the local pool, which was 1/2 mile away so Mom had no problem with us walking there and back whenever we wanted.

bgh707

Killing my metabolism through starvation diets. Now I'm eating healthy and working out on the reg.

robinschwalb

My husband is from Louisiana too and loves to cook. I don't eat when I am depressed and it's been a long time since I was depressed. For a while we made eating out a hobby, we don't eat out anymore. We do have friends that love to drink, eat and party, I fall off the wagon when I go to their house. I am now drinking skinny girl and staying on the diet...eating lots of protein...

banana_milk

I was never fat, but I did gain some weight due to eating too much and being lazy.. mainly caused by depression and a lack of self control.

Overcoming it by eating less and lifting, of course.

Iron_Lotus

Sperm I blame the sperm.

elisa123gal

In for all the excuses, for me it was over consumption of calories

Any time i see this guy on the forums... I find it hard to believe there was every any fat on him. It is enough to drive me to over eat.

squiggleharris

Partly being depressed, and feeling like I had nothing to look forward to. Partly being tired all the time through not sleeping and travelling a lot for work, I overeat badly when I'm tired.

Not keeping an eye on what I ate, and never making up for overeating with more exercise.

Keeping a food diary is definitely helpful. I never realised how much of my daily calories I used up just drinking coffee!

healthygreek

My love affair (with delicious food)!

I'm still having my affair-but portion-controlled and extra workouts when I want more!

kristinadalba

I was always the heaviest in my family and was made aware of it at a young age.Diets before ten and being the only one who couldn't have second helpings.My mother always was body consciousness;she used to do toe dancing and my grandma was old school keep your body for your man attitude.So my siblings always called me names and with my parents divorced by age three,I turned to food.When I was twelve 11 I was 5"4'c cup with hips...weighed about 150lbs ,then at twelve I walked home three miles from school and partook in binging and well the most unhealthy bulimic scenarios .then i lost thirty lbs by restricting calls immensely.fastforward to 16 and I was moving across country,165lbs,drinking,fast food regular.17 through 18 was a balancing act and I was normally 155lbs,but when I graduated early I outlets my stress through strict diet and excessive..leaving ,e at 130...only to gain until I met ,my fiancé at 18...losing again my yo yo weight.I maintained 140,the. Became pregnant with our son.....birth at168...healthy and happy pregnancy...didn't care about weight of course only my baby's health and well being.I lost weight steadily after birth and five month post pregnancy I was at 145lbs,but the birth control shot depo...was a kick in the *kitten*.I was hormonally imbalanced,weight shot up to 184 and was moody beyond belief.decided to go off it and struggled losing to only gain again.So here I am today with a two yr old gorgeous son,fiancé,two lovely beautiful step children and in college.Some class's are online so I'm sedentary most of the day.april I was 180 lbs,now through moderate cardio,lean proteins,juicing,and a healthy outlook I'm at 155lbs.im 5'6 and enjoy my body and am embracing the journey to a healthy weight. Via healthy lifestyle.goal is 130.
I know I posted some vivid scenarios here and I wanted to say this was my experience and I know it was unhealthy and self destructive but to see a clear pic I feel it was the only truthful way to express my personal experiences with life and weight

upscalelifedownscalebutt

Medication (which was thankfully temporary) compounded with a few other health issues. Also when I met my husband he liked to eat alot, and eat out all the time. It changed my portion perception, and lead to some weight creeping on.

Got off the meds. Hubby bought me Insanity (a work out series). Calorie restriction.

180's in March.
150's now.

Move more. Eat better. Stick with it.

Pearsquared

My first full-time job, I sat all day and didn't realize I needed to make it up with exercise. After all, in college I never "exercised" but I probably walked at least an hour a day to-and-from class. The job was also very stressful (well, the job itself was easy, but the corporate culture was a soul-suck) and I tend to stress eat.

Also, cheese.

fit4lifeUcan2

A disease that kept me from moving so I was pretty sedimentary plus all of the meds they put me on to control the disease didn't help. Now in remission I'm building up my stamina and moving more. Haven't changed much in the way of what I eat or how much just moving more has really made a big difference. Oh and getting off those awful steroids!! yuck! No more moon face for me! woo hoo!!

jennfranklin

It is called eating an abundance of food, and sitting on my *kitten* to much, and pretty much not caring. Now paying attention to what I put in my body, getting up and moving, and caring what I feel and look like! That is it in a nut shell. I have no excuse for being fat, and that is one good reason I am changing it!

Tamm04

I became overweight as a kid. Summer before 5th grade I remember gaining a LOT doing little but discovering my love of books, and buttered popcorn. I could eat massive quantities of buttered popcorn. Over the years I just kept up eating the unhealthy stuff. No one ever talked to me about eating 'healthy' or not eating so much. I grew up in an overweight household and they are still overweight. I talk to THEM about how healthier I eat, what I eat and how I work out...I don't tell them what to do but give them insight into what I do. Sadly they still do what they've been doing.

I also found out about 5 years ago I have hypothyroidism, but I think 25 years of eating unhealthy didn't help at all.

anthemforagirl

Lack of education.
I have been overweight since I was a child.
My parent's nutrition was poor; therefore, my nutrition was poor.
Plus, my mother fueled emotional eating habits.... Have a headache? Eat... Sad? Eat... Let's celebrate! Eat.

It has been a long process... A lot of reading material... A lot of teaching myself how to cook.
I stopped eating fast food... No soda... I stopped eating a lot of pasta, breads, cheeses.
Overall it has been a very good lesson but I have been able to get my health in check before I started developing conditions like.. diabetes and heart conditions.

SezxyStef

In for all the excuses, for me it was over consumption of calories

This should be everyones answer...too much food not enough exercise.

Regardless of why you ate you made that choice just like I did. I made bad food choices, and didn't exercise.

Sometimes it was boredom, depression, celebrations, being "too busy" etc but when it comes right down to it we all have a choice.

I overcame it by making a choice to just do it. It is a life choice period. I am just as busy ( busier now that summer is here), just as bored at my work, have as much to celebrate (son is graduating college with a 4.0 GPA), just as depressed (medically speaking) but I made that choice to make time for me (which btw helps with the depression).