What age did you start struggling with weight?

Timothyh27

I was a really fat baby, but cute. I still am now, cute that is.

almostanangel21

I was a chunky kid all my life, just like the rest of my family, and that was because of diet. We're talking fried meat at every meal, piles of white rice, potatoes, and biscuits, and a token veggie that was either corn or something drenched in cheese sauce. I used to love it when my mom went on the Scarsdale diet simply because it meant I got a break from all the heavy food. In addition, my family has a history of hypothyroidism.

When I left for college, I eventually started dropping weight when I realized I didn't have to eat the things my family had always eaten and could load up on the fresh seafood, fruits, and veggies that are plentiful in Florida. I dropped down to about a size 10 at 5'7, which is still 'fat' according to most of the people around me. Then I started going through a rough time, found out that exercise helped with my mood, started getting compliments about weight loss, started actually counting calories, and then overdid it because Of Course I Did. I stopped when I met my current husband 8 years ago, settled into a reasonable 4-5 hours of exercise per week and 400-500 calories per meal, gained weight, and didn't care too much about it.

My weight started creeping up on me more than it should have, though. The thought of a thyroid problem did occur to me, but my doctor at the time pooh-poohed it, telling me that people who thought they were gaining weight because of a thyroid issue generally just needed to eat less and exercise more. It is true that a thyroid problem alone won't cause massive weight gain; my husband likes to eat out and grab fast food, and I went along with it about 30% of the time instead of cooking my normal healthy meals. My weight crept up from a low of about 105 during the bad period to 207 by the time I got married. I fluctuated about 10 pounds down, but never lower. That kept up for about 5 years.

Last year, I was thrilled to start my first year of law school on a full scholarship. I weighed about 200 pounds and didn't really care. I lost some weight initially because of the extra mile or so of walking I did every day while carrying heavy books, but the weekly stress-induced pit stop at Dairy Queen and the Wednesday drive thru run took their toll. Worse, I wasn't able to exercise anymore because I was just too tired. I'd get home, try to get going on the elliptical, and feel faint; then I'd try to crack open my books but was unable to make sense of the letters on the page. The only fix was a nap - usually two hours or more. That was when I realized there was something wrong, but got the same "eat less and exercise more" from my new doctor. Considering I'd come in worried about my energy levels and inability to concentrate, not even mentioning my weight, I finally figured out that maybe I needed to take matters into my own hands. In the meantime, my GPA was at a solid B - terrible by my standards, and low enough to keep me out of the top 10%. I went to an endocrinologist for a second opinion, who ran a full metabolic panel. He found several nodules in my thyroid and a massive increase in an antibody that essentially renders me hypothyroid. Two boxes of Synthroid later, I had my brain back and made the dean's list via a massive effort to catch up - but it still wasn't enough. I missed the top 10 by two places and lost my scholarship.

At an end-of-semester party in April, a friend posted a picture of me on Facebook that made me realize how bad I looked; I was around 203-204 pounds. I decided that since I had my energy back, I'd get back into a routine of exercising and healthy eating. I'm currently at 187, so I still have a long way to go, but there's a noticeable difference from how I looked 3 months ago. When I got my class schedule, I immediately set up my calendar not only for classes and study time, but for exercise - it helps me focus. Over the past month, I've added a flexibility workout right before bedtime to help me decompress. My hope is that I'll get my weight down enough not to give a bad impression on internship interviews and maybe salvage my chances of landing my dream job working for Southern Poverty Law or the EPA. It's a long shot, but I'm not going to give up, and I'm never going to take someone else's word about my health again.

middlehaitch

54.......
Saw a pic of myself and realized I had let about 30 lbs creep on over 5 years. Got rid of the 30 in a year, and by 56 was well into maintaining the weight I had been most of my life no longer counting calories. I have maintained for 6+ years with no problems.

Edit: I should add it really wasn't a struggle, more a realization that needed to be acted upon.

Cheers, h.

Nikion901

I was 34 when I needed to lose 25 pounds to get to my high school weight. By the time I was 40 I was another 14 pounds heavier ... but still looking and feeling good. ... and then I don't know what shh hit the fan because before I knew it, I was 48 and was obese at another 34 pounds piled on ... and it went from bad to worse until I had gained another 75 pounds on top of all of that by the time I reached my 60's. It's been a struggle, and I am still a long way away from getting back, first to that weight I was at age 40 ... only 31 years back!
PS ... I'm back to below my age 55 weight now and am really looking forward to getting back to 48 again!

JDixon852019

27, I got an office job and gained 40lbs in a 3 year period. I am 5lbs away from being back to my normal.

nowine4me

As long as I can remember.

My parents used to ground me to my room for being overweight rather than encouraging me to go out and play. They were loving, but both had their own issues with food and it was probably easier just to give me whatever I wanted, specifically fast food.

I've had wild weight swings throughout my life, Now, at 50, I finally feel I have control over food and have hit a healthy BMI as of today.

I truly encourage all of you parents out there to set a good example for your kids and to teach them healthy eating habits from the start.

teamgiff4

Age 10. The people I trusted and loved the most made me see I was fat.... and that's all I have seen since.
A fat little girl with messy hair.

lthames0810

I'm one of those that was fortunate to be slim throughout my youth and young adulthood. After the age of 30 I began to gain very slowly, maybe 2.5 lbs a year. Hardly noticeable.

Now at the age of 61 I find myself 75 lbs overweight. How could I have let that happen?

_annevalerie

I'm 22, turning 23 in December. I believe I noticed that I was much bigger than all the other girls when I was in grade 4. That's when I started worrying about weight. I didn't start any diets until I was in grade 8 tho

heartofplastic

I was a normal healthy weight my whole life but I developed an eating disorder (anorexia) in college. I was in a super unhealthy relationship that led to depression and I can't eat when I'm depressed so I lost tons of weight (I weighed 93 lbs). Well I got out of that relationship and slowly I gained my appetite back and was 107 lbs in grad school. I started bingeing and purging around that time because I didn't like how I looked when I got used to being so thin. After a while I got tired of being bulimic so I just kept eating/bingeing and gaining more weight. I got married and let go a bit and gained up to 112 lbs. I'm only 5'1" so that is a bit chunky than I would like to be. Now I'm at 104 lbs losing weight by counting calories and exercising. My goal weight is 98 lbs so only a few more pounds to go!

zyxst

6. I owe it to my older brother being a taunting douche-canoe.

Fursian

SLLRunner wrote: »

My whole life.

At less than a year old, the doctor told my mother to put me on a diet.

The last three years is the first time in my life I have (1) been in the normal weight range and (2) I have been able to maintain my weight with any consistency.

Pretty darned proud of myself.

@SLLRunner: I this, and so you should be proud! The cards that you were dealt... and what you've managed to do with them.. just brilliant.

To answer OP, it was in my mid 20's that I lost my way, splendidly. Though I do actually recall a time in my life wanting to put weight on, it wasn't until late 20's that I was genuinely convinced that an evil force was behind the increasingly tight underwear (still hadn't dawned on me that I had gained weight, lol. ..oh, how one doth fall in slowly..) Now, I'm just going about creating a better existence for myself.

emjam99

Probably around 10. I started gaining weight and was obese in middle and early high school. Lost the weight after that

Francl27

I was a fat kid. It only went downhill from there.

Bearbo27

I didn't gain weight out of my normal weight range until I was 20. I was diagnosed with PCOS after many hormonal issues and gained 30 lbs over a short period of time. Before I could lose that 30 lbs, I ended up getting pregnant that next year and gained almost 50 lbs in that pregnancy. I lost about 30 lbs after that pregnancy, but gained it back over the course of a few years. I then got pregnant with my 2nd child in 2012 and at that point was still 80 lbs overweight. I got my butt in gear in 2013 and lost 30lbs, but ended up in the hospital with bad pneumonia. That kind of killed my motivation because of the long recovery I had from that. I got all the way to 120lbs over weight by this past May. That is the heaviest I have ever been and was the point where I chose to change. I have lost 20lbs so far

fireytiger

Depends on your definition, I suppose... If you mean when did I start constantly trying to diet and lose weight because everyone around me said I was "fat" (even though I was actually healthy and normal), I was13. If you mean when I actually became overweight and started struggling with that, I was 19. What has been the norm for me for 16 years has been to eat what I want, feel terrible about myself, try to diet, succeed for 2 weeks to 2 months, then fall off and gain it all back plus some.

Christine_72

I started gaining weight at age 39-40, I don't know what the F happened! I was slim through childhood and all through adult hood and was blissfully unaware of calories and portion control, I gained over 50lbs with my first pregnancy which fell off in a few months with zero change or effort on my part.
I'm now being punished for all those years of eating whatever i wanted with no consequence lol jk..

LyndaRaven1

From the day I was born my aunt and grandmother were stuffing as much food down me as they could. Lots of sweets. We always had barbeque gatherings for every occasion. I am 54 and weigh 280 at about 5 feet. I now have major health problems and have to learn to eat all over again...the right way!

oolou

At around the age of fourteen. I don't know what happened. I don't recall suddenly eating more food. I was never a skinny kid but I wasn't fat either. Just normal. My parents weren't overweight. Meals were home cooked rather than convenience or processed food. Over a year, perhaps even less, I put on a lot of weight. Then the diets started and then I did start to secretly eat because I felt hungry but didn't feel I could eat more food openly. I relaxed about food when I got to college and didn't try any more faddy diets. During my adult life I've tended to stay at about 190 pounds, whether watching my intake or not. It seems to be my natural resting point. I was worried about gaining more weight when I quit smoking last year, which is why I joined MFP.