Curious - what made you overweight in the first place?

lj8576

wayyyyyy too much alcohol when I was younger. Got a beer belly in my twenties and never did anything about it until now.

skinnysushicat

Sat on my *kitten* and did nothing but eat for ~a year...gained nearly 100#

Why? There must have been some reason? Sounds like you have a tough year!

sarajculwell

The first time-not caring. I dropped 60 pounds a few years ago and kept it off till this year. This time it was an injury that made me unable to work or workout at all. So I sat on the couch on painkillers getting fat for 6 months. It's coming off though-I didn't gain it all back-about 35 pounds of it

LivvieO

My job was my main cause however I took for granted that because I had mantained my weight at 120lbs from the age of 14 till 33 (even after having twins, I was back down to 130 within a month of having the girls) there was no way I would gain any weight so I always ate what and when I wanted however, the weight really started to increase when I went from working a standard 9-5 job to working a 9-5 and an overnight shift on the weekends. Going from working 40 to 70 hours per week was tough so in order to stay awake on my overnight job I would literally eat cake and every kind of junk food possible. Basically I was looking for anything that would keep my energy up during that 10 hr shift then I'd go home, sleep all day and wake up and repeat the process. This happend over a period of 6 years, 45lbs heavier, I am now trying to get things under control.

Michielynn222

I was a chubby baby, chubby child, chubby preteen, chubby teen, and now chubby adult. My lack of activity through out the years along with my not so healthy eating habits did help that, but i'm working on it.

OhSnap779

I was born that way. :ohwell:

dezb64

I know some people think genetics play a big role in your body type. I feel that it's not as big an influence as you think. I was adopted so was not raised by my bio parents. My bio mom is a body builder and has always been fit, so what happened to me? My (adoptive) family likes to eat. So as a kid I learned to eat and took it to new heights.
I have lost lots of weight in the past and fell off the wagon due to stress that was beyond my control. I know my body and if I don't work out every day I will not be able to maintain my weight due to my thyroid.

skinnysushicat

This is the new me, healthy me... maybe not always healthy eating.. but the yo yo is out of the window.. its just another battle to win :drinker:

That's such a fantastic attitude

geral4479WECHANGED

Eating too much of the bad foods and not enough of the good foods like fruits and vegetables. I still struggle with that. I am active yet PCOS makes weight loss frustrating at times.

redheaddee

Overeating and laziness.

ice1200s

When I was young, I used to admire my older brother. I was raised in a very Italian family, and and mother and aunts would always comment on what a good eater he was. Wanting to be more like him, I started eating more when I hit my teenage years. That was all well and good until I hit my 50's, and it started catching up with me as my metabolism slowed down. You know the rest.

sarajculwell

Have you tried Metformin? What I lost my weight a few years ago it was a wonderful help with my PCOS pain AND losing weight. AND the hair everywhere slowed down. Oh the joys of reproductive disease!

TheEffort

An overwhelming addiction to fast food...morning, noon,and night. After consuming it, I would have the munchies and then eat some more. I abused my body this way with wreckless abandon.

skinnysushicat

I was a chubby baby, chubby child, chubby preteen, chubby teen, and now chubby adult.

Aww, chubby babies are cute! My baby is at the age where she has really chubby cheeks:blushing:

splutschak

I just absolutely love food. I grew up in a home that survived paycheck to paycheck and as we all have realized it costs more to eat healthy. All I knew was boxed and canned foods and occasionally we had something home made.

Neither of my parents ever had weight issues so health and fitness was never a worry to them so it was never taught to me.

skinnysushicat

I know some people think genetics play a big role in your body type. I feel that it's not as big an influence as you think. I was adopted so was not raised by my bio parents. My bio mom is a body builder and has always been fit, so what happened to me? My (adoptive) family likes to eat. So as a kid I learned to eat and took it to new heights.

I think family has a big influence in how we LEARN to eat, but not necessarily in a genetic way - as you illustrate!

ksavy

I grew up on a farm and always had labor intensive jobs. Then I got a desk job but didn't change my eating habits. Not a good combination.

TheCaren

I became overweight by ignoring portion sizes and eating like I was 24 even though I'm significantly older than that. My weight gain started in my late 20s. Prior to that I had no weight issues my whole life.

I did weight watchers in 2004/2005 and all I can say about that is EPIC FAIL (for me). I lost the 30 pounds I wanted to, don't get me wrong. But I learned zip about nutrition. All I did was find the loophole where I could stay within my points and eat a bunch of crap still. I learned nothing at all about healthy eating, so when I got to my goal weight, I maintained it a short time before gaining back the thirty I'd lost, and found another ten to go with it.

What's different now is all I've learned about portion control and focusing on not just counting calories, but making my calories count. I calculated on weight watchers I was at about a 1200 calorie a day intake. I ate 1200 calories of crap. Lost weight. However, crap eating begat more crap eating, and when I wasn't counting points anymore, the gloves were off and I gave up on low fat lo cal crap and dove right into the Skittles, Twinkies and Cheezits head first.

This time with MFP I did 1240 calories a day for the bulk of my weight loss (I'm old and sedentary and had doctor's okay to go this low) and learned how to eat right within that, and still have fun stuff. You'd be amazed at how much food you can eat when you cut out 100 calorie snack packs, low cal/low fat cookies, baked chips, etc. Oh and when my weight loss stalled, I followed the path of others on here and INCREASED my calorie intake. It worked. I have no idea how or why.

I wasn't (and am not now) rigid. When we go out to dinner for Mexican food, I'm gonna have chips and salsa. In moderation. When I go to a birthday party, I'm probably going to eat a cupcake. And I'll eat in moderation to accomodate that.

That was the long answer to your question. The short answer? I didn't care enough about myself to take care of myself. And nobody else cared either so I had no motivation to change. When the doc started throwing around phrases like "insulin resistance" and "type 2 diabetes", suddenly I cared enough about me to do something about it.

trisH_7183

I gained 26 pds with each pregnancies,but lost the weight easily.Then my husband had to work odd hours.We had one car,lived in the country,so I think out of boredom,I became a good cook.Collected cook books,did lots of baking & it just rolled on from there.

After losing/gaining,I'm finally done with all that. Still love food,but counting calories & eating healthy has to come first.My wt loss is slow,but that's ok.Don't want to end up with health problems.

chrissys74

Thyroid disease

heathernicholeclark

I was never overweight not until my dad died in a house fire anyway. After he died I ate for comfort more than I should and went from 135 to 165 in a year. Then I got into a horrible relationship and ended up pregnant. At 17 weeks It was found that I was dilated to 2 and could possibly lose my son. The drs did an emergent cerclage and I was placed on complete bedrest. While on bedrest I stress ate and went from 165 to 220 in 3 months. I gave birth to a premature baby he was only 3 lbs 3 oz and had to stay in the NICU. I continued to stress eat and got up to 240 before I decided to try to lose weight. I got down to 180 when I met my wonderful fit husband who loved me just the way I was. I got pregnant again *this time a much easier pregnancy thanks to an early surgery* I did not gain a lb while pregnant and got down to 175 after delivery.

Then we moved and I missed my family and friends and started to comfort eat and here I am at 214 lbs. I know now that I need to do something other than eat my feelings. I decided to go back to school *I start in the fall* and lose the weight I have put on! I am just at the beginning, but at least now I realize what my issues with food are so that I can fix the issue.

victoriavoodoo

-new relationship. first there was all the eating out that went with dating someone new, then we moved in together a year later and I had a foodie wanting to cook new things for me all of the time and cook with me.

-living with just my bf, and not having roommates, made me less self-conscious about what crap I bought/ate at home.

-unconsciously matching portion sizes with my guy, when we "split" a pizza or some chinese or dessert in half and i'd eat the whole half even though he's a foot taller than me and it makes no sense to take in as much food as he does.

-someone telling me I'm pretty all the time made me slack off and get "comfortable"

Not blaming my relationship, these are all things I did wrong for sure. But my slacking off was definitely brought on by the above things; I was 115 pounds for years before meeting my guy and I didn't have to count calories or anything. I have no idea how much I was eating before because it wasn't a concern.

ETA: I am still very happily in this relationship and have recently managed to get him into fitness with me; now he jogs every day and we go to the gym together and still splurge because we really really love food but the splurges are fewer and smaller.

zyxst

Eating too much. Moving too little.

Genesisluvsu

Actually when I found out my body type and how to lose weight I realized I was eating in the worst way while growing up. Carbs at night, tons of sweets, not enough protien and fiber. I played on teams and played sports when I was young, and worked out alot, but I loved to eat. I found out I am a mix between a Endomorph and Mesomorph. I can gain muscle and fat fast, but it was always a struggle to lose it. Now since I researched my particular body type and how to lose weight to my specific body type. The weight almost literly feel off. It amazing...

Don't get upset about how quickly some people can lose, you have to focus on what you have and make it work.

History

In the 1940s, Dr. William H. Sheldon introduced the theory of Somatypes. His theory described three basic human body types: the endomorph, characterized by a preponderance of bodyfat; the mesomorph, marked by a well-developed musculature; and the ectomorph, distinguished by a lack of either much fat or muscle tissue.

He did also state that most people were a mixture of these types.


Ectomorph
■Fragile
■Thin
■Flat chest
■Delicate build
■Young appearance
■Tall
■Lightly muscled
■Stoop-shouldered
■Large brain
■Has trouble gaining weight
■Muscle growth takes longer

Mesomorph
■Athletic
■Hard, muscular body
■Overly mature appearance
■Rectangular shaped (hourglass shaped for women)
■Thick skin
■Upright posture
■Gains or loses weight easily
■Grows muscle quickly

Endomorph
■Soft body
■Flabby
■Underdeveloped muscles
■Round shaped
■Over-developed digestive system
■Trouble losing weight
■Generally gains muscle easily

Dogwalkingirl

I was an athlete growing up. I ate MASS amount as a child and teen and never gained a thing. I competed in swimming, soccer, gymnastics...so when I quit those things at 23 I started to gain since I thought I could still eat the same amount. It really just now, 10 years later, then I understand I need to get back to working out, swimming, sports if I want to eat what I want.

BurningAway

My ability to eat an entire extra large extra cheese pizza in one sitting whilst playing video games and wondering when ill be able to eat the bag of beef jerky i have waiting for me.

Soulmates!

Baby you warm my oven ;p

fuzzieme

college

drinks lots beer/ booze > eat lots of food > hangover > cure with lots of greasy food and pot > get munchies & eat more food > repeat

yep

brynnsmom

For me, it was when I was in high school. I had always been an athlete growing up and stopped playing competitively when I was a junior. But, I continued eating like I did when I was extremely active - fast food all the time with friends, ice cream every night, etc. It didn't take much time to gain about 35 extra pounds that I, thankfully, am no longer carrying around.

MercuryBlue

Hrm, let's see... Back in 2009 when I first joined, it was pregnancy that caused the weight gain. And, I won't lie, I used pregnancy as a total excuse to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. I guess I figured, hey, I only gained 15 pounds net with my first pregnancy and lost all the weight almost right after giving birth. So, therefore, wouldn't it basically be the same with baby number two? Um, no. I was the champion of the eating olympics, had a kid that weighed more than nine pounds, and came out of pregnancy at 184 (I'd been 145 when I became pregnant). No excuses there, I just wanted to eat, loved to eat, so I ate.

With the help of MFP- and a lot of hard work- I got from 184 down to 130 or so. But then I lost my job and kind of got depressed and had a lot of free time to munch. Not full-on pigging out or anything, but it contributed to a bit of weight gain. On top of that, I went back to school on a part-time, online basis and all that time in front of a computer and/or reading textbooks had a negative effect on my fitness level. On top of THAT, I married my partner of ten years in April, and was super hands-on and crafty with the decorations- which meant things looked GREAT, but I also was spending a lot of time on my butt doing them. Then on top of all of that stuff, my stepmother and my husband's cousin passed away within a 48 hour period, both due to cancer. This lead to more depression, more comfort eating, and a lot of time spent at family member's homes helping out with administrative-type stuff. Then, finally, right around the same time my family members left us, I developed a mysterious digestive ailment that stuck with me for about six months or so. Still hasn't been diagnosed, though my doctor suspects an ovarian cyst ruptured and became infected, leading to inflammation and problem with my lower digestive tract. This lead to me being fatigued and queasy, taking even more wind out of my sails, and leading to a rapid, almost ten-pound weight gain in a very short period.

So I guess you could say that I gained thirty pounds through a combination of factors that created a "perfect storm" of sorts for weight gain. Most of these issues have since been worked through or sorted out, and I'm feeling better now, so I'm trying to get back to where I was two years ago.

jdm_taco

Same as vast majority. Eating too much and moving too little.