Curious - what made you overweight in the first place?

totalsham

This is why i gained all my weight....

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1007617-first-time-under-200-pounds-in-at-least-2-years

and what got me t lose it.

weightlossdiva1219

1. My genes. It runs in my family.
2. Started birth control
3. Ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted
4. Never worked out
5. Sat on my butt on my computer all day
6. Eating emotionally

tiggsnanny

I was 8st 5lb for most of my life, in 2004 I was struck down by a brain stem stroke i'm no longer allowed to drive because of my eyesight, or work, I got very depressed (common for for stroke patients) I not very mobile so I just sat about and ate what I wanted.
Now I have to lose it all, i've got about 2 stone to lose. My balance is poor so excersising is difficult for me, but I walk miles with my dog............................... I will get there xx

Cinnabon64

For me, it was pregnancy and then meds for Fibromyalgia. My mom was always over weight, but I had always been slim. It never occurred to me that one day I would have a weight problem, so when I got pregnant with our first I was careful about how much I ate and I gained 60lbs. Then came the meds and again I didn't know they caused you to crave carbs. Vicious circle! Then add another baby.
I also had no idea what a calorie really was and how many I was consuming.

LaRaAnHa

I come from a family where everything on your plate had to be finished before you could get up from the table. My younger sister and I both became overweight around the age of 8. When she went to live with my mother I stopped going outside as much and being active because I didn't really spend time with anyone but her. When I was 12 my dad put me on a diet. I was about 160 lbs and played softball and soccer at the time and was allowed to have half a grapefruit with some sugar for breakfast. That diet lasted just long enough for me to start binge eating after school on all the chips and snacks that my other younger sister was still allowed to eat. I moved in with my mother and developed social anxiety and depression after moving 3 times in 6 months during my freshman year of high school, so being active outside was out of the picture. I still struggle to leave the house by myself and I still binge eat but only about once a week. I put on 60 pounds last year from bingeing about three to four times a week.

NYgirl1990

I have been thinking a lot recently about how and why I became overweight. I am worried about maintaining my new weight when I reach my goal (it's a problem I've had before) and I hope that working out the factors that contributed to my gain initially will help me.

I am curious - especially those who have at some point been very obese - as to what factors you feel might have contributed to your weight gain? My parents are both obese, and my dad had type 2 diabetes already (mid 50s). I sometimes wonder why they have struggled with their weight so much, and whether that is a factor in my weight gain. Does anyone else feel family was a factor? oR health, mental or physical? or some other factor?

Not overweight anymore but what made me overweight in the very beginning was me just eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted even if I was not hungry. My eczema steroid cream gives me a feeling in my stomach that is similar to the hunger feeling and being on that cream makes me eat even more. Now I keep track of what I eat (been doing so since 2008) and I try to limit my eczema cream use and just drink a lot of water when I get that false feeling of hunger in my stomach. I also try to avoid gluten and dairy as much as I can and that has been helping.

GameOfPounds

Unorganized eating and access to lots of processed crap like milk chocolate,crisps etc. I also stopped ballet and later kung fu when I was younger,something that could have changed something.

Plus: My mother is a single mother and she had to work so I basically grew up with my grandmother and nanny. Both of them forced me to finish my food and I was a skinny little child but now it's the opposite. Parents out there,please dont let anyone force-feed your children and avoid rewarding your child with chocolates!!!!

sarasmiles124

For me it was not coming to terms with past trauma, a really bad break up with my first boyfriend and just emotional eating in general. And when I emotionally eat, it is never healthy.

knucklesammie

my lifestyle changed from a very active life from my childhood through my early twenties, and then i got a sedentary job where i sat around a lot, working a ton of hours - and still thinking i can eat whatever i wanted like i did in the past. caught up to me.

Yarinka

I've always been "big"...smallest I can remember being was 150 around the 7th grade. I was pretty active my freshman year of high school, but towards the end of that year I met my (now) husband, and running took the back burner. It got worse once I started working...the only jobs I had throughout high school were in fast food, so I ate their food almost every day. Add that in with no exercise, and I was probably around 220 or so when I graduated. My habits didn't really change, and my hubby never said anything about it, so I didn't concern myself over it. By the time I got pregnant with our son I had hit 255, and by the time he was born, I was at 277. I lost the weight quickly, but I've gained it back, and then some. I never really looked at how many calories were in the foods I ate. I was shocked when I found MFP and realized I was obese because I never looked at the calories, I just ate whatever. I had mentioned to my doctor in the past that I was interested in losing weight, but all she said was diet and exercise, which duh, I knew already, but I had no clue what I should eat and how much. I've since found a new doctor who has been wonderful. Now I know and I'm slowly making my way back down the scale

I am so happy for you. Im glad you found out the problem and tried to seek help. Keep pushing on.

andypandy1109

i was ok but i was 36-24-36
5 foot 5 and 9st 7 perfect ....but Twiggy was in fashion...pure bad luck eh.

so i never felt like i was slim enough...however it was my balanced weight and no matter of dieting would lower it.
when i became 23ish i started wanting a fmaily and went thrugh all the then fertitly treatment...this seemed to upset my system and i finished up on progesterone in different forms for different reason over the next decade or 2.
once i started on nothisterone i gained 6st 6 st.
i could not loose the weight whilst taking the meds but after a long break and ww i lost 56lb...i kept that off till i ha my kids naturally i might add and then relost 43lb with ww became a leader for 8 years until i re needed the meds...6st again...i i still have 100lb to loose not on the meds anymore but cannot seem to shift it...i am older now 61 not as active 8 hour desk job does not help...but my weight i always blame the meds

DawnieB1977

I was overweight as a teenager so did the stupid thing of starving myself. Back then I knew nothing about weight loss really. I was quite active when I was younger. My mum didn't learn to drive until I was 14, so we walked everywhere. My dad was at work a lot so we couldn't get lifts. I did gymnastics, swimming, played badminton after school etc, but I still put on weight. My parents are both overweight, in fact my dad is pretty obese now and has type 2 diabetes.

So I think it is partly genetics, partly me messing up my metabolism.

I lost a lot of weight at university, again from just not eating enough, and walking everywhere, and I maintained that until I moved in with my now husband and started my teacher training. Then I lost it for my wedding, gained in pregnancy, lost again, gained more in my 2nd pregnancy. Now I finally think I have it right because I'm not on a restrictive diet at all, I eat more than I ever have, and allow myself treats.

My brother is similar, except obviously he's never been pregnant lol. He has to work very hard to maintain his weight once he lost it years ago. My sister is also overweight, but doesn't seem as bothered by it.

glocke12

So many factors contributed to me getting to my most recent weight of 260 lb...

Bottom line is I got lazy, unmotivated and spent alot of time sitting around all day doing nothing but eating the past 3-5 years, I am sure there were some days I would be eating 2000 calories in one shot, such as the times I would sit down and eat a whole pizza...there were reasons for this that had to do with some "life events" I went through, as well as some work related stress.

Another reason is that between 2006-2009 I was playing in a band that partied hard...drank lots, and lots of beer during that time.

Sad to realize that around 1997 or so when I finished college I was about 190 lbs...I maintained that weight up to 2006.

Right now I am on the path of getting more fit, and eating better and am starting to see some weight loss. Hopefully it will stay off this time.

Faye_Anderson

Binge drinking weekends, too many takeaways, not enough exercise and generally being content

kitsiekitty

- asian mentality for kids, forcing me to finish everything on my plate PLUS having about 6 meals a day because my grandmother thought i would starve. worked when i was a skinny kid, but not so much as i grew up.
- parents never controlled my eating much, so i just ate what i want, when i wanted. did i get a shock when i ifnally got MFP and saw the sheer amount of calories i consumed.
- did NOT help that i loved my dairy products. cream, cheese, milk, you name it i love it. also, chocolates.
- and my carb love!
- and my laziness. i hated exercise, until i discovered dancing of course. now i do heavy duty dancing 4 hours, 4 times a week.
- hating vegetables and healthy food in general.

darrensurrey

Eating under my TDEE.
















I'm kidding, overeating was the cause.

jenilla1

Ha, I reckon most people (me included) love yummy food! But not everyone gets overweight - why? My husband seems to have some internal 'I'm full - STOP' switch which I'm lacking, probably from years of eating a few more calories than I need every day. Hopefully loosing and maintaining my goal will help me find that switch! I just am genuinely curious why some people seem to have a propensity to gain weight, while others stay at a healthy weight.

I've never been overweight - I think I'm one of the people with the "I'm full - STOP" switch. As I've aged I started slowly gaining about a pound a year even though my habits have not changed. Must be my old woman metabolism slowing down. Anyway, I used MFP to drop the extra pounds that were pushing me toward the top of the healthy range and now I use it to maintain. I think in my youth it was just naturally easy for me to stay slim. Now that I'm older, I just think a lot of it is attitude and priority.

Miss_Maree

Well I put on about twenty pounds when I left my active job, lost a loved one, moved back home and was pretty depressed. I'm now working an office job and sitting all day... So I just got to get my mind back in the right place.

I guess it was grieving the loss of my former lifestyle friends and passions that I packed on all this weight.

helenrosemay

I lost my job 5 years ago and gradually became less active and ate more of the wrong things. It took my Doctor warning me of possible high blood pressure to say right that's it, be healthy. It's only been 2 months but I feel better for healthy eating & exercise already.

shed50kg

I was always the biggest kid in the class at school, I suppose from a young age I had bad habits of over eating. Mind you, we always had fresh vegetables and fresh meats as kid. The fast food crap did not come along until my 20's along with alcohol, late nights, kebabs, curries, pizzas, hangovers, smoking, waking up in someone else's bed ; - ( and not remembering what I did the night before. Hmm.. yes, that sounds about right and that was a regularly thing for about 10 years and 7-8 stone later (Yikes). However, the weight the has never bothered me in the past, I have never bothered with diets or anything like that.

One day I woke and I said to myself I am bored with this lifestyle and I need a new adventure. I basically packed my bags and went on a round the world trip. I then lost interest in the alcohol and the late nights, and with this change in lifestyle I lost a few stone pretty quickly. When travelling, I ended up opening a business in Cambodia, and then I met my wife and we got married and we now have 3 children.

(Fast forward) About 9 months ago, I realised I was not getting any younger and I needed to take better care of myself if I wanted to watch my kids grow up. I woke up one day and decided to quit smoking, that was about 9 months ago and I have not smoked since. About 3 months ago I decided that now I had give up the smoking, I needed to start to eat healthier, and again that is what I did and now I am on my journey of a healthier eating lifestyle. Once I lose a bit more weight or when my body tells me, I will start my exercise program which will probably be spending more time with the kids in the garden or going on bike rides with them.