Did anyone else grow up with obese parents or family members?

RachelElser

not obese, but overweight. Mom did diets all the time, forcing us to go with whatever she decided was the diet of the moment which is why I am unsympathetic to those who complain about their partner not changing their eating habits and 'sabotaging' them by having chips/treats/ice cream in the house.

beaglady

Both of my parents were overweight, but not obese. My dad was a sales rep for a cookie company, and we always had multiple packages of cookies available. It was acceptable to have cookies for breakfast, and if there was no cake or pie, we had cookies for dessert after lunch and supper daily. We would eat huge bowls of ice cream as an evening snack a couple times a week.

I had a younger brother who was born with a congenital illness that ended up taking his life. It was very stressful on my parents and took most of their time for many of my elementary school years. I sometimes rode my bike on our small street, but was encouraged to play in the house so that they didn't have to worry where I was. I can remember my grandmother discouraging physical activity so that I 'didn't hurt myself'. This would have been in the late 60's when girls were expected to play quietly, and I did.

As a teenager, I was aware that my parents were a bit large, and ate little in fear of being fat like them. I'm sure there was some ED in there. I was certain that I was hugely fat at 5'-8", 125 pounds. I stayed thin until my mid 20s when I got married and enjoyed eating and drinking with abandon.