What was your “reason” for gaining the weight?

xmarye

So sorry for your loss. You are very courageous to share with others. I command you for taking your health in your own hands to be the best mom you can be for your son.

My reason: Difficult pregnancies made it hard to remain active. I was really active before, running and lifting weights multiple times per week. Then I pretty much got bored and lonely being at home, so I ate more and indulged in my favourite foods.

Here's how it happened:
- I gained 45lbs with my first pregnancy and lost 25lbs counting calories after that. (135 to 180, to 155)
- I got pregnant with my second pregnancy and gained 40lbs. Lost 10lbs (the baby pretty much) before getting pregnant again at 6 months post-partum. (155 to 195, to 185)
- I was able to gain only 20lbs with my third pregnancy and get right back to where I was before without trying much. (185 to 205, to 185)

I started a week ago and now I am at 180lbs and trying to reach my pre-babies weight of 135-140lbs.

I took my body and my health for granted. I wish I could have exercised moderation the first two times like I did the third time. I knew how much I didn't want to get to an even higher weight and therefore didn't indulged as much, as well as tried to be active talking walks on my lunch break and things like that.

My stomach is full of stretch mark and doesn't sit well at the moment. I am hoping that with dedication, a balanced diet and exercise I can get to a place I am comfortable once again.

aurolena

When I was very small, they couldn't really feed me anything. I couldn't tolerate "real" food until I was nearly 3 and they couldn't risk giving me anything before it because they feared I'd refuse the supplement they had to feed me. As soon as I could eat real food, I never stopped!

Being depressed, ADHD, and pushed to the breaking point during my teenage years put on pounds but I was always just a bit "fluffy" instead of "fat", and I really didn't care then. I could drive and if I wanted a cheeseburger I didn't need my mothers permission to eat it! So I did!

Then going off my medicine started the slow slide into depression and I really did eat whatever sounded good. When I was able to work, I could hover at 212 and I felt okay with it. Not healthy really but exercise was keeping any problems away.

After getting sick I just slid into the pit of despair and I couldn't claw my way out. I could not stop myself from eating when my brain wanted something. I'd track all day then sit and sob at 7pm because I was starving at a healthy reduction! (1,800 is NOT starving for my height!)

I gave up and slunk a bit lower until my dad died. While I was his guardian in his last days I snapped. I couldn't take any more of the depression dragging me down. I had someone else that needed my constant care, and I had to balance my own illness care too while fighting off my family. I went back to therapy and on my medicine and it's melting away.

Depression is a monster.

Blythmag

I stopped moving around as much, never been a massive eater but im 15 lbs above what i really should be and have been like this all my adult life.

Im now gonna hit that target ive wanted for 30 years

JeromeBarry1

Childhood was great. Food was plentiful. Plate was clean. Refilled. Clean again. Rinsed. Repeated.

her4g63

Eating a heck ton and excessively drinking was how I coped with extreme physical and emotional abuse from a previous relationship. Gained 140 pounds or so over the course of those several [miserable] years.

I've lost 134 of those pounds, slowly. But I've found myself along the way so I haven't entirely hated the journey. Not sure I would've learned all that I did without the process of getting my life back.

ruqayyahsmum

Being raped as a teen.
It sounded like a great idea to gain weight so I would be ugly to men....... Didn't work, was sexually assaulted as a fat bird too

Bad marriage, abusive husband, gave birth at 25 weeks and stress ate the whole year we were in hospital

Lost near 200lb, got pregnant, was very ill, gave birth at 25 weeks again. Gained back 50lb and working on getting rid of the last of the gain

Seffell

I'm sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine the horror!

I moved to another country, started a fulltime degree in theoretical physics at the age of 34 and quit 20 years of heavy smoking all almost at the same time.

Gained 30lbs in the span of a year which got me to the overweight borderline. I think at least 5 of them were from homemade chocolate mousse! I used to eat a whole salad bowl of it in one go! Did that several times but it never occured to me at the time that I might gain because I've always been slim!

Lost them almost entirely but took me 3 years of logging as I'm doing it very slowly.

When I had my son 18 years ago I didn't gain anything (other than the baby's weight and waters). I was 20 at the time. Literally no gain or loss and at the time I had no idea how much I was eating. Never had to watch my food before.

HoneyBadger302

No tragedy in my life for the vast majority of my "poundage." In fact, I recently went back through my weight journal to see if there were things I was missing (just in case) - but nope, there wasn't.

Basically, weight was never an issue for me most of my life. I made it into my 30's with "weight loss" meaning I'd trim back on the fast food and sodas. I still tracked my weight, and knew HOW to count calories, but it had never been a big deal.

Then, I moved to a more professional job, that had me behind a computer more often. Weight started to tick up. Couple years later, more professional job, on my butt nearly all the time. Weight went up even more. Went through a divorce in that time, but honestly, the sitting on my butt was more in line with the weight gains than the divorce was. Next move in my career meant I was in a better financial position, and I started to lose weight again (could afford better food, a gym, didn't need all the side jobs, etc).

Then, (badly) broke my leg, and over the next year or so put back on most of what I had lost. Back to losing that weight again now that I've recovered as much fitness as I could.

All that being said, I've never been extremely overweight. I've always loved being (somewhat) active, and my hobbies have always been very physical. I walk fast when I do walk, and tend to park at the back of parking lots and little things like that.

At my heaviest, I was about 35-40 pounds overweight. I wasn't at that weight for long (couldn't fit into ANY of my pants!!). Lots of ups and downs in the 22-30 pounds over my "ideal" weight range though. Currently still have about 25 pounds to go, maybe slightly less due to muscle mass from purposeful lifting, but that I will have to assess as I get closer. Still a good 18-20 pounds to lose no matter what, and on my frame combined with how my body carries weight, that's actually quite a bit and drastically changes my body shape.

sgt1372

Eating too much & not exercising enough.

zyxst

My GP doesn't think I'm in peri-menopause and no one will help me with my depression. I overeat because it's the only thing I can do to alleviate my depression.

MaxineMarieM

Started with alcholic dad which led to anxiety of never knowing what each day would bring. Food was my comfort. Grew up diagnoised with depression and of course stuff happens in life and food was a comfort. Mid 50's shot up to 389 lbs. Went to Ww and 4 yrs later lost 210 lbs. Over the years have gained 75 of it back but I am now doing something about it with myfitness pal

admaarie

I always used the control of food as a coping mechanism. Whether it was undereating back in highschool where I was pretty small, or constantly overeating 2 years ago.

I was in a bad relationship, got out of said bad relationship, was still in school stressed about graduating and everything else & just turned to food. Gained slowly within 3 years.

brightresolve

Food's always been a way to comfort and soothe myself and make up for having to adult such a huge percentage of the time. Just how I am constructed I believe. Have lost the same 20 lbs over and over and over, now struggling to maintain and not regain.

smantha32

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Good luck!

I was just lazy and liked to eat.

This.

FarmerCarla

Other priorities--I joined a singing group and most of the ladies were overweight. Monitoring calories wasn't a priority.

limaldo96

I had to stop working out because I was going through fertility treatments months ago, then got pregnant, put a little more weight on, and unfortunately suffered a miscarriage. I needed to wait for my body to recover before jumping back into working out. I’m excited to get back into better shape

Cahgetsfit

sorry to hear about your loss.

Usually I get chubbers due to anxiety/emotional eating - I am an emotional eater for sure.

Before I had my daughter it was relatively easy to lose the chub though after I packed some on. I'd just close my mouth a bit and generally by then whatever the emotional problem I was having would have been dealt with and so it was easier - this was back in my 20's and up to mid 30's. I was also relatively active doing mainly martial arts.

Then, when I got pregnant I gained almost 20kg and only lost like hardly any post-partum. I was depressed, anxious, emotional eating because everything was *kitten* including my marriage. Eventually I tried to diet (someone told me about MFP). I lost some weight on the prescribed 1200 cals but it didn't last long because I was starving. Then I gave up on the logging but joined the gym and would do group classes. I got fit again but I was still chubbers.

Eventually I got sick of going to the gym every single bloody day and still being overweight and feeling awful and not even being able to look in the mirror and I approached one of the trainers there for help and that's how I got into weights and learnt how to diet in a way that was not starving and suited me.

I now hover around the 60kg mark. Sometimes it creeps up when I get emotional for any reason, but i'm finding it easier to lose though when I need to. Less effort required. And I still lift even if I am having an emotional "spell"

Good luck!!!

jamacianredhair

My father passed away last year 2 days beforeThanksgiving. I just didnt care anymore and would eat horrible and drink to cope with his loss. I gained almost 40lbs.... none of my clothes fit, I'm so uncomfortable and I know he would not approve of what I have been doing to myself. It got to the point that I'm embarrassed to walk into the gym which was always my favorite place to be. I'll be 39 next year and my husband is taking me to the Bahamas for my bday so I gotta tighten up! But gosh looking in the mirror while I lift is killing me.

lyraalice00

A anorexic at age12then re fed them hospitals meant no exercise, (from underweight to obese basically!)

ConnieT1030

I first put on extra weight because I got pregnant and thought I therefore had no limit how much i could eat, and I really like eating. Particularly, high calorie food and sweets.
I never lost that pregnant belly as I aged. As I got older, being a reasonably short (5'3") female, past 40, and sedentary, my metabolism/calories for maintenance are much lower than I imagined they would be (food labels say the daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so I assumed that was a "normal" adult amount, and thats what I should aim for, although I didnt really count them) and it just kept piling on. When i got REALLY big, i decided "weight was just a number" mostly because, again, I like eating, but not "health food" and didnt want to give that up. One day, I finally had enough and landed here. (Thats the short version)