What made you fat?

daneejela

All of you who have lost weight or are losing it right now, what do you think - what made you fat in the first place?

apullum

Eating more calories than my body burned.

pierinifitness

Practicing gluttony, dropping my guard, being lazy and in denial. It's all been fixed and it took 173 days.

chunky_pinup

I went from someone who did 8-12 hours a day of physical work/art and ate like it to fuel my body to someone who was sick and disabled. Added steroids and being bedridden to a mix of still eating like I did before without an understanding of how much more I was eating and bam. Massive weight/fat gain.

Cassandraw3

Like the poster above, eating more calories than my body burned. That is the simplicity of it. Getting to the reason why is a bit more complicated. For me, I went from a job where I was on my feet and busy all day to a job behind a desk. Decreased overall TDEE, plus increased time to be able to eat/snack/think about food out of boredom lead to my weight creeping up. I enjoy food, and one of my bad habits that I constantly struggle with is eating out of boredom. I am working to find "distractions" to change my thoughts for when I want to eat yet I am not hungry, as that is the root cause of my excess calories.

runnermom419

I ate like a pig and didn't exercise at all.

sardelsa

I gained it on purpose. I wouldn't say I got fat but I had to cut back down after to reveal what I built.

Johnd2000

Consistently eating slightly more than I burned, for about 30 years.

frogmommy

I was lazy and ate more calories than I burned. It all boils down to lazy for me.

bokboksi

stress eating and being unaware that I snack A LOT.

cloverrea

I used to be much more active but when my activity decreased I never adjusted what I ate, then add in alcohol and there you have it, an increase in weight.

kmaize123

I'm a binge eater. I just don't stop eating even when I feel sick!

savithny

Too many calories. Not particularly bad ones - we don't do dessert or candy on a regular basis, but you can overeat on healthy foods as well.
Not enough exercise (particularly 1) after a job change that dropped my activity level, 2) an injury that limited my mobility for several months, and 3) changes in my social network that took away 'activity partners' for active pastimes I enjoy but need someone to do with me).

(Side note: One of those sources of calories was developing a taste for decent wine. Caloric beverages are such a tripping point).

RelCanonical

Lots of emotional and boredom eating. Eating was my comfort and coping mechanism so I turned to it too often, and my favorite foods were very calorie-dense (cheese, ice cream, cake, etc).

MikePTY

I don't try to dwell too much on the why of the past. A combination of laziness and emotional eating probably. Right now I am much more focused on the future and the new me than the old me.

kimny72

I was eating a couple hundred more calories than I needed to here and there over the course of 10-15 years, and I wasn't nearly as active as I thought I was. Logging with a food scale and wearing a Fitbit made that uncomfortably clear

neugebauer52

1) PTSD from early childhood. 2) wrong food, starting with breakfast: too much bread & carbs - regularly fell asleep during school by 9 a.m. 3) 15 years of deep depression after our dear son George Paul died shortly after birth. 4) All that heavy duty medication which was pushed my way, which did not treat my inner pain. 5) No idea that something called "trigger food" exists, now I know! Thank you MFP and so many members for guiding me along. 325 days down but a lot more weight needs to go.

dolliesdaughter

Eating too much and not moving enough. I love rich food.

stricklee11

Stressful jobs (emotional eater here) and moving from a city with great public transport to one without. No longer burned calories daily by walking 60+ minutes a day at a brisk pace because I drive everywhere now.

Phirrgus

Not being mindful of how much food I was really eating. I never got obese, but did get 19-25ishlbs over what I was comfortable with.

garystrickland357

Everyone has said it - we eat too much. What might be worth saying is that often we only eat a little too much - just 50 to 150 calories a day. Over days, and weeks, and months that turns into a lot of added weight.

RunnerGrl1982

garystrickland357 wrote: »

Everyone has said it - we eat too much. What might be worth saying is that often we only eat a little too much - just 50 to 150 calories a day. Over days, and weeks, and months that turns into a lot of added weight.

+1

This exactly. Just a slow build up over a long period of time that steadily creeps up on you.

MrAndrael

Depression, laziness and just not giving a f.

debrakgoogins

Continuing to eat like an athlete after I got injured and was no longer working out. I ate more calories than I was burning - just like everyone else who gains weight.

an0393na

Ultimately PCOS made me fat

nooshi713

Portions. Eating too much. Most of what I eat is healthy. I am a prime example of how one can become overweight eating too much healthy food.

lemonwater1

Eating spoonfuls of peanut butter and not thinking anything of it. 🤦‍♀️

Eternally__Hers

When I was 21, I started throwing up after every meal, everyday and the only thing I could do was eat crackers and force myself to go to sleep literally in pain in hopes that it would pass. I could not hold down an actual meal, but crackers were doable. The first 3 months my gp was testing out different acid reflex medications which didn't work. Then he sent me to the hospital to get a gastroscopy which was another 6 month wait. I learned that I have celiac disease, which meant I could enjoy eating food again.

I was just so happy to be able to eat again without feeling sick to the point I didn't care if I gained weight. Now I've got about 15 more pounds to lose left.

etherealanwar

I was put on anti-psychotic medications that caused my appetite to sky rocket. So, I started matching my 6'2" husbands (who was already eating too much for himself) portions and I gained 60 lbs in one year. I wish I would have noticed it sooner

rosiorama

Cake, chips and buttery popcorn. All in excessive quantities.

DomesticKat

I gained over 20 pounds over the course of college because I had no idea how to practice moderation with a limitless supply of food. That put me in obesity range. Then I got married and had my first baby. I gained 33 pounds and dropped 55 pounds in 3 months because of my thyroid being out of whack. Got pregnant with my second and developed hyperemesis gravidarium. Food helped the nausea and vertigo and absorbed all the excess saliva in my mouth, so I pretty much never stopped eating. I gained almost 100 pounds, and then my husband deployed unexpectedly 2 weeks before she was born. After that I stayed obese, ate horribly, and went through the same hyperemesis with my next two pregnancies. I went though pretty severe depression and anxiety and abused myself by over-eating. I yo-yoed and eventually came around to using MFP in late 2014. After that I lost (almost) all the weight, then got pregnant with my fifth baby, and came back to lose the weight again (successfully!). Ultimately, it was a combination of not knowing anything about appropriate portion sizes, denial about how much I was eating, and emotional issues that I tried to cure with food.