Have you always been overweight?

loveanddestroyx

I've been overweight since I was 2... so yeah, I've been like this all my life.

natalieyeo39

I don't think it's fair to minimize the effort of someone's weight loss simply because they were once not overweight.

I don't think it's minimizing weight loss if the person were once thin. For those of us who were always fat, we have no idea what it's like to be fit once. It's a scary process because we are going into the unknown. It's what we want but at the same time it's something we've never been.

Since I've been on MFP and reading all the comments I do, people who have always been fat have a different mentality than used to be thin people and the process may come with a lot of happiness but at the same time it may come with a bit of bitter as well.

I've also done a lot of research on it in the past because I was trying to find support groups for me so that I wouldn't let any bitterness stop me from becoming a healthy person.

I agree! I've always been 20-30 pounds heavier than my peers, overweight but not obese. And a part of me wants to be really fit and all for aesthetics reasons! Which is awesome and all right? But I think deep down (or not that deep) I'll probably carry a bitterness that guys have barely any interest in me right now, which is probably a combination of my introvertness/chubbiness. 23 and forever alone =\ it's been kind of hard to be the handmaiden to so many other girls and be the "nice fat girl" or 'bro' to all my guy friends that I'm pretty sure that another major core reason for wanting to lose weight is my bitterness. And my secret desire to be the hottest sexiest virgin in her 20s rocking a bikini on the beach

lseed87

No. I think i really started gaining weight when i got a bad reaction to mosquito bites when i was younger and had to get injected with steroids to make them go down at the hospital. After that i noticed i would gain weight easily. Plus, i moved away from friends and then moved back into town and things were so different with them.

Pangea250

I don't think it's fair to minimize the effort of someone's weight loss simply because they were once not overweight.

I don't think it's minimizing weight loss if the person were once thin. For those of us who were always fat, we have no idea what it's like to be fit once. It's a scary process because we are going into the unknown. It's what we want but at the same time it's something we've never been.

Since I've been on MFP and reading all the comments I do, people who have always been fat have a different mentality than used to be thin people and the process may come with a lot of happiness but at the same time it may come with a bit of bitter as well.

I've also done a lot of research on it in the past because I was trying to find support groups for me so that I wouldn't let any bitterness stop me from becoming a healthy person.

I understand what you're saying. What I said was more in response to the statement that those who have not always been overweight have an easier time losing weight.

No one has it easier. Losing weight is hard, perhaps the hardest thing we can undertake in our lives. Having been overweight our whole lives or not, each day we now must wake up and make choices that affect our bodies and our minds. They aren't easier choices on one set of people over the other.

I don't know what it's like for you. I can't pretend to know. I can tell you about the self-loathing and disgust I had for myself. Did you have that? I'd guess yes. I can tell you about the futility I felt every time I placed another unhealthy mouthful of food in my body, that little voice that would tell me to just go ahead and eat it, because the problem is so monumental, I'll never be able to do anything about it. You too? Mmmm hmmmm.

But I can also tell you about something you might not be able to relate to. You see, as I gained over 100 lbs in 8 years, I put no weight on in my mind. The picture of me in my head was thin. So imagine my dismay, my shame, my *horror*, every time I passed a mirror and saw the truth of what I was.

Does any of this make me better than you? No way. Does it mean my losses have been easier? Not a chance. And that's why I had to say that it's not fair to state that I have had a less challenging time with the 81 lbs I've lost as compared to anyone else's 81 lbs. If we separate ourselves into groups like that and effectively negate the effort of the other group, we stand a great chance of missing out on some really valuable insight and experience.

And that would be a shame.

bcattoes

I don't think it's fair to minimize the effort of someone's weight loss simply because they were once not overweight.

I don't think it's minimizing weight loss if the person were once thin. For those of us who were always fat, we have no idea what it's like to be fit once. It's a scary process because we are going into the unknown. It's what we want but at the same time it's something we've never been.

Since I've been on MFP and reading all the comments I do, people who have always been fat have a different mentality than used to be thin people and the process may come with a lot of happiness but at the same time it may come with a bit of bitter as well.

I've also done a lot of research on it in the past because I was trying to find support groups for me so that I wouldn't let any bitterness stop me from becoming a healthy person.

Easier or harder will vary from person to person, no matter what the history. I don't think it's fair for either the formerly fat or the formerly skinny or the formerly somewhere in between to judge what's easy or hard for anyong else.

But I would agree that it's different. Often very different. I read posts from some members who have a lot of weight and realize that I can't relate to their situation.

Yiazach

When i was young i was in my country water polo national team so very athletic. Then i had an accident which didnt allow me to continue but sadly my appetite wasnt damaged at all so i quickly gained weight. After that i kept it and slowly gained more due to abuses that now belong to the past!

SNLover87

I was a normal-sized kid but became overweight at right about the time you start to give a crap about what you look like (middle school). So, I really consider myself to have always been overweight. I'm not at my GW yet, but I'm more than halfway there - 47 lbs down currently. Add me if you like, I'm always up for more friends and I'm very active on MFP

NinjadURbacon

i was skinny until i learned about beer and stopped playing sports. I was 155lbs and 5'11" in HS. Graduated college at 220lb.

honey_bee_keysha

I have always been overweight. I remember weighing myself at age 7 and stating that I was fat. I was around 75 pounds then. I didn't really start to get serious about my weight until last year. I am currently no longer overweight but I am on the border of it.

TheSlorax

I have always been fat except for one point in my life in my early teens when I did things I was not supposed to be doing. I was still barely in the overweight BMI category even so. Being "skinny" seems both exhilarating and scary, I'm not sure what I will do once I reach my goal weight. Even at my current weight (lowest ever as an adult although that is a relatively short period of time) I'm not really sure what to do with myself.

Interested to see the responses because, as I said, I am really not sure how I will feel once I'm not overweight anymore.

1two3four

Hi all!

I've noticed that a lot of people on the site have been healthy at one time, but have gained weight. Other people have been overweight their whole lives, but most of these people seem to be at the relative beginning of their journey.

It seems like losing weight is more difficult for someone who has never been a healthy weight, than for someone who once was an athlete.

Is there anyone here who has ALWAYS been overweight (like me), but has reached and maintained their goal weight? I would love the motivation!

Thanks guys!

I have never been a healthy weight, the first 5 years of my life I was severely underweight then in the span of a few years I was overweight and for two thirds of my life I've been obese.

Before MFP I tried to lose weight and I failed. Now that I've been using MFP for 22-months I've lost 101 pounds. More than I've ever lost in the past. I may not have reached my goal weight BUT I absolutely believe that this will be sustainable in the long run after reaching my goal weight.

Even though I don't exactly fit the profile you are looking for I hope I've helped if even just a little bit.

MrsB123111

I've always been "bigger". Ever since my father passed away in 1990, I used food as a comfort mechanism.

In 5th grade, I remember hitting 100 lbs and my mother freaking out. In middle school, I'd say I was a normal to slightly higher weight than my classmates. Though, if you would have asked me then, I would have told you I was a cow! I remember being a size 8 and 150 lbs in the 8th grade and being so sad that I couldn't share clothes with my friends (who were all size 2).

I steadily gained weight throughout high school, weighing 185 lbs at graduation. Freshman year of college, I gained the freshman 15 times two! I moved home for the summer and did Weight Watchers and lost all but 5 lbs of the weight I'd gained that year. I maintained at 185-190 for the next two years of college, went through a TERRIBLE breakup which turned into depression. I gained over 50 pounds in a year. This weight would follow me for the next 5 years. Yo-yoing up and down for several years before finally deciding I needed to change.

At my heaviest, I weighed in at 273 lbs. That was April 14, 2011. I hadn't weighed myself for almost 3 years. It was a shocking number, but I am happy to say, I will NEVER see that number again. I am 115 pounds lighter, as of today, and still going!

DesDawn24

I just have to say that it's awesome to read everyone's stories, and know that we're all working so hard for a change. So a big thumbs up to all of you!

I myself have always been overweight. I was only moderately so as a kid, but in my teens it got a lot worse. I just kept growing, didn't bother to ever weigh myself or try to eat healthier. At the time, I didn't even realize the problem. I knew I wasn't happy with my body, but I had great friends and never experienced any bullying. Reality hit in university when I stepped on a scale for the first time, and I was at 270. This was after I had already lost a noticeable amount of weight, so God only knows what I was when I started. After that, I made a LOT of changes. Eventually, after making a lot of little changes over the course of a few years, I hit my lowest weight of 183. But then I graduated, and moved on to a desk job, and moved in with my boyfriend at the time. It pretty much all went downhill from there and I gained it all back, and I was mostly in denial about it. I've been back on track for almost a year now, and I'm almost halfway to my goal. I guess the moral of the story is, yes, I've always been overweight. I look forward to the day when I can say that I lost all of that weight AND kept it off. To those of you that have, you inspire me

TArnold2012

Only since I was born :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh:

nikkylyn

No. This is purely from 3 pregnancies in 4 yrs. My baby is almost 1 years old so its been enough time. I was thin enough to not be overweight but never in stellar shape.

I think anyone can do this.. I think there are ups and downs regardless of backround. especially when its going along at a snails pace.

Lisah8969

College really started my downward spiral. I was probably 150 - 160 when I started (5'8") and I thought I was all right. Even to this day, I remember seeing a pad of notepaper in the bookstore that had a picture of a pig looking scared standing on a scale and the scale read 150. I remember thinking how can 150 be fat? That's less than me! And I know I can't blame it all on the paper. My parents fed us well, made us eat right and I really never had any issues before going away to college and never thought about myself as fat, skinny or whatever before that. So being in college (and drinking!) and being in charge of what I could eat for once, I put on probably 40 - 50 pounds in those years. Weight just kept going on. I would go on some restrictive diet and lose 30 - 40 pounds, only to have it all come back. I reached my highest of 260 about 2 years ago. And I really have nothing to blame, but myself and the fact that I just really like the taste of stuff that is pretty high in calories.

So now I am on MFP. I tried this with a new attitude of "everything in moderation." I make what I can a little healthier (e.g. a turkey burger instead of a regular burger), but if I really want something, I have it. I have found that if there is something I can't have, I will only want it more. I've lost 65 pounds so far (although been stuck at minus 65 for about 8 months now), but this is the lowest weight I have been in more than 20 years. I don't care if it takes 2 more years to get off the last 25 to my goal. I just wish I had discovered this secret and how easy it really can be a long time ago.

So in my adult life, this is the first time I have been close to being where I should be.

Hauntinglyfit

Just waiting for a special someone to post in here.
She's never been overweight.

omma_to_3

Me, though I haven't reached my goal weight yet. I've been here for 2.5 years and need to lose another 20ish lbs. I was never a fat child, but was a bit "chubby". But once I hit puberty, around age 13 to 14, my PCOS kicked in and I started gaining weight. I was obese before I graduated high school.

Sovictorrious

Have always been unhealthy. Always been over weight not dealing with it anymore.

Bernadette60614

I haven't been overweight my entire life, but I've always had bad eating habits.

I've kept my weight down over the years through fad diets and extreme eating programs. Once I entered my 40s, that no longer worked. So, now I eat a nutrient dense diet and I'm losing weight and feeling much better.