Why did you gain weight in the first place?

VictoryGarden

Ok, it makes sense to me that a major support factor to any sustainable weight loss is to first understand how we got here in the first place. Only then can we recognize what we need to change, fix, cure, or remove from our life in order to lose the weight and in the end KEEP IT OFF. Isn't that always the most frustrating point: losing it and then gaining it back, and then some? And I think a lot of us can find support in others who are going through the same struggles and changes on this deeper, personal level.

Does anyone care to share what their "triggers" are that cause overeating? If you all are anything like me, there is more than 1. . . . . . .

This isn't intended to make excuses, only to identify causes, or through sharing,help others identify their triggers that they might not consciously recognize.

Cheeky_and_Geeky

A trigger for me now is boredom, stress & I don't like cooking/dishes.
I'm fixing this by doing yoga 3X week, downloaded a recipe app on my phone & just got over it about dishes. I do them daily & will do them daily til I win the lottery & hire a maid. now that I have more energy, I go out & play with my toddler, so I'm rarely bored now!

alliemarie77

Well, the bottom line was post traumatic stress, and depression. I've been through a lot! Still going through a lot! Just learning to take better care of myself in the process. That's really all any of us can do for ourselves.

ShawnaMay04

I gained weight after having 4 children.... not from having them, AFTER I had them and lost the pregnancy weight. I think I started eating quick, unhealthy foods for the convenience and of course my kids adore McDonalds soooo....by the time my youngest turned 3, I had packed on nearly 60 pounds without really noticing. She is now 5 and I can't handle being this overweight anymore, it's actually draining my energy to be this heavy. I know boredom and stress trigger overeating for me as well as skipping meals because of my busy schedule. By the time I have a minute to stop and eat I feel like I could eat an elephant and I pretty much try to in calories.....

cafeaulait7

I don't usually overeat in a big way, unless it's a special dinner out or Thanksgiving or something. I just eat more calorie-dense foods too often for the amount of exercise I was doing. It was fairly subtle, but it adds up to 30 lbs over time. This is my second time dropping the same 30.

Cheese is a good example. I like cheese very much. You can't eat very much full-fat cheese at all, imho, with a metabolism like mine (not that mine's bad; probably average). It's just not a great food to enjoy if you also want a small dessert, lol. It's not so much a trigger for me, but the 'over' calories certainly add up well enough to gain some weight!

So cheese, desserts (not even huge ones at all), avocados, nuts, and the occasional lasagne dinner. Oh, and wine! 2 glasses here and there, but still. It's just too many calories all together every week for me with the workouts I do (did). I have to pick and choose a bit and make sure to workout. Then I'm cool, if I keep at it

slouw10

I love eating, food has always been a weak point, but after I turned 25 my metabolism took a nose dive to the wrong side! It kept going, and when I realised how far it went it was not a good picture!!!

Well, now....I still love food, but I will manage the food, not the other way round!

olehcat

For me it's because I think I'm a hedonist when it comes to food! I look forward to food events, I look forward to particular meals. If doughnuts/bagels are brought to work, my heart just soars with "yayayayayay". I just find certain foods "exciting" and I want to eat them whether I'm hungry or not or even after I'm full. I don't want to be told what not to eat or how much of it, so I would eat what I want, and while that might have worked when I was in my 20s, it definitely does not work now at the age of 43! I had thought it might be loneliness before and that I was overcompensating for some major changing in my life by comforting myself with food, but I am just as bad when I'm around friends/relatives. I just love good-tasting food. For example, I have SUCH a thing for ordering Asian food (especially very spicy Thai noodles), pouring myself a big glass of wine and hanging out at home watching a movie. This could be me alone or with friends.

SO I know that I've gained weight in the last two years, especially from those kinds of habits. Ordering in food too often, indulging at special events too much, too many exciting cookies (that are only there once a year) during the holidays, etc.

lucan07

I ate to many calories and did to little exercise.

albertine58

Takeout and drinking (and then the subsequent pizza/falafel at 3am after drinking.....) Especially Chinese takeout- serious weakness right there! I would get it on the way home from school way too often just because I was feeling crappy and wanted to cheer myself up with food and TV. Sometimes I would get 2 spring rolls, dumplings and an entree all at once! I could never finish the whole entree but even 1/2 plus the appetizers is SO many calories! aaah! no wonder I gained weight this summer

My boyfriend orders lots of takeout, and it's just so easy to let him get something for me too... but now I say 'no' every time and I cook my easy meals every night. It's gotten easier, although I miss ordering fun meals every night. That's what makes it so easy to fall back into old habits!

SquishyVicki

For me it was alcohol and laziness!!
I basically put too much in without burning any of it off....unfortunately it's a hard habit to kick especially as winter rolls in as the warm sofa is far more inviting than the gym!

tbresina

I ate to many calories and did to little exercise.

Thats about the gist of it!

trisH_7183

My main problem was loving to cook,then eating too much of it.So much of my day was food centered,collecting cook books,looking thru the food related department,owning too many food gadgets,saving tons of recipes.

Basically,I was surrounded by food.As another poster said,it was time for me to be the boss where food is concerned.Time to cook healthy,not just "good",track it & manage my food intake. BTW,the cook books are history.

sarahrbraun

My main issue is that I can be an emotional eater. I have a mentally ill teenager, and 6 years ago I had a non-verbal 18 month old in a body cast for 5 weeks due to a freak accident. I was depressed and didn't know it, and self medicated with hershey's and godiva. I also like anything carby--cookies, cakes, pasta, bagels--and I love to bake. Over the next few years, I packed on almost 45 lbs.

about 2 years ago I joined a gym and was determined to get back in shape. Almost 9 months ago I finally hired a trainer. He taught me to take my emotions to the gym instead of the kitchen. When things have me upset, I get on the treadmill and run like my life depends on it...or I borrow boxing gloves and beat the heck out of the heavy bag.

LaserMum

Sedentary job after being in HM Forces.
Learned to drive and bought a car (parents never had one - walked everywhere, or bus)
Got married - no more clubbing/dancing (OH is pretty boring!)
Comfort eating for loss of life as I knew it!!!

Now, getting back into the groove, energy returning (slowly), many hiccups (two steps forward - one step back), but I WILL get there!!! (when I find out where "there" is, I'll let you all know. LOL)

Rav3n1022

Too Many servings! HAHA when I was a little girl I would have at least 2 servings every meal... ugh fatty... so ive never been skinny or healthy. then when i started my job, i was drinking A LOT and it didnt help the seriously this place is like willy wonkas factory... people are ALWAYSSSSS bringing in some kind of food. from cheese and crackers to cakes and cookies.... I gained 60 pounds working here.

also, shortly after i started working here, I got a bout of depression, so I am sure that attested to the gain (and the alcohol)

now, looking in the mirror I am not proud of what I see anymore. Before I had decent self esteem and I thought that I was fine because I had no problems getting dates and blah blah.. but now I realize I am not healthy. and its not ok to eat a whole bag of chips in one sitting, or a bag of cheese sticks in a day. Thats not good. so NOW i am changing my life and NOW I am improving the person staring back at me in the mirror.

Rai007

Being hypothyroid and having no time for food or exercise.

smc864

Pregnancy! A 70 pound gain! About 20 more pounds and I'm back at my pre-pregnancy weight.

Samstan101

Sad? Food will make me feel better. Happy? Have something nice to eat. Angry? Chocolate will make things better? Celebration? Lets go out to eat etc. That, combined with portion sizes too big with too many carbs were the diet causes. Exacerbated by a long standing back problem that made exercise hurt so I stopped (and din't want to pop painkillers), so it hurt more and it became a downward spiral. Back settled down over time so once it eventaully dawned on me that I was huge and unfit and killing myself slowly and stopped kidding myself! I got my head around my unhealthy relationship with food and what I needed to do to get fit & healthy, I bought a Fitbit, joined a gym and signed up here. That was March this year. So far, so good.....

Athena53

It's all DH's fault because he's a good cook. ;-)

In 2003 we married, moved for my job, and he retired (he was 65). So he took over the cooking. He makes lots of good, down-home stuff and although it's basically healthy, I wasn't good at exercising portion control.

Finally got it off with 5:2 fasting and moving my workouts from 45 to 55 minutes a day during the week, longer on the weekends, and getting a HRM to make sure I was working hard enough.

JustasiaAusterus

I gained most of my weight during my pregnancy, because I was going through a huge amount of anxiety and adjustment at the time, and food was the easiest way to alleviate it. I went from 145lbs pre-pregnancy to 208lbs at this day. My son was born 3 years ago.
The thing is, I like exercise, but it has to be the right setting for me. Finances prevented me from joining a gym...and there was no space at home to work out. And half the year, it's too cold to be exercising outside, and the other half is too hot.
That said, as unhappy as I am with the number on the scale, I'm not unhappy with my appearance. The reason I want to lose weight is for health, to improve my caridvascular system, to prevent diabetes and heart disease.

ViktoryaC

I was always almost underweight, spent most of my adult life at 5'6, 110 pounds, so I developed a lot of bad habits based on my super fast metabolism. The my metabolism deserted me at age 30, but I still eat like a teenager. My waist went from 24 to 37 inches in a year. And I cant seem to get it off. My whole office is a snack heavy zone, and everyone here has gained weight.