How did you gain weight in the first place

Chibukalu908

I used to have an idel weight of 120`s but then I started eating junk food late at night and eating whatever I wanted with little to no exercise.I just didn't care and never appriciated my body.Slowly and gradually I gained 30 pounds and when I look back I miss my old body and regretting letting myself go. I can no longer fit into my skinny jeans:frown: .I have been on the track and have only lost 8 pounds so far and I am committed to stick to it until I reach my goal but gaining weight is so easy than loosing and maintaining .share your stories.how did you gain weight in the first place?

maidentl

Self-medicated myself through post-partum depression. :frown:

Meerataila

The first time?

Well, when my parents controlled my diet as a kid, the shopping budget looked much like the left side of the graph. And when I got a job and control of my own shopping, it looked like the right side, only I probably spent even more money on snack foods than the average American does. In fact, I'm sure I did.

Gamerchick00

Pretty much just making recreation about sitting still playing video games instead of anything physical, and just eating what everyone else is eating or ordering at the time. Subs, chinese, whatever. Didn't pay attention to the calories of anything. Now that my husband and I have gotten serious about daily exercise and about cooking meals at home, I can see how wrong that was. Don't get me wrong, I still game, but we also play badminton in our backyard for fun and go on walks now.

enn_jay

I was always "skinny" throughout my childhood but as soon as my period came for the first time at 12 I got huge. Years later I was diagnosed with PCOS.

Yay hormones, thank you for ruining my life!

DaisyJane82

I quit smoking. I put on 30 lbs in only 4 months! The weird thing is that I didn't change ANYTHING about my eating habits. Not a single thing. In fact, I tried to work out more because people warned me that I would probably gain weight when I quit smoking. The extra walking and working out 3 times a week didn't help. The lbs just kept coming.

I read that smoking increases your heart rate and your metabolism. The average smoker will gain around 15 lbs when they quit smoking. Apparently this is weight you WOULD have had if you were not a smoker.

I guess that means I would have been naturally overweight. This makes sense because I was the only member in my family that didn't have a problem with my weight. I had been smoking for 16 years.

For the first time in my life, I'm overweight. Now I'm struggling to lose these extra lbs I packed on. It's a slow battle and very frustrating. I'm just taking it day by day. I think the most frustrating part about this weight gain is that everyone assumes I substituted smoking with eating larger portions of food. My friends joked about how I'm a secret cupcake eater and that I'm not keeping good track of those "little snacks". I haven't had any "little snacks" in a long time. It's just so frustrating to be so careful with your diet and to gain anyway!

Supertact

I quit smoking. I put on 30 lbs in only 4 months! The weird thing is that I didn't change ANYTHING about my eating habits. Not a single thing. In fact, I tried to work out more because people warned me that I would probably gain weight when I quit smoking. The extra walking and working out 3 times a week didn't help. The lbs just kept coming.

I read that smoking increases your heart rate and your metabolism. The average smoker will gain around 15 lbs when they quit smoking. Apparently this is weight you WOULD have had if you were not a smoker.

I guess that means I would have been naturally overweight. This makes sense because I was the only member in my family that didn't have a problem with my weight. I had been smoking for 16 years.

For the first time in my life, I'm overweight. Now I'm struggling to lose these extra lbs I packed on. It's a slow battle and very frustrating. I'm just taking it day by day. I think the most frustrating part about this weight gain is that everyone assumes I substituted smoking with eating larger portions of food. My friends joked about how I'm a secret cupcake eater and that I'm not keeping good track of those "little snacks". I haven't had any "little snacks" in a long time. It's just so frustrating to be so careful with your diet and to gain anyway!

Yaaa, no. You're eating more.

DaisyJane82

Yaaa, no. You're eating more.

See what I mean?! :frown:

Nobody believe me.

DeguelloTex

I stopped being as active and got older.

HeidiCooksSupper

Eating to much. As a child we all belonged to "The Clean Plate Club" and I took the lesson too much to heart.

shutch2112

I got pregnant twice in 4 months, but neither 'stuck', so the combination of depresion and my hormones being wacky made me lose weight down to 150 (my lowest adult weight) and then gain it all back with interest.

FatFreeFrolicking

Anxiety medications which made me develop insulin resistance which also contributed to the weight gain.

Try being a size 0 your whole life and becoming a 14 all because of medications… not easy.

Shalaurise

I like food... a lot... especially chocolate. I hate exercise... a lot... and cooking... and dishes... I miss chips /sad

Also, babies! I have two and gained quite a bit with each one that I never really lost.

Chibukalu908

I quit smoking. I put on 30 lbs in only 4 months! The weird thing is that I didn't change ANYTHING about my eating habits. Not a single thing. In fact, I tried to work out more because people warned me that I would probably gain weight when I quit smoking. The extra walking and working out 3 times a week didn't help. The lbs just kept coming.

I read that smoking increases your heart rate and your metabolism. The average smoker will gain around 15 lbs when they quit smoking. Apparently this is weight you WOULD have had if you were not a smoker.

I guess that means I would have been naturally overweight. This makes sense because I was the only member in my family that didn't have a problem with my weight. I had been smoking for 16 years.

For the first time in my life, I'm overweight. Now I'm struggling to lose these extra lbs I packed on. It's a slow battle and very frustrating. I'm just taking it day by day. I think the most frustrating part about this weight gain is that everyone assumes I substituted smoking with eating larger portions of food. My friends joked about how I'm a secret cupcake eater and that I'm not keeping good track of those "little snacks". I haven't had any "little snacks" in a long time. It's just so frustrating to be so careful with your diet and to gain anyway!

yes it is ,its so hard to loose weight.i wish you goodluck with your jorney

fittyinthemaking

i comfort ate through my teen years, dad passed away when i was 16, food was always there for me :devil:

kayla554

Yaaa, no. You're eating more.

See what I mean?! :frown:

Nobody believe me.

Because you don't magically gain 30 pounds without eating more calories than you burn

CzechEngineLight

lost 40 lbs when i was 19, maintained the weight loss for 4 yrs by logging calories every single day and exercising 4-7 days a week, then just kind of stopped going to the gym and monitoring things and promptly gained 30 of those lbs back

sux when you go from a 10 to a 2 back to a 8

hipsterkhris

Well all through High school I was pretty active and fit, my weight was always 160-170, with a good amount of muscle definition.
As I was fit, I never dieted, didn't try to eat healthy at all. Like, literally ate cheese steaks and tastycakes by the boxes.
After high school I maintained this for 2 years, then I had an inguinal hernia. I wasn't able to workout as much during this time, but I didn't understand metabolisms and all that jazz, so I didn't change my eating habits. Next thing I know, I'm up to 210lbs, with no idea how I got there. lol

Fitdoge

As a little girl I had a broken home so my older brother took his anger out on me in the form of bullying me, so I comfort ate, and then he bullied me about my gaining weight - and whenever that happened I'd gorge on food until I felt sick trying to feel better.

LazerMole

Philly Cheesesteak Hoagies from WaWa. All the time.

More seriously - I just have no control over my consumption of sugars and starches. They're crack for me, and I enjoyed eating them until it was painful. Whole bags of powdered donuts and a quart of chocolate milk when I was bored or stressed. Entire pints of Ben & Jerry's. Chips, cookies, candy bars - every day.

My "maintaining" level when I'm just eating what I want, when I want is about 245 pounds. My depression/unemployed weight is 260 lbs. At 5'10", it didn't affect my mobility or anything, but it certainly doesn't do me any favors in the long run.

I'm feeling much better at 210, and can't wait to be in "one"derland.

acpgee

I was extremely skinny in my twenties and was working internationally as a fashion model. When I retired at age 25, I vowed never to give another thought to my appearance or diet again. I gained weight very slowly at 2 kg a year (a little less than 5 pounds) for about 24 years. That's only an average daily surplus of 40 kcal so like half a slice of toast. Shouldn't have let it go for so long.

Pamella924

How did I gain all this weight? Simply: I ate junk and I ate a lot of it.

I have depression, OCD and post-traumatic stress disorder. I also have chronic migraines. I'm on all kinds of lovely pills from my pharmacist. I could blame my weight gain on all of that.....but I'm not going to. There are healthy people who have all those same issues.

I have a husband, two teenagers, two crazy dogs and I work in a criminal court - all of which can be rather stressful. Those aren't to blame either. Healthy people are married with children and have insane jobs.

Plain and simple: I ate junk and I ate a lot of it. I didn't care. I didn't pay attention and I didn't exercise. All my fault.

heybales

Injury from a race due to under-training during the summer of my wedding, and then subsequent married eating during much less activity.

aedreana

At age 12 and 13, I stayed at 112-113 pounds without dieting. I was one inch shorter than I am now. I was 5' 2 1/2" back then. I ate one meal a day, in the evening. Then at 13, I started eating lunch in high school. Then, I added breakfast too. So at 13, I steadily gained weight till I was close to 130 pounds! So a few days after I turned 14, I went on the very first diet of my life. I obviously should have stuck with just dinner and no lunch or breakfast! I probably would have remained at 112-113 and never had to diet.

janatarnhem

Steroid medication and not coping with the impact of illness. Let it happen!

Chibukalu908

Yaaa, no. You're eating more.

See what I mean?! :frown:

Nobody believe me.

Well I heard that smoking decreases your appetite so you don't eat as much and when you quit you start eating more than you realize.I have never been a smoker so I am not sure if this is a fact

rosebette

I broke my foot in 2007. Before that, I was around 120 most of the time. But after the break, I was sedentary, didn't watch what I ate, and went up to 145 (I'm a shortie, so that's high for me). Also, I was in the last year of a graduate program, and my daughter was graduating from high school, so lots of parties, social functions etc. in the spring and early summer, when I still hadn't lost my weight from the sedentary period. The wake-up call was when my husband and I decided to do an impromptu week-end beach vacation and none of my capris, shorts, etc. fit! I managed to lose the weight in about 6 months following South Beach, Phase II. Recently, I have found I'm tending to gain between 6-8 lbs. over the winter months, especially after vacations, so I'm trying to stay on track and even lose a bit.

DaisyJane82

yes it is ,its so hard to loose weight.i wish you goodluck with your jorney

Thanks Belly272! Good luck to you too! It sounds like you're on the right track!

navygrrl

I'm lazy and food is delicious. :laugh:

lenarashminraj

I am a food blogger at 'Lemon n Spice'. When i started my food blog on march 2009, i never imagined that i will get hooked so bad. Pretty soon every weekend i started making romantic 5 course dinner just for my husband and he loved it. He used to cycle to work and walk in the evenings, which helped him maintaining his weight. Me on the other hand started putting on weight like crazy. After 3 yrs of marriage i started noticing visible change in me. Eating late at night, having junk food, carbonized drinks, no-exercise and having more food was the order of my life. Then i got baby and after that it became worse.. i was finding excuses to skip exercise and day by day i got addicted to food. i was 135lbs before i started my blog and later i became 180..How ever hard i tried I was not able to stick to a regular workout schedule or diet for more than 3 weeks.
After joining in MFP , im able to record what i eat, and when i read the food diary of my friends i feel to follow it.. now im 169 and im sure i will get rid of my extra fat soon

DaisyJane82

Yaaa, no. You're eating more.

See what I mean?! :frown:

Nobody believe me.

Because you don't magically gain 30 pounds without eating more calories than you burn

Actually, you don’t have to eat more calories in order to gain weight after quitting smoking. They’ve done studies on this and have evidence that supports the fact that you WILL gain weight after quitting even if your diet remains exactly the same. 80% of smokers that quit will experience this weight gain.

“Most smokers put on a couple of kilos when they quit smoking. This is not due to an increased calorie intake, but to a change in the composition of the intestinal flora after quitting smoking, as a study supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) suggests.When smokers wave goodbye to their cigarettes, eighty per cent of them put on seven kilos on average. Their weight increases even if their calorie intake remains the same or even falls compared to the level before quitting smoking. What is the reason for this weight gain?

Researchers working with Gerhard Rogler of Zurich University Hospital attribute the cause to a changed composition of the bacterial diversity in the intestine. As they recently showed in a study in PLoS One, the bacterial strains that also prevail in the intestinal flora of obese persons take the upper hand in people giving up smoking.”

You can read the rest of the article here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130829093032.htm

While it’s true that smoking inhibits your appetite and when you quit you’re prone to eat more. This exacerbates the situation, but even if you don’t eat more you will still most likely gain at least 10-15 lbs. The only way you can avoid this is to decrease your caloric intake when you quit.

The other way to avoid weight gain is to use nicotine replacement therapy (the patch, e-cig, gum) I didn’t use that. I quit cold turkey and I gained weight. I didn’t change my diet. This is the honest to god truth. I’m not saying I ate healthy every day while I was a smoker, I most certainly did not.

I just didn’t change anything about my diet when I quit. The only change I made was that I stopped drinking beers when I went out for happy hour with friends after work, I switched to Vodka/Club soda.

I've struggled for months trying to lose the weight with a 1,300 calorie diet. Now I'm very very closely watching my calorie intake (900-1,200 a day) and cutting down on my carbs.(50 g on average) I've lost 4 lbs.