Why are you fat?

ehte_h

The answer is simple. For many years the body has consumed more cals than it has burned, therefore leaving leaving me with a spare tyre or 2! The battle for weight loss is definitely physical.. But it's worth not ignoring the mental aspect of it as well. Really look within yourself and find out WHY you got to the stage your at, at the moment. Maybe do that away from this thread, or talk about it publicly.. Who knows it may even make you feel better.

I gained a lot of weight when I my business went under, it was a very emotional time and I felt like a bit of a failure. Food was my only comfort, so I just sat at home and ate, buried my head in the sand and tried to get away from everything.. The remedy for myself was to get back into regular employment, this made me feel tonnes better and has given me the motivation to go out there and finally shift the weight.

I guess the point is. Deal with the mental aspect, and hopefully the physical aspect will catch up with you

Papillon22

I agree that it's a psychological challenge more than a physical one. I'm fat because I'm an emotional eater.

crobinson53

I agree that it's a psychological challenge more than a physical one. I'm fat because I'm an emotional eater.

+1

TakuraHunt

I'm fat because I got comfortable and eventually forgot about ME... My husband and I have been together for 11 years, and we have 2 wonderful sons. Trying to be the perfect wife and mother left little time for me to focus on myself. Until reality hit and hit me hard as H3LL. Now I am awake and beginning to make time for me...

FTIM2015

I'm fat becuase I went on the contraceptive jab (causes depression, and massive appetite increase), then ate my feelings and everyone elses!

ranewell

I'm an emotional eater also. I have a ton of baggage (emotional AND physical!!!) and I'm working through both bc I know they are inter mingled. Lack of exercise because of just feeling so low I had NO energy or motivation and food became my mode of self soothing. Now that I'm turning things around, I feel amazing (emotionally and physically). Exercise is becoming my mode of self soothing, relaxation and stress relief. It's kinda a cool place to be!

shelcof

#1 emotional/bored eater
#2 during my marriage, my ex didn't trust me at all....and I was unhappy, so I was tempted several times to stray. It was easier to get fat, so no one was interested in me, than face the reasons I was tempted.

mom12

I'm fatter..beacuse I have a huge appetite, I can't control my portion size, add that to 12 weeks sitting on the couch with torn ankle tendons and ligaments and a broken fiblua, then 2 months in an orthopedic boot, and quitting smoking. and here I am at my highest weight ever.

MB_Positif

I gained weight because I took on a "victim to my circumstances" attitude. I work full time, commute an hour each way. I'm married with one child. We are very involved at our church. I just figured I didn't have time and anytime I talked about wanted to get fit again I would just chatter away about all of my excuses for why I didn't have time to exercise or time to cook healthier meals. I hit a breaking point last fall and said enough is enough. I wasn't going to buy anymore bigger clothes. I could NOT grow again. I still didn't know how to fit things in then, but here's the shortest breakdown of the events that followed. My husband got me the Prevention Magazine Flat Belly Diet Family Cookbook for Christmas. Basic concept, 400 calorie or less meals. Started using some of those recipes and eating smaller portions of food. I traded my elliptical that always felt awkward to me to a friend for her treadmill that she never used (we are both happier). I started reading a great book called "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst. On January 27th a friend from high school posted on facebook at MFP. I was home on a snow day from work with my son so I had time to kill. I signed up. No idea what I was getting myself into, but things started to click. Decided to get a handle on eating better before trying to implement exercise regularaly so I wouldn't burn out on too many changes. Then Lent came around. Instead of giving up something superficial like morning coffee, I said, "I am giving up my 'victim to my circumstances' attitude." At first I thought it was a sort of cheap thing to give up. Would I even be able to do that? Well, it was actually easy. I started exercising 2-4 times a week, fitting it in and realizing that I wasn't missing out on anything in my life. Sure I would love to spend that time with my family or reading or whatever, but it's fun and I can see the results! I signed up for a 5k so I would have a distinct goal. On race day my goal was to finish the race and not die. I had to walk the hills, but I finished...slowly, but I finished in 38:02. Now I am just really enjoying life, getting really into running, just got a mountain bike for some variety. I can't wait to see what my life has in store for me in the coming HEALTHY years! Good luck to you!

misssimone08

I'm fat because after having my son all my focus was on him, + my boyfriend keeps telling me im not fat and he loves me with a little meat on my bones lol

justahorsen

I agree that it's a psychological challenge more than a physical one. I'm fat because I'm an emotional eater.

+1

+2

Elleinnz

I am fat because I ate too much - and exercised too little....... that is the reality of it - the moment I started managing my portions and got my butt of the couch I started shedding the weight!

Frankly blaming it on anything else is not being truthful about the real underlying problem that needed to be addressed....

tammydspice

I am fat because I ended up in a wonderful life with a great husband, 2 healthy kids, a house, finical comfort and just general happiness. For some reason I went a little crazy (depression in the form or horrible horrible anger) and ate nothing but carbs for years. Lost myself in my life and family and did not see what was going on at all. Oct I started in a better life style and Nov I was fired from my job and that just clicked something. If I don't take care of myself who will? Having that job taken from me was one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I am so happy and feel so free to take care of myself and in turn take way better care of all aspects of my wonderful life!!

irishblonde2011

Because i ate too much and did not exercise.

I started putting on weight when i was 11. My mom left without saying a word and it was just me and my dad. He had enough going on work/bills etc so would not have time to make meals so i started eating crap and if i am being honest it made me feel better at the time,being home alone every day is better with some ice cream. I learned to do washing/ironing/housework after school but not how to cook.Both my sisters are 11/12 years older than me and lived away from home at the time. They have never had issues with food and are both u.k size 6's(u.s size 2)

But

I am all grown up now and taking responsibility for myself and my own body. I am on the right track and can do this

TaylorsGranddad

I agree with everyone, you eat where you in a negative mood.... I did, BUT and a big one (not just the one in my pants either )

Me and my MRS (yes I'm a bloke) with through a real 7 year itch in April and I ended living with my brother for 4-5 weeks, this was the lowest point since we've been together 14 years, however it was also the start of my diet, so eventhough we all eat when our emotions are shot, I do feel my dieting was a good distraction from the rest of my life gone to the dogs... IMO

Fattack

I am fat because I ate too much - and exercised too little....... that is the reality of it - the moment I started managing my portions and got my butt of the couch I started shedding the weight!

Frankly blaming it on anything else is not being truthful about the real underlying problem that needed to be addressed....

Frankly, there are plenty of medical issues that can directly contribute to weight gain. Just because you may not have experienced it does not mean that somebody isn't addressing an underlying problem, often certain medications or health issues can be the problem itself - e.g. thyroid issues, contraceptive injections, PCOS.

I personally exercised too little, and whilst I didn't eat much in the way of quantity, I ate calorific foods. Furthermore, I also have PCOS which can accelerate fat storage, IR and weight gain - although I believe that anybody eating what I ate would have gained a lot of weight

Janet39

I gained weight because I took on a "victim to my circumstances" attitude. I work full time, commute an hour each way. I'm married with one child. We are very involved at our church. I just figured I didn't have time and anytime I talked about wanted to get fit again I would just chatter away about all of my excuses for why I didn't have time to exercise or time to cook healthier meals. I hit a breaking point last fall and said enough is enough. I wasn't going to buy anymore bigger clothes. I could NOT grow again. I still didn't know how to fit things in then, but here's the shortest breakdown of the events that followed. My husband got me the Prevention Magazine Flat Belly Diet Family Cookbook for Christmas. Basic concept, 400 calorie or less meals. Started using some of those recipes and eating smaller portions of food. I traded my elliptical that always felt awkward to me to a friend for her treadmill that she never used (we are both happier). I started reading a great book called "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst. On January 27th a friend from high school posted on facebook at MFP. I was home on a snow day from work with my son so I had time to kill. I signed up. No idea what I was getting myself into, but things started to click. Decided to get a handle on eating better before trying to implement exercise regularaly so I wouldn't burn out on too many changes. Then Lent came around. Instead of giving up something superficial like morning coffee, I said, "I am giving up my 'victim to my circumstances' attitude." At first I thought it was a sort of cheap thing to give up. Would I even be able to do that? Well, it was actually easy. I started exercising 2-4 times a week, fitting it in and realizing that I wasn't missing out on anything in my life. Sure I would love to spend that time with my family or reading or whatever, but it's fun and I can see the results! I signed up for a 5k so I would have a distinct goal. On race day my goal was to finish the race and not die. I had to walk the hills, but I finished...slowly, but I finished in 38:02. Now I am just really enjoying life, getting really into running, just got a mountain bike for some variety. I can't wait to see what my life has in store for me in the coming HEALTHY years! Good luck to you!

I love this, attitude is everything:happy:

reneepugh

I'm fat because I had a c-section, followed by a blood clot in my leg, then colic and postpartum depression, then financial problems. All of that made for eating too much for comfort and no time for exercise.

justaloozer

I agree that it's a psychological challenge more than a physical one. I'm fat because I'm an emotional eater.

+1

+2

+3

cbs1974

I'm fat becuase I went on the contraceptive jab (causes depression, and massive appetite increase), then ate my feelings and everyone elses!

wow my wifes on that and shes 6ft tall and thin as a rake lol

HeyLisa

I am fat because I ate too much - and exercised too little....... that is the reality of it - the moment I started managing my portions and got my butt of the couch I started shedding the weight!

Frankly blaming it on anything else is not being truthful about the real underlying problem that needed to be addressed....

While you are correct that the physical truth of why we are overweight will usually be about excess and lack of movement, the reasons why we do this to ourselves often stem from emotional issues. Negative habits and behaviors are quite difficult to change for some of us without addressing the underlying reasons.

I think this thread is a nice cathartic way to share that piece of the puzzle.

Janet39

I am fat because I ate too much - and exercised too little....... that is the reality of it - the moment I started managing my portions and got my butt of the couch I started shedding the weight!

Frankly blaming it on anything else is not being truthful about the real underlying problem that needed to be addressed....

Frankly, there are plenty of medical issues that can directly contribute to weight gain. Just because you may not have experienced it does not mean that somebody isn't addressing an underlying problem, often certain medications or health issues can be the problem itself - e.g. thyroid issues, contraceptive injections, PCOS.

I personally exercised too little, and whilst I didn't eat much in the way of quantity, I ate calorific foods. Furthermore, I also have PCOS which can accelerate fat storage, IR and weight gain - although I believe that anybody eating what I ate would have gained a lot of weight

I agree with the above, and have PCOS too.

My weight went on through emotional eating/stress eating ( big portions of the wrong foods), but the PCSO makes it hard to get it back off again. I really do have to go to extreams to get it moving.

mom23nuts

when I was little my grandmother thought I was underweight and made my mom go to the doctor to get something that would increase my appetite...All I rmembe was that it wasted awful and they called it tonic.

I chunked up nicely and then was the 1st girl to get boobs in grade school and didn't find out til I got married that I have insulin resistance and PCOS and never knew.

I thought missing my period for 7 months was cool and at least I didn't have to miss high school swimming...my mom thought I was pregnant and a slut and gave me tons of hell., til I prove3d by gyno report that I wasn't and that the doctor thought I was just irregular and needed the pill....that sent my mom ape sh**.
She never even asked, but it wouldn't have mattered since I was still a virgin...she just though it was free reign to do it then.

Not til 2000 and my premarital blood work did the physician stumble upon the chance that maybe I could have something more going on that just needing to eat less and exercise more. No one believed me that I was killing myself doing all of that already.

I was put ont he right track with Metformin and am fighting off the last 30 lbs and am healthier and lighter now than when I was in high school or when I got married.

SOOOOOO....when some people say I have a hormone condition as an explanation for their weight.....most times its a cop out, but for me it's true.

It's not an excuse or a crutch, but it still tends to hinder my success and make weight loss a lot harder.
That's why I'm fat.

emmaldownie

I'm fat because my parents are fat, and we were quite poor so I was fed processed junk food as a child, coupled with depression, emotional eating, PCOS, and IR.

Chynadoll00

For as long as I can remember I have always been "chunky" my parents weren't always the nicest about it so those words come back and taunt me every so often HOWEVER... I kept telling myself there is a skinny girl trapped in all this fat that is just screaming to come out! and One day soon very soon she will make her presence known ;0) I have health issues but try hard as heck to work threw them one being thyroid and that in itself works against me because its slow.

BigBoneSista

I'm fat because I was never taught proper nutrition in my athletic days. As a athlete growing up I was told to eat a lot for energy. And I did. No one never told me that once I slowed down from playing sports that I would have to make a huge change in my eating habits. When I was pregnant I thought I was entitled to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and how much I wanted. I never realized that it would be hard to lose because the rule of thumb was just breast feed and it will fall off...NOT!! I also didn't know that when I had my last two children that I wouldn't snap back like I did with my 1st....well not really snap back but I lost a greater amount with my 1st pregnancy than my last two. So I ended up 324 freakin pounds!!

Back then when I gained my weight it wasn't about emotional eating. I just ate because I needed to/wanted to. Now that I'm an adult, I now realize that presently I find myself wanting to eat at times when I'm feeling like I'm not in control with certain situations but then I realize quickly that I am in control of what I put in my mouth so I don't sabotage myself.

I am being very proactive in my weight loss journey because for so long I didn't have a clue. I refuse to be ignorant to being healthy no longer. I am actively teaching my children the things that no one thought important to teach me. I'm breaking the cycle.

RhonndaJ

I am fat for a variety of reasons.

I won't deny that the surface reason is simply because I ate too much and moved too little, but there is far more to it than that..

Both my parents were not merely fat but morbidly obese so, really, in many ways it seemed normal to me, regardless of what I saw outside the home. Food was treated as a pleasure, a treat and a reward and the meals I grew up on certainly weren't of the healthy variety. As such, for the majority of my childhood I was fat.

None of this, however, excuses the fact that I remained fat once I reached adulthood, and got fatter. That is purely on my own head.

I am a depressive. I ate to fill the empty feeling the depression has always given me. There was never enough food to accomplish the task.

I am a victim. I ate to make myself unattractive so no one would want to come near me. I failed in this as well, apparently, since I am in a happy marriage. (Not a failure I'm going to complain about by any means.)

I am lazy. I ate crap because it's easy and it tastes good. I didn't exercise because I wasn't willing to make the effort and there were so many more fun things to do.

The depression is, more or less, under control and being monitored. I am dealing with the rest day by day, baby step by baby step. I don't ever expect to be thin, but do I plan on being a heck of a lot thinner and fitter.

BeccyBerry

I am fat because after having the kids I started eating when I was bored. I'd do the house work then have a sit down and a cuppa and some biscuits. The children would have a sleep and I'd put my feet up and have some tea and a choccie. We'd go out for a walk and rather than walk for the sake of it the shop would be the destination and a choccie bar the reward. That combined with the mirena coil did nothing for my waistline!

I wor part time during the day now and when im at homeI exercise when I have a break rather than put my feet up and watch tv. I enjoy it, I feel better for it. I find it also curbs my appetite and gives me more energy. Less sitting down less eating rubbish and if i want something naughty I work out and 'earn' it!!

Grumpelina

I really love crisps and booze... and lolling on the couch.

That's about it, really!

lennykat

I am fat because I have a skewed version of what I should look like. I grew up being told that there is no reason I should ever weigh more than 125lbs unless I was preggo. I spent the majority of the last 20 some odd years trying doing whatever I had to to get to that point and so I would diet/starve/exercise like crazy to a certain point then break down and give up because the results never came. At my lowest point I was a size 4-6 and weighed 132 lbs and still wasn't happy about it (I'm 5'9"). At one point I cried to my dog with ice cream in my hand that at least he would still love me- he doesn't care that I'm fat he's just a freakin' dog. I'm am now learning (with a LOT of help from MFP and a trainer that really cares this time) that maybe more than just a weight issue I am dealing with some body dysmorphic dysfunction.

Last night I went to dinner with a couple of super close friends. They are sweethearts really - but beautiful AND tiny (A couple of weeks ago when we went out some guy had the b**** to ask if I was their bodyguard- I mean seriously?) Later in the evening I was talking to my husband (who is super supportive by the way) how hard it is to have friends who look like that and I guess I have a choice-- I can either be the fat chick or the chick that looks like she can beat the SH** out of everybody because of the way my body is starting to change due to strength training (not to mention the shear amount I'm lifting- it's strange).

So- I'm still struggling because I know I'll never be the "textbook" thin girl, and I'm also struggling because what I want isn't happening fast enough. I get very frustrated because of the amount of work I do and it seems everyone else around me looks awesome, pats me on the back, then goes on about the business of eating and drinking whatever they want and still looks awesome. It does take work for me as well as some blinders on to just keep on truckin' and not give up and start talking to the dog again.

cupotee

Im fat because i eat when im not hungry, and i lack self control.