Why did you get fat and what triggered the change?

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  • CurlyQTee
    CurlyQTee Posts: 62
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    Addiction to food. I was also busy with my sons and just didn't have the time to learn to cook better foods. I also was not really able to afford to cook healthy foods. Now I'm about quality cooking. My sons are older and it's me time.
  • SinIsIn
    SinIsIn Posts: 1,865 Member
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    I blame my mom. ... that is all. :tongue:

    I decided to change because I want to look good naked in front of a camera.... :bigsmile:
  • going2befit
    going2befit Posts: 24
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    Growing up I used to only eat really unhealthy foods and eat way too much of them. I remember I could sit in front of the TV with an XL bag of cheese puffs and eat the whole thing in a few hours while I was just 10 years old. I used to not eat many real meals at all, just desserts and other junky snacks and if I did have meals it would be things like fried chicken, chicken nuggets, pizza, poptarts, etc. Whenever anyone mentioned vegetables to me I'd be the first to say "ewwww!" Taking in this many calories without any activity = massive weight gain.

    I changed because I was sick of the way I looked and felt.
  • epona_mus
    epona_mus Posts: 207 Member
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    I was in an accident a few years ago and it took about 18 mo. to be able to be "normal" again. Pain meds, mobility issues, etc. was compounded by life and job stresses. I gained 50+ lbs in about 2 yrs. as my health continued to decline.

    I got to the point where I figured that I couldn't continue to live immobilized and in pain, unable to enjoy life. I HAD to take off the weight and gain some mobility. I hired a wellness coach to get me started on my fitness goals, and made some life and career changes that helped support those goals and joined MFP. I've only lost 9 lbs in the first month, but I know I can do this and it will be sustainable!!
  • Jess5825
    Jess5825 Posts: 228
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    My trigger point to gaining weight. I was always a little on the heavier side. But my real point is when I turned 17 and started driving and being more independent. I was gaining before then, but not to the huge extent. I think part of it was my mother is very into fitness and stuff and always harped on me about eating and kept junk out of the house, so I think I rebelled. Also in school I got picked on a lot and suffered from depression due to this and I think I tried to feel better by eating McDonalds and stuff. I got up to a high of 308#. I tried diets, mostly because my mom made me and I was unhappy. I've lost weight on diets before, but get bored and gained it back. I made the decision last year to have surgery. I had the lap band (i sort of wish I didn't), but I think it really gave me the motivation to lose weight right and keep it off. I'm actually not using my lap band and am losing weight on my own through diet and exercise, but I feel having the surgery gave me the extra push I needed.
  • jazminjes
    jazminjes Posts: 12
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    Honeysprinkle: you and me have almost the same story and weight ..... exept i didnt have trouble with my tyroid! You are doing great keep up the good work!!
  • bhalter
    bhalter Posts: 582 Member
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    I've had a few yo-yos:
    - Started gaining weight in 8th grade when the cafeteria let you choose "a la cart" options like Little Debbie snacks.
    - Lost weight midway through high school after a bad breakup.
    - Gained weight being "comfortable" in my new relationship.
    - Lost weight at the end of college after a bad bout of bronchitis/pneumonia.
    - Lost more weight after a bad breakup.
    - Gained weight again being "comfortable" in a relationship.

    The day I got engaged, I was like "the working out/eating healthy can NOT be put off any longer...I have a year before the wedding to lose weight so I can look great."

    And now here I am! I also grew up in a not-necessarily-unhealthy family, but a very meat-potatoes-bread-little veggies with a bedtime sweet snack every day family. Once you have a lifetime habit of doing that, it's hard to break. I'm definitely going to raise my kids differently from the second they come out of me on food choices, etc.
  • TLCEsq
    TLCEsq Posts: 413 Member
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    I lost 50 lbs and then law school and the Bar exam happened... enter stress, hormone imbalances and generally feeling like I was going crazy. I have a total of about 30 lbs to lose to get to goal, I wasn't quite at goal before.
  • ilovemyhorse
    ilovemyhorse Posts: 87
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    One reason: I like to eat!

    To become a better equestrian. Fat people don't really barrel race.
  • boneyEm
    boneyEm Posts: 34
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    every time something goes wrong in my life, split from a guy, mum getting ill, i comfort eat. then my doctor said i put on 14 pounds in just 3 months- i thought this girl has to change period
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
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    Honeysprinkle: you and me have almost the same story and weight ..... exept i didnt have trouble with my tyroid! You are doing great keep up the good work!!
    :) thank you!
  • hbart500
    hbart500 Posts: 304 Member
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    I got comfortable in my relationship and had babies. I lost all my weight after the 1st one just breastfeeding my baby boy (i say its because i was going to gym before that so it was easier to drop weight) After having my 2nd 16 months later and seeing pictures of myself I was not happy with what i saw. I was in the biggest size jeans/pants i had ever been in and decided to start my lifestyle change. Now i am at my smallest pants size since 6th grade haha and just have 8lbs to go for my current goal.
  • Toxictwist
    Toxictwist Posts: 274
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    When I was younger I used to Eat ALOT of Junk food. Used to have the most unhealthy breakfast's (perogies loaded with all the toppings) Basically whatever I wanted. + I used to finish every last bite of food on my plate.

    NOW I eat healthy, still treat myself (within my calorie intake) & I eat until I am satisfied.
  • Slove009
    Slove009 Posts: 364 Member
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    I was working on my feet in a high stress retail job for years and the stress kept me from gaining weight for 3 years. I ate mall food and lived off of fast food and basically ate like crap, but was even still shedding pounds. When I developed a heart problem, the doctor told me to find another job or I could end up getting worse. I got a desk job and thought I could keep eating like that. That did not work. I started to work out and watch my eating, but I had recently turned 21, so I started indulging in the world or spirits and cocktails, and eventually became an enthusiast. (Similar to a wine sommelier). That trashed it, and then I got engaged, then married and then the zipper burst on my favorite going out dress as I reached for the door handle to go out for an evening on the town with the hubby. I had worked so hard to get into that dress, and it nearly killed me that the same dress was too big only a year before.

    So now here I am! Thanks to MFP I'm back on track and even getting some of my family members who need to shape up to make the changes with me!
  • yukimiyazawa
    yukimiyazawa Posts: 83 Member
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    my mom got re-married and moved 3 hours away. without her around to cook meals, i just ate fast food every day. plus, i was depressed, because i missed her. i tried to fill up my emptiness with food and within a year or so, i was overweight. it's like i didn't notice how much weight i'd gained until the doctor actually classified my as "overweight" at my check-up.

    since then, i've lost over 50lbs. that was 2 years ago. sadly, i've also developed an eating disorder along the way. i've always had disordered eating habits since i was about 17, but they've developed into a full-blown ED at this point. i've been threatened with hospitalization multiple times in the last few months, especially when i became underweight this past summer (i've put on about 9lbs since then, unfortunately).
  • SooZ1138
    SooZ1138 Posts: 65
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    I had a nervous breakdown =(

    At first I lost 30 pounds (couldn't eat anything without throwing it back up) and then once I started "coping" with everything (and being put on antidepressants), I gained 50 lbs. I quit antidepressants at the beginning of this year and quit smoking as well, I've been battling the buldge ever since!
  • SaishaLea
    SaishaLea Posts: 333 Member
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    I went thru 2 pregnancies in two years and I literally ate for two.
  • rlysrh
    rlysrh Posts: 244
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    This isn't really a reason for why I gained weight- but i remember being 13 or so and some guy me and my friend had in common told her he liked her more than me because I was bigger than her. At the time I weighed 128lbs and wasn't even remotely fat at all but I thought I was kinda chubby anyway, and after hearing this I just felt really upset and like I was really fat.
    Its taken me gaining 20lbs to realize how much this guy needs a slap around the face, and how much I miss weighing what I did before.
    I just want to punch this guy because I just constantly had this feeling that I wasn't good enough for any guys because of my weight.
  • sweet110
    sweet110 Posts: 332 Member
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    i got fat from....SSRI's, getting older, and a society structured around making you fat (yes, we're individually responsible for staying fat, but there's a reason why we're fatter, on average, than the Japanese or the French).

    Why did I change? I went for a walk with my friend and found it hard to walk and talk without breathing hard...and we weren't exactly power walking! I was young and personally didn't mind looking fat, but I was deeply embarrassed by not being self-sufficient, ie, not being able to move my own bodyweight without huffing and puffing and sweating. My habits were making me, literally, disabled. And given that I may face unavoidable disability someday through age, illness, or accident, I sure didn't want to look back on these years and feel like I had squandered the gift of an able body.
  • nrimas
    nrimas Posts: 83 Member
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    I love this thread because being overweight is not a MORAL issue. People look at the 'fat' us and think we are lazy or stupid, and we are not. We all have circumstances. What I see here is a group of people who are refusing to allow "circumstances" to be who they are. Has anyone read "The End of Overeating?" Our problems are physical, emotional, and in the food industry. Seriously, if you go to a Convenience store is ANY food there of nutritional value? No. But it is all tempting. Do you know Cindy Crawford? Do her sisters look like her? No. Could they look like her if they tried harder? No. We have circumstances, sure. We have issues, sure. But we also have the ability to be a first rate version of ourselves. 200 pounds, 175 pounds or 105 pounds. "it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you do not stop." Confucius I love,love,love all of you! Rock on!

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