Why did you get fat and what triggered the change?

hellotina

i was on the higher end of my "normal weight" range before i had my son.. gained 50lbs with that & then just kept adding over the last 8yrs.

what woke me up was a childhood friend of mine was kidnapped & murdered by her ex-boyfriend last month & it really woke me up that life can be stolen from you at any time.... do i want to leave this world knowing i was never happy with myself & never even tried? not to mention not setting a healthy lifestyle example for my son. so that was a big wake up call for me. hoping i stay on track.

ciara9

I went through a bad depression, lost 20 lbs because I did not eat. After the depression resolved I did not care what i ate. I ate too much of the wrong foods. I then had surgery, could not exercise, continued to eat poorly and became 60 lbs overweight. I recently got my act together, started back on Weight Watchers, and have lost 6 lbs.

ajball90

I have always been chubby as a child, and I have got bigger and bigger over the years basically due to not being taught about food and exercise properly I guess. The reason I want to change is because of my ex boyfriend who used to emotionally/mentally abuse me i guess, eg. one minute saying lose weight your too fat, the next minute saying i love girls with big boobs and big bootys you need to put more weight on. I broke up with him the end of last year, then put on 12kgs. Then I realised I should definitely change my bad habits, and therefore, here i am

SaintsFanInPa

For me it was back to back miscarriages then 2 actual deliveries 18 months apart. I didn't give my body enough time to heal and my hormones are all jacked up which made depression kick in and I still really have no desire to do much of anything. To top off all of that 6 months ago I moved from New Orleans to a small town in Pennsylvania and the people here are so unfriendly and weird so I don't want to make friends. I had to pull my kids out of school because the families are like cults and don't like people that are different. There are NO people of color ANYWHERE in this town or the school, my kids are used to diversity instead we are stuck here with nothing but racist people. So that makes me depressed too cuz I am stuck here ALL day everyday with 2 teens & 2 toddlers while my husband leaves for days to go to work.

pinguina8

I had an eating disorder in middle school and during recovery I began to run track. I was eating pretty much healthily at that time, around 1800 calories a day (I was running upwards of 6 miles and doing other workouts daily), but my metabolism was pretty shot (still is). After I blew my knee out, I stopped running and found comfort in food. I went from around 105 pounds (ED weight) to 128 pounds (running/muscular weight) to 147 pounds (highest weight and at 5'2", overweight). Last year my hormones got really out of whack, but before my doctor would put me on medication, she told me to try and lose 10 pounds. I lost about 12, got on the Pill and an antidepressant, and I've lost about 10 more pounds. I'd love to lose 10 more and get to 115, but if I never lose another pound, I don't care. I'm working on gaining some muscle and working on my fitness and general health

crzyone

I started out as a fat baby......

allie7383

I was always a chubby kid, and it didn't help that I had friends in elementary school that were stick thin.. My father had bad eating habits which I def followed.. We always had to have Coke in the house, and he would drink at least 3+ a day. He had a permanently broken leg so he couldn't get around too much, but only made things worse by eating horribly and adding to his weight. He passed away in his 50's, and when his side of the family came to our house, they were all big and I felt like I was staring into my future. I was active in high school and kept some weight off despite bad eating, however college came and it was all downhill from there..
The things that changed it around for me were being sick and tired of hating every single photo I was in, and never wanting to be in any picture, even when we were on vacation. We had a biggest loser contest at work and that's what started the journey, along with my good friend telling me about this site. I've been in a bit of a rut this past year trying to get those last 20 pounds off, but 've never felt as good as I do now.

RisyaLifsheTova

Emotional eater wanting to not be like my parents or tired of using them as an excuse for my obesity!

JEC83

Middle age. It stinks. Have been the same weight for the last 11 years. Bam! Suddenly 5 extra pounds attached itself to my stomach and thighs. Ugh!

Kohadre

Why did I get fat?

Dads German, Moms Irish......I don't need to explain that one im sure.

As for what triggered the change, pretty much the 6 pack ab-fad.

nk17

I was gaining at about 5 lbs. per year and was a bit overweight. Then I took the every-three-month birth control patch for 6 months. I gained 75 lbs. during that time. I would sit down to a full-course dinner and get up and be starving. It took me 6 months to realize the cause. By then it was too late. After that I sort of gave up on myself for a while and just continued the sweet tooth I'd always had, only on steroids because it didn't matter any more. So I went from 150 to 225 and then ballooned up to 260. I exercised once before and got down to 222, but then got plantar faciitis in both feet and had to stop until I was fully rehabbed.

My trigger to lose was my realization that I would need all my strength in what I perceive to be the coming societal collapse as well as the fact that my spouse was diagnosed with diabetes and since we ate the same food, I didn't want to share his fate. The tough part for me is that I don't cook at all. He has done all the cooking for 26 years. So I am having to learn many new things which aren't very comfortable. The great thing is that I am doing it. I'm succeeding. If I can, you can.

fitnoflab

Worked in the service industry for years where I drank and ate constantly. Want to change because I know I deserve to feel and look better than this.

Natalie49

All my life i've been chubby... even as a kid.
As i grew up, i ate like there was no tomorrow! I simply did not understand the whole calories thing...

Then I began to notice that I didn't like my pictures, i looked really fat and i was slowly losing my confidence.
So I decided that this should change and it happened. I lost 15 kilograms. (2 years ago)
But sadly, due to some personal issues and stress... I gained 7 kilograms back throughout the year. Which is devastating.
What triggers me now is I WANT TO FEEL CONFIDENT. I'm not obese but I'm not happy with my body. I want to lose these extra 7-8 kilograms..

Marvels1981

For me it was a complete change of lifestyle. I used to work in a DIY store which involved being on my feet all day with a lot of heavy lifting. About 9 years ago I quit that job to get in to IT which involved sitting behind a desk most of the day. A year later I broke up with my partner that I had been with for 3 years and thats when the serious comfort eating started.

The event that caused me to think about my weight was a business trip. When I returned to the train station of my home town there were no taxis waiting and I decided to walk home as it was a nice day. It was only a 20 minute walk but after 10 minutes I was completly out of breath and sweating heavily. Thats when I realised that I was on the path to a very unhealthy life. 3 weeks later I had my induction at the gym and I've never looked back!

robindina

I had some health problems that caused me to be on long term steroids. I was able to get the health problems under control and have been slowly getting the weight off. Thankfully I'm no longer on any medication so it is just me and the weight battle.

Crawflowr

My weight gain had been slow and steady so I had convinced myself that my diet was close enough to maintenance and I didn't really need to worry, but it wasn't right. My son's are now both getting to 6 feet and over and are very skinny and I suddenly began to feel short and dumpy which i hadn't done before.The day after I saw the scales tip 12st 9lbs a friend introduced me to MFP and I suddenly felt completely in control. My habits weren't far out I just needed to mix in a bit more exercise and learn better portion control and reduce the snacks and I knew I could be thinner and fitter as a result.

angeldelight13

Hey,
My weight has always fluctuated my lowest being around 130lbs and my highest being about 224 :noway: (im 5ft 5). This time the weight creaped on because i went onto in injection contraceptive and started craving weird stuff, but mostly chocolate.... I got it under control when i started taking multivitimans but the damage was already done. I have since come off the jab!

The real turning point was when two things happened, one i was in bed with my boyfriend and cuddled up too him and thought it was a bit uncomfortable and tried to move away and realised he was lying on my belly and (warning tmi!!) we was ahem having sex with me on top and i could hear a strange slapping noise lol, it was my belly. Mortified does not cover it :sad:

kellyb63

Work, children, eating on the run, eating to much, over indulging, drinking too much etc. Started getting concerned about my self image, then this past August had very serious GERD and gallstone issues. Decided not to have surgery and take the easy road out. Changed my eating habits, started exercising, stopping drinking so much .... I feel 100% better, no recurrences. I'm makiung the change for life and I really want to sport a bikini when I turn 50.

unsuspectingfish

I was chronically underweight until age 5, at which point I had a bad reaction to some antibiotics. I've been overweight since then.

I got sick and tired of being, well, sick and tired. Plus, I wanted to see if I really could get to a "normal" weight. I can't really knock it until I've tried it, after all.

BobbyClerici

I am loaded with excuses.
BOTTOM LINE!

I was an undisciplined glutton just like most of you.
That is why people get fat.

I got tired of being a slug which prompted not only weight loss but a quest toward peak fitness.

GymBunny86

I've always been an emotional eater but I was never overweight until around 2010 (I hit 178lbs).

I had some emotional difficulties anyway (I was dealing with losing my Mum and other such things).

THEN I went to University, and I lived in a Take-Away Dream Land. There were no regular shops just all fast food places. To make matters worse, my housemates were so messy I refused to eat food that was prepared in 'that' kitchen, it was so disgusting and there was never any space to prepare anything anyway! I did by best to keep it tidy but 1 against 3 it was a losing battle. So I turned to the fast food places as an alternative.

Sometimes I would talk the the staff working in the fast food places and make up an elaborate second person who I was also picking up food for. When in actual fact the double portion size was for me... i'm not proud of those times :-(

I remember I once heard 'I hope you and your family enjoy your food' from a delivery person because I had ordered so much :-(

So I guess I became overweight from a mix of emotional eating and convenience.

I have tried to lose the weight many times and failed but this time i'm tackling the reasons I comfort eat in the first place, now when i'm stressed I turn to exercise as an outlet :-)

The other day something got me down and my first thought was GYM not PIZZA (I was like, woah, did I just think that).

I'm in a different place completely :-)

shunta864

I've pretty much been fat most of my life but I started gaining alot after i had my son. Me and my boyfriend were living in a new town away from family and friends and I didn't have a job. I was a stay at home mom so I ate alot out of being bored. I finally had enough and made up my mind to lose weight when i seen one of my old friends losing alot of weight. It really motivated me that if she can do it then I know I can and I am!

Gail3260

Menopause. You think it's hard when you're young. Just wait.
I was always thin. When I started with menopause I gained 30 lbs doing the same thing I always did. Now I have to watch everything! Lost it all though. :drinker:

Ditto......particularly the bit about it being harder when you're more mature.
I am just over half way and I WILL GET THERE!!!

dcjackson50

As many others have said,.......got comfortable in my relationship (married 12 1/2 yrs),....and let myself become sedentary.
I think that my husband going on 2nd shift and feeling down over that and adjusting to being alone nights and not wanting to cook for just my self was also a factor.
Before I realized it,........I was drinking wine 2-3 nights a week to relax and help me fall asleep which was a huge contributor. Alcohol leads to munchies and late night eating threw off my metabolism.

I decided to change and adjust my lifestyle after coming very near to having to buy clothes in a store for larger women. My sz 12-14 pants were tight and my sz 8-10's were hanging in my closet ! I also found myself gettting tired going up our stairs and when I saw pictures of myself and how large I had become it really depressed me.

I have lost 10 pounds so far with mfp and have definitely become so much more knowledgeable about nutrition. 30 pounds to go. Good Luck to everyone

becca2006

because I grew up eating carbohydrates...I lived in a world that considered carbohydrates a staple of their diet (as do most in western society) Eating carbohydrates is the reason I am where I am but it's also lead me to this realization and learning about controlling them, as carbs becomes an addiction over time (as does sugar). I'm learing more about what certain foods do to my body - how they get processed, and what nutrients to avoid. (carbs). I'm also learning to question what the 'going rate' is on what we should be eating.
Also, with the carbs, they became my comfort food - so when I turned to emotional eating, as a lot of women do, it was carbs I turned to (muffins, etc). I am now taking control over my eating and not letting my body dictate (crave) certain thigns because i'm weaning my system off of it all - I'm learnign to eat when I'm hungry and not out of boredom (before I eat i always ask myself ' am i reallk hungry?' and most times if i'm not i can put it away and save it for when i am hungry - but sometimes i still find myself wanting to munch).
when I lived down in southern ontario, i read a book (master your matabolism) by Jilian Michaels, and it changed my life - I vowed then and there to change my body's processing system (matabolism). I bought a treadmill and ate organic. Then I read a book called "why we get fat and what to do about it" - it too changed my lfie and then I read the Dr. Atkins new diet revolution book - continued to change my life. I found a wonderful support group on facebook that I rely on every day. now I live the Atkins lifestyle while keeping in mind many key things I learned in Master your Matabolism; I also traded in my treadmill (as I didn't love it) for Zumba and I haev found an exercise I love doing!

Carbs, emotional eating (including boredom eating) is why I'm fat - but the main reason is because I haven't learned until now how to take control of it all. thanks to Dr. Atkins, now I know and I'm living a better, healthier life for it!

PandaPop87

When I was younger, I was always overweight; I used to play sport everyday (I know, hard to believe!) but I'm a real fussy eater and I would only eat the really stodgy things like chips etc, which is why I was stull a chubster.

Then I got put on the pill which made matters worse.

At college I was around a UK size 18 and then I got together with my current boyfriend and I managed to get up to a size 24. Whenever I look at myself in the mirror I only ever really look at my face so I didn't really notice what I waws doing to myself.

The final straw was when I was in an aeroplane and the seatbelt didn't fit around me. Most upsetting thing ever weight wise. I just sat in the seat crying my eyes out while my boyfriend moved the flab around to help me get in the seat.

I did lose 2 stone after that point, but then something happened (which I'd rather not go into) which really messed with my head and dieting was the last thing on my mind. I put on all that weight and more.

A friend suggested MFP about 6 months ago and I've been here ever since! I must admit I have days, and sometimes weeks where I feel like giving up, but I don't want to be so unfair to myself again. I wanna be slim for the first time in my life!

DWilbanks

I've been somewhat big my whole life. But the catalyst was when my mom developed lung cancer. I was her primary care giver and took care of her till the day she died. During this time, finding something that she would even remotely care about eating was hard. So I would cook and cook and when she would only nibble, I ate. I ate out of frustration, I ate out of fear, and I ate out of loathing for her disease. During my mom's illness I packed on over 100 pounds. That's when I found out I'm an emotional eater.

Now the thing that kick started my weight loss is this past year I've had an issue with my right leg swelling 3 times what it should be and had to go to doctor's for test after test. Only to hear that each doctor thought it was my weight. So I started my diet and am happy to say the leg still swells, but not nearly as bad. And I've developed such motivation, that I want to keep going until I reach my goal.

KWright76

My husband and I found out our son had autism I got so wrapped up in doing what ever I could for him I put myself last. Then a few years later I had twins come along. I remember we were taking family pictures and I wanted to cry when I looked at the picture of me and my son. It was then that I knew I had to put myself first so I could be here to take care of my kids and family.

nenamartinez

I was thin throughout childhood. Even too skinny at certain points. I was pretty active, too.

But, then came puberty.. I became very self-conscious. I remember being 10 years old and thinking I was fat. (Looking back, I was not fat in the slightest.) I started to hide my body but I kept playing sports, so, I stayed more or less in shape.

Then, right before 6th grade, my family relocated to a new state. I refused to do any sports, too uncomfortable with my body. I was the new girl, and bullied relentlessly for various stupid reasons.

So, I became "chubby" in middle school.

In high school, my weight went up a bit higher, but was still just "overweight."

I went to college at age 16. I was mature enough to handle the classes, but not feeding myself. I ended up gaining 40 pounds in 3 months. (First time to ever hit 200 pounds).

Since then, it's been a struggle up and down. A few weeks ago I stepped on the scale and saw 230. Totally unacceptable. So I

pirate4hire

A combination of a desk job and over committing myself to things (mostly more work). It just kept slowing adding on then this year I exceeded by "never exceed" weight I had set in my mind (by 10 lbs) after overworking myself for most of this year. Once I saw I was 4 lbs away from entering the obese range I finally started working in the time to do something corrective about it.

Right now I'm still in the beginning of this effort but am working through the Couch to 5k program. I still have to select a 5k to sign up for when I complete this 9 week process but so far it looks like I'll have to wait a month (no races in February where I am currently). To pump me up and get the competitive nature flowing I've been checking out 5k results of people in my age group. I'll use February to work on getting my time down and narrow down how many people I could potentially out pace.