Why did you get fat and what triggered the change?

Manda_H

I had several babies right in a row and i was exhausted all the time... plus having so many young children, I was buying and serving highly processed foods. My diet was off which gave me insulin resistance and hypoglycemia so i'd eat more to avoid feeling the low blood sugar. My blood sugar was a HUGE rollarcoaster and my husband and I weren't always getting along so add in some comfort eating. Also lots of chaos between our extended families so add in even more comfort eating. It was a rough few years. My turning boy was when I weighed 270 lbs at the birth of #6.... and I was trying to take pictures of myself that i liked enough to be a profile picture for MySpace. I was taking 30-40 shots and I just coudn't find one that minimized my weight. A woman told me I looked beautiful and I thought to myself, you are so full of crap! (she was thin and perfect in body) Then right around the same time, my pants that i wore 9 months pregnant were getting TIGHT!! I wanted to undo the top of my pants so they would be more comfortable when sitting down. That totally is what pushed me over the edge. From there I lost 125 lbs before getting pregnant again... went up 80 lbs and now I am 16 lbs away from being back to my all time low. I had a taste of what fit felt like and it has driven me back down. Pictures of me at 140 lbs is what motivates me and I am ready to be that woman again

TheFitHooker

For me it all started when I had my first son. I gained 30lbs in the pregnancy, and I thought "Yeah I can get it off." I never been considered "Big" or "Fat" till after he was born. I shot up, and still failed to admit that there was issues. I had my son in 2003, in 2009 I was 250lbs at 5'3. I seen a photo of myself from Halloween that year, my dad just had a heart attack and found out he had diabetes. I started to realize that there was a problem and I needed to do something about it. I joined here in like Nov of 2009, never posted on the forum, by April of 2010 I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. I never really lost anything, cus when I went for my weigh in at my doc office for my first OB appt. I was 250. I also found out in my first trimester I had Gestational Diabetes. I started on a strict diet that my diabetic doc put me on. I dropped 70lbs in my pregnancy. I did that for my daughter, I know I did, I know I did not do it for me. After she was born I gained 25lbs back, I was at 205. This time I looked in the mirror and knew I had a problem, knew I needed to snap out of it. I started coming back here, and I'm pleased to say I'm about 175 (yesterday my weigh in said 176 just rounding it off). My reason for losing weight is because my marriage was suffering, my self esteem was suffering, and the looks I got just made me sick. I feel wonderful and I'm happy to be on the right track.

charlotteandalfie

I fell pregnant with my now one year old son and put on a whopping four stone. After I had him I felt like I couldn't enjoy him because I just felt so down about myself I felt disgusting. The trigger to loose the weight came when had to buy a pair of size 16 jeans I felt awful I'd never been more than a 10 my entire life so I felt huge even though it's not of you see what I mean. Xx

mrsdizzyd84

My story is a similar one to a lot of you. I modeled a bit in high school. Then I got on the pill and picked up about 10 lbs. That put an end to the modeling. When I went to college I was about 145. Then I got depressed and binged on fast food. I picked up about 20 lbs. I knew I was over doing it so I started eating better, but continued to carry the weight. From there my weight continued to creep up. I got to about 170 and decided it was time to lose some weight. My roommate exercised a lot. She was a runner and she introduced me to the concept of counting calories. We used FitDay. With her I got down to 160ish. It was much better. Then I stopped working out. My eating habits were good, but I was eating too much. Then I met my husband and started trying to keep up with him and his bad habits of fast food and desserts. Then I became sedentary while still trying to keep up with him... tada 204lbs!

The final straw for me was realising that I don't feel sexy any more. I hate to look at myself in the mirror. My clothes don't fit right, and my face is fat. The final straw for me was when I decided I wanted to get back into fashion, but I discovered I couldn't fit the fashionable cloths. I'm losing weight now and I'm loving it!

jmgcummins

I used pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted, and gained 60 pounds! Most of it in the last couple months (quick weight gain, blood pressure problems and swelling - I was being monitored for preeclampsia, took me off work which just caused me to sit at home and eat more).

Now the weight is almost off, but it's taken over a year because I just couldn't get motivated.

24man

That's the question I always ask myself...and others. What is the trigger in your brain to 1. get motivated enough to actually start working out and eating better....and 2. What's the trigger to stop those good activities. I'm sure the answer is different for everyone. Not only that but for me the answer can be different for each time I start and end.

First of all, how did I get fat? That's an easy one. One, genetics makes it easy, very easy for people in my family to gain weight. Not an excuse but it's true. That makes it all the more important for me to remain dedicated to eat right and keep moving. I get fat when I stop paying attention to my body. I eat what I want, when I want and I'm not exercising. Easy answer.

What triggers me to start to lose? It can be another person I know who IS eating right and exercising and finding results. I'm happy for them and I use them as an inspiration to get that good feeling when you are getting healthier and looking better. Any trigger can be an event coming up. When my daughter got married I lost 40 lbs in 4 months before that blessed day. I wanted to look good in the pictures. Success! And sadly a trigger that will always make me start to lose weight is hitting 200 lbs. Which is sad because I like to be in the 160s. Why does it take 40 lbs before I flip that switch?

Now, what is the trigger that makes me stop? Usually it's reaching my goal...ie my daughter's wedding. After the wedding I put on 20 lbs in a hurry, and about 40 withing a year. Terrible.

I think the trick is to constant make new goals. Not just weight goals. Like cholesterol numbers, blood pressure, body fat %, etc. Also make it a goal to track all your food, constant go through exercise videos, or many other exercise goals. Also I think it might help to make it a goal to stay within a 5 lb window of weight, to keep you vigilant. Not that the scale needs to be your god, but for ME, at least, the scale keeps me aware and vigilant in doing the right things. If I don't weigh in, the lbs tend to creep back on. I know weighing in is a personal thing. I tend to like weighing in often This winter when I start adding more muscle on, that could be tricky, as muscle can add the lbs on. then I'll have to keep track more on measuring biceps, waist, chest, etc.

The trigger....it's always there, can be different for everyone.

Good luck on your path to health, everyone!

ps. this site helps A LOT!

dianalee93

I got fat because I was extremely stressed out I was pregnant and in the Army I was not sure what to do and how to do it so I let myself eat whatever I wanted and blamed it on eating for 2. Then after I had the baby it did not stop I kept eating hostess cupcakes and sonic tater tots like they were nothing. I then got out of the Army which was an extremely tough decision on me because I loved it but I loved my daughter more and I got stressed worrying about whether or not I made the right decision so I kept eating worse and packed on a lot of weight. Well I had been seeing a nutritionalist for almost a year now and I lost 20 pounds but I still wasn't fully motivated to lose weight I just would make sure I lost a pound or 2 to stop my nutritionalist from giving me lectures and bad looks. It was not until I quit smoking and gained 5 pounds in 1 week that I was like wait hold up I am freaking fat and I am getting fatter, I am almost at 300 pounds how the heck does someone who used to run every day and do sit ups and pushups every night before they go to sleep let themselves fall this far. Well anyways that was 2 weeks ago and I have lost 10 more pounds and I am still motivated to get back to the me that I really am, and I have my 5 year old to help me stay motivated and on track and she loves that Mommy is making healthier choices and when I slip up and make a non healthy choice she has no problem correcting me.
I wish us all success on our weight loss journey and I am sure if we give it our all we will all be looking good in bikinis someday.

denisebowyer

In July 2002 I had a severe stroke. It turned my world upside down. I was only 33 at that time and was a very healthy Jazzercise instructor. I started gaining weight first of all, because I had to take steroid medication due to my stroke. I wasn't able to exercise anymore. I was severely depressed and I ate to comfort myself.
What has triggered the change for me is I weighed 210 lbs two months ago. I was getting ready to have to buy size 16 pants because size 14 wasn't fitting anymore. I insisted I had to do something. I saw a friend recently who told me about myfitnesspal and I thought I would give it a try. So far, I have lost 15 lbs. and I plan on losing about 45 more. myfitnesspal is a lifesaver for me. I don't want to be fat! I also don't want to continue taking high cholesterol medication. I have developed skin tags on my body. My doctor says skin tags are a sign of possible diabetes. I definitely do not want diabetes. Thank you myfitnesspal. I feel like I have control again!

ImaSongbird

I started binge eating at the age of 4 or 5. I was desperately unhappy and used food as a substitute for the love and affection I craved. I've been doing it ever since.

At age 18, I began dieting. I lost significant weight each summer, only to gain it back, plus an extra 10 or 20 lbs each fall/winter. Eventually, I was wearing a size 24 and those clothes were becoming tight.

When my daughter went to an orientation for incoming freshman at her high school, I found that my bulk did not fit into the seats in the auditorium. I spent an evening in pain and feeling humiliated as the armrests cut into my hips. That was the clincher for me.

I have been losing weight since, and am currently sque-e-e-ezing into size 12 pants. But I still struggle with binge eating. It's just no longer part of my daily life, partly because I don't keep any binge foods in my house. But thoughts of food plague me day and night. Often I lock myself in my bedroom in the evening so the refrigerator can't get me.

cydonian

I wouldn't call myself fat but I stuck under 100 pounds until I was 17/18 and then suddenly jumped up to 120. I know part of it was starting birth control when I was 16, I began slowly putting on weight at that point. I also know that my age contributed as you naturally gain a little weight when you begin to hit your 20s. I've stuck at 135 since I was about 20/21 (I'm 24 now) and I'd like to get back down to 130 but I know it will be a struggle because it's only 5 lbs!

jacalou

I was always a skinny kid, but when puberty hit, the pounds started packing on. I really didn't see it happening. When I realized that I was too big, I began a cycle of yo-yo dieting. Would look great for a while and then resume my old eating habits... and gain back the weight plus some. Before having my first baby I lost 38 lbs and was feeling fabulous. Then I got pregnant and used that as an excuse to eat. I was frickin hungry all the time!!! I gain well over 50 lbs in my pregnancy. I never totally lost it... maybe 30 lbs or so and then had another baby and ballooned up to 225 lb in that pregnancy. That little one is 2 1/2 now and I am weighing 175 lbs. A good 20 lbs more than my weight before my first baby.
I have come to realize that I almost always want the easy way out of things. I victimize myself and say that it's not fair that my husband can eat whatever he wants and never gain weight. I was always looking for a magic pill! Something that would lose the weight for me!
What kind of life lesson is that for my kids? What am I teaching them? I am changing and making this commitment for myself (to prove to myself that hard work is good and the results of hard work are most gratifying) and to help my little girls understand that nothing worth having in life is handed to you on a silver platter. Working for your goals makes you accomplished and strong! I want them to know that the efforts that they make are for them and will benefit them. I don't want them to be jealous of people who seem to "have it easy".
Oh.. and I want to look hot in a bathing suit again! :blushing:

ukgirly01

Wow that got a great response, thanks everyone who posted an answer, it's great to see so many taking responsibility for themselves with the : I ate too much answer. Also hammers home what an emphasis parents and childhood can have on weight. Good luck all with your weight loss journeys

driaxx

I think it's cause I was happy once I finished high school! So I was comfortable and just ate and ate. + All those crazy hours at uni + the busyness.

2Bgoddess

started with fast food and partying, when I got a car, i didn't have to walk anywhere any more. it gradually creeped on for years, then 4 pregnancies in 5 years along with not being able to afford to buy fresh foods because processed crap was fast, easy and cheap.
I have been trying to get fit for 10 years, but have only been actually successful in the past 6 months with the help of my doctor, dietician and a fitness instructor friend of mine.

hlandry6

I feel like college, getting married, and commuting to school got me fat and realizing that once I start having babies my body will never be like it could be now...

alliebeck2

1. I love to eat. A lot.
2. I bought a full-length mirror from Ikea.

jakeschafer

Parents divorced, was homeless because of the divorce (it was and still is really bad) ,moved to another state my senior year (last august), and the trigger is so that my anxiety will hopefully diminish and be more qualified for the armed service

catshark209

Way too much drinking and eating way too many calories. I put away between 3000-4000 a day on weekdays, God knows on weekends. Alot of those calories were in liquid form,he he.
I was swollen and gross. See my before pic.
What triggered my weight loss/fitness was seeing my beer belly in the mirror.

MinnesotaManimal

Sick of being embrassased of how I look, size 38 mens jeans were too tight, friend told me I was too fat to ride his horse. who knows where the tipping point was. been over weight since I was 12. I got down to a healthy BMI right after highschool, kept it there for a year, then gained for the next 10 years. enough was enough. now I weigh less than I did was 13 and am several inches taller than I was then. I am focussing on changing my body composition now to be lean and strong.

mem50

High metabolism as a child and able to eat anything and everything I wanted till I was 23. Got pregnant and gained close to 100 pounds. Lost the baby in the last month and went into depression and gained more. Bad relationship, low self esteem did not help.

What triggered the change? Being in the hospital for a month for blood clot and surgery. Dropped close to 40 lbs while in and decided to get my life together once and for all.

Almost dying was my wake up call!