Why did you get fat and what triggered the change?

sunkisses

I got fat, strangely, a couple of years after I had kids when I was in my 20s. I was constantly unhappy and selling myself short in every possible way (didn't finish college, stayed in a relationship for 7 years out of "comfort", was even planning/trying to have a child with him, but my weight had caused fertility problems for me). My 30th birthday was approaching, and I felt so disappointed in myself. I didn't want to live the next 30 years of my life feeling poorly about myself.

Sadly, what triggered the change for me was a miscarriage. This was the final straw of bad things that had happened. It caught my attention and made me want to take my health more seriously. Instead of having another child, I thought I should strengthen the bond I had with the 2 children I already had. That's when it dawned on me that I lived 1 mile from my children's school, and I was still driving them. So I started to walk them and began to feel more energetic. I wasn't losing weight and then read about creating a calorie deficit. That did the trick, and the rest is history. I left my fiance. I went back to school and got my degree in English. I started to live as freely as I could. I've had the most awesome 3 years of my life since that day. Looking forward to more.

Iamfit4life

I'd always been really thin. Like so thin that people started rumors about me having an eating disorder. But seriously I always had one heck of an appetite. I out ate most people I know(I still can).

This was all fine and good.

i started gaining weight at about 22. I was 120 when I got married. A year later I was 140. Mind you both of these weights.. I'd NEVER worked out. I always got out of PE as a child because of my allergies. So the weight I put on wasn't pretty. Because I had very little muscle.
I got pregnant. And ate like you wouldn't believe. I ate everything in sight. I would consume as many calories at lunch as I do in a day now.
So when after I had my daughter I still weighed quite a bit.

Then I had my son a year and half later.
What triggered the change is my(now ex) husband pointed to a picture of us and said "this is me, my wife and her chins".
Joined a gym and never looked back.

mlrosa123

I've always been somewhat overweight. I gained way more after getting married because I was comfortable and we both ate out alllllllll the time. I realized that I was getting out of control and after a year and a half of falling off the exercise wagon, I got back on. I chose to lose thIs weight because our relationship is no longer and I have no real excuse for being fat, other than eating bad! I have nO kids and I want to find prince charming one day! Sooooo I gotta look my best! I've lost about 30 lbs and want to lose another 55

PepeGreggerton

I first gained weight pre-teen then thinned out because of sports in high school etc. After high school my girlfriend/ex-wife was pregnant and we ate anything and everything that's when I went from a svelte 180 to 225. In 2006 I started a desk job and put on another 60lbs in a few short months then gradually worked my way up to almost 300lbs. Now I am at 240 working my way back down.

What triggered the change was my best friend chewing me out for basically everything in my life and opening my eyes to the fact that I was going to die if I didn't change my ways.

Saruman_w

I started getting really big around middle school. I for some reason developed a big appetite and would just devour whatever. I had crappy eating habits and didn't exercise much. There were a couple instances where I lost weight by accident but it wasn't a permanent life-style change. I still ate junk, which I why I ended up gaining it all back.

What triggered the change I guess, is me finally finding the drive to want to get fit and eat healthier. I had bad self-esteem and had hardly any energy or confidence so I needed to do something about it. Then I found MFP which is a great tool that helped guide me in the right direction and keeping in check by showing me whether I did good that day, or badly etc.

flsunshine

i was a skinny teenager til i discovered drugs and alcohol- so lets say i drank and drugged myself fat- however since becoming sober and having my daughter its been a mission to be a positive role model for her. I also had gestational diabetes and the literature i read for that and my weight would increase my risk for developing it later in life and i dont want that

HonkyTonks

Chubby girl, overweight teenager turned into morbidly obese teenager when I was 16. I was incredibly depressed through high school (bullied a fair bit, problems at home) and turned to food for comfort. By the time I was 18, I weighed about 140kg and my biggest was 160kg. I used to do things like eat an entire pizza, a 1.25L coke and garlic bread (for a late night snack).. I just didn't care if I lived or died, and figured I would be dead soon and that was my life now.

I don't know what turned it all around but my Mum encouraged me to get the lapband. We got one together, and after that things just sort of changed. I started eating less and losing weight, my self esteem improved, I found some friends who accepted me and I got a full time job that I liked. There was no 1 particular trigger (other than having my Mum encourage me to do this to save my own life) but I think it was just a combination of all these things that made me stick at it.

I gained a bit of weight again when I was pregnant which I've almost all lost (yay) and now trying to get down to a healthy weight.

tuneses

The answer to both is my kids.

Also poor habits growing up cntributed to the gain.

howajett

I gained about 50lbs. With both of my pregnancies, and kept bout 30lbs of each one. Just never lost it. And nothing will motivate a person to lose weight like the 20 year class reunion!

PepeGreggerton

I first gained weight pre-teen then thinned out because of sports in high school etc. After high school my girlfriend/ex-wife was pregnant and we ate anything and everything that's when I went from a svelte 180 to 225. In 2006 I started a desk job and put on another 60lbs in a few short months then gradually worked my way up to almost 300lbs. Now I am at 240 working my way back down.

What triggered the change was my best friend chewing me out for basically everything in my life and opening my eyes to the fact that I was going to die if I didn't change my ways.

Should have been a few years sooner though when my parents came back from a trip and had gotten me a t-shirt and the size was "beefy" :huh:

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.