Why are you / Why were you fat?

PositivelyFlawed

In childhood I place some blame on my Mom. She didn't encourage me to take part in activities or force me to be more active. At the same time, although she always was a great cook, it wasn't always the healthiest food and always in large portions. I definitely feel that set a precedent for me as I started gaining weight around age 4 or 5 and never looked back. By the time you get to school and into grades 1+, kids start to be cruel and this leads to self esteem issues. I feel my mom and dad had an opportunity to try to get me active, teach me healthier eating, and didn't.

Now I take full responsibility for my weight from about 12 years old and up. That is about the time I had freedom, pocket money and the ability to make my own choices about what I did. I wasn't active, ate fast food all the time with friends and bought candy and chips with babysitting money.

I was ALWAYS teased about my weight and around 13 is when I feel I developed emotional eating and compulsive eating habits. I would eat to celebrate, when I was sad, mad etc. I would also hide food in my room. From this point it became a cycle of obesity. Feel bad/get teased about my weight, go home and gorge on food, feel bad about my weight, eat more. This cycle continued to some extent until I moved out on my own. Then only the hiding food stopped, but not the emotional eating.

Emotional eating is probably at the heart of my obesity and it is something I battle every single day. I am thankful that except for my early teens when I ate a lot of fast food, I got heavy eating large portions of home cooking and lots of carbs. This allows me the opportunity to be "healthy obese" - no high chol. no high BP, no diabetes. I've taken that as a blessing and am determined to get the weight off. That is what keeps me from reaching for the bread when I have a bad day or making a pit stop for chips on the way home from work, knowing t hat I have a very real chance of undoing the unhealthiness I have lived with for 25 years.

kyle4jem

I ate too much and didn't exercise at all.

Simples!

There was no underlying reason, no depression or trauma to blame it on; I was a couch-potato with a predilection for food - good food, easy food, sweets, biscuits, cakes, savouries, you name it!

It was easier to eat and be damned than to get off my lardy *kitten* and do something about it.

Thankfully, I'm back on track now - eating well and proportionate amounts, exercising regularly and enjoying the benefits thereof! :happy:

laurastrait21

easy- COLLEGE! Stress, no time to eat properly/grocery shop, alcohol, eating at unusual times, no access to healthy foods. I am determined with my new lifestyle if I do continue on in school to make healthy eating and exercise more of a priority than it was before.

blaquesouldier

I lost the motivation i had to stay in shape. Growing up i was always in sports and outdoors active non-stop. After high school there was no real change i joined the military- reserves. That is when i think i lost my motivation, every always saying you look great what do you need to work out for. Knowing that I took in way to many calories per meal. I always ate very large portioned meals. and being in the army even meals were a competition who could eat the fastest, the most, and the most in the quickest amount of time. well when i stopped with the military everyone still said i looked fine. but the scale told me other wise i had put on around 50lbs in a short time. as i'm still young this noticable change so soon was a red flag for me. Some time later I saw a picture of my before self and after self and the way the shirt then fit well, and now the buttons were screaming ( or stretching out). Taking a good look at my self i had to admit that my face was looking rounder. and then one day my good ol' grandma, bless her truthful nature. said the words i was thinking, and i think restarted my motivation. "Brandon your looking pretty fat." with no joking manor in her voice. Since then i have decided to set up my workout and weight loss goals to really put me on track while asking/telling my wife, that for herself and I, that i need her support in this goal... No complaints yet and the change in lifestyle and eatting habits has already shown itself to be working... as well as i have surrounded myself with motivation workout quotes, pictures, and anything else that gets me up off the couch and running around the block.

robb7

Completely oblivious to nutrition / exercise / calories and the balance. Also I was working in a call center which means hours and hours of sitting my duff and eating take out twice sometimes three times daily.

aprilgicker

I got pregnant, then got orders to move, all this in a new marriage with a husband that can eat everything in site and still lose weight.

First, My hubby eats very healthy 98% of the time, he would rather eat at subway than the burger places, however he likes to eat his burgers. Lets just say we still want to go to "Heart Attack Jacks" in Minnesota.saw it on "America Eats" so it all boils down to
PORTIONS

Second, I was Pregnant with my second child. It had been 8 eight years since my first was born. I knew I would gain 40lbs that last trimester is a real b1tch in our family.
HORMONES

Finally, we were moving, he had training for several weeks so, I moved to my Parents. Then 2 months later we moved to Ohio.
FOOD CHOICES

Add all that up plus 2 more kids without significant weight loss in between and wha lah you get one, fat, Mommy

acbeck

I had always been slightly pudgy due to a binge eating problem since childhood, but I had managed to maintain at about 175-180, which was healthy for me because I'm pretty heavily muscled.

Then, my doctor put me on antidepressants, and my weight skyrocketed by 80 lbs in just over 6 months. I haven't been able to shake it since. I'll lose 20, gain it back. Trying for completion this time!

fink21061

I got fat because I have a serious addiction to sugar. Not a normal one. I used to walk past the sugar bowl and have to eat a spoon full. This is harder to kick than a darn drug habbit. But today Im down 10lbs since the first of the year. And after finding out at the age of 31 that Im at a major risk for heart failure, that was all it took to tell me to get my rear in gear.

GetThinKim

For me, I think it's a psychological thing. When I was kid my parents tried to be really really healthy ALL the time. They hardly ever let me have sweet or fatty things. But when I was older and I had my own money I could buy them all the time, so I craved what I had been deprived and ate them all the time.
But that is going to change.

Oh wow, this is the EXACT same as me!!

VanishaDawn

All my life I was a stick, but when I started driving and didn't have to walk everywhere, I started to gain weight. On top of that, I just love food, my mom is an excellent cook and she is always making new recipes! Once I got to the point of no return, I just said eff it....I'm too big to do anything....every ache and pain when I tried to exercise was an excuse to sit back down. So ever since then I've just been spreading and getting heavier and heavier and heavier. The stress, wild nights, and disregard for what I was putting into my body didn't help.

mrscarrey

Because I ate the typical high unhealthy fat, high processed carb standard American diet. Now, I eat natural healthy fats and minimal processed carbs and minimal natural sugars and starches.

I've lost 56 lbs and feel AMAZING (within 4 weeks of starting to eat this way).

Oh yeah, and I exercise less (primarily do only strength-training now) than before I changed my way of eating.

It finally all clicked for me.

Srdking

I had a baby 7 months ago, and the entire time I was pregnant I ate. I gained some serious weight! Here I am working it off:)

SKP1986

Level 45 eater with secondary Couch Potato class (level 44)

I come equipped with the Remote of Speedy Surfing +4 and Chip Bag of Holding

todaystuesday

So so many reasons. I cannot claim ignorance at healthy choices. I do know what the last few years have been feeling that people need to accept me for who I am at whatever weight I am. This caused almost a rebellion in me, well if you can't accept me at 250, then why do I care if I am 150? Abuse younger, and then having to interact with the person who did it again after 4 years, started an awful cycle of binging and purging. In 7th grade...

I could say all the same comments about my dad talking about fat my whole life, even when I was super thin. BUT he is actually the reason the change clicked. We were looking at a hike to Angel's Falls and he said, :"Honey, if you really want to enjoy that, you are going to have to lose some weight."

FINALLY, I realized that I am using it as a shield. That God has better plans for me then what I am doing right now. And I want to be able to grasp those opportunities when I see them.

There is was. If I want to enjoy what life has for me, I need to be healthy. I give others too much power by thinking my worth is tied up in what they think of me.

katherinemm31

Level 45 eater with secondary Couch Potato class (level 44)

I come equipped with the Remote of Speedy Surfing +4 and Chip Bag of Holding

My gaming family loved this!

I got fat because I had an eating disorder as a teen and still struggle with it.

Silverstar46

At first because I was a child and didn't know better, but then it was all ME.

I allowed myself to be this way and to not care.

jc1229

I unfortunately have always been overweight. Even when I was born they said I looked like a chipmunk storing food in its mouth, my cheeks were so fat. I also had tons of deep rolls, it looks like I had rubber bands on my arms and legs. Never have I been thin or even average. Honestly, I think genes have a lot to do with it, but I'm still trying to stay strong, eat healthy, and exercise!

Devlyn_P

I was tired of being skinny so I bulked up now I am cutting.

Rachel4104

I don't mean to imply any of this is simple or straightforward, but for me it boils down to not loving yourself enough to know that you're worthy of care. I would always prioritize other peoples needs above my own. I used to believe that making other people happy ultimately made me happy, but really all it did was allow me to avoid my own feelings. By thinking about everyone else, I didn't have the time or energy to think about me, much less make myself and my health, both mental and physical, important and worthy of attention. As I continued to gain weight, all through high school, college and adult life it became a perpetual cycle of unhappiness and avoidance. The more I gained, the more I hated myself. The more I hated myself, the more I would shut out the rest of the world. The more I would shut out, the more I would eat to try to battle the loneliness that lived inside my heart and soul. I defined my likeability by being married to a funny guy. People liked us, but I was convinced it was because of him. Nobody liked me, but they all loved Ben. I even believed it about my own family. So my self worth continued to deteriorate. Shortly after the birth of my son in 2004, I was at my highest weight of355 lbs. I literally hated myself. We moved to a small town in Michigan which ended up causing more stress than ever. My weight continued to grow until I reached 375. I was desperate for help but couldn't get control. I began considering bariatric surgery. I was terrified of the thought but was more terrified of my future, or lack of if I continued on this path. I had 200 lbs to lose. To even think of that number was heartbreaking to me. Those are the times when my demons would tell me I couldn't do it. In 2009, I found out my husband was having an affair. My entire world was destroyed in an instant. He left the next morning to give us both time and space to think and as I was laying in bed facing the end of a 15 year relationship, I realized how truly alone I was. I had built so many walls around myself that I had no one to turn to for help in my darkest hour. While I didn't know what my future was going to be or who would be in it, I knew the one thing I would always have is myself. That person I hated for so long, the person I tried to silence with food, was actually the only person I could count on. I realized I needed to start focusing on what SHE needs for once. This wasn't an overnight revelation, but I learned the lesson. I also didn't blame my husband entirely for the affair. I was a miserable person. I let my weight dictate everything and it usually resulted in mental, physical, sexual, and social withdrawal. I isolated myself from everything because I thought it would be easier that way. I blamed him for not talking to me, and I blamed him for his lack of conscience in that moment, but I also knew for months how sick our marriage was and did nothing to try to fix it either. I made the very hard decision to forgive him and work on us, but also promised myself that I would no longer sacrifice myself. It still took me a while to stabilize both emotionally and spiritually, but each day I got a little better, and allowed myself to open up my heart to other people. I started to discover who I was as a woman, and I became empowered as I learned that I was actually a smart, funny, compassionate person all on my own...not only when with my husband. Once the mental well being improved, I was ready for the physical to catch up. The surgery became my goal, but there was still a shame that I felt by considering it. Even though it was obvious to everyone that I was morbidly obese, I didn't talk about my weight with ANYONE. EVER. Another example of avoidance, I suppose. Having the surgery would force me to acknowledge what I didn't want to believe for 25 years. Instead of allowing that to paralyze me anymore, I decided that facing the truth may just set me free. But I didn't know how to start. I decided to schedule the consult with the surgeon and then I would figure the rest out as I went. Then a funny, random, innocent phone call came during work one day. It was one of my doctors (I manage a doc's office), who I happened to be getting closer with and was becoming a good friend to me. I had shared details about the affair with very few people but he had somehow turned into one of my confidants. As we were talking that day, he mentioned he was dieting, and then said we should do a challenge. Because that involved talking about my weight, my first inclination was to shut down...but in light of my new goals, I decided to move a little more forward in the conversation to push my comfort level further. He said to me "and I don't care how you lose it...even surgery". For some unknown reason, I told him I had already decided to do that. And there it was, without overthinking it, I just told the first person that I was having weight loss surgery....and shockingly, sharing that information didn't actually kill me. So the journey began. I had the RNY surgery on June 29th, 2011. I weighed 365lbs at my preop appt. Today, nearly 8 months later, I've lost 125 lbs and I'm still going. I want to lose another 75 lbs, and for the first time ever, I believe in myself enough to know I can do it. A year after that important phone call, that same friend challenged me in a weight loss competition again. My reaction was an immediate yes. The fear was subsiding...I no longer feared talking about weight loss. I no longer felt defined by it. Instead, over the last year, I learned that I am so much more than "fat". May seem silly to others, but that realization was huge for me. This weight loss challenge is what brought me to "my fitness pal", and it's something I plan to use long after I've reached my goal. This is not about attaining a certain number, it's about leading a healthy lifestyle and to always know that I am worthy of attention, love, friendship, and respect. Even if I stopped losing weight today, the lessons I have learned along the way are so much more valuable than seeing a certain number on the scale. P.S. If you can see this, CS, now you finally have the answer to that question you've been hounding me about. Guess that means I'm healing.

mommy4ndbandtj

Kudos to you for overcoming your weight challenges. No partner is worth a "dookie" if they make you feel ugly or unattractive. Just remember you are someone's idea of a princess, and the forties will be the best because it sounds like your plan is in motion. I wish you the best on your weight journey and you are a "winner" because beating anorexia is a difficult win, and you were able to surpass that obstacle.