How did every 1 gain weight

MJ7910

I used to be very active and maintained a healthy weight until I was about 27 and then I started graduate school and had no time. I'd always think of excuses not to exercise. 10 lb slowly crept on and stayed there. Then I got pregnant. I quit exercising due to being tired all the time and constant false labor contractions. It was "safer" in my mind not to exercise. I gained about 35 more lbs. I lost some of those but not all... they stuck around. i breastfed for a year and ate whatever i wanted and stayed just on the border of normal and overweight. then, i quit breastfeeding but continued to eat ridiculous amounts of food. still didn't exercise. finally, 3 months after stopping breastfeeding i decided i had to do something. i was in the overweight category for my height and i didn't want to live that way and continue to get more unhealthy. so i lost 27 lbs. i gained a few back now but working to get back to where i should be. one really has to be committed to not just lose the weight but stay there.

NU2U

Keeping it real.....

I ate too much....and sat on my glorious hump!!

HelloSweetie4

I was a combination of a bunch of things:
-started college (freshman 15)
-got our first apt, which meant lipton pasta sides and dollar menu fast food for the first couple years
-depression issues
-started anti-depressants, which caused weight gain (sort of a catch 22 situation)
-not having space to work-out at home, no money for a gym membership, and not feeling safe walking/running down the road by myself

ChanniVincent

I typically gain weight because I'm an insulin diabetic, and I take the birth control needle (depo), which can cause weight gain, plus I had a baby. So now I'm on a mission to live a healthier lifestyle and taking better care of myself.

Coyla

I don't recall a time of not being fat. I think the last time I was thin was when I was 5 years old.

I'm not silly enough to blame circumstances only and not myself, but my mother had a tendency to feed her children adult sized portions, then force us to clean our plates. It suppressed our natural ability to sense when we were full.

Then, once she saw us getting fat, she nagged us about it and wanted us to join her in her starvation diets. (She would go on week-long fasts when she needed a quick weight loss fix.) I never knew you could eat to the point of satisfaction AND lose weight. I had to learn that as an adult.

Of course, I was also part of the problem. I was lazy. I had no self control. I stuffed myself whenever I got the chance. And let me tell you, my eating habits were epic. I still struggle with dieting.

smacattack3

I was always fairly active. I have a lot of experience with dance, did marching band for 4 years, continued with color guard in a very intense drum corps setting (marching band on steroids). In drum corps, you are basically running for 13 hours a day, as well as doing dance and various ab workouts. Because we were doing so much activity outdoors in heat upwards of 90 degrees, we drank a ton of water (about a gallon every 4 hours) and the food we were provided with was more than enough. I'm talking 1200 calories per meal with people still losing weight. After that experience ends, a lot of people think that their metabolism will keep them in shape, and continue eating those exorbitant amounts without all the exercise. On top of that, i broke my arm at the wrist, and that kept me away from the gym for a while. On top of THAT, I moved in with my boyfriend, who has an endless pit for a stomach. Although I'd try to eat healthier, I'd feel pressured to eat whenever he would, so I'd eat more. My mother has also always been super critical. Not in a stage mom kind of way, but in an unhealthy way nonetheless. I have gotten emails (she's very impersonal) giving me unsolicited advice and making judgments about my body that just make me want to rebel ("If you're looking for a job where you can work out, FedEx is hiring"). Now I work at a pretty sedentary job. I've never owned a scale. We got one a week ago and I did NOT like the number. I've been trying to train for the Color Run 5K in Indianapolis, and I would like to be able to fit into my clothes. Most importantly, I'd like to not feel self conscious whenever a camera gets whipped out. Baby steps.

tl;dr sudden lifestyle changes (the ending of extreme amounts of physical activity, injuries, etc) led to body fluctuation.

saraya12

I started eating bigger servings of food. My boyfriend would cook for me, and he'd have everything laid out so nicely on the plate, like he'd put a lot of effort into feeding me. I'd feel bad about leaving food on the plate, so I got used to eating a lot more than what I'd normally eat. I gained about 35 lbs over 3 years. Went from 115 to 150.

superbeffie

First, I started on a medication that gave me really intense cravings at odd hours of the day. Then I stopped competitive belly dancing. I also started dating my now husband at the same time so we would eat waffle house and steak and shake late at night so we could be together somewhere. I gained 30 lbs in 3 months. Then another 10 in college on top of that. After we got married I got pregnant and ended up gained almost 70lbs with all my health problems.
PCOS and fertility drugs added more weight, as did my second baby.

I lost 40 lbs last year, but still have at least 60 to go to be in a good weight range.

concavity

College, fast food easily available, mostly everything was fried, everything had huge layers of cheese. Sandwiches were supersized. No fresh fruit that I was used to eating.
Large consumption of alcohol since people always went out to eat before drinking, when I was in highschool I just wouldn't eat and then drink.
My bf was a stoner and always had munchies so I usually munched on open things even if I wasn't hungry.
Weird sleeping hours.
Also stopped being active and taking ballet 2x a week.

MissCheese

I suffer from depression and had a catastrophic few years where I turned to food and alcohol for comfort.

Gained 5 stone and became an alcoholic.

Now lost 43 lbs and been sober for nearly 7 months.

verodzrosas

stress eating and I have a bad habit of needing to have a secret like smoking when my boyfriend hated it, so when I was a teeneager my parents didnt want me making homemade cinammon rolls beacuse they had too much sugar and too much butter and well they didt approve so everytime they left me alone at home I'd eat two or three so yeah I should have listened to them because im still fighting those off... now I'm terrified because my boyfriend hides the chocolate toblerone bars from me and everytime I'm pissed at him I feel like eating them... but I havent... but still it would feel sooooo good!!! I CANT I CANT!!!

turbogirl4christ

I gained from quitting smoking and having 3 kids. Also from quitting working so I could be at home all the time with my kids. I'm also a stress eater...

carolynmittens

I gained 10 lbs backpacking Asia a year and a half ago. My friend and I stayed with way too many sweet grandmothers and local families who made stuffing our faces with delicious food their #1 priority. Not to mention these days Chinese people cook with a TON of oil. Most of the chefs put almost an entire cup of oil in the wok for every dish they made, I watched them do it! And then there was the eating of Pad See'ew for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day I was in Thailand.... plus pretty much everywhere in Asia food is super cheap, so we just indulged way too much. I've never gained weight while backpacking before, I didn't even know that was possible :frown: oh and the worst part, the guy I went with ate exactly what I ate and he lost like 20 lbs :grumble:

cheesy_blasters

I have bipolar disorder and spent about 4 years being incredible ill and depressed while at university. Like, not getting out of bed for days sick. The medications I was on added a lot as well.
I worked a lot of hours in different jobs while going to school (one was at a donut shop where I baked. NOT HELPFUL).
It was mainly extremes- being extremely sad or being extreme busy (coping mechanism). Now I'm trying to create balance, which was what I was missing.

cheesy_blasters

I suffer from depression and had a catastrophic few years where I turned to food and alcohol for comfort.

Gained 5 stone and became an alcoholic.

Now lost 43 lbs and been sober for nearly 7 months.

Congrats! I have been in similar places so I know how hard it is to recover. Very inspirational to hear other people get out from that place.

jodilo88

Suffered depression for several years...very few friends to talk to, alcoholic father, I basically turned to food and my computer. I've kicked one of those two at least - LOL!!

Nermal1983

Hmmm. I've been overweight since second grade. I've never been "skinny." I moved away to go to college and didnt really eat as much as I used to since I was broke, so I lost a little weight then. Worked at various pizza places and of course they let us have any leftover food, and since we were always broke, thats all we ate. In 2009-2010, I did a LOT of walking at my job and I never weighed myself but I think I lost about 30-40 pounds. And now, I have a desk job, and don't do as much gardening/yard work as I used to, and my co-workers love to go get fast food and it's hard to say no, and there may be a little bit of laziness thrown in there too lol... I didnt realize how much I had gained until ALL my clothes stopped fitting. Never again.

I've stopped eating crap and fast food, except for Subway about once every other week. I started reading labels, looking at ingredients and trying to eat clean. (I can't believe I used to eat lunchables every evening at work for a year.) I've been running 2 miles a night on my treadmill (from craigslist for $100!!), and I'm trying to get outside more too. If I could get rid of my daily Sunkist habit, I'm sure I'd lose more.

sweetsoonergirl

Way to go on quitting smoking though!!! That is something to be proud of. The benefits of not smoking will benefit your lungs and your whole body!!!

I had an aunt who quit smoking. She used exercise and prayer as her way of managing her stress. Unfortunately she quit too late in life after being a chain smoker for who knows for how many years. She's passed on to the eternal but I'll never forget how strong and determined she was. She even ended up encouraging me during nursing school when she was fighting cancer. I should have been the one encouraging her.

I'm sure your kids are going to thank you one day for quitting smoking if any of them haven't already