Have you struggled with weight all your life?

Florawanda

When I was tiny, I used to be called 'the little fairy' because I was so choosey about food! But by the time I was 11 I was plump, and 'well-endowed' and hated sports and games at school. Looking back at photos of me in my college days, I look good, though I always felt decidedly overweight, and so it went on! My first job after college was with a big chocolate manufacturer (Rowntrees), and that set a bad pattern of wanting something sweet with a hot drink, as I was on the 'Kit Kat tasting panel', so everyday a sample of that day's production of KitKat arrived on my desk, which I had to taste and report on! And as for the mis-shapes in the factory shop - mmm. I still have a pink bikini I wore in my mid-twenties on holiday, and maybe one day I will get into it.
Then marriage and 4 children, and after every pregnancy I failed to lose the extra weight. And so it went on.... 2 periods of serious slimming, both triggered for medical reasons ... and successfully lost about 50 lbs each time. Then put it on again, slowly and surely.
I know my Mum struggled too, but she never got as much as me! My brothers both struggle,too - so it does make you wonder about the genetics of obesity.
So with the help of exercise and MFP it is going to be third time lucky, and a permanent result!

Emmabulliemum

I was bullied as a child due to my weight. I was the youngest of 4 kids but my parenst had me in their mid 40's so they grew up during the war and to be honest my mum was a feeder. I lost weight during my teen years but from 21 til now I have been overweight. This is the first time since I was 21 I have managed to fit into a uk size 16/18 and I am so pleased.

I have type 2 diabetes due to my weight which I know is mainly due to my bad diet but I am aiming to get my bloods back to normal (nearly there :@))
Finally my head in the right space to loose the weight and I will succeed! thanks to MFP

PLV27

I was a pretty normal weight as a child, I was also very physically active (loved running, baseball and vollyball) until I was about 12 years old. Thats when I started to gain weight, my family had moved to a new city, I started a new school and wasnt outgoing or confidant enough to join team sports that I'd enjoyed before. All through highschool I would eat things that werent very healthy and I had stopped being active in any way so I gained a lot of weight. A couple of years ago I decided to lose weight and managed to get down to 160lbs (from 245lbs) but I didnt do it the right way and of course the weight came back full force and then some!

So November 2011 I decided I was tired of being overweight and unhappy and began making changes. I joined a gym, began running and eating properly. I still struggle with food but I figure you just have to take it one day at a time. I've been on this site for a couple of weeks so far and it has really helped me and the support from other MFP'ers is awesome!

TinaCleg_cancel

I was a chubby kid and then a fat teenager. I was very shy and did not want to do anything out of my comfort zone. Gaining weight made it so much worse. When I was working and in college I went from 279 to 150 in 9 months. Of course I felt skinny but did it in an unhealthy way. I currently want to lose about 40 lbs. Each pound seems like such a struggle.

penelope05

I was always small until I got married and had kids. When I was younger I was very active in sports which probably helped keep the weight down. I'm a southern girl so we always fried everything. If not for sports I probably would have weighed much more. Then I got married and moved away from home. My husband traveled a lot so I started the emotional (lonely) eating. And just kept eating the bad things.

danigirl1011

Yeah, it's pretty much always been a struggle. Growing up i was always considered chubby. I was called things like "pudge' by my aunts (no they were not TRYING to be mean). Then i got to high school where i actually evened out a little, although i still always felt super overweight. Looking back now at pictures i think i was crazy. Then around 17 i had some life changes and started gaining weight. It always increased, but never went down. I wonder how i let myself get so unhealthy. Eating fast food multiple times a day, desserts after every meal, etc. I am glad i finally snapped out of it one day and started on this journey. I just really really love food. The worse it is, the more i love it. I think i will always have to watch myself (as i believe this is an actual addiction) but hoping i have gained the tools to find a healthy balance.

Florawanda

A lot of us seem to have learned as teenagers to turn to the 'unhealthy' foods, and away from exercise. I agree with Danigirl, that it is almost like an addiction, that we have to learn how to control, just as alcoholics do. I know if I haven't had chocolate in a few days I get almost like withdrawal symptoms - bad-tempered, cravings. Problem is that you don't have to have alcohol, you can have other drinks, but you do need to eat. I know I have to learn to like the healthy foods, and not even look at the chocolatey/sweet things, and crisps (chips). I had a 'good for me' moment when out shopping tonight, and came home with lots of fruit and veggies, low fat cottage cheese, orange juice AND I DID NOT EVEN LOOK AT THE CHOCOLATE AND BISCUITS (COOKIES). I don't think there was a single unhealthy thing in my bags!

Back2Basic

I was, I suppose very normal weight when I was younger. Most of the women in my family were larger, so the portions were big. And when I honestly wasn't hungry, family members teased and said there was no point in fighting it. I went through many different diets over the years with my mother, long before I was anywhere near overweight. She tried to keep me from the path of obesity. Unfortunately, her words gave me severely low self-esteem and I quickly gained weight during middle and high school. I joined the Army at 19 and got down to a size 6! After a knee injury, I started gaining the weight back. I think growing up around it, I didn't really seem to notice my weight very much. The clothing sizes going up is what made me decide to get my life back in order. We are trying to start a family, and I want to end the cycle!