Why did you gain weight?

LuckyAng

LONG story short: I stopped caring.

IamRoJ

Apparently, per my doc I have a genetic tendency to be overweight. Which sucks when youre only 5 foot tall. Add to that bad habits, being an emotional eater, and having two GINORMOUS babies in my short little abdomen it got outta control. Lost a great deal last year, but have a sneaky suspicion I'm gaining again. Doc thinks its a hormonal issue so seeking help in July to see if I can get me fixed.

Jenn09870

Spine surgery that didn't fix the problem and have been in pain since.
During 6 months after surgery I put on most of my weight
through inactivity, medications and eating crap.
Had a weakness for Mountain Dew and ice cream, really anything sugary.
And doing nothing but watching tv and movies.

Added to the weight over the course of 4 years, started trying to eat better and control
portions more last year, but didn't start exercising until the end of January.

NancyNiles

Different reasons over time. In my younger life, depression. In my early married years it was staying home with young kids. In my working days it was eating in front of the TV at night. When my thyroid stopped working, that added some more. When I "semi-retired" it was boredom eating.

In all my life I've tried every diet imaginable, but the one thing I never tried was exercise. Now, finally, at 40 years old, I'm moving my *kitten* and losing the weight. I've got a long way to go, but I'm trying hard not to be in denial about how I got here.

drummer_lady

I have been struggling with weight problems since early childhood, so my weight has been up and down a few times. I was actually always very active, played a lot of sports, and started going to the gym as soon as I was old enough to get a membership. My weight gain came down to the simple fact that I ate like crap and had no idea. No offense to my parents, they were wonderful parents in many ways, but they sure failed at teaching us how to eat properly. We're a family of 7, and everyone but my youngest brother is either currently overweight or has been in the past.

I didn't have the slightest idea what eating properly even entailed, and when I was 15 and desperately trying to lose weight, I ended up developing an eating disorder because I thought the only way to lose weight was to just eat less. So I ate waaay less. Like...400 calories a day kinda less. I lost bout 40 pounds but of course couldn't maintain that lifestyle and gained it all back, and then some. It wasn't until I moved out at 18, educated myself on nutrition and exercise, that I was able to successfully lose nearly 70 pounds.

But since life isn't easy, things eventually went downhill for a variety of reasons (money/work/school/family issues/boyfriend issues) I found myself broke and extremely stressed/depressed, and packed on the pounds again. I have a lot more than 70 to lose this time...I honestly am not sure how I let it get this bad. What I do know, is that I am never letting it happen again. This time the weight is coming of for good.


Phew, feels good to put that out there. Honestly I have never told anyone the full story before.

miracole

have always been a "big girl" 6 ft tall and of curvy eastern european stock. Raised in a household that always had junk food in it, grew up with a mentality of "clear your plate" even when not hungry. Had a german grandmother who lived through severe lack of everything in Poland in WWII who was constantly putting food and candy out (not blaming her, but there are only so many ways to say "no Oma, I'm not really hungry". Especially when constantly told "you're too skinny! have another cabbage roll!"

Add to that 7 years of long study sessions while completing my undergrad and law degree- sitting on your butt for 6 hours at a time reading textbooks just BEGS for an accompanying bag of chips and/or chocolate- and there you have it.

Bad eating habits + sedentary lifestyle = 50 lbs overweight.

Thank god for discovering a love for long distance running, cycling and calorie accountability through MFP!

MooMooooo

Was skinny my entire life (I'm talking 40kg/ 88lbs @ 5'1)

Until my first marriage - when I gained 5kgs.

Separated from him, went back to my normal weight overnight seemingly (I didn't have to try)

Moved in with husband #2 after about a year and gained 13kgs very quickly. I have battled it ever since.

My current husband is obese and his eating habits influence mine, lets order late night pizzas (ok!), let me but you a choc when I fill up my car(ok!) ad infinitum...

It is very tough to live with someone so indulgent. Very tough.

HildeDanmark

I was 135 lb when i met my ex-husband. We both started to eat a lot and not exercise. I was up to 165 lb when I got pregnant with my daughter. I was over 210 lb when I was pregnant.

So soda, eating out, piggy ex-husband, snack foods, and baby weight.... *voila*

DrowningMermaid

I started gaining weight my senior year of high school (1998) because of stress, bad eating habits due to "the munchies".
Then I moved and was eating a lot of junk since I was working constantly and just ate whatever was handy.
Then I got married and drank, smoked and ate way too much garbage (he worked at McDonald's and Taco Bell and always brought food home at night). We were drinking a 2-liter of regular soda each per night and we never did anything that slightly resembled exercise.

Then I got a divorce and lost 60 lbs, but then got pregnant with my now-husband and gained it all back. I steadily gained weight over the next 7 years due to late night eating, too much soda, too much carbs, zero exercise and a sedentary lifestyle of sitting at home watching TV, playing on the internet and sleeping too much.

grimm1974

It was just a slow process. I calculated I ate 50-75 calories over what I should have over a period of 20 years. Most of it can be contributed to having too many sodas (3-4 a day). That is about 450-600 calories a day, so I was really just over-drinking rather than overeating.

Losingweightforgood2019

I really didn't have a good excuse :P I ate more and moved less, and kept telling myself that it wasn't my fault, and that it would change when life events changed. So after 50lbs of this I had to just take responsibility for it or keep on gaining!

This is the same for me:-) I gained 50 pounds during a 8 month period by just eating whatever....

Shrinking_Moody

I gained about 50lbs when I was pregnant. I just kind of waited for the weight to fall off and it never did. And then over the past year my son was diagnosed with ASD and apraxia - so there was enough emotional eating that I just never lost anything.

**and my weight has basically always been an issue but I don't think I've ever had it this high before.

tracyhall63

I was a skinny, skinny kid. Puberty was not kind to me and I began gaining weight and spent my teenage years being just a bit chunky, nothing too serious. Gained up to 166 lbs after I got married at 17 but lost it all when I got divorced at 21 and was the lowest of my adult life at 120. At 28 I quit smoking and then got pregnant and had a baby and have never been lower than 165 since. At my highest was 231 and currently at 194.

I have eaten out of boredom, stress, anger, fear, depression, celebration. You name it it has been a reason to eat. I have "stuffed" my emotions away by stuffing my face. Finally I decided to try and understand what is going on and deal with things a different way, now I exercise my troubles away. I still find that the desire to eat overcomes me at times but I have learned to recognize the triggers and try to circumvent the hand reaching for the food.

ColleenAtherton

There were no emotional or health issues that caused my weight gain that I can pinpoint.

I was extremely active when I was young and could literally eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound (even if I tried). So I had very unhealthy eating habits. As I got older, I had 3 kids and became less active but continued to eat like I used to. It was a combination of unhealthy food choices, overeating and not exercising.

shammxo

Depression and new medication.

grapegirl1

I stopped paying attention to myself. I eat the same portion sizes as my husband and wash it all done with a bottle of wine.
Then menopause played a few tricks on me too. Always an excuse not to exercise.

Missita84

I gained weight when I started dating my boyfriend. We live in a small town, so when we started dating, pretty much all there ever was to do was go out to eat, so we fell into the habit of eating out ALL THE TIME. 3 years later, I've gained around 50 pounds while he gained, like...20

sthrnchick

#1 reason...I just didnt really care. I had just FINALLY decided enough was enough with my ex...moved out with the clothes on my back...and just really didnt care period. It took almost 10 years of steadily creeping up on the scale...to finally decide that I was worth the effort...that NO ONE would care about me or love me...unless I did first...I made every excuse in the beginning of why I couldnt exercise...or eat well...and one day, thankfully it clicked...I just HAD to do it for me...not for anyone but me...and I havent looked back!

Bigfla

I dunno, not really. Recently I caught up with a friend I went to school with back in the 1960s. He had some photos of us then, as 12 years olds...I'd say we were the same weight, more or less. Difference is he was 6' 2" built like a bean pole, I was 5' 2 and built like a barrel. So I don't really buy into this stuff about broken marriages and giving up smoking as root cause reasons for weight gain; I certainly know as many who have lost weight apparently due to the same kind of stresses.

I think advertisers picking on our innate weaknesses is a major, along with unscrupulous food companies after a fast buck. And governments more interested in fighting wars in someone else's country than looking after the health of the people who put them there. It's ironic indeed that the population of Britain was never so healthy than when it suffered the constraints of food rationing during WW2, for example.

I think genetic disposition is the biggy. and not being adequately informed about the importance of energy balance.... our kids still don't get taught that at school, do they? It's certainly taken me till I'm 65 to get a real grasp on the energy balance thing, I suspect most of us who subscribe to MFP can say the same.

I've been a fat git all my life, is the truth, until about now, and I can't really say I've ever eaten any more food than those around me.

Having said that, I also believe that if you're not measuring it you're not managing it, which is why MFP is so important....and why the people who invented it deserve the recognition of nations...

So why have I always been fatter than my skinny comprades? Because I have a much more energy efficient digestion system than them, is the real answer.

Cheers

saraann4

I basically rebelled against my doctor. My doctor would have me in tears everytime I went in for an appointment. Saying that I was at risk for so and so. She would also bring up the past every time about how I lost weight before. I know, I'm bad. So I rebelled by eating anything that I wanted and whenever I wanted. To me, she wasn't the best motivator. She was great when I was losing weight, but total opposite when I was gaining. Also, didn't help prescribing me medication I didn't need. I don't blame her for me gaining. I've taken responsibility for that. I needed to do it when I KNOW I needed to do it. I had the mindset and still do... I only live once, why not enjoy it? I don't really want to live past 100 years old. Then again, I don't want to die young. I just want to live my life to the fullest now. Food doesn't need to be #1. I want to be fit now. My mindset is totally different now,.

rm830

Laziness, low self esteem, no exercise, going out too much trying to keep up with friends...so partying, and just generally bad choices

ZoeyRobinson

15 surgeries all clumped together and I couldn't workout for several years. I was used to working out 4 hours a day and then nothing.. I gained 60 pounds. And it has been a struggle ever since.

laulyn

Got a divorce,left my job in the fitness industry, started a job driving an average of 1000 (yes that 3 zeros) a week while going to school, graduated from college and started a HIGH stress job (CPS, ugh!). It snow balled and I gained 65 lbs in 4 years. It seemed to creep up, but looking back, that is a huge gain in that amount of time. I am moving forward with a lesson learned, a very heavy lesson. Lol.

robinoes66

"Late" life pregnancy coincided with menopause and hypothyroidism. Add to that a back injury requiring surgery and not moving. AND I ate more calories than I burned!

nickyfm

I have PCOS and blood sugar problems, so I developed an incredibly terrible sugar addiction, leading to severe binges. I recently lost 13 pounds through will power, but the last week has been a terrible 'relapse'. Today is day 3 of being back on the bandwagon though

For those with diabetes and insulin resistance, you'll understand the drug addict-like response to sugar when you eat it. Just gotta cut it cold turkey unfortunately!!

It_never_ends

Well I didn't do it on purpose. LOL
I simply enjoy the taste of food to much and have no self control.

findingbalance2012

I had a broken heart and did not want to go through that ever again , gaining weight made me sexually irrevalant and men did not pay the same kind of attention to me as they did when I was thin. Pizza and cupcakes were my news lovers ...they never rejected me or made me cry ... my weight protects me and keeps my heart safe. Safe , but not healthy ... I am ready to shed the " protective gear" .

Jotell

I'm an emotional eater. I started gaining weight when I was about 6 years old (which is when my mom decided to start homeschooling me). I was bored, never went out, didn't have many friends, and wasn't very active. I usually maintained my weight throughout my life. Getting taller, gained a little more. I am an emotional eater as well. If I was bored, happy, depressed, angry, ect. I would eat. I ate because it made me feel good. At the ages between 13-16 I used to take band classes and walked to school and back. Then I got my license and never walked. I tried to go to the highschool and walk home with my friend/neighbor. At the age 16 I was 180lbs. I tried walking, dieting, exercising, but I never really TRIED to lose weight only tried to stay active. By the age of 17 I started the South Beach Diet with my mom and list 20lbs, then I started weight watchers and lost another 20lbs and got to my low of 144lbs by my senior year. I gained it all back within a matter of months, because I was bored and depressed. I had never had a boyfriend and never had been kissed. I didn't care about myself and had really low self esteem. Years went by, I became engaged, that didn't end well and I had gotten to 200lbs. I stayed around the 200lbs range till I became pregnant and then gained 50lbs. Which thankfully I quickly lost most of it, not all. Since my pregnancy I have been hovering around 225-220s. I finally broke the 220 mark and am ALMOST back to my pre-pregnancy weight.
So that's my story.

BeautyFromPain

Depression medication, plus working in fast food.

PS i still work in fast food

rgshudson

lack of motivation to stick to exercise, health issue and stress