What brought you here?

jbspangs

Let's face it... Most of us don't have glandular problems.

Whether it's a food addiction, depression, trauma, etc. We all have a story about why we became overweight.

What's your story? Let's start sharing! I think it is a good way to start fresh...
A healthy mind is the first step to a healthy body

jbspangs

Okay, I guess I should get the ball rolling :-P

For YEARS, I blamed my weight gain on genetics. I started gaining weight right around puberty.
What I didn't really admit was what was HAPPENING during the time.

My parent's divorce was at an all time low at that point.

I started eating to cope with the high amount of stress in the household.

Also, it didn't help that with my mother working a lot... There was a TON of take out.

lepow

I started gaining weight when I was first married and put on the pill. My eating habits changed also - my husband could eat anything and everything all day long and remain the same; I started to get jealous of how much he got to eat (of my home-made food, especially), so I ate more to keep pace.

I gained 30 lbs in the first six months and haven't really been back down since then - only up. I still struggle with up and down a lot and haven't been below 200 since 2004. I've recently decided that my goal is to be back at my 20-y/o weight by the time I turn 30 (I have 9 months and 60 more lbs!).

Since I've started this journey, I've learned to control my portions better and put everything in "pre-packaged" leftover meals for myself after the initial meal is completed. It may seem tedious, but it really helps me control what I eat - oh, and I also used to have a major issue with eating out WAY too much; I've cut down on that significantly as well.

ccoester

I've been heavier my entire life. Never 'fat' but always chubby/overweight. When I turned 18, I was diagnosed with a GI disease and I was put on prednisone. I ballooned and had an appetite like you wouldn't believe. So from 18-21 I went from 145 to ~185. I've been trying to lose the weight since. I got back down to 160 and then got back to 180. I lost that weight by really watching what I ate and exercising. I slowly slipped back into my bad habits and now I'm going for it 100%. I'm done with being heavy.

donnasjohnson

I was never heavy until after I got married. In fact, I was a decent athlete in jr. high and high school. Went straight from one sport to another with track being my absolute favorite. I was a tomboy growing up and could run faster than a lot of the guys in my class. It wasn't until years later that I realized, because of my dysfunctional home life, I chose sports as a reason to avoid ever having to go home. After I moved out while going to college, I dropped all activity and quickly gained the freshman 10, but still that only put me at 130 pounds at 5'7", so weight wasn't an issue. Got a job at an gourmet ice cream parlor and quickly packed on 10 more, eating almost unlimited ice cream and soft drinks. Fast food after midnight was the rule, not the exception. Met my future husband, got married and moved 300 miles away. Started cooking great homecook meals, still eating whatever I wanted, with very little activity. I had been married just six years when I found myself at 174, and joined Weight Watchers. Got down to 158 when I got pregnant with my daughter, then my son three years after that. By time he was two, I was holding steady at 185. Ever since then, I have moments when I played with watching calories, played at adding some exercise, but usually just short burst of trying in between long, long periods of doing whatever felt good at the moment. Which got me at my all time top weight a few years ago of 225. Hit that number and decided to make small changes over the year. My goal was to be ten pounds lighter the next year, then just a little more after that, real lifestyle changes that would slowly bring me back to health. First year I was down to 215, next 210, last year 192. What killed me was hitting 192 last summer, (the best I had been at for over 15 years) then going to my 30 year class reunion and hating how I looked in every picture. I got back home and slowly stopped doing all the little things that I had started doing. Just went back to doing whatever I wanted, when I wanted. By my 49th birthday in April this year, I was back to 211. I finally hit my bottom. This is not what I was meant to be. It's not what want to be. I will lose 50 pounds before I turn 50. And not by playing around either, I doing what it takes to lose it right. I'm eating right and exercising regularly, tracking every morsel that goes in my mouth. When I hit my 50th birthday, I will decide what I want to do next. But the idea of being around the weight I was before I got pregnant with my daughter (who's turning 20 next month!) is mind blowing! I have to get there and then wrap my head around choosing to be that athlete again. It's been so long since I've been her, that I can't even comprehend having her back. I realize that this is a very long answer to how I got here, but the real answer is by gaining a mere 3 pounds a year for about 27 years. My advice if you are young, is be determined now. My favorite saying posted on my mirror is "If you are tired of starting over, then stop giving up."