Was anyone overweight during their childhood or teen years?

TrimThinTonedTight

I've read fairly often on this site that people were healthy or normal sized as a child and teen, but how many of your were overweight or obese during those years?

As a recent high school graduate, I remember watching my classmates walking across the stage. For each person that did, I looked to see if they were overweight or obese (I'm on the boarder between the two). Out of a graduating class of roughly 335 students, perhaps 8 or 9 people at most fell into that overweight or obese category. Most of those were boys (I knew people well enough if their size was due to big bones or muscle mass) and there was only two other girls. That kind of summed up my whole childhood; I always stuck out as the 'fat' girl, the 'gross' one, etc. I was bullied pretty badly through elementary and junior high school. My family was pretty poor, so we had a hard time getting healthy food for an affordable price (Winters were particularly bad). My mom also refused to put me into subsidized sports because she was to embarrassed. As a teen (Haha and I'm still a teen), I suffered with mild depression, which made things hard...because I was so overweight, felt like I was alone in my struggles with my weight.

Anyways memories aside, what was your life like growing up as an overweight child or teen? Can you recall why you were an overweight young person?

It was definitely tough growing up like that. But I'm also a stronger person because of it. :blushing: Makes me feel like a sappy dork saying that, but it is true.

(Also sorry if there's been a topic on this already! I tried searching it up, but all the posts had a bunch of coding gibberish on them. )

Tracepa98

Growing up I was chubby And I think it really did a number on my self esteem. My family was poor and I didnt have a bike until my late teens. Even then I had strict home rules (curfew etc) and wasnt allowed out of the house much. So exercising daily wasnt an option. And I did poorly in gym class at school which didnt help either. So of course i did what most people do, I turned to food.

My family wasnt exactly supportive. My stepfather was probably one of the worst human beings on earth. He had several horrible nicknames for me. (Thunder Thighs, Moink.) He even had the second nickname put on my birthday cake once! I was mortified!

I lost my sister to a car accident in my late teens (she was 15, I was 17) and then had to move to FL to start a new life. Was depressed, no friends, so again i turned to food.

As Ive yo-yo'ed through the sizes of 18, 20, 22, 24 and back again, Im tired if it and want to make a change for the better. Im only 31 and I have High Blood Pressure, Sleep Apnea, Acid Reflux, and sinus problems. Tired of the weight controlling my life. Im learning to eat the right foods, right amounts and balance that with exercise daily. Its amazing the freedoms I now have as an adult that I didnt have 20 years ago.

PurpleEpiphany

I've always been overweight. I think that being chubby as a kid, combined with developing early, I ended up extremly self-conscious (didn't hurt that I was always very, very shy). I definitely turned to food as a comfort, as sad as that sounds. Even when I was riding horses every day, I didn't lose much weight. I always managed to overload on junk (not when I was at home since my mom didn't keep that stuff around) or just plain overeat. As an adult I've had to re-learn how to eat, as well as teaching myself portion sizes. I'm glad you're doing it now, though. The older you get, the tougher it gets to change your habits

heytherestephy

I was obese from 13-22. When I graduated high school in 2007 I was 283lbs.

steph1278

I was normal weight up until 6th grade.Then I started gaining weight and stayed heavy until the summer before my senior year of high school. I lost weight that summer and kept it off til I went to college. I gained the freshman 15 and then some because I ate crap and didn't exercise. Then I got pregnant and gained more weight and it was nothing but up from there. Lost weight a couple times in my 20's, but always ended up gaining back what I lost and then some. Finally woke up in January 2011 and decided to give it a go again. Lost 92 pounds in about 9 1/2 months then went on vacation and fell off the wagon. Stayed off the wagon through the holidays and ended up gaining back about 30 pounds. I decided that enough was enough and started my new healthy lifestyle in January of this year and haven't looked back. I can live the rest of my life the way I am now, so I have no doubt that I will reach my goal and maintain it.

heytherestephy

I was fairly average as well until 13 when I quit horse back riding, I gained 60lbs in two months because I was still eating like an equestrian athlete who was burning most of my BMR a day.

Lina4Lina

I was pretty much obese/morbidly obese from the age of 7 or so.

carebearhere

Growing up, I had three older brothers, who were fed more than me, and being the greedy devil I am, I wanted MORE. We were pretty poor so the food wasn't the healthiest, so that's how I became a fatty. I'm still a teen, but I was overweight, not quite obese as were a few others. My group of friends were all overweight, so, while we all wanted to have gorgeous bodies, having each other meant we didn't have to, as when we were together, overweight was the norm. It definitely sucked being the fat kid, and at school assemblies, we'd here these skinny people tell us that diets don't work, and we should love our body, which I guess led to a bit of resent towards people who could eat what they liked and not get fat. I'm glad I know what it's like to be fat, after never really being slim, so, once I've reached my goal, I'm not going to take my sexy body for granted, and will work hard to keep it looking good. A lot of once skinny people let themselves go as they get older, and personally, I won't let that happen!

Grenon

I have always been fat since childhood to now, which I always found weird since all I did as a kid was run around outside.

BeckySue1977

I was a chubby baby, chubby child, and chubby teenager.
I don't remember pounds, but I wore a size 18 when I graduated high school.

Interestingly, I was pretty active as a child and teenager, in dance class (ballet, tap, jazz, at least 3-4 days a week) and marching band. I also walked the mile too and from school every day till I got my license at 16.

I blame many of my poor eating habbits on my dad's poor habbits. He was a swimmer in his younger years and could eat tons of whatever he wanted. As an adult, he kept doing that. He ended up going through gastric bypass a few years ago and has since changed his lifestyle as well (yay dad!).

I don't recall getting teased for my weight by peers, but I was always conscious of it (mainly because my parents pointed it out a lot!). What I do remember is that I was shy and had low self esteem. I remember dating very little and I attribute that to the teenage boys wanting to date the skinnier girls. When I did date is was usually older guys.

I don't feel like I am stronger for having dealt with my weight, but I did learn that there are people out there who will accept me just as I am, not because of what I look like or what size clothing I wear, but because of who I am inside. I think that not fitting into what society deems acceptable made me try harder for a long time to fit in in other ways. It never worked.
I stopped trying to "fit in" a while back. I'm hear now to take care of myself and feel good for myself.

TyFit08

I was chubby ages 6 to 10. I remember wearing an adult size 14 at 10 years old. My classmates and family members made comments and teased me about my weight. The doctor told my mother it was just baby fat. I guess he was right because at 10, I grew 5 inches in one year and another 5 inches over the next three years. I suddenly started to look thin and everyone took notice. I became determined to stay that way and so I bought my first exercise video at 12, gave up beef and pork and by the time high school came around instead of being teased for being chubby, I had to deal with comments about being too thin. I was 5'10 and 125lbs. The same family members who criticized my mom for overfeeding me now urged her to give something more to eat. I come from a family where people don't think twice about making comments about weight. You're so fat, child you need to do something, You're too thin, you need to eat are said without thought. I actually had a cousin who was thin when we were kids and teased me for being chubby. She became overweight in her teens and is obese in her adult life. She gets a lot of negative comments from family members. I have never once said anything about her weight, but she is very insecure about it and even once asked me if I didn't ask her to go somewhere with me because she is fat which is completely absurd.

What I realized from being on both ends of this is that you can't worry about what others say or think. You can't let the scale define you and you can't please everybody and nor should you try. The only person you should try to please is yourself. Now in my thirties I'm 189lbs. My husband thinks I look great, but I have to please myself and that's why I'm on MFP

ladyfitz

Been overweight my entire life, even at my smallest I was still bigger than most girls around me...due to large bone structure. It was very difficult especially when your siblings were all a normal weight. So not only was I the big girl at school I was also the big girl of the family. Very discouraging. Even at my lowest weight which was about 145lb on a 5'2" frame the boys would call me HULK...because I never had the girlie figure, I have always been a little thicker than most.

butterfly173173173

I'm 5'5'' and was at a healthy weight range until puberty hit me and then I became overweight and slightly obese. I was always good at sports though so I think that that maybe kept me from becoming even heavier. From the age of 13-17 I was overweight and always around 160-180+. In junior year of high school I took an elective gym class called "Fitness For Life" and lunchtime was right after that class. I ate smaller portions because of this and worked out more, thus I lost 10 lbs and people noticed saying, "Wow, you look good. You've lost some weight.". That along with fitting into a smaller jean size made me feel great! Somehow though, I ended up gaining it back in senior year (even though I took another elective gym class). So I was around 180+ at this point and ended up joining the Navy right out of high school. Boot camp made me lose 15-20 lbs and over the past 4 years I've put the weight back on, even though I'm in the best shape of my life in terms of cardio and strength training. Yeah, I was and still am a chubster, but I had a good group of friends who didn't care what I looked like, so that helped.

AlphamaleBAMF

I've read fairly often on this site that people were healthy or normal sized as a child and teen, but how many of your were overweight or obese during those years?

I was obese for a long time. I remember weighing about 187lbs when I was 13. But even before that I was always ostracised for being fat. I was always the fat kid. Girls hated me. Guys treated me like a just and everyone bullied me. My life was hell. I've been fat for at least 20 years and it really changes who you are because you just get used to not being a normal person and being a loner and you stop trying to do things thin and popular people do.

Even when I do lose the rest of this weight the effects of being obese as a kid and during my teenage and early adult years will always be with me.

Woly1

I was chubby all throughout my childhood and I slimmed out after puberty but yeah it definitely made me stick out. I was the slowest in my PE class, I couldn't climb monkey bars and I got tired playing tag so I would stay inside during recess and read.

It's nice reading you guys's stories, it makes me feel like I'm not alone. I feel like there's a difference in the way people who have always grown up being the chubby one think and approach weight loss, you know?

tuiccim

On the larger side of normal until 6. At 6 I had no playmates and food and TV became my best friends. I ballooned from there. Still obese. 120 pounds til I'm in the Overweight BMI.

eclare87

I was a little over 150 pounds so considered obese (I'm 5'2) through much of high school. I didn't trim out until after college! Exercise and informed eating helped me lose about 25 pounds.

I would like to tone up a little more but sometimes I wonder if the fact that I was overweight is stopping me. I've heard your body stores more fat if it has been overweight...

k8blujay2

I became overweight in my teen years... about the age of 14/15...

Cindy311

I was large from about 2-3 years of age until I was 18, yo-yo'd several years after that though and I'm currently at 150lbs which is the smallest I've ever remember being.

SairahRose

I was normal until about 13/14. We used to go out for long hikes every weekend, and once I hit that age I preferred to sit inside and read a book, or go on the computer (I'm talking like Amstrad/BBC at that time) to play games.
My portion sizes didn't go down with the lack of exercise.. so I started putting weight on. I was pretty much the fattest one in my year, but thankfully I had one of those nice bubbly personalities that hid how awful I felt. I had friends and such, but always felt like I was missing out on things the others had at that time.

OfficiallySexyVal

I started out the smallest in my class when I started school but kids teased me because I was so small so I slowly started gaining weight. By 5 th grade I was chunky but not huge! My grandma passed away when I was 13 exactly one year later I gained 100+lbs. So I have been "obese" since 13!