Was anyone overweight during their childhood or teen years?

urloved33

I would really like to address this bullying issue...it's not weight related. I was in great shape as a teen, my kids were in great shape throughout their childhood and yet we were all bullied in our lifetimes. My children were bullied so bad in school I withdrew my youngest one from high school and put her in night school with adults. A few of the bullies were teachers, coaches and other adults stood, watched and did nothing.

Bullying is a chronic unaddressed problem for our youth and I am sorry to hear that you suffered it as well.

It is hard to think that this problem continues and no one ever stands up, speaks up or fights back for the victims. I did...we suffered a retaliatory backlash for fighting back but I have no regrets my children saw me defend them

I would also like to say both of my daughters had black belts in taekwondo and still suffered as victims...had they lashed out they would have been the ones in trouble so they suffered....

Why bullying persists is beyond me, it is easy enough to stop...it just takes the adults standing there watching it to get involved but they choose not to.

Bullying has nothing to do with weight and everything to do with being randomly victimized. (bullies don't need a reason to bully)

ActiveGuy81

I was active, always a chubby kid, but getting injured in basketball got me to balloon up to 290+ as a sophomore.

wxchaser

I was overweight starting from middle school on up. I'm still overweight, but at least now I've started to get myself on track. But that's besides the point.

Yes, I was bullied through high school for being the "fat" girl, even by my own family. So I had nowhere to turn but food. I was incredibly unhappy, so food made me happy. That and both my parents were working parents, so quick and cheap was a way of life for my family.

Shellyyy7928

Been overweight since about 5th grade. 7th grade my dr told my mother I was fat and needed to see a nutritionist. Lost 30 pounds in a year. Not enough money to keep going. So I gained back most of the weight. Was 5'5" and roughly 160-170 through all of highschool. Carried all my weight in my middle. But never got bullied or made fun of. I guess the worst thing I got was being called chicken legs by my friends or being told I have a back crack because I have no *kitten* lol. Got pregnant the end of my junior year. Gave birth in January 2011 weighing 200 pounds. By May that year when I graduated I was about 175. I am now 160. It's slow going, but it's going lol.

I was never bullied. Nor did I have horrible self esteem issues. Idk. Being a fat teenager didn't really have an impact on me. I know i wasn't as big as some but I was one of the biggest girls in my grade. And although all the rest of my family are healthy weights, I was never picked on.

anamy90

I was a rather chunky monkey from about age 11 when I hit puberty. I was bullied and made to feel lesser for most of highschool. Definitely affects self esteem in all areas of your life. I never feel like i measure up. I did find myself playing the fat funny girl a lot, which is a sad sterotype because...not all fat people are funny and jolly. Grown out of it somewhat though still have a tendency to be a doormat.That will be changing.

tifalva

For as long as I can remember I was overweight. I went for a span of maybe 9 months between my sophomore and junior year where I had lost about 40 pounds and fit into "normal clothes". I can remember that Christmas I was happy I could fit into a pair of jeans that were a size 8.

My grandmother would have me on the kitchen floor doing sit ups each night and I would often get a "talk" about my appearance and weight. My mother was over weight and so is the paternal side of my family. Meals around the house most of the time was fast food or chicken nuggets and french fries or burgers. The most I weighed in high school was 170. I was active though with a very outdoor-oriented boyfriend who didn't believe in sitting still EVER and dancing on the kick line for my high school marching band so even though food choices were crap I could manage kinda well with the activity level I had. One of my crushes in high school told me he would never date me because I "had enough rolls to open up a bakery". I will NEVER forget that. Broke my heart.

Things got worse once I went to college. I stopped being active, stayed in my room most of the time and had a literally had a drawer full of chocolate, crackers and cookies. My classes were so far spread out that my go to meal was ramen or pop tarts. When I would go to the dining hall, I would choose from the fried foods section and ALWAYS save room for ice cream. Needless to say I went from 170 to over 200 REALLY quick. From there things just got worse. I would try something and fail, I would feel hopeless and helpless that I could never do it and eat more. I kept gaining the weight. Now I am 255, my highest was like 270 something. I wish every day that I would have tried out for something in college or at least taken advantage of the free gym that was right across the walk way from my dorm room each night. Probably wouldn't be in the pickle I'm in now.

Being overweight as a child SUCKED. Kids are so mean and cruel its ridiculous sometimes.

curiouslycharlie

I've always been overweight/obese. I sometimes joke that I was born fat because I weighed 10 pounds at birth =p
Throughout school I was always teased and bullied because of how fat I was. By the time I was in fourth grade, I weighed 190lbs. I remember stepping on the scale at my grandma's house once and the reaction she had when she saw the number pop up. "You'd just be perfect if you lost some weight!" Great advice for a nine year old! I was never really taught how to eat properly, as my mom could eat whatever she wanted and stay skinny, and I guess she thought the same would be true for me. Not so much! Fast forward to sixth grade when I gained an absurd amount of weight and ended up in a size 26 pant- whoa. By eighth grade I was back down to an 16, due to a growth spurt, diet and soccer. However, once I started high school, I gained a lot of weight due to depression and lack of exercise, and made my way back up to a 24/26. I'm back down to a 22 though! Yay!
Basically, my point is, I've been overweight/obese forever. I've never been the proper weight, and I don't really think I'll ever be, but hopefully I can get back to where I can wear a size 16! I didn't have any rolls then!

mbk830

I started gaining weight when I was 5. I was teased mercilessly throughout elementary and middle school, and when I graduated high school I was a size 14 and had virtually no dating experience. The thing is I was very active spending hours and hours in a gym or dance studio many days during the week throughout high school. I didn't eat a ton of junk food (except the candy supplied by my grandfather), just too much of it. When I got to college and stopped exercising, I didn't change my eating habits (actually, they got worse)...so a size 14 quickly became a size 24. So here I am at 33 trying for the umpteenth time to be a size 8 or 10 or something....at least it appears that I'm doing something right this time.

I think writing this post gave me the motivation to go to the gym today that I've been lacking....

OSUChristina

I was always on the heavier side but looking back, I know now that during my middle school years I was actually within weight for my height and frame. I was slightly overweight during early HS. I can remember weighing in at 180 (should be around 165-175 per my doc) and my band director just hammered me. I wish he would have just encouraged me to tone up because the weight would have went along with that.

I always look heavier than I was until college because of my chest size. I was a 36C in 5th grade, a 36DD in middle school and high school and now am a 34JJ. My husband wants me to have a reduction now that I am done having kids but to me, I need to get back down around 200 to be able to justify to the insurance company why it should be done (I hardly ever lose in my chest). But it was hard and I really think it was because I was comparing myself to what was not realistic for me.

Christina

Esther50

No lie, my family nick name for me was "fatso".
For as long as I can remember maybe 6-7 years old. Back then I guess it didn't bother me. Now one sister will still use it, but I really hate it now.
Had a skinny phase my early 20's, but didn't last very long.

cherrym03

I was always on the chubby side when I was a kid. Nobody ever really teased me or anything while growing up, and I realize not many overweight kids had it this way, which saddens me now when I think about it.
My weight never really bothered me up until the teenage years, when I realized that I had limited choices when it came to wearing cute clothes and all that. I've always been an emotional person and change has always been hard for me; I'd be always complaining and crying about it but I never did anything.
I weigh about 138lbs now, and even though that may not seem like a huge lot, it is for me, because I'm short so I look awkward. I have a friend who is like 5'6'' and she looked decent at 135lbs; not my case though.
I'm hoping to make a change. I still can. I'm young and I don't want to waste anymore time. I promised myself I'd be happy with my weight by my 18th birthday :]

NeverGivesUp

I have never had a body that I have been proud of. Getting closer than ever to it now. Took me 40 years to undo the damage of teenage bullying and parents that couldn't communicate. Mom would look in the garbage looking to see what I ate while having her own weight issues and dad told me I was ugly and fat and would never find anyone to love me (all the while his own wife was obese). Projection much?!!! Finally coming out on the other end thanks to this site and all the sincere support I get here from people going through the same things. NO more victim. Time to take control of my own weight journey now and stop blaming the past. I know where it all started now, so what!!!, time to end this once and for all.

Im_NotPerfect

I've always been the chubby girl. Not obese, but definately the biggest of my friends. I was teasted mercilessly as a child (I remember one particular time in the 3rd? grade where I actually BRIBED someone to get something for me across the classroom because I didn't want to hear the teasing). As I got into HS and got more active, I slimmed out A LITTLE, but not much. The skinniest I was was my junior year in HS...I'm 5'9" and I weighed 158 lbs. How did I get there? By going to school full time, having a part time job, playing in the Youth Symphony on Sundays, and being part of sports at school....all at the same time. I was constantly active and didn't have TIME to eat. And then I got Mono. BEST DIET EVER (Just kidding....). So moral of the story...yeah I was only able to look "normal" by not eating and staying constantly on the go.

I've never known what it was to be "Skinny" or "thin". I come from hearty stock and it definately shows! Only now (at age 35) do I realize that being thin isn't what I want. It's being HEALTHY.

BigMech

I was always heavy as a kid up through last year. I was over 200lbs by junior high, over 300lbs through high school and 400+ in college. I probably haven't weighed what I weigh now since I was 13 or 14 years old, and I was 10 inches shorter then, without near as much muscle.

Being fit now is a whole new experience for me. Enjoying things like running, biking, swimming, or just being physically active has opened up a whole new world that I wasn't taking part in before. I look forward to maintaining it, and continuing to set a good example for my kids, so that don't have to go through what I did.

Sharon_73

I have always been the "big girl". My mother loves to comment on my linebacker football shoulders (I am 5'8", she is 5'0").

Throughtout my childhood I was always very active. I did gymnastics, swimming, skating, I was an active outdoorsman as well. I had terrible nicknames growing up. Fatty Four Eyes, Chubbi-Oki, World Famous Sumo Wrestler, Canadian Bacon.

I have read some of the other posts on here and it makes me just want to cry. It brings back all the terrible memories.

goalpeace

I have been overweight since about 10ish years old. Can't remember exactly. Now that I am living a healthy life, I asked my mother if she ever exercised, etc. She had not! However, she is one of those "always skinny" people. I got my weight from my Dads mom (and even my Dad is thin...errr).

Now I have an overweight child (daughter). The Dr. diagnosed her as being overweight and needing to lose.

I have been active for a year now and always serving healthy meals. I am constantly talking to my daughter about the importance of healthy living and inviting her to go walking with me or on a bike ride. In 5th grade, the kids run daily. (I LOVE IT).

She is the 2nd tallest kid in class (as a Girl!) and i'm hoping she gets a growth spurt to help with the weight loss. There is no doubt in my mind that these new habits are going to help her lose.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! :flowerforyou:

ErinBeth7

I was in high school. It wasn't a lot, but enough to hear *kitten* from my peers...whether I was intended to hear it or not. That's a bad complex to have.

PurpleEpiphany

I would really like to address this bullying issue...it's not weight related. I was in great shape as a teen, my kids were in great shape throughout their childhood and yet we were all bullied in our lifetimes. My children were bullied so bad in school I withdrew my youngest one from high school and put her in night school with adults. A few of the bullies were teachers, coaches and other adults stood, watched and did nothing.

Bullying is a chronic unaddressed problem for our youth and I am sorry to hear that you suffered it as well.

It is hard to think that this problem continues and no one ever stands up, speaks up or fights back for the victims. I did...we suffered a retaliatory backlash for fighting back but I have no regrets my children saw me defend them

I would also like to say both of my daughters had black belts in taekwondo and still suffered as victims...had they lashed out they would have been the ones in trouble so they suffered....

Why bullying persists is beyond me, it is easy enough to stop...it just takes the adults standing there watching it to get involved but they choose not to.

Bullying has nothing to do with weight and everything to do with being randomly victimized. (bullies don't need a reason to bully)

I agree with the thought that bullying doesn't need an excuse, but it's a statistical fact that overweight kids tend to get picked on more than other kids. Again, I'm not saying that non-overweight kids can't be bullied horribly, because of course they can, it's just that a higher percentage of overweight kids have to deal with that. In addition, being bullied about a certain thing, whatever it is, can give you major issues about that thing.

Interesting article I came across: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/03/obesity.bullying/index.html

Mich4871

I always say I got the fat gene in my family. Everyone else has always been slim except me. I've struggled my whole life. (I'm in my 40's now)

cameralinds

I was an overweight kid, according to my pediatrician. I transferred elementary schools when I started first grade, and since they had that whole first year to make friends, it was harder for me to do so, especially as an introverted child. Anyway, I was comforted with food.

I never was actually heavy I don't think. I remember being 100 at 4'9 at 9 and 122 at 4'10" at 10 years old, which my doctor found alarming. I didn't think much about my weight until she said something. It lead to well, close to a decade of eating disordered behaviors which turned into an eating disorder. Overeating, Undereating, Compensatory behaviors, name it.


What I learned when I was around 18, is that girls are supposed to gain around 20 pounds a year prior to starting her period. I started my period the day that I turned 11, so that twenty pound weight gain - COMPLETELY FREAKING NORMAL.

Sorry, I get really angry with myself for believing that I wasn't "normal" and that "At a weight increase rate like this, you could be obese by age 13." Anyway, now I'm lower than my ten year old weight and almost have a healthy mindset.

erinxo13

Looking back on my childhood pictures, I've always had chub. I've almost always had a double chin/full chubby face. Both of my parents have gained weight over the years, as has my sister. Even when I was young though, my sister (who is five years my senior) was always smaller than me. I've always been bigger, and I never noticed until third/fourth grade where I began to be bullied BECAUSE of my weight (and I know this as fact because of the names I was called) and that has continued only slowing down in the last year and a half or so. My family had tried WW back when I was in third and sixth grade but it always just ended for some reason. This time I'm doing this weight loss thing on my own and I haven't really told anyone I'm doing it, besides my one friend who said she had started MFP. I've never really consciously tried to do this, I lost a bit of weight about a year and a half ago because I just stopped eating at night and I was off pop for Lent...but this is the first time doing something like this. I'm not ready to share it because I never want to admit my weight to anyone. Being overweight as a child and now extremely overweight as an adult (I HATE the term morbidly obese, it makes me feel like I'm like... I just don't use that term) has definitely effected my entire life. Being bullied from such a young age has drastically lowered my self esteem and then just not being able to go shopping with friends or buying the same clothes as them or being around them when they're saying they are fat and need to lose weight when I'd kill to be their size.... a lot of my self esteem drop is self inflicted but it's incredibly difficult when I know (at that moment) I will NOT be able to do those things, go on rides at amusement parks, be able to participate in something where we all are wearing the same outfit (not that that happens often), not being able to fit into shirts at work etc. I can say that the self esteem thing was the biggest for me, not only because at the time it happened, but it continued and then I began to believe them and then I started realizing facts (about clothes, etc).... I think (and hope) that this journey will open up doors for me, allow me to gain confidence and self esteem back. I don't know if anything I just said makes sense or is relevant...oops.

In short, yes I have been overweight as long as I can remember and it sucks and I'm trying to fix it lol.

DarkFlutter

Chubby baby, chubby youngster, fat teen. By the time I graduated HS I was wearing a size 26.
However, I was quite active...and don't eat much. Just ate the wrong things.
After my mom passed away I dropped 60 lbs through depression. When I'm emotional, I don't eat.
Eventually gained that back. Met my now husband and gained 20lbs more by going on birth control.

Finally taking stock in all of it. Got very good with portion control.
And through this website figuring out the "right" foods...especially since I don't like most fruits/veggies.
8 months and down 37.5 lbs. Best track record yet.

Hopefully in a year or two when we start a family, I will weigh less...and be better equipped to shed it afterwards.
And NOT pass those bad habits down to our child/ren.

cindybowcut

I was always the overweight girl in school. I remember in high school that if i could just make it through it day without anybody seeing me I would be fine. That if I crawled back into my shell nobody could see me. I grew up in a poor family and you ate everything that was put on your plate, so I never really learned about getting full. I still struggle sometimes when I am full and leave food on my plate. Nobody else in my family was overweight. When I was about 16 i started working at a fast food resturant, which didn't help my weight at all. I weighted about 190 when I graduated from high school at only 5' tall. I lost weight when I changed job, but gained it back years later when I got pregnant with my daughter. That was over 17 years ago and have been about 200 lbs since than. Last July I was diagnosed diabetic, I knew it was coming, and that was the final straw. I will never go back again, too many bad memories.

eatcleanNtraindirty

I was overweight during part of my childhood and into my early teens, once I started to hit puberty and grow I grew out of it. It sucked, I think everyone was nice to me but I was known for being chubby. I was chubby basically from 4th grade till 7th or 8th. So from 9 years old to 13-14. After that I started playing even more sports and eventually became normal body weight. However for football I put on a lot of muscle and a lot of fat to be heavier since I played offensive line. Then I lost it all before my senior year of wrestling season to get down to a more natural weight and a better weight for me to wrestle at. Since then I've dropped even more weight and have leaned out quite a bit. Feeling great!

LovestheEarth

I've been overweight for as long as I can remember. I remember being call fat in kindergarten, and according to my parents, at the age of 5, I said I wanted to commit suicide because I was being bullied. Bullied all through grade school and junior high. Finally stopped around high school but I was still overweight. I've always been active- basketball, cheerleading and band in grade school, marching band and volleyball in junior high and marching band in high school. Always played outside and rode my bike. I hardly ever played video games. My mother would never put candy or chips in our lunches, always fruit and veggies. I guess I just have bad genes. I have a large frame just like my grandmother. I work out 5 days a week (cardio and weight training). Don't see the scale go down but measurements have gone down. Being bullied most of my life has damaged my self-esteem and I know it was really poor growing up. As long as I work out and eat right, I feel good about myself though.

Shelli06

I've never been skinny! And I feel the same way, I was alway the "fat friend" that boosted everyone else's self esteem while mine was on the opposite end of the spectrum.

MSimm62385

Overweight in childhood.
Overweight in Freshmen and Sophomore years of high school.
Perhaps TOO skinny in Junior and Senior years.
WAY overweight in college and several years after.

jsygurl

I was put on my first diet when I was a totally breast fed 4 mth old, because I apparently had rolls of fat - my Mum threw all my baby photos away as I was 'so ugly' so I can't comment. I went on constant diets after that, and as I became more reluctant to do it my Mum would 'motivate' me by telling me how physically repulsive I was, how no-one would ever love me. My whole family was skinny, and comments on my weight were common.

I have a lot of resentment about it - my Mum has erased the memories and is convinced that I put myself on the diets as I had a unreasonable fear that I was big, because when she looks at photos I am not big in them (cos she only kept photos of me when I was thin). Thank god for siblings who remember the truth or I would think I was going mad.

I know that I started binge eating at age 6 and it took 38 years to learn how to stop. Also I had a Facebook message fom my Mum the other day where she told me I was rubbish at losing weight and should follow her advice about how to do it properly. Ha ha!

The hang over from all that was believing that I could only be loved when I was thin - but I have been working on that, and now love myself despite not being thin. Which I now think ironically that I have the chance to stay thin, as I won't feel that being thin is a betrayal of my true self.

JMPerlin

Actually until I went to College I was under weight, a little stick. Then I found beer and wings and the rest will go down in infamy.

AliciaStinger

I was really thin through second grade for sure, and then by the time I was 10 I was definitely on the chubby side. I've always been kind of short, too. When I was 10, I thought it was cool that my tummy stuck out further than my mom's. My parents tried to get me to eat less and be more active, but I often ate too quickly at meals, and I used to love to snack while watching TV. (I still do, but now I don't eat a whole thing of Oreos or crackers. I try to do a couple cups of popcorn or fruit, although Oreos are still a favorite.) As I got older, I continued to overeat, and I was less active. At 14 years old, I think I was about 5'0 and 140 pounds. I stopped growing in height when I reached 5'2 - but I continued growing out. I was 153 lbs at 16 years old, in spring 2007. By August 2007 I was 175, and by December 2007 I was 205. I was about 207 in 2009 when I graduated high school. I didn't look good in XL shirts anymore, and I was up to a size 16 in pants. I didn't really get teased about it, but I still didn't feel good about it, and I couldn't keep up with younger brother, which is just embarrassing. He's in great shape; but competition is a great motivator for me.

I have a number of reasons I want to lose weight. I want to be able to run a mile, which is something I've never been able to do. I'd like to be able to pass the Illinois POWER (Peace Officer Wellness Evaluation Report) Test so that I can become a police officer. I am also interested in becoming a musician and/or actor, and I don't want to go on stage jiggling. (They say the camera adds weight...not sure if that's true, but I don't really want any extra right now.) At my best point on my weight loss journey (for lack of a better term), I weighed 172 and could fit into size 10 pants. I'm back at 185 and size 12's...but I will be back to size 10 in a month. That's the plan, anyway.