Please don't be offended...

melbaby701

Well for me personally it was a combination of things. When I was 6 I was molested by a family member on and off for a total of 6 years. So they only thing I could control is what I ate so I did. My mom worked three different jobs so after school I was dropped off at home with a pizza or mcd's and tv and that is where I sat for hours. As the tv was the built in babysitter. Whenever I was around other people I felt embarrassed for what was happening to me so I ate more. So my entire life I was heavy. I remember being in 6th grade and weighing 200 pounds. The older I got the more depressed I become and I didn't like to be around others. Then when I was 17 I was again rapped by a uncle and packed on another 50 pounds. After much healing I learned that I used my fat to keep people away from me as to not get hurt. I also have to say I love my mom bc she is my mom but she was very emotionally abusive. I was told on a daily basis how my bro was her favorite and that how she really only loved him. And how ugly I was and I shouldn't bother with anything bc I wasn't pretty or smart. So my entire life all I did was watch tv and eat. I finally had to tell myself that all the things that others did to me was not my fault and to let it go. I still have a hard time and get depressed often I have to admit but am learning different tools to deal with it instead of food. Like this weekend I have a birthday party to go to and the thought of being around a lot of people is getting me very anxious.
Well anyway that is why I got up to my heaviest which was 297.

aussiemegs82

I think it's a very personal thing with everyone. Plus an addiction. But you can't completely stop or get away from it b/c it's needed. We eat for social occasions - to be happy... we eat when we are sad or bored. For me, I'm not obese but I can see how I could be if I didn't fight the urge to eat. For a while I'd eat when on the phone! Bad habits start when you are young and carry us through into our adult life. For my I have the excuse now that I'm not that bad... but now Im up another 10 lbs. So I'm going to a class reunion and went out to try on a new outfit. UGH! that was the turning point. I hated how I looked in clothes. So now I'm back in teh game again to lose. God bless !

With all due respect, it is easy to ascribe some of the characteristics of addiction to eating disorders. They are often treated the very same way. However, unless you have been a true addict and been truly dependent on a substance that is NOT germane to your body, then you really can't understand what addiction is or is like. The two are not the same.

I disagree. I have been both an addict of substance and overweight. The two are the same. High sugar foods give off the same 'feel good' receptors in the brain, like dopamine. Really, you could split the feeling you get from substance abuse and abusing food. Its defintely the same family. For me anyway.

Cheryl2205

I am probably in the minority here but i DID let myself gain weight - i knew i was gaining and did nothing to stop it.

I used to be a dancer and would dance several days a week, for at least 4 hours each time so i was always around a size 8 and about 9 stone. Then i met my fiance and dislocated my knee so i gave up dancing ( which i now regret) and just hung out with my partner eating out all the time and doing all the things you do when you get in a new relationship eg getting in loads of junk food and watching movies all night etc.

I could tell i was putting on weight but was simply too happy to care, and i didnt do any exercise to help myself. Whereas now i wish that i had watched what i was eating and had kept up my dancing as i probably wouldn't be in the situation that i am in just now.

deanna_bond

The human body is amazing - I suggest you watch some amazing human body shows on the Science Channel. First we have gone through millions of years of evolution. And with that our brain does not like starving, but prefers to hoard extra calories so that we may survive during periods of drought and famine - that used to be much more prevalent. It is in our DNA. Now in this day and age for many people in the Western world, extra calories are very plentiful. For some people it is easy to avoid these extra calories, but as we can see with the obesity epidemic this is not the case for most. Then tack on the depression that typically ensues when someone does get obese, and you have a viscous cycle. Furthermore, when a person does gain extra weight and then loose that weight, the body adapts and becomes very efficient. That person will have to eat less calories and exercise more than someone who never gained the extra weight. Plus the brain will push that person (through a release of a hormone) to eat more, the cravings can become very intense requiring a great deal of willpower to overcome. Those who loose weight and are able to keep it off, typically become somewhat obsessed with watching what they eat. It is one thing to loose weight, but completely another to keep it off. FYI: Food releases more happy hormones than kissing, which is why we seek comfort in food.

Nice post, thanks.

I have a question: you said the realtion in emdorphine between "love and affection" and food. Well I have been single for basically 5 years. at time I am lonely could this be one of the reason I can't seem to break the cycle?

deanna_bond

ps No I don't feel happy if I eat something bad either

felblossom

Studies also show that people eat more when they're bored. I think we've all experienced sitting in front of the TV or computer just getting that craving for something sweet. Or for anything, really, if you have a bowl of fruit you're more likely to grab one without really thinking if you're bored. If you do something more meaningful, then you'll be entertained and occupied, and you don't think about food as much.


Personally, I've just gone from normal weight to overweight, and what it all boils down to is lifestyle and habits. I'm a student, and there's a certain lifestyle that goes with it: late night cramming sessions with energy drinks, coooopious amounts of alcohol, a lot of junk food. I've never been that interested in cooking, I make the same quick and easy meals over and over again. Lots of pasta.
You keep thinking "What's one little bag of chips once in a while going to matter?" when the bf comes over to watch a movie. And, while it's a calorie-bomb, if you eat it every once in a while it probably WON'T matter. It's when you find yourself craving chips all of the time, and you're up to two or three bags a week that it becomes a very big problem, which is what happened to me.
I don't own any scales, and when you see yourself in the mirror every day it's hard to tell that you've gained a lot of weight. It's when the clothes don't fit and you take one, long look that you realize that you've gone really fat.

Changing habits and changing your lifestyle can be hard, and some people may not have the strength to do it.

yowza101

One year I was on prednisone for close to 6-7 months and I put on weight. I lost it and put it back on when I got lazy. For me anyway, I was just lazy. Once I got home, even on a nice day, I cooked dinner and then watched tv until it was time to go to bed. Sometimes I would eat way later then I normally did and then went to bed. I've been a yo-yo dieter for a while. My attitude wasn't right about losing weight or I wasn't losing it for the right reasons. But now that my arthritis have flaired a lot this year and had to have surgery, I was determined to get this weight off of me and decided this was a life change not anything else. I will always have weight issues but now my attitude is different about it, I don't give up on myself when I have an off day of eating and not working out.

I would just asked that you don't make fun of people who are obese. If you never been there, then you will never know the emotional toil the person is going through. You don't know if it's medication related, depression, abuse, etc... Good luck with your nursing degree.

grinch031

If you are going to weigh 400-500 lbs, you need to have some kind of pathological condition or genetic factors that promotes extreme over-eating and weight gain. I know that no matter how lazy I became, I simply could not eat enough to gain that much weight.

I think what happens is people have these physiological conditions and don't know what to do about it because first they are given bad advice such as "eat less, move more" which is nonsense as far as dietary advice goes, and not treated appropriately for their condition. Then of course they become depressed and just let the disease consume them.

Not enough good science has been done to help determine why people become massively obese, but hopefully we'll get there and society will learn to emphasize with people who have battles to fight that the rest of us don't.

Cespuglio

Well for me personally it was a combination of things. When I was 6 I was molested by a family member on and off for a total of 6 years. So they only thing I could control is what I ate so I did. My mom worked three different jobs so after school I was dropped off at home with a pizza or mcd's and tv and that is where I sat for hours. As the tv was the built in babysitter. Whenever I was around other people I felt embarrassed for what was happening to me so I ate more. So my entire life I was heavy. I remember being in 6th grade and weighing 200 pounds. The older I got the more depressed I become and I didn't like to be around others. Then when I was 17 I was again rapped by a uncle and packed on another 50 pounds. After much healing I learned that I used my fat to keep people away from me as to not get hurt. I also have to say I love my mom bc she is my mom but she was very emotionally abusive. I was told on a daily basis how my bro was her favorite and that how she really only loved him. And how ugly I was and I shouldn't bother with anything bc I wasn't pretty or smart. So my entire life all I did was watch tv and eat. I finally had to tell myself that all the things that others did to me was not my fault and to let it go. I still have a hard time and get depressed often I have to admit but am learning different tools to deal with it instead of food. Like this weekend I have a birthday party to go to and the thought of being around a lot of people is getting me very anxious.
Well anyway that is why I got up to my heaviest which was 297.

One of my closest friends has a very similar story. She was sexually abused practically all of her life since childhood and aside from the depression (of course), she said she used to eat and purposely gain weight so that she would be unattractive to whoever was molesting her. I am sorry both you and my friend have gone through this experience. I know it's a long, hard, journey, but if you stick with doing things for yourself, your own health and happiness, it'll all be worth it. The hard work you put in, I mean. Not the negative experiences, obviously. Good luck!