Why did you let yourself go?...

kathydoeb

Look beside you sister. We were cut from the same cloth.

brenn24179

I just didn't care enough about myself. Yep, this is it. I think we take care of everyone but ourselves. I also had parents who made me feel like I didnt matter.

brenn24179

I also dont like to confront and problem solving has been a problem for me. I eat rather than deal. Doing much better with this, I have had to distance myself from dysfunction uncaring parents now knowing it was them and not me, I thought there was something wrong with me. This is hard to share. I had selfish parents who catered to my X husband and turned their head on me when I needed support. They did not want to be bothered. They would have him and her up on holidays and tell me how pretty she was, ouch. Parents were just into themselves, wild type, insensitive,neglectful just like my X, no wonder they got along so well.

I just had a situation at work I had to confront, was treated like sh#t, I knew I deserved better treatment and told her. Then was I ready to work on my overeating.

I guess I didnt think I was worth much, now I know I am worth taking care of.

MinimalistShoeAddict

For most people weight gain is gradual. Some people might not realize they have gained weight until stepping on a scale for the first time in years.

Of course this is more plausible for someone who has gained 10 pounds than for someone who has gained 100+

Health is so much more than just a number. We should all be monitoring other areas of out health/fitness as well.

onwarddownward

Why did I let myself go? To avoid sex, I think.

BigBrunette

I built a layer of insulation around myself, literally and figuratively. Now that I'm comfortable with who I am, I no longer need that insulation. I'm shedding it a pound at a time.

aronao

Why? Any answer is just an excuse but if I had to make some excuses they would be:
1. That I was tired (I'm a mother of an 8yo and a 4 yo), especially in the time that my youngest one was waking up every night at least once if not more)
2. That juggling work, 2 kids and the rest of life took up all my energy
3. That I just could not be bothered with the discipline it takes for me to keep my weight under control
4. That I've been fat all my life and the amount of effort it takes to keep tabs on my weight is too overwhelming so it's easier to just eat what I want and not worry about the weight

A_Fit_Mom

There are a few factors. I lost weight in my early 20's and looked great. Then I got pregnant and really bounced back well and looked great by his first birthday. Then I slowly gained about 10-15 pounds back in a few years after and got pregnant with my second.

The second pregnancy... I used the excuse of being pregnant to eat fast food...eat all the sweets I wanted etc. so I gained about 25-30 pounds. And ever since he was born a couple years ago..I never lost the weight. I just kept my habit of eating fast food and eating sweets.

FretheMJsmokingcannibal

I grew struggling with weight and not much confidence in my ability...I grew out of my denial and started trying new things now I'm planting a garden!

bbl2013t

boyfriend wanted me fat
stress
started emotional eating
stopped dieting/starving
stopped exercising
luv food eating contests

kuntry_navy

alcohol. i'd close down the bar, get home and clean out the cupboards

chelseascounter

Denial then once I realized how much I gained(pair of shorts that were too big before were now too small) I thought "maybe I'm supposed to be fat" but that was just my dumb excuse to keep on eating.

Vailara

Good question. I didn't have to watch my weight at all through my 20s and most of my 30s. I didn't think too much about what I ate and my weight always stayed around 120 lb (except when I was ill, stressed, or the couple of times I dieted, when I would lose weight). I first put on weight when I was pregnant in my 30s, but I lost all the baby weight without dieting. I went through stages in my life when I was very active, and stages where I was more sedentary, but my weight stayed just the same.

So when I did start to gain weight, I didn't want to interfere too much with that natural process. I hoped the eventually my body would find a healthy weight again, and although I did try dieting a few times, there were reasons why I felt it was unhealthy for me.

Funnily enough, my body DID find another "set point" which it maintained for a few years. Unfortunately it was a very high set point!

I never did find out why I suddenly started gaining weight after not having to think about it for so many years. Possibly it was just to do with aging.

oldandhealthier

depression and lazy, and after giving it more thought I come from a generation where our parents hammered to clean our plates no matter if we were full or not. Grew up on high starch food. We have come a long way on healthier foods since the 50's.

jkal1979

When my husband died four years ago it only took a few months for me to gain about 30 of the 50 pounds I had lost years prior. I made some attempts to lose it but really wasn't putting in much of an effort. Now I'm working hard to get the weight off and get rid of the physical baggage from that time.

kindasortachewy

Two very (naturally don't work at it at all) skinny sisters - Realizing I was never going to look like them so I might as well be a complete slob. Terrible thought process

Then in middle school I was raped and I didnt want to feel attractive anymore because of it. Terrible thought process again

I don't dwell on either, they both got me HERE and HERE is a great place to be.

TheBigYin

10 years of working from home, whilst caring for both parents - My Mother through inoperable bowel & bladder cancer for 4 years before the inevitable, My Father other through the aftermath of a stroke. 2 Years ago, realised that in spending all my time and attention on looking after them, I'd given up on myself, and was in such a terrible state that it was possible that my dad may outlive me... So, I decided to lose some weight and get fit - first thing that popped up in a Google search that wasn't pay-as-you-go or "miracle diet pills" was MFP, so I decided to give it a go.

2 years later and 166lb lighter, I'm fitter than I've been for over 20 years. Sadly, my Dad hasn't survived to see me getting towards my eventual goal - but I know he was proud of what I achieved before he passed away last month.

yinkyo

My family has been pretty heavy as far back as I can remember, but only because we've all had an eating problem. My mom was sooo skinny before having her 2nd child (she lost all the weight after me ^_^ xD) but she started to put on the weight after that.... and my dad started putting on the weight after he got out of the Coast Guard. We would eat 2-3 servings of food per person a meal, and we all have sweet teeth. So I've always struggled with my weight, but at least back before my 20's I was the smallest of my family of 5 (even though I was the oldest sibling, and the 2nd tallest)

The first time I moved, I moved to the city and quickly lost weight. I wasn't eating as much, I was constantly on the move, and just generally being a bit healthier. But then I moved back home and sank back into my old habits, and put on a bit of weight again.

Then I moved out to my boyfriends' with his Grandma... I felt like a total stranger most of the time, rarely left my room, and even more rarely left the house except for work. I also finally got my license and started driving places instead of having to walk.

The last straw was a fairly difficult pregnancy, where I lost almost 20lbs from constant throwing up, and then had to gain it all back, plus more >_< Afterwards, I was put on bed rest... and just decided that was the last straw, apparently I was not meant to be skinny.

But now, I have a son who refuses to stop moving, and I want to keep up with him. I want to be healthy and teach him to be healthy. and I want to feel desirable again, my fiance loves me for who i am, heavy or not, but I want to love myself too... and I can't. Plus... my little sister and I are close in weight now... and I want to at least still be able to claim skinniest of us all xDD

TL;DR: Always been heavier, moved, and stopped getting out as much as before, then had a baby.

bigmama777

you are awesome already

BackToFree

I ask myself the same question regularly, and I'm still not sure if I have an answer I'm happy with. It's a very deep question.

Sometimes I tell myself it's because I had kids, but 50kgs is a lot of "baby weight" to be carrying four years later, and truth be told, I gained 10kgs with the first, and stayed the same with the 2nd, so I gained in between and after.

Sometimes I tell myself that I got comfortable, and stopped caring so much because I wasn't putting myself out there (in the dating world) anymore. I've gained the majority of my weight in the nearly 5 years I've been married, so it's plausible.

Sometimes I blame it on the depression. I got depressed after a miscarriage in 2010, which got worse after I suffered another miscarriage. I ate for comfort, hoping that I'd stop feeling empty.

Sometimes I dismiss it because everyone in my family (on both sides) is overweight or obese, so it's "in my genetic code" to end up built like the rest of them.

Mostly, I think maybe it is a mix of all of the above, thrown in with some serious self esteem issues and a hormonal imbalance that makes it easy to gain and 10x harder to lose. I figured, why try to run against the tide, when it's easier to just go with the flow. I'm lazy, I'm unmotivated, and I really didn't care enough to try to put the effort in. I use food as a crutch. I eat when I'm sad, angry, tired, bored, happy, and just because I can. I think you really need to want it to take the leap to start, and I've never been sure that I actually want it enough.