Why did you let yourself go?...

lindidit

Very interesting thread and so great to see I'm not alone!

There were numerous reasons, many of which have been mentioned by others....the first being pregnancy as the excuse to eat whatever I wanted for nine months. Ugh. I gained 50 pounds each time I was pregnant. Baby #1 was a very slow lose; baby #2 seemed to be all baby and water so it was less hard to peel the weight off. In both cases however,, I kept an extra 5 pounds from each child. I didn't care overly. I was a healthy BMI before getting pregnant for the extra 10 kept me in the range of reasonable and I felt that was my badge of motherhood or something.

However, some years went by and last year I turned 40. I quit smoking for good. UGH. What a dumb idiot i was to begin again in the first place after I'd had the babies because I had managed to quit both fricken times when I was pregnant. I mean, what kind of idiot does that? Anyhoo....I quit for good and my metabolism plummeted along with it and I started to creep up on the scale. Surprisingly, I managed to actually lose weight in the first 3 months after quitting...tbut hen my job became REAL stressful and before I knew it, I had become an emotional eater. I was eating when I was stressed (which was ALL the time), I wasn't getting enough sleep, and I was never exercising. In 1 and 1/2 months I put on 15 pounds.

So then I tried to start losing the 15 pounds by walking and eating better. But until MFP, I was never fully aware of just HOW much more I was eating in a day than what I actually needed. I went for a while with the crazy yo-yo sugar business that another poster mentioned and I was starting to get worried because I seemed to have this whole binge eating thing happening to me, It was horrible and I was completely out of control and because I suffer from depression, you can imagine how this made me feel. Oh my word!!! Feel depressed/stressed and binge eat which makes you feel depressed and stressed. Like...are you kidding me? So finally got the depression under control, started using MFP aggressively, and promised myself that I would learn to run a 5KM race before the anniversary of quitting smoking came this past summer.

So here I am. I'm pretty darned close to my goal weight of 125 (only 2 pounds to go), but truth be told, it's just a silly random number and I'm happy with how I look and feel now, today!

Oh...and I DID run that 5KM before the anniversary. I now run 5KM 3X/week.!!

OliveCarsey

I got preg and took the eating for two seriously, then got really depressed, and was is a bad relationship-very abusive Fast forward 14 years and i am now (and have been for over 9 years) with a very nice loving man, have gained even more weight again preg and then post partum depression- and finally decided to be the girl I was 15 years ago.

sbilyeu75

I had lost weight before and kept it off until I had an ectopic pregnancy which afterwards I was told I was not going to be able to have children. I would say I was depressed after that. I then somehow got pregnant. Then it took me about a year and a half to get into my groove of working out.

MyPaperBleedsInk

Lack of proper meals..... when I was younger my mother would always cook meals and whatnot... but at some point we all kind of drifted apart when it came to lunch/dinner. We didn't always enjoy the same foods and would cook our own things.... and eventually that turned into you're on your own almost every time.... and that led to laziness and not wanting to cook so I went for the quick and junky meals.
I developed a soda addiction which I still can't break to this day, but at least I forced myself onto Pepsi Next which has less calories and sugar.... I don't like diet at all, so this is the best I can do.
And as I gained weight, I didn't like running around as much because it became more difficult and it brought out the worst in me. Not even kidding, every time we had to run a mile in Phy. Ed. in middle school I would end up crying at the end. Because running allowed me time to think and it also was difficult to do. I realized that I was out of shape, I would constantly tell myself while running/jogging/walking that I wouldn't be able to do it, I would tell myself that I hated myself.... I had been in volleyball and was quite good at it, but didn't continue into high school because I couldn't stand most of the people on my team so that left me with even less physical activity....
Then my first year of college, only about two years ago, I was at my heaviest and decided I needed to change. Every time I would go anywhere or come back I would tell myself that I hated myself. Every...day....
And only this past summer when I realized I actually didn't gain as much weight as I normally do over the summer did I decide to try to change this year.

Cupcakehippiemommy

I had lost weight before and kept it off until I had an ectopic pregnancy which afterwards I was told I was not going to be able to have children. I would say I was depressed after that. I then somehow got pregnant. Then it took me about a year and a half to get into my groove of working out.

This is really uplifting to me because I had a miscarriage and the number 1 reason of why I am so determined to lose this weight, thank you for sharing doll!

Cupcakehippiemommy

This is extremely personal, but I started getting fat when I was 7-8 years old. I've been obese since then. I'm not completely sure why I started overeating or finding comfort in food, but that wasn't such a great period in my life. My mom was married to man who beat her, and my brother and I witnessed some terrible things. That may have contributed, but I'm not sure. Not something I've talked about before. I do know that since that time, I've been extremely close to my mom.

I am very sorry you went through that and think you are a brave soul for sharing that and being on MFP to start gaining back control My grampa used to say Every sunrise, is another new beginning and God's proises are like the stars;the darker the night the brighter they shine ^u^ I am not big on religion but that has always stuck with me. Best of luck doll xo

Cupcakehippiemommy

I never let myself go, exactly. In my adulthood I've always busted my buns to have a nice figure. Last July I got a blood clot that ran from my ankle to my kidney (huge, huh?) caused by something called May-Thurner Syndrome, which I did not know I had, which got severe when I was pregnant with my son. SOOOO, needless to say I almost died. I was bedridden, had to have corrective surgery, and now have a left foot that doesn't always cooperate thanks to all the trauma to that leg. For those who've never heard of May-Thurner, like me before last year, it only affects the left side because it is a left common iliac vein collapse (it collapses under the right artery in the pelvis area). I survived, thank God since I have a baby to raise, but the medications I have to take now (anticoagulants) cause weight gain, not to mention despite an initial loss of weight when it first happened, I gained weight during the incident. Now I'm trying to reclaim my figure......... it ain't easy peeps, but I'm fighting hard. :ohwell:

Your story is an amazing, I think you are an incredible woman after all you've been through to have the mind of a fighter ^u^ Best of luck doll!

Erisad

I was depressed and didn't care whether I was fat or not since I was alway fat since puberty. I figured that men would continue to cheat on me anyway so why bother? I eventually decided that I had to improve myself to get better men, well I met my boyfriend halfway through the weight loss so I guess I was right? O.o

MommyToCutie

Because our society allows mothers to use pregnancy and having children as a valid excuse to get fat and stay that way. Pure and simple. I used my children as an excuse to not work out.

I agree! After I had my son, everyone around me would say "it's okay, you just had a baby," If I complained about my weight. Even my boyfriend would say that. I wasn't exercising enough, not eating healthy foods, and when I stopped nursing, I started drinking all the time.

I also feel that I was brought up in a household in which exercise and nutrition weren't stressed as being that important. My sister and I were never overweight when we were kids (she still is really skinny). We never ate dinner together at home, except in front of the TV occasionally. In fact, my parents wouldn't allow me to join any sports in school (I wanted to try out for basketball in middle school and track in high school) because they didn't want to drive me to practices/games! I remember going out to eat at fast food places a lot. And fruits and veggies weren't too dominant in our meals because they were deemed "too expensive". So when I moved out, I followed the same habits. I was never overweight until after I had my son, but I wouldn't say I was healthy either.

mphlab

Prednisone because of Autoimmune hepatitis. Then I had a stroke so my body has not been very cooperative. I have always struggled with weight but I was a 14 or 16 before, never a plus size!

sabolfitwife

I've always been bigger, but last year I was in a relationship and let myself get into that state of mind "I'm comfortable with him, I don't have to worry about what I look like, blah blah blah". By January 1, 2012 I realized that while my boyfriend loves me no matter what size, I didn't love myself and that was unacceptable. I've been on this journey for 9 and a half months and each day is a struggle. My boyfriend and I broke up at the beginning of the year and just recently got back together and I've realized that I need to fuel myself to work even harder and not let myself slip back into that "comfortable" phase. If anything I want to get healthier for him and I both and help him realize that he needs to focus on his health as well.

Tracepa98

I lost my sister to a car accident when I was 17. Then in a whirlwind move 2 weeks later I was relocated to another state, new school, no friends and no car. I was lonely and depressed and ate to feel better.

Fast forward about a year and I had decided to move away with a new boyfriend. Money was tight and I found myself working two jobs in the hospitality and fast food industry. Due to the current toy promotion going on, Burger King provided me a free meal every day that I worked. So I ate it simply to not starve. 2-3 months of that I'm sure took a toll.

Then 5 months later, I met someone else and ended up dating/living with him for close to 7 years (together for almost 9). We lived on a tight budget, he was Italian with a light speed metabolism. Eating what he ate and i kept getting bigger.

He was complacent with me and I became depressed on how our relationship was going. I had the courage to leave him but then moved back home with my aunt. And of course right back into the same habits as before. She ate to make herself feel better and I went right along with it to keep her company.

So for the first time ever, I'm breaking away, buying my own foods,avoiding the sweets and fattening foods she buys, logging everything and making myself accountable for what I eat.

I'm not proud of what I look like but I have plenty of time to turn this around and make my life a healthy future.

Cupcakehippiemommy

I lost my sister to a car accident when I was 17. Then in a whirlwind move 2 weeks later I was relocated to another state, new school, no friends and no car. I was lonely and depressed and ate to feel better.

Fast forward about a year and I had decided to move away with a new boyfriend. Money was tight and I found myself working two jobs in the hospitality and fast food industry. Due to the current toy promotion going on, Burger King provided me a free meal every day that I worked. So I ate it simply to not starve. 2-3 months of that I'm sure took a toll.

Then 5 months later, I met someone else and ended up dating/living with him for close to 7 years (together for almost 9). We lived on a tight budget, he was Italian with a light speed metabolism. Eating what he ate and i kept getting bigger.

He was complacent with me and I became depressed on how our relationship was going. I had the courage to leave him but then moved back home with my aunt. And of course right back into the same habits as before. She ate to make herself feel better and I went right along with it to keep her company.

So for the first time ever, I'm breaking away, buying my own foods,avoiding the sweets and fattening foods she buys, logging everything and making myself accountable for what I eat.

I'm not proud of what I look like but I have plenty of time to turn this around and make my life a healthy future.

I am really sorry for your loss but really happy you are making the change to take back control and start a new life doll ^u^

Allylynn

Have thought of this often. Every time I restart my weight loss journey. The few pleasant memories of my childhood is sitting down with my mother eating an ENTIRE loaf of bread and chatting. It was one of the few times we weren't fighting. NOT to say my weight is to blame on my mother. Just saying that I started off with HORRIBLE eating habits.

I'm an emotional eater. Eaten my weigh thru horrible relationships....parents, sister, friends....issues with marriage and health. A few pounds here...a few there...three pregnancies (two of which were on bed rest) it adds up.

StartingOver12

I think mine started with anxiety and depression.I've always been an emotional eater but had it pretty much in check but when I fell into this funk, I just kind of gave up excercising and then diet. I struggled for about 3 years trying to pinpoint exactly what happened in my life to trigger it, then I ended up deciding to go off birth control. Interestingly enough the depression lifted and the migraine headaches I stuggled with for so long also went away.

honey_bee_keysha

Well, because I greatly enjoy

Soda
Fast Food
Pizza
Candy
Salty Snacks
Fried Chicken
etc

This^

latinobarbie1208

I totally took my health and weight for granted. I never thought I'd let myself go but depression set in after becoming disabled and the last five years, pounds just started creeping up as did my cholesterol and blood pressure. Lesson learned...never take anything for granted EVER AGAIN!!!

ewestsca

haven't been taught how to eat/act in a healthy manner. Now I have to lose some weight and relearn how to live.

I also did not learn healthy eating habits as a kid. Meeting my ex husband who loved to eat also added to my weight gain. Then a combination of stress, depression and lack of will added the additional 20 pounds.

I"m trying to relearn everything and to listen to my body.

kittykat1994

University. I'm surrounded by junk food and cheap and easy deals for us. All my friends are awful when it comes to our eating habits too! I've gotten lazy and complacent.

onyxgirl17

I'd say depression, apathy, and readily available tasty fast food. Also, I tried to make up for a lack of energy from working 60-80 hours a week by drinking 3 Monsters (full calorie) a day. Not the healthiest habit. I was drained, exhausted, worried about money because my husband couldn't find a job, and generally just not getting anywhere in life.

Also trying to please my husband and what he wanted. Now he's used to the fact WE EAT AT HOME most of the time. I will cook for him, pretty much anything he wants.