What was your downfall?

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  • aryehn
    aryehn Posts: 4 Member
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    college life - as in "a lot of parties and night out". booze is not strictly involved, most eating out :)
  • AnahitaCanDoIt
    AnahitaCanDoIt Posts: 448
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    Using food for entertainment, boredom, comfort, a friend, a reward, a punishment instead of for fuel, which is what it should be.

    I have been a yo yo dieter all my life and gained and lost the same 50-70lbs AT LEAST 6 times. This time, I've kept most of it off (up half a stone to a stone and a half) for the last several years.

    Another problem for me is going to the States on holidays/visiting family. I can't say no to my favourite foods there and this time, after 11 days, I gained 11lbs! You have to work very hard to gain that much weight!!

    Grrrr .... at myself.
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
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    my downfall is eating anything that crosses my path.. i will spare nothing to stop through drive thru fast food joints, eat pizza and wings , eat white flour based breads with gobs of butter ,ice cream galore ,sweets .. its all my downfall :(
  • holly78
    holly78 Posts: 347
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    I too have been overweight since childhood. I could pick any number of excuses, but i think the main cause was the lack of nutritional knowledge really. as a child i didn't know those sugary cereals were bad for me, plus all of my friends were eating them too. We ate out of convenience, my mom was a single mom, and we'd have dinner thrown together, so alot of processed foods, which again i didn't realize were so bad for me. That coupled with lack of activity, as a single parent my mom couldn't afford for us to play sports or take dance classes. My bad nutrition continued into college, where as a poor college student I'd eat off the dollar menu at McDonalds or ramen noddle soup, just to save a buck. Now that I am more established and preparing meal for myself, I can control more what i purchase and prepare. It is still a challenge because fresher better choices still tend to be more expensive then cheaper processed foods, but I have learned my health and life are worth more than any $$. I have learned more about portion control then I've ever known before, and i read every label and make better choices even when shopping.
  • mrsgigandet
    mrsgigandet Posts: 53 Member
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    I went from exercising fanatically and counting calories to staying at the hospital, eating hospital food (AKA fried chicken tenders and French fries), ...

    You'd think hospitals, being HOSPITALS, would have healthier food. But I guess it's like dentists with lollipops; they want to keep you coming back.

    I know! I have never understood why hospitals have such horrifically unhealthy food. When I would visit my nana when she was in intensive care, the best you could get was a little fruit cup. They had hot dogs, nachos with fake cheese, everything. I wish they could at least put in salad bars or something :-/
  • evmoses
    evmoses Posts: 46 Member
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    Removal of my gallbladder - For me, whether it was age, coincidence or truly that my body doesn't process things the same any more, I'd never had a weight issue until after the surgery. I don't think my eating habits or anything else changed drastically, but I gained 40+ lbs in two years time.

    Me, too! : ( Never over 132 even full term pregnant) then Gallbladder out and have dieted my way up to current weight!! Hate it and am trying hard to change my mind set! Good Luck everyone!
  • madworld1
    madworld1 Posts: 524
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    The first time I gained a lot of weight was when we barely had enough money to scrape by. We lived off of hamburger helper and the cheap menus. When we moved, things were a little better and I lost the weight. But, this time around I blame the weight on college. Definitely stress eating, portion control, and night binge eating.
  • erikaaaaaaaa
    erikaaaaaaaa Posts: 155 Member
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    Snacking here and there! It added up. I can't blame my family because they gave me a healthy eating foundation, but we owned restaurants so tasty, fatty, lovely culinary creations were always at hand if you wanted it. One too many hush puppies on the way past the line in the kitchen me thinks!
  • xiofett
    xiofett Posts: 138 Member
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    woman.... they an't nothing but trouble

    Very true. And I just love trouble...
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    marijuana ... just jokin .... no seriously

    No hating here....I'm sure you got the munchies a lot! LOL
    There's nothing like a big bowl of Capn Crunch after a....... umm long day of working out. lol
  • awake4777
    awake4777 Posts: 190 Member
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    My downfall was my car crash of 2006. I was rear-ended while waiting for pedestrian to cross at a crosswalk. The person who hit me was going so fast that the airbag was deployed in the car that the offender was driving. I gained 90 lbs in the year following the crash (I had just lost 20-30 lbs and was down to 160 lbs. Can't wait to see 160 again. Goal weight is 130-120 lbs)

    Since the weight gain I've been trying to figure out when my initial weight gain started. It was when I got my first car (or when I got my first boyfriend who had a car). That's when I stopped walking or taking the bus. HUGE MISTAKE!
  • Kassadeedle
    Kassadeedle Posts: 136 Member
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    Overeating & portion control, going to restaurants and eating out, beer, eating out of boredom...my office is surrounded by fast food restaurants UGH! Also being a super busy mom and always on the go it was always easier to just stop at Wendys or something. I found myself eating when I wasn't even hungry.
  • awake4777
    awake4777 Posts: 190 Member
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    I thought I ate unhealthy food when I was stressed. The reality is that I eat bad food when I'm tired and sick, simply because it's easier and I don't feel like cooking or going to the store.

    I rarely get stressed so maybe I learned how to manage my stress so the next thing was eating anything when tired or sick. This is when I eat the most unhealthy foods.

    My granddaughter's pre-school started teaching her how to eat properly at age 3, with a discussion about what foods are healthy and what foods we need to be careful about. She is 8 years old now and we still have conversations about healthy foods. She is a bean pole as I was when her age. She has known me at 258 lbs and now. She is very complimentary and aware of people who are overweight.

    Her mom was a few hundred pounds overweight before her gastric bypass and is still about 100 lbs overweight. My granddaughter has determined that she doesn't want to be fat. She is very active but eats a lot of sweets. Her mother still hasn't adopted a healthy lifestyle so I worry about my granddaugher and contine to teach about healthy lifestyle.
  • jacquelyn_erika
    jacquelyn_erika Posts: 524 Member
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    Hmm, what got me here in the first place..

    Well, we ate out a lot growing up. My parents were divorced, so usually whatever parent we were with took us out to eat. My dad got re-married when I was 16 and this lady cooked her @$$ off and we always had a pantry full of goodies. I mean...EVERYTHING you could imagine. I remember opening the freezer and gallons of ice cream were falling out of it. I thought I struck gold at the time. Not so much now...

    Fast forward to 18 years old, I moved after graduation, got my first serving job at the WAFFLE HOUSE. I worked on average 50 hours a week, therefore I was eating waffles, scrambled eggs with cheese, and chocolate milk... like it was going out of freaking style. I gained almost 40 pounds working there. It was sick.

    But, overall, I love food and I abused it back then. I had no idea of what I was putting into my body until one day I was tipping the scales at nearly 200 pounds. I'm glad I realized what I was doing to my body before it was too late.
  • awake4777
    awake4777 Posts: 190 Member
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    When I was first married I weighed about 108 lbs. My mother-in-law was a great cook. When we would go for a visit she would say "have some dinner". We would say "no thank you, we just ate". She would say, "Eat again". and we would. I gained about 42 lbs in the first year I was married. My mother-in-law was over weight (from Georgia) and died at age 53 from a heart attack. Your "no" has to mean "NO!"
  • TCondor
    TCondor Posts: 88
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    For me it was loss of a supportive community. When we lived in Southern California, my wife and I were part of a program. Not sure if I should name it but it's that one where you "Watch" your "Weight" :-). We had a great group of men and women and and excellent leader who provided a lot of great tips and positivity. We hit our targets in just over a year and were doing well with maintenance.

    When we moved to New England, we lost that. We tried a variety of meetings but the all seemed to be filled with bitter middle age women. (I'm not being sexist here, it's just the way it was. In many of the meetings I was the only guy.) All they did was complain about the state they were in. It's as if they felt that they were entitled to lose weight and get healthy without having to change anything. And then never offered words of encouragement to someone who needed a lift. If someone did lose a pound or have a positve change in the week there was no congratz. In fact they acted jealouse and made you feel bad about doing well.

    But that's all changed recently. Through the gym in my office building I found a fantastic trainer to help me get started again and the support and encouragement from the MFP community is the best there is. So thanx guys and gals for helping me get up and go!
  • trophywife24
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member
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    marijuana ... just jokin .... no seriously

    Yep, I did that phase at 17-18 years old, definitel did not do me any favors.


    It was fast food for me. I think... okay, well I KNOW.... it's very addictive and I was most definitely addicted.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
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    I went from exercising fanatically and counting calories to staying at the hospital, eating hospital food (AKA fried chicken tenders and French fries), ...

    You'd think hospitals, being HOSPITALS, would have healthier food. But I guess it's like dentists with lollipops; they want to keep you coming back.

    I think hospitals have seen the light and offer better options now.
  • serena569
    serena569 Posts: 427 Member
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    I went from exercising fanatically and counting calories to staying at the hospital, eating hospital food (AKA fried chicken tenders and French fries), ...

    You'd think hospitals, being HOSPITALS, would have healthier food. But I guess it's like dentists with lollipops; they want to keep you coming back.

    I know! I have never understood why hospitals have such horrifically unhealthy food. When I would visit my nana when she was in intensive care, the best you could get was a little fruit cup. They had hot dogs, nachos with fake cheese, everything. I wish they could at least put in salad bars or something :-/

    Ours has excellant choices. OK I confess to the chicken tenders today but we also have healthy options. Here are some of todays choices.

    •Soup of the Day: Broccoli Cheddar | Vegetarian Chili
    •Entrees: Citrus Baked Cod | Carved Pork Loin with an Onion Gravy
    •Saute Station: Mediterranean Tacos
    •Hot Vegetables: California Blend Vegetables | Roasted Red Potatoes | Peach Cobbler
    •Quick Grab: Pizza | Oriental Style Chicken Wings | Plain Chicken Wings
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Slowly gaining a pound a year for 10 years after my metabolism slowed down in my mid-40's but my eating did not.

    ALSO . . . the door to my pantry :wink:

    I would come home hungry and talk to my husband while standing in the door to our pantry. It has small snacks like cashews, pistachios, figs, dates, licorice . . .

    All reasonably healthy but calorie dense. I'd snack a little while talking and add 200 calories to my day.

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