Why/how did you become overweight?
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I went to college and gained the freshman 20. On top of that, I ate a bunch of fatty/unhealthy foods after I went through a really bad breakup. Struggles with depression, constant nagging from family members about my weight, low self-esteem; all contributed to my weight gain.0
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This is true, to a certain extant. Society is willing to make excuses for so many things, but if you're fat you're just a lazy pig. I won't deny that in my case, but I was also raised in a very twisted home that used food as a reward, and withholding food as a punishment. It is very hard to have a healthy outlook on food when your experience with it is so skewed. When you are child and hungry and there is food available but you are not allowed to have it, how can you expected to grow up with an understanding of what role food should play in your life? We are, in very large part, a product of our environment. Yes, when we are old enough to make our own decisions, it is then our own responsibility, but it is hard to get past the traumas that are visited on us as children. That said, this is why I'm owning up to my culpability now, and trying to correct the habits I have run with for most of my life.Anyone who blames a random event in thier life on their obesity is absolutely ridiculous.I dont care if youve been raped or stubbed your toe.... I got fat because I ate too much, because food tastes good, and had no concept of what a calorie was.
Although I haven't experienced this myself I have seen the effects first hand and It is really hard watching a child go through that and I can understand how it can cause an unhealthy relationship with food later on. When I was a teenager I used to babysit a 9 year old who had recently been taken from her mothers care and into her fathers. He asked me to monitor what she ate and explained that when she was with her mother she never knew if she was going to eat from one day to the next (we don't have free school lunches in NZ so this could literally be days at a time) It was so sad seeing this sweet natured little girl trying to steal and hide food and lie about what she had eaten trying to stockpile just in case something happened and she was again in a situation where she didn't have enough to eat every day. She was lucky enough to have an amazing father to help her through it and instill good eating habits and she has grown into a lovely well balanced young lady.
It really annoys me that people can belittle other peoples experiences without knowing what they have gone through.0 -
I was referred to as "Skins" short for skinny when I was a boy.
Nicely my parents called my brother "Jumbo" as in Fat like an elephant! Don't you just love 70's parenting skills!
When I discovered alcohol ( it's easy you just watch your Dad get pissed for years and then steal it) that is when I got Fat.
We lived in Pubs until I was 22, and after that enjoyed drinking steadily increasing intake through my 20's, 30's and now 40's. In the last 10 years it's been an issue with my weight, mental health and work. Although I get up and work, I don't enjoy it!
I am not that bothered about food really.
I can't even be a decent alcoholic and get drunk all day and not eat and weigh like 9 stone wet through!
I have cut down to 2 days a week with a drink for the last month, and with MFP and doing 5:2 I feel allot happier and healthier.
Oh and this is the diet I wanted to start so I wasn't Fat when I hit 40! Still I won't be Fat when I hit 43!!! Will I?0 -
Anyone who blames a random event in thier life on their obesity is absolutely ridiculous.I dont care if youve been raped or stubbed your toe.... I got fat because I ate too much, because food tastes good, and had no concept of what a calorie was.
And you are a nasty loathsome Narcissistic Illiterate simpleton, who lacks empathy, the fundamental human emotion, but I still Love you!0 -
Apathy was my downfall.0
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I got married0
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I've pretty much always been overweight. My parents are both junk food eaters and neither of them exercise and so I didn't either-even as a small child I was overweight and I never really saw the point in losing weight. But it's not really my parents' fault now. I can cook, I'm just lazy and I'm probably addicted to sugar. Sometimes I'll just eat a whole crapton of desserts because I just say "f-k it!" but that's usually when I'm upset.
I'm hoping to get into shape though-I was on the road to it a couple of summers ago but I totally fell off the wagon... 0 -
One random event, maybe not..but who knows what a certain person's psyche can handle...? But systematic, day to day manipulation will scar a person, and it takes a very strong personality to overcome that without some help.Anyone who blames a random event in thier life on their obesity is absolutely ridiculous.I dont care if youve been raped or stubbed your toe.... I got fat because I ate too much, because food tastes good, and had no concept of what a calorie was.0 -
Was always a bit bigger than the norm, all the way from childhood - think it was because my whole family has a good appetite & my Mum gave us bigger portions than required (not that we complained!).
I also disliked exercise, we were made to do games/PE/sport 4-5 times a week (I went to a private boarding school) and I hated being forced into doing it. I had breathing problems when I was young so I think I always felt like I was unfit despite having them sorted out.
University was the kicker though - too much boozing, too many late night snacks & total control over my meals, I put on a couple of stone making me the heaviest I ever was at 16st 2.
Then a few months before graduating I decided to make a change & the rest is history....0 -
Anyone who blames a random event in thier life on their obesity is absolutely ridiculous.I dont care if youve been raped or stubbed your toe.... I got fat because I ate too much, because food tastes good, and had no concept of what a calorie was.
Yeeees, because children are fantastic purveyors of critical thinking skills, what with their fully formed brains and whatnot....
Or perhaps you feel you're one of the chosen few who just spilled out of the womb, perfectly able to, from birth on, make absolutely rational decisions based on your history and the assumingly healthy surroundings, as one has to see health in front of you to know what it is.
Really, Thou dost awe me. You should be a superhero.
/sarcasm0 -
I ate too much cr@ppy food. Didn't burn enough calories.0
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How did you get Fat.
Personally as a youngster I played every sport going, spent most of my life out side playing and did not have to look after my own food (thanks Mum)
Late Teens saw the introduction of a good weekly wage and the attraction of party life style, lots of booze and late nights, put on a few pounds but nothing to scary
Twenty’s saw the pounds gained in the teens drop right off, started sports again (rugby) all the motivation needed to train hard and play harder, high level of fitness and good body composition
Late twenties early thirties, oh dear- Working away from home living in hotels on major projects, working 12 hour days with no means of quality controlling food consumption and drinking because I could.
Late thirties early forties, packed in smoking holy *kitten* did I put the beef on, year later decided to loose the weight and dropped 75lb and refound my love of exercise (running and cycle as well as weights) all going swimmingly even when working away, running allowed me to exercise no matter where I was, then boom! Knee injury. Docs told me not to run again, so I gave up. I saw it as an excuse to pack every thing in and work on putting back all the weight I lost. (Managed to put back 66lb from my lowest weight.)
Present- Wife decided to loose some weight and bought some scales, I climbed on in secret and seen the damage 18 months of laziness had got me, decide to make the change again, without running this time so training for the coast to coast bike ride Whitehaven to Sunderland. I’m sure there will be many stories like this.
Moral of the story.
I accept responsibility for my actions, I made my self fat by being lazy and not eating and drinking right, I do not blame genetics, food manufactures or fast food outlets, so only I can make my self thin and fit0 -
A whole bunch of things. I was tiny skinny as a small child, it wasn't a particularly pleasant time. I first started putting on weight at 9 when my mother discovered soda concentrates were cheaper than milk. She was fed up with cooking by the time I came along, so started getting ready meals. She wasn't that great a cook anyway, and she liked the cheapest, nastiest processed stuff. And preferred having skinny children as she thought fat kids were the most disgusting things in the world. She was very obese herself. But the tons of food around the house was hers, not for me.
She never accepted it, but I had become the hefty girl at school. So everyday I had to deal with kids making nasty comments, go home and she would make nasty comments about how fat another girl was, but I would know that girl was a whole lot lighter than me whilst being much taller. I also heard about how fat people have pus and fungus in their skin folds and how it's useless to try and lose weight because they look worse with having baggy skin sliced off with knives.....
I went vegetarian at 14 and she refused to feed me full stop. So I lived on baked beans as that was all I could cook.
I lost all the excess fat and was skinny again, but she kept saying to anyone who would mention it that I wasn't slim at all. But I had gone from a size 16 to below a 10 in a year. With exercise in the school gym.
I left home at 16 and then spent years where I didn't have enough money to pay the bills each week. So food was the last thing on the list, especially after I had my daughter. But then I got access to free food at a new job and I took full advantage. Exercise got less frequent and my weight went up. Being vegetarian - or being choosy - had been abandoned because I never knew when I'd get to eat again.
Anyhow, by the time my second child was born and there was quite a good income in the house, I was officially obese. So I started exercising, eating better and was going great. And that's when I started getting injuries and had my first major flare of rheumatoid arthritis. So I ate crap due to pain and lack of energy. And became single, so the money dried up again. So I ate everything as though I were still exercising, and as though I might not eat again for days. For five years.
Add ten years of steroids, limited mobility, constant injuries onto this and you get me.
Finally, I've found a medication that seems to be helping the RA, so I can stabilise the joints and get moving again. It's falling into place with the food, I'm eating what I like instead of what I can afford, I'm not eating to try and quash feelings of anger at my past, my present, my health or the future. I am exercising on my terms. Because I like it.
Occasionally, I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and, instead of thinking 'god, you look gross!' I think I can see a little bit of 'me' inside the covering of fat and skin. I nearly lost myself under it, but I'm still there. And I'm going to escape.0 -
You're entitled to your opinion, as absolutely ridiculous as it is. :flowerforyou:Anyone who blames a random event in thier life on their obesity is absolutely ridiculous.I dont care if youve been raped or stubbed your toe.... I got fat because I ate too much, because food tastes good, and had no concept of what a calorie was.0 -
I've always been slim. After I had my second baby I didn't lose the extra weight as easily as with the first. That combined with enjoying the good life a bit too much, made sure that I was still rather big when my baby turned 10 months. Not anymore though!0
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oreos and pepsi0
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I had always been pretty thin and as I got older just kept eating the same as when I was younger! We were also eating out a bit more and having more get togethers with friends that of course revolved around food/drinks. The weight slowly came on and my sizes were going up. I just kept telling myself it was age and to deal with it! I was very un-comfortable in my clothes and growing out of clothes like crazy, so enough is enough and started MFP and back on track. A year later and I could not be happier!!!!0
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I had a 4 pack stomach in HS while playing football. I then got a job at McDonalds and began eating there.Ended up having breakfast there and lunch there along with some drinks during the day. I am unsure why I did not stop, but I ended up gaining 40lbs in 8 months. I was up to 240lbs and went from a size 34 pants to a 40. Thankfully I am down to a 36 pant with 34s being a little too snug. But I still weight 221.0
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Were you always overweight? No. I was athletic in high school... played softball and cheerleading. I was "thick" but not overweight.
Did you "let yourself go"? After i started having kids I just neglected to work at losing the weight. An unhappy marriage attributed to a lot of comfort eating. One day I woke up and I was fat! I know it is gradual but it feels like it happened all at once, that is why it is hard to be patient about losing it.
I snuck chocolate and crappy snacks and yes, lots of fast food.0 -
Wow you really have been tested ! I am a great believer in 'What does'nt kill you makes you stronger' and im sure you will succeed !0
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I guess it was a minor case of depression... I no longer wanted to dance... I danced for hours and hours through my childhood and teens, and I LOVED it, but hitting my 20's the desire just left me...
I only became overweight in my 20's (I'm 25 now), I was always quite lean in my teens, had a bit of curve but nothing that looked overweight... I was very fit, could easily dance for 5-6 hours straight no problems (and often did!).
I gained roughly 50-60lbs from the age of 21-24.... it just after my 24th birthday that I decided I wanted to change.
I am losing my weight easily, in that I'm not really changing my food all that much, but getting back into dancing 6-7 hours a week is seriously helping me weight loss... and I'm feeling happier and less stressed in myself.0 -
For those of you who want to share, I am interested to hear your stories about why/how you became overweight.
Were you always overweight?
Or were you once a healthy weight?
Did you "let yourself go"?
Or perhaps it was due to a traumatic event, injury or medication?
And did anyone become overweight while still being an active person and (over)eating homemade, whole foods, or was it only through eating essentially crap food, processed foods, restaurant/fast food?
Thank you for sharing, I think your stories will shed some light and help us to understand our weight loss journeys, since the mental component is so important, and we have to know where we come from to move forward.
Feel free to link to other past threads or groups.
I was always super skinny until my second child. When she was 6 months old, I got really sick and for ten years I got worse and had no energy. Finally found out I had Celiac Disease and dropped 10 pounds. A year later, I was healthy enough to exercise and eat properly and lost 40 pounds.
Now I am a stress eater though, so I gained 10 pounds while buying a house.0 -
I went through a 100-year hurricane the same year I turned 50. The next three years were very fattening. The last two have been normalizing.0
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I was overweight during my adolescence and early 20's when I started running and lost 80lbs, became a marathoner and triathlete, I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted, never counted a calorie. My lowest was 140 lbs while I was training for a marathon. Then in my mid-30's the knee injuries and asthma caught up with me and couldn't do endurance anymore and over 6-7 years put on about 100lbs because I was still eating like an endurance athlete.0
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I have always been on the "higher" end of the "normal" weight according to my height till I was 17. However, it was considered still obese back where I was raised so I have struggled so hard to get it lower and in the end just lost whatever fibre of self-esteem I had left. Then I migrated to Canada, my activity level immediately plummeted lol, and I was so depressed having left many of my close friends behind, that I turned to food for comfort. I have gained over 20 kg in the last 6 years. Fortunately, with the help of a couple exercise dvds and MFP, I have lost 34 lbs and have maintained it for over a month (busy school season) and I have gained so much more confidence since. Just jumped back onto the healthy wagon recently and here's working towards a leaner, stronger and more confident me
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I was always average in high school. When I hit my senior year of school I lost weight and got to 125, then came college.
An unlimited pasta bar and my unhealthy eating habits mixed with no exercise bumped me up to 145.
I stayed at 145 for a while but then I suffered a huge loss. My boyfriend passed away suddenly and I holed up in my room and just ate. I was so depressed all I could do was turn to comfort food. I gained 20 more pounds and was at 165.
Last new years I looked at myself in the mirror and felt disgusted, depressed, and just hated myself.
I decided to lose weight. Stopped eating huge portions of crap and moved more. Decided to get back to health because my boyfriend would have been pissed if he had seen how I was slowly killing myself. (History of awful family cholesterol, when I was 17 and 135 pounds my number was 256...so imagine the number for me 30 pounds heavier and with worse eating habits...)
A year later I am healthy both mentally, emotionally, and physically.
I weigh 125 pounds, am more toned/fit than I ever was, and now have goals to build muscle and keep this up.
I hope everyone else's journey to health goes well!!0 -
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Simples; addiction to nasty bad carbs and too much processed food followed by attempts to eat a low fat diet therefore eating more sugar in WW type low fat processed foods as well as healthy stuff of course but always struggling with the carb addiction, craving junk etc. I just cannot stop being amazed at now having a brain like a non addicted person as long as I keep my carbs low and I'm loving feeling better eating healthier foods by eating low carb, high fat! Before I realised it was this simple I kept searching for emotional trauma/reasons for over eating so that's been solved too!0
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I never knew why I became overweight. I was a skinny, skinny kid. When I went to college I gained the "freshman 15" and then some, but I then dieted to take it off until I was thinner than when I started. I gained a little weight after college, but was still in my healthy weight range. Then I had to quit taking the birth control pill and something went completely whacky, my cycle stopped altogether for 6 months and in that time I gained 50 pounds. I didn't have medical insurance or a doctor so I had no idea why. Many years later I was diagnosed with PCOS. I had been yo-yoing up and down but never as low as I was even at my heavy weiight in college. I developed other health problems like ashtma and severe migraines. This kept me from being able to move around as much as I used to, and I overate just a little in my misery - almost all homecooked food, with vegetables and low fat dressings and everything! I have figured out that one second helping a day is all it takes for me to gain weight - not the "I stuff myself sick on fast food daily" stereotype there is of fat people. I never drink anything with calories in it, for example. My behavior from when I was a skinny teen was only slightly different!
But one day I realized I weighed 300 pounds and there was going to be no end in sight to my weight gain unless I took control, no matter how sick I felt. I'm down 37 pounds from that high now. One big help was finally being able to get treatment for my migraines. Still, it's been a huge struggle. Losing weight is very difficult for me, and now of course they say that higher protein intake, with fat, is ideal for weight loss for people with my condition. This is of course the opposite of what I had been trying when I went on diets. It seems to be working for me, along with realizing that I burn fewer calories than other people my size and therefore just have to work harder to lose and maintain.0 -
I first started gaining weight my first year of college. I quit playing sports like I did in high school and ally childhood. I ate out a lot with friends and started drinking alcohol. I would get fast food/go out about 4 times per week. Also, I used to work at a coffee shop and would get free lattes while working! Thank goodness I quit working there! 0
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