Why/how did you become overweight?

volume77

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.

m0tiv8m3

For me I had an eating disorder before I became pregnant and was 115 lbs and a size 0-2. While I was pregnant I ate pretty much everything because I thought "what the hell this is what pregnant women do". So I ended up gaining 100 lbs. Now my kids 5 and I'm currently at 188. :explode:

lunaticlover

Were you always overweight?
>>>Yes, since I can remember
Or were you once a healthy weight?
>>>now I am
Did you "let yourself go"?
>>>not really, I never really liked myself since I was a child, so in a way I never worried about my appearance
Or perhaps it was due to a traumatic event, injury or medication?
>>> I was hit constantly by my mother, forgotten by my father, I had lots of issues in my house that made me lock myself in my room and never come out, my only comfort was food
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?
>>> I ate a lot of crap and homemade food as well

Lulzaroonie

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 always considered myself to be overweight. Looking back and seeing pictures of myself back then, I can see how wrong I was, and now I suspect I've suffered from poor body image all along.

I used to be 145lbs, which was my perfect weight, I was just not very toned, "skinny fat", and thought exercise was lame. I didn't need to exercise as such, as my job involved being outside all day, walking. I used to eat ridiculous amounts at home and never gain weight, because my job involved so much walking, and lunch times were "as and when you could find a few minutes to eat something".

After I had my son, PCOS kicked in. Depression hit hard, and I was being bullied (as an adult). I gained 95lbs, from not going out because I was scared of running into people, and eating like rubbish.
I went through phases of bingeing and restricting, trying to starve myself, eating home made dinner and then home made eating again when my other half got home, even eating take out food three or four times a week. Naturally, I gained even more weight.

Eventually, I'd had enough. Everyone pushed me to get my PCOS sorted out. but my main concern was my weight. So I went to the doctor to ask for help, and well, thats a 4 year long story I'm never getting back.

2011, I joined a gym but was still eating like crap, however it really helped with my depression. June 2012 I kicked all the take out food. That was when I began to lose weight with the help of the gym.
Since June last year, I've lost 20-30lbs depending on whether I use the gym or the doctors scales. I've lost 12 inches off the waist. I now have take out food once every couple of months.

jktin08

bump

ashlinmarie

I first gained weight when I was 14. I got a summer job at McDonalds and figured...hey, I'm 14, I can eat what I want and not gain weight because I have metabolism! YAY!

Not yay. I gained 60 lbs in a short amount of time and started high school as a fatty.

At the start summer after Freshman year (one full year after the start of my weight gain) I learned that I could lose weight by not eating. I didn't understand or know anything about eating disorders, but I figured I would just not eat and lose the weight and go back to normal. We didn't do family dinners and I was working as many hours as I could anyway so my family figured I ate at work and work figured I ate at home. I also spent my off time with my best friend and though I usually binged, there were times that we'd get so caught up in video games or movies or whatever that we'd forget to eat. I lost almost 60 lbs in 4 months and started my sophomore year at 103 lbs. It took forever for anyone to notice because I had hips and breasts, but my hip bones stuck out so bad that you could look down my pants...it was disgusting.

My friends started to notice around November or December so I'd eat little amounts around them to appease them. They would pressure me to eat more and more so started vomiting...not totally voluntarily. I'd feel sick from food. Slowly I gained back about 10 lbs to a very low end but technically healthy weight.

My weight gain really started when I started dating this guy...his mom thought I was too thin and stuffed me with food. I gained 20 lbs in 2 months and went from 115-135 during the summer before my senior year. I finally was healthy, but he joined the Marines and sent me multiple letters stating how sexy it would be if I weighed the same as I did when we started dating. He KNEW I had achieved that through an eating disorder, but he never stopped and even though I tried to lose weight the healthy way, it never worked so I binged more and more. I didn't gain additional weight right away..but after we broke up, I replaced those feelings with food.

Over the years, I just slowly put on the pounds. When I'd get to my "too big" point, I'd restrict and lose 10 lbs and eventually gain it back. It wasn't bad until I got my first desk job. I worked second shift from 4PM-1AM so it was lots of soda and sugar and late night fast food runs. I put on over 50 lbs in that time. Finally, I was fat...

Now it has been a 2 year battle with losing 20 lbs and gaining it back. The weight just doesn't want to stay off. I'm still trying to figure it out but despite not losing anything for the last month, I'm hoping I can just stick to it because giving up isn't going to get the weight off so I just need to persevere.

blytheandbonnie

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.

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.

lunaticlover

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.

How rude and immature of yours to judge ANYONE and their problems. Shame on you, seriously.


ETA: some people gain from pregnancy, some people gain after being emotionally and physically abused by someone, it's not only a matter of eating too much, something has to cause the urge to binge, it's not that simple for everyone. Your post was one of the rudest I've read on this site.

sincerely, a victim of constant physical abuse that resorted to food to escape.

robot_potato

I was always on the bigger side, but I wore it well. In high school I had to maintain 160+ to play on the boys rugby team after the girls' disbanded, so I held steady around 165. Then I stopped playing and continued to eat like I was living in the gym and playing 3 times a week. Fast forward a few years, a wedding and 2 kids, and I found myself at 231 pounds., I stayed there for 2 years and I've being attempting to lose for 3 years now, but little to no success til I joined MFP last year. I've worked my way down to 166.6, with a goal of 130-140.

blytheandbonnie

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.

How rude and immature of yours to judge ANYONE and their problems. Shame on you, seriously.


ETA: some people gain from pregnancy, some people gain after being emotionally and physically abused by someone, it's not only a matter of eating too much, something has to cause the urge to binge, it's not that simple for everyone. Your post was one of the rudest I've read on this site.

sincerely, a victim of constant physical abuse that resorted to food to escape.

Yeah, amen.

baldielove13

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.

Kimberleebennett

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.

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.

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.

boboff

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?

boboff

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!

Cait_Sidhe

Apathy was my downfall.

RunDoozer

I got married

haku23

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...

blytheandbonnie

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.

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.

crazihel

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....

quirkytizzy

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.

/sarcasm