Please don't be offended...

I ate out constantly, fast food is cheaper than salads, not having time to even shop cook or breath, then all of a sudden you just gained 100lbs

So wrong in this statement. And also, sometimes a fancy, expensive salad at a restaurant is higher in calories than big mac. You can get plenty of things at McDonalds for 500 calories or less. Time is an excuse as well, there are so many ways to prepare food that you should never have an excuse. I do overnight oats before I go to bed. Takes me 90 seconds to prepare and just grab it on my way out the door in the morning..

I buy mostly meats, frozen veggies, fruit and dairy products and my groceries have never been cheaper. The most expensive things I bought in the past were processed foods.

I want to read all the responses later, I think this is a very interesting topic.

For me it was sort of a perfect storm, I have thyroid disease- which I knew about and was medicated for, but didn't understand the "tricks" to not gaining weight from it, I started working more and playing sports less and less, it just lost priority for me...i developed a vitamin b12 deficiency- which really was the kicker, because it made me tired and lazy, and as I slowly ballooned, all of those factors contributed to depression, which in turn made me sort of give up. I never was a gluttonous eater, in fact I probably ate too little much of the time- but had some emotional oreo-type binge moments, further suppressing my already thyroid-sluggish metabolism. I have since tackled each one of the contributing factors head on, and today I am healthy, happy, able to eat more than I did when I gained weight, and have energy to spare. It wasn't easy sorting it all out, and the medical issues took months before I really got "better" but the time spent was totally worth it.

People have always been amazed that I gained weight because I have never eaten as much as the average person does but gained weight very quickly and it would just not come off. I did not want to and I really did not just let myself it was just there. However, I have several medical problems that all effect my weight, and now I have the diagnosis and meds needed and I am able to lose the weight. I don't think anyone just wants to be fat, everyone has something that has effected them in a way that they gain weight.

People have always been amazed that I gained weight because I have never eaten as much as the average person does but gained weight very quickly and it would just not come off. I did not want to and I really did not just let myself it was just there. However, I have several medical problems that all effect my weight, and now I have the diagnosis and meds needed and I am able to lose the weight. I don't think anyone just wants to be fat, everyone has something that has effected them in a way that they gain weight.

The thing is, meds don't make you lose weight. Calories in and out. I lost 30lbs when I was diagnosed with PCOS and put on two scripts to help my symptoms, but they don't aid in weight loss. My doctors confirmed that the weight I was losing was a result of my efforts to exercise and eat well. And the only cure for my condition was to get healthy. My condition was CAUSED by weight gain and will get better when I am in a healthy weight range.

read up on Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) its very insightful about most of the general issues that lead to obesity.

For me a big part was emotional neglect, I am an only child and my parents divorced when I was 5 and then it became a contest for attention and I always lost... food was there and it made me feel happy... until... I started putting on weight than I became hated by most of my family and was thought of as disgusting which led to more loneliness and more emotional eating.

best advice is have compassion.

I am not 300+ lbs, but I can probably answer a part of this question at least because I think a lot of weight problems have one common issue no matter what you weigh.

(and I should point out that this excludes medical conditions etc.)

Denial.

For me, I was a 120 to 125 lbs. I knew I was gaining rapidly and I really didn’t want to think about it. 3 to 4 months down the line, I finally stepped on the scale and I was 157 lbs.

Why did I gain so much in those 3-4 months? Depression, medication, emotional eating, stress, being tired all the time from said depression etc.

Why didn’t I do anything about it?

Denial.

Plain and simple. I didn’t want to think about it. Had I not stepped on the scale when I did, I’d still be gaining. Like anything, taking that first step is the hardest.

For a lot of people, they go a lot more than 3 months before stepping on the scale. They are aware that they have a problem but just don’t want to think about it or see the numbers in front of them because it’s a harsh, harsh reality to face.

I was only slightly overweight and it was scary as hell to me to have to face the numbers. I can only imagine that it’s worse for someone who is morbidly obese.

Before you can fix any problem, you have to accept that it IS a problem. Another issue I think we have, at least in the USA, is that there is a sort of “fat acceptance” movement going on.

Go ahead and bring on the flames… I am all for accepting everyone as they are. No one should be mean to someone because they are overweight. BUT… accepting unhealthy lifestyles as the norm is not okay.

There is a big difference between being a straight up jerk to someone and being honest about the fact that overweight should not be considered normal.

Every time I hear someone say “well, REAL women have curves” when referring to a 200 lb, un-toned, couch dweller stuffing her face with McDonalds vs. a 110 lb runner eating a salad, I cringe. Phrases like this have become a mantra for obese people trying to up their self esteem.

Don’t get me wrong, upping your self esteem is great. But instead of accepting yourself as unhealthy and being okay with that (cause it’s not okay to be unhealthy), up your self esteem by starting to fix your health. Once you start getting healthier, you will feel a lot better about yourself.

On the other hand, OP, I think most people who reach weights over 300+lbs likely have serious medical conditions that have contributed to their weight issues. So a lot of this applies to people who are under 300 lbs.

For me it's easy.....stress.

I'm an emotional eater. I get stressed. I eat, I'm sad I eat, I'm tired I eat.

For years, I struggled with my weight, after a while I just quit the struggle and gave up on myself. After that, the pounds pilled on and the more they did the less I cared about me. It was a vicious circle,The more I gain weight, the more I was sad,the more I would eat and it would start all over again.

I now have 150lbs to lose. I'm determined not to stop giving up on myself, this place works wonders.

If I have one big thing I would say to you, don't judge someone who is overweight. I find that more often than not, that person is stuck in a bad circle. They need surroundings that will encourage then to step out of the circle, to celebrate the little changes as if they were mountains because with each step taken, its one step closer to reaching their goal weight. Remind the person just how big a pound lost is, how moving more is making a difference, that it took them years to gain the weight, it shouldn't take weeks or months to lose it all.
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STRESS!!!

you said it, not necessarily depression or sadness but general STRESS, business, financial woes, worried about loved ones, all this contributes to STRESS

Do you have any "vices"..? Smoking, drinking..ect..

Dont say you dont because you a a human being just like the rest of us..

Understand your own vices, be perfect..and ask again..

I dont drink, smoke ect...but I am somehow different than you.

You ask a question suggesting fat people are somehow different.

Go ask people we eating disorders why they do it..

The human body is amazing - I suggest you watch some amazing human body shows on the Science Channel. First we have gone through millions of years of evolution. And with that our brain does not like starving, but prefers to hoard extra calories so that we may survive during periods of drought and famine - that used to be much more prevalent. It is in our DNA. Now in this day and age for many people in the Western world, extra calories are very plentiful. For some people it is easy to avoid these extra calories, but as we can see with the obesity epidemic this is not the case for most. Then tack on the depression that typically ensues when someone does get obese, and you have a viscous cycle. Furthermore, when a person does gain extra weight and then loose that weight, the body adapts and becomes very efficient. That person will have to eat less calories and exercise more than someone who never gained the extra weight. Plus the brain will push that person (through a release of a hormone) to eat more, the cravings can become very intense requiring a great deal of willpower to overcome. Those who loose weight and are able to keep it off, typically become somewhat obsessed with watching what they eat. It is one thing to loose weight, but completely another to keep it off. FYI: Food releases more happy hormones than kissing, which is why we seek comfort in food.

Nice post, thanks.