What was your downfall?
derekj222
Posts: 370 Member
We all got here somehow. Many of the common reasons are below:
-college -partying, late nights, pizza, bad foods
-family - you're a super busy mom and you've always put your family first, your diet last
-over eating & portions - little did you know you are eating portions for 2+ people (this has long been my problem)
-unexpected situation - many of times we lose people suddenly in our lives or something tragic happens and it ultimately sends us in a downward spiral
My reasons: overeating, large portions, growing up poor (Hamburger helper a lot), and loss of a loved one
I realize these are sometimes excuses, but lets be honest, I really couldn't (nor realized) that I could of controlled my childhood much and by the time you realize how overweight you are, its too late.
Whats your downfall?
-college -partying, late nights, pizza, bad foods
-family - you're a super busy mom and you've always put your family first, your diet last
-over eating & portions - little did you know you are eating portions for 2+ people (this has long been my problem)
-unexpected situation - many of times we lose people suddenly in our lives or something tragic happens and it ultimately sends us in a downward spiral
My reasons: overeating, large portions, growing up poor (Hamburger helper a lot), and loss of a loved one
I realize these are sometimes excuses, but lets be honest, I really couldn't (nor realized) that I could of controlled my childhood much and by the time you realize how overweight you are, its too late.
Whats your downfall?
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Replies
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Portions...boredom eating...and just loving food in general. The more unhealthy the better!! Sugary sweets like buttercream icing, brownies, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies..... This is no "just one"....I'll eat them all- by myself-one sitting. I grew up poor with the hamburger helper etc and the clean your plate mentality. So This is a constant yo-yo for me and I know it ALWAYS will be. :-/0
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I dont really think it was the food i ate, Ramen, bacon, etc. I think it was my ability to get blazed and eat and eat and eat when i know i wasnt really hungry, and also late night QT runs and giant chili cheese dogs (wich i freaking miss so much) and just sitting and gaming. Then I broke up with my ex and all i did was literally drink an 18 pack of budwieser a night and just lay there and eat more because i had drunk munchies.
Since stopping all that and lifting just 3x a week, i lost almost all that weight I gained this year and even packed some muscle. I dont care to drink anymore, probably because i dont know my limit lol.0 -
marijuana ... just jokin .... no seriously0
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Back in my athletic days, I ate huge amounts of food without gaining weight. I kept up the (bad) eating habits after that lifestyle and gained and gained. Post-college, got a car, got married, worked a desk job. Fast forward thirty years and here I am.
You always seem to look in the mirror and say "It's not THAT bad." then suddenly you look again and you're obese. I was insulted when my doc said I was morbidly obese. Not overweight, not *just* obese but morbidly obese. WTH? How did that happen?
Well, I know now. These days, if I do get into a situation where I have to eat fast food, I try to make the best choices in the place. I have no junk food in my house so there is no temptation. The journey is long, but the end result is well worth it.0 -
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.0
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When my best friend died several years ago, I went into an eating/mothering frenzy. I was helping take care of his 5 yr. old son (as well as my own kids, then 4 and 7) and I tried to make us all feel better by getting lots of sweets. I've learned since then that I cannot and do not need to take on other peoples' pain--- I was in anguish imagining what his kids were going through, when I should've been trying to deal with my own grief. This is an important lesson for me because as I get older, more and more people die.
And going along with the theme, when I feel upset or down I try to medicate myself by reaching for sweets. It works, short-term. If it didn't work, I wouldn't have done it so much! I need to find a better solution that still picks me up when I'd rather crash and burn.0 -
Eating at MawMaw's house...my husband's grandmother! She cooks a feast everyday. It's crazy! I was eating there 2-4 times a week and probably eating 1500+ calories in one meal. Now, we go maybe once a week and I'm very selective. But, she cooks the best comfort foods I've ever had...hard to resist!! (And, diet is not in her vocabulary).
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Growing up poor as well, your just trained to eat everything in sight. Now that Im done University and not a starving student, but work behind a desk with a heck of a descent salary, I started to eat out allot! Big mistake! I was eating out like 4 - 5 times a week, meetings and conferences didnt help with all the free buffet style food. I gained 50 lbs withing a few months, now that its Fall/ winter I can't fit into my wardrobe anymore....I started dieting, watching portions and what I ate about 4 weeks ago. Its a battle, especially during Halloween, the Xmas parties, and this weekend Im off to a Conference again. But I know whats good and whats bad
Last night 2 slices of Bluberry pie (loaded with sugar) and went over my calories by 150, I felt sick during the night, even this morning. It wasnt sitting with my stomach. Even now my body knows whats not good for me.0 -
marijuana ... just jokin .... no seriously
No hating here....I'm sure you got the munchies a lot! LOL0 -
Back in my athletic days, I ate huge amounts of food without gaining weight. I kept up the (bad) eating habits after that lifestyle and gained and gained. Post-college, got a car, got married, worked a desk job. Fast forward thirty years and here I am.
You always seem to look in the mirror and say "It's not THAT bad." then suddenly you look again and you're obese. I was insulted when my doc said I was morbidly obese. Not overweight, not *just* obese but morbidly obese. WTH? How did that happen?
Well, I know now. These days, if I do get into a situation where I have to eat fast food, I try to make the best choices in the place. I have no junk food in my house so there is no temptation. The journey is long, but the end result is well worth it.
YES. We've all said, "Its not that bad". But not looking bad, oh boy, it was BAD0 -
Baked goods, love me some cake and brownies. Also I work third shift so I eat crappy when I am tired...which is alot of the time.0
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for me it skipping breakfast and lunch and then having a huge dinner.
when I lose a loved one I tend to spend more time at the gym or walking. the same goes for when I'm stressed and so on.
I gain more during the good times because that's when I drink more beer with friends.0 -
Matching portions with my 6'1'' boyfriend, "you can't leave the table until you clean your plate" upbringing, incessant snacking.0
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I think I've had three different downfalls at different periods in my life.
The first was poor nutrition as a child. My mom gave me Coke and Sprite to drink as soon as I was able because she didn't know there was anything wrong with it. We ate things like Hamburger Helper a lot. I had boxed Mac and Cheese almost every day as a kid, and when I went to elementary school I always got things like ice cream sandwiches and those chocolate cone... things (can't remember what they're called! Drumsticks?) with my meals. I also wasn't very active as a kid.
The second was the effects of bullying on my self esteem. I was bullied relentlessly as a young girl and teen, and it made my self esteem go down the gutter. I am still fighting all those scars today. But then, it made me believe that I was so worthless, it didn't matter what I did. I stopped taking care of myself at all.
The third was when my mom had to have surgery when I was about 16. I went from exercising fanatically and counting calories to staying at the hospital, eating hospital food (AKA fried chicken tenders and French fries), and when she came home I was too busy being her caretaker to take care of me anymore. Or at least, that's what my excuse was.
No more excuses now
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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.0 -
i used to eat all the time when i was bored, when i was alone, etc....0
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Something to do with me being mental. My physical appearance wasn't high on my priority list back then.0
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Stress eating. Being a college student, I gain weight around test time. Since transferring to a university, I've been significantly less mobile and significantly more anxious. Also, I don't have my old support system around me in this new environment.
Also, tradition. My significant other and I have a tradition of eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Every week. Since I don't usually eat sweets, I've found myself sneaking it in during the week when he's not here.
Lastly, when on campus, it's frustrating to choose the healthier option. When I was younger, my family may have gone out to eat at a restaurant once a month. Thus, every time we went out, I would gorge myself as it would be my only chance for a while. Now the same type of food is around me every day. It's just not satisfying to go for low fat/cal sometimes... most of the time. It's stuck in my head still that if you're away from home, it's okay to eat more than you should. Stubborn habit.
I'm going to end this and WALK to campus. [2 miles w/ extra backpack weight.]0 -
Oreo's ... damn they're good!!! Allow myself 1 or 2 as a treat every now and again.
Oh and Ben & Jerry's ice cream hmmmmm right i need to get out of this message board before I make myself crave these X 0 -
Every time I experience success I sabotage myself. I think, I am feeling/looking good, I can eat those nachos and drink 3 beers. Mmmmmmmmmm.0
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I grew up overweight. I don't ever remember being thin. My family was all overweight too. And, like you, we grew up poor. I remember lots and lots and lots of Hamburger Helper and Ramen noodles when I was a kid! In fact, "shrimp noonies" as I called them when I was but a wee tot (LOL!) were my favorite and I seem to remember my mom making me two packages at one time when I was a kid!
So, growing up with bad habits didn't help. Then, as I grew up, I always stressed myself out trying to be a perfectionist in everything I did...everything, except my health and taking care of my body. I was never a very active kid either...didn't participate in sports or anything like that. When I would stress myself out so much; either over tests at school or just anything, I would eat, and eat...and eat!
When I grew up, these bad habits continued. Then, I suffered from a bit of depression and panic attacks from time to time when I hit 20 or 21 years old. That only made me eat more. Trying to be a perfectionist, I was never happy with myself. That upset me. Thinking that I would never been what I truly wanted to be or ever look like I really wanted to look or really ever achieve what I wanted out of life, I would binge to console myself. I would go out to eat and then order the same dinner that I ate at the restaurant to take home and when I got home would eat again. I would eat until I nearly would pass out and just get sick to my stomach...sleep some...and then get up and eat more. I was an unhappy person, and food way my comfort, my friend...it tasted good...it made me feel good (for a while!), it was my drug that I relied on for comfort. Alcoholism ran in my family and though I was never a "drinker", food became my alcohol. It was nothing for me to eat entire pies, two large pizzas, drink cases of sodas like they were going out of style, eat dozons of donuts or other baked goods, 2 boxes of brownies, whole boxes of cereal, 2-3 frozen microwavalbe dinners, etc!
Looking back, I don't know how I was ever able to eat all of that food. I sure couldn't do it now!
I really don't know what gets you out of this rut...but for me, something finally "clicked". I think, in all reality, I knew I had to do it or just die.
Just like everything that I explained above was a lifestyle...eating healthy must be a lifestyle. Proper eating and exercise is not a diet...I hate that word..."diet". It's a lifestyle. Like in all aspects of our lives, you either make bad choices or good ones...the same applies here when it comes to how you take care of your body, mind and spirit in your life.
I can say that with all of the depression and ill feelings I once had for myself, now that I have a aquired a proper diet and exercise regularly, all of those stressful situations that I once felt that I could not handle are a thing of the past. I feel like I could conquer the world if I had to without a single thought. Well, that might be exaggerating just a bit, but truthfully, I can say that I can deal with just about anything now without stressing or getting depressed.
I'm just a healthier me...all the way around.0 -
Quitting smoking. Gained 45.
Worked out daily. Lost 30. Seriously hurt in car accident. Gained 30 + 10.0 -
Booze. Beer, wine, cosmos...not to mention chips and dip go so well with cocktails.0
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Not knowing how to cook, food = love, portion control (I have a lumberjacks hunger built into my 5 feet tall frame)
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Mine started when we had our 1st son and he was so sick and nearly died a handful of times and his health issues lasted until he was 12. They were really intense for 8yrs. Then I was diagnosed with MS and became paralyzed in fear, fear of throwing my body into a flare up or getting injured.
Now I have been working out for 10month, 60lbs down, walked 5 5k's, did the Warrior Dash in August, suffered a full achilles tendon rupture and continued to wo while healing. I was in the gym 1 week post op working out from the waist up. THough I held myself back and let life hold me back, I have taken back my life and despite the injury I feel better than I have in yrs. I am still healing but as my trainer said today, "I don't want you to be fast right now. I want you to be the little engine that could and keep moving and going forward. You'll get there quit being so hard on yourself." SO that's what I'll be
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I'm totally a stress eater. Any time I started feeling overwhelmed, or even getting over large amounts of stress, I turned to food. MFP has actually helped my control that desire, which is nice.
Add traditional college kid activities like partying and late night pizzas to stress eating and hello 25 extra pounds!0 -
First time around was definitely overeating, but I had been one of those naturally thin people my whole life and then I got older and my metabolism slowed and I didn't know what to do about it because for 29 years, I never had to worry about it!
Then I lost quite a bit of weight, went on Mirena and despite eating healthy, small portions and exercising, 25 pounds came back on and wouldn't budge. So now I'm off all birth control (had a tubal) and am working to get back to where I was.0 -
woman.... they an't nothing but trouble0
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Quitting smoking and replacing that hand to mouth with food, emotional eating, and getting older and couldn't eat like I used to. MFP has changed my waistline AND my lifestyle.0
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margaritas!0
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