Why/how did you become overweight?

{quote}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?
[/quote]

When I was young (up to ... oh, maybe 15ish) my weight was appropriate for my height. I was never particularly athletic, but I enjoyed being active. I LIKE healthy foods, always have. As a three year old left unwatched for ten seconds in the grocery cart, I would break into mushrooms over cookies every time. The problem was that as I hit puberty, I took after my short, curvaceous paternal grandmother instead of my tall, slender, 70s-swimsuit-model mother. I remember being aware that my parents thought I was too heavy before that, but I didn't start caring until I was in middle school. In sixth or seventh grade I remember asking my mother for Slim Fast because I'd heard them discussing my weight again when they thought I wasn't listening. She balked, but gave in rather quickly.

After that it was all down hill. I started skipping breakfast because I preferred to sleep in the extra half hour. I discovered that I got a bigger energy boost out of taking a twenty minute nap during lunch than out of inhaling cafeteria food. So I would go all day with nothing to eat, then get home to my mother's dinners, which alternated between carb bombs (she made amazing beef stroganoff) and tasteless "healthy" things (don't even get me started on what that woman did to perch) that I politely picked at and then raided the cupboards and fridge all evening.

I developed a habit of eating 2 or 3 huge baked potatoes loaded with butter and salt and pepper for Sunday lunch because I could have them ready in 15 minutes while my mother puttered around with the early dinner she wouldn't serve for another 3 hours. Got really fond of pistachios... to this day I can't bring the 16oz home because it'll be gone in two days. If I'm lucky. The boobs appeared, sooner than everybody else in my class, had a full C cup (as big as my mother's) by the end of 8th grade. The locker room? Trés awkward. Didn't help that I was basically the social outcast in a very small school. My father's sole comment on my senior photos (the first professional photos I'd ever had taken just for me)? "Meh... a bit to Rubens-esque for my taste." I was 17, and devastated. Didn't occur to me until years later that the sick *kitten* was sexualizing his teenage daughter. Suffice it to say he preferred my mother's body type because it lent itself to a young appearance, and she cultivated that to please him. My more full-figured type didn't appeal to him, and he made sure I knew it.

So yeah, I hit college set up to fail miserably in the weight control department. Life without parents hovering? I ate as I pleased, snacked, and surprisingly didn't gain too much at first... the campus was set up to encourage walking, and I was dating a boy who loved to do just that, so we walked EVERYWHERE that wasn't ridiculously far away. End of freshman year I was running... oh, maybe 150ish. Spent that summer in New Jersey as a camp counselor (best job EVER... well, 2nd best, best was costuming a summer theatre), and came home so thin and tan my own mother looked straight at me in the airport and kept scanning the crowd.

I got lectured for neglecting my sunscreen (a load of whooey, I'd used it constantly, you just get dark outside all day every day), and told I looked like I'd been raiding the campers' candy stashes.

The weight started sneaking on again at that point, and by the time I met my husband, I was hovering around 170-180. Got up to 190-200 toward graduation, dropped back to 180 for the wedding in 2006, then fought back and forth over 200-220 for several years. When I found out I was pregnant (at barely 4 weeks gone), I weight 222 flat. I lost twenty pounds during the first half of the pregnancy purely because the little monkey was making me so darned sick I could barely eat. Random cravings aside, I mostly survived the pregnancy on Sprite and McDonalds french fries. I walked into triage a grand total of 4 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. Two weeks after the birth I was flirting with 200 pounds.

Enter a refluxing baby, a faltering milk supply, and Domperidone.

Great galactalogue. Nobody warned me about the weight gain side effects, and before I knew it, that twenty pounds was back and it brought friends. Cold turkey'd the meds, but was too tired & busy with a baby to do much else.

Fast forward to about five months ago... I started having constant back pain, right where my bra band hits. I figured I'd thrown out my back, easy enough with a growing kid, right? Except it never healed despite being super careful. Two weeks ago I ended up in the ER because I couldn't hold ANY food down, and someone finally ordered an ultrasound instead of telling me "oh it's just muscle strain". Sure enough, bad gall bladder. I was in the hospital for a week on nothing but IV saline and antibiotics, had the gall bladder out. Dropped ten pounds all told that week.

Portion control became my best friend overnight. The surgeons were trying to scare me into bigger dietary changes than were necessary, according to the nutritionist, and she was right... I can still HAVE my treats, I just can't stuff myself anymore. I no longer have a choice... unless I want to be utterly miserable every time I indulge, I have to change how I fuel and care for my body.

Since getting home I've dropped another thirteen pounds, twenty-three altogether. My next "milestone" goal is that 200 mark. I want to see a 1 in the first slot when I step on that scale, and never see that 2 appear in anything but the second or third position again.

After that, the next milestone is 180, because I want to buy myself the Flirty Girl workout kit with the dance pole and learn to USE that sucker.

End goal right now is 150 pounds. That's more than I weighed in high-school, but I was never healthy in high school. I was skinny-fat at best because my habits and mentality were horrible. I want to see a toned, healthy, sustainable body and I want to do it while maintaining emotional health so that I can teach my children to love their bodies by loving mine.

I've been depressed on and off my whole life to varying degrees, when depressed i seem to eat a lot, and now i'm fat

I was underweight until I was about 3 years old. Then I conquered that problem. I learned my eating habits and poor lifestyle (no exercise) at home. I grew up eating fried, fried, fried with extra gravy. Mom and I did Weight Watchers when I was 8 or 9. I remember being counselled by the doctor because I weighed 101 lbs at the start of 5th grade, 131 that next summer. I just never looked back. I played basketball in 8th and was in the best shape of my life, but then moved to a much bigger school for high school where you had to "make" the team, not just show up. I went back to my no exercise existance. In high school, my mother and I were living by ourselves, my folks having gotten divorced. There were many a time she would choose to have a giant ice cream sundae for dinner instead of real food. I come by my poor relationship with food naturally, by my teaching. Monkey see, monkey do. By the time I graduated high school, I was pushing 200#. I not only ate the wrong things in way too large portions, I also ate mindlessly. I remember more than once finding myself standing in front of the fridge with the door open, browsing the shelves, and not having any memory of how I got there, not even remembering walking into the kitchen. I wasn't hungry. I was just snacking. I think it was a mix of boredom and depression. When I was 19 or 20 I was diagnosed with bi-polar mood disorder. I would have manic episodes, but lived primarily on the depressed pole of my disorder. Food was comfort. I've yoyo dieted in short spurts but never had the will power/motivation to keep it going. Often during my marriage, my partner would come home from work and ask if I'd had dinner. I'd say yes. The next question was always, "what?" The reply didn't vary much. It was either, "chips," or "cookies." My partner would then point out that chips (or cookies) weren't "real food" and that I needed to eat "real food." It would make me so angry. I'd always wonder, "why can't you just mind your own business." Of course, a couple hours later I'd be hungry again and finish off the second half of the bag of chips or cookies. As they have a way of doing, the years moved on, the pounds packed on and the activity levels dropped even lower. Even watching the woman who taught me my eating habits (my mom) struggle with her weight, take tons of medicine and go through surgery after surgery due to her type 2 diabetes and her knee and hip problems that were exacerbated by being overweight wasn't enough to get me to change. I'd hit my highest known weight (213 on 5'5") and kept telling myself it didn't matter, that I didn't mind being fat, that I couldn't lose the weight, that it wasn't worth dieting so just eat another honey bun (or 3). Not really sure what changed. I was looking for a calorie counter online one night and came across MFP. Tomorrow will be my 5 week mark and I'm down 10 lbs (from 206.5). This is the longest I've stuck with ANY "diet." I think its having to log it all every day and see the cold hard truth.

I started out skinny but started gaining weight in the 4th grade or so. I was very shy, and I didn't have many friends at the time. So I was a stress/emotional eater (and I'm still working on fixing that). I regularly ate fast food and other junk, didn't exercise and didn't know anything about nutrition. My parents never really cooked healthy food; they have weight issues as well. I lost a good amount of weight my first two years of college (a few years ago) but ended up gaining more of it back a year or so later because of non-weight related health issues, and changes in major/job/time commitments that lead me to eating fast food almost 2 times a day. I think I would've started taking better care of myself earlier if I had believed I was worth the effort. I have a lot more positive people in my life now and a better mindset, so I'm in a better position to be healthy.

I guess I've always been a little over weight. I can remember as a little girl always having a little pot belly. When I met my husband I weighed 140 pounds but was always able to suck in my belly and give it the not there appearance.

I became overweight and later obese ( according to my BMI ) after I got married. I got married, I got comfortable and I had 3 babies without ever bothering to lose the pregnancy weight from the previous child.

I started this journey at 194 pounds with a BMI of 31.3. Today I weigh 170.6 wit a BMI of 27.5.

My goal is 140 which will give me a BMI of 22.6. That is my goal but if I could get down to 130 that would be amazing as I can't tell you the last time I weighed 130 pounds. I remember weighing 120 in 7th grade and feeling so fat compared to others. I may have been a little on the chunky side but I wasn't fat...looking back now. I would give anything to be back there.

And Oh, I'm pretty sure I've finally kicked the baby weight to the curb. I don't remember what I weighed when I got pregnant with my first but my very first OB appointment ( at almost 5 months pregnant, thanks to my insurance screwing me over) I weighed 175. This morning I hit 170.6. This feels amazing!!

honestly, when you read my baby book, all it says is how much i loved to eat as a baby. even daycare workers were surprised at how much one baby could eat lol!

my moms a very giving woman and one time someone at daycare said she wasn't giving me enough to eat for my lunches and so she started overloading my lunches because she felt bad. and was embarrassed.

luckily i was an active pre teen and LOVED sports. but i was also bullied which made me drop out of any sports i was doing around the age of 13. then my only friend moved away and i gained weight like crazy by staying in and never doing anything. i was VERY big for a 14-15 year old, and believe me, i was teased like crazy. i was chased home, had things thrown at me, pushed into lockers. the words have still stuck with me though, unfortunately.

highschool came and i dropped about 60lbs by doing drugs and drinking and barely eating. then i had a traumatic year at the age of 17 and gained a boyfriend who didn't make me feel good about myself. i slowely gained about 20-30lbs with him and when we broke up, i gained another 10 every year. i went from 130 to 210.
i'm 22 now and i'm determined to finally lose this weight again.

I was a heavy baby, a chubby toddler, a pudgy preschooler, a fat preteen/teen. My parents fed me to much of the wrong stuff. It wasn't till I was 15 that I started changing things. TO "shut us up" My dad would give us a dollar each and we would get a 50Cent soda and 2 25 cent little Debbie cakes each. They would take us to Burger King 2-3X a week and At 12 I would get a double whopper, large soda, large fries and a milkshake. I could eat it all and still be hungry.

I'm chubby now because I'm seriously addicted to carbs

Were you always overweight?
* Chubby baby, scrawny toddler/kid (like seriously skin and bones). I ate a lot of bad food choices as a kid (see the above, borrowed quote), didn't know better, but I still couldn't gain weight. Then about puberty I started having self-image issues. Gained weight kinda slowly, skimming that 165 (which looking back is the high end of normal) line as a senior in HS

Or were you once a healthy weight?
*Maybe, for 3 months around puberty, start of coming into the AF

Did you "let yourself go"?
*Yes a lot. After gaining 20 lbs (see next question), I lived in England for 4 years and used the excuse that it was too dark and depressing outside to do anything (including inside), so I gained ≈10-15 more. Finally I PCS'd (military moved) to Las Vegas (where I gained another 10-12, but man that American food I missed so much was AMAZING)

Or perhaps it was due to a traumatic event, injury or medication?
*During my year long technical training for my AF job, I learned I had an injury in basic, that didn't really started to get better until about a 12-15 months after the injury. During this time (I let myself go) I ate the same type and amount as my now husband, even though he was doing PT and I was not.

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?
*Yes because even though I was a "healthy" weight, I didn't do so well on the skin fold test as a freshman. As a kid I always played outside, as a teen I rode my bike almost everywhere, enjoyed PE in school, even did Personal Fitness as a senior (when I decided I wanted to join the AF). Even though I was active I was eating a lot of crap foods though. I would go through a case of Mt Dew in about 2 weeks, but hey I was buying it with my job money, and my whole *mostly overweight* family drank soda. I ate out a lot (I worked two part time jobs, one at Domino's pizza and one at McDonald's, while being a full time HS student).

Now, I had my wake up call (back in December), I'm ≈ 2 lbs away from reaching my pre-Las Vegas weight, ≈17 lbs away from my pre-England weight, ≈30 lbs away from my post basic military training (BMT) weight,≈ 32 lbs away from my pre BMT weight, and ≈37 lbs away from my goal weight. The only person who needs convinced, has been convinced. She has a PT test in 5 months. Look out world here I come.

Were you always overweight?
NO. Started using sugar and bad foods to ward off depression at 16 after a life changing event.

Or were you once a healthy weight?
At 15 I was a size 6. Skinny as a rake.

Did you "let yourself go"?
Yes, on purpose infact. I thought if I was overweight and ugly people would not notice me and there for I could fade into the background.

Or perhaps it was due to a traumatic event, injury or medication?
Bang on!!! Traumatic event.

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?
At the beginning of this year I started putting myself first and it was long overdue. Have now been eating healthy since then and have lost 30lbs so far. Another 30lbs to go.

Were you always overweight?
Kinda, I was a chubby kid... my mom was morbidly obese and cooked like it so that didn't help me out much.

Or were you once a healthy weight?
I got to a somewhat healthy weight in a very unhealthy manner in my last year of Junior high, kept it off for that year.... then high school happened

Did you "let yourself go"?
Totally and completely... High school came along, I was depressed, I drank to much liquor, ate too much pizza, sat in front of the tv playing hours of video games, smoked tooooooo much weed followed by toooo many family sized bags of chips... and it didn't help that the "home cooked" meals I did get were awful and loaded with cheese and oil.

I moved out of my house when I was 18, piled on even more weight eating cheap garbage food... I had no idea how to shop for decent food, or cook for that matter. Its been a long road teaching myself what good food is, and riding myself of tons of habits I was raised to think were "normal and healthy". I read all ingredients in EVERYTHING I eat now, no more take out, and the last time I ate chips they were homemade sweet potato chips baked in the oven:) I've lost over 100lbs. got 59 left to go to reach my goal.

P.S. Not to brag but serriously I'm an awesome cook now.

Fast food and not exercising. My inactivity was so bad that when I started waitressing, I dropped 20 within a month and a half while still eating the same.

Basically the exact same story for me. Went through a depression and gained about 30 lbs. but was always a skinny minnie before that. Almost back to my skinniest weight now! :bigsmile:

(Also do NOT believe in "excuses".) :noway:

Just went down the line

Were you always overweight? Except for about two years of my adolescence in which I had an eating disorder, yes.

Or were you once a healthy weight? Technically I was the "right" weight at one time but the means by which I achieved it were not healthy and left me with a stunted metabolism.

Did you "let yourself go"? In a sense, yes.. I was in an emotionally manipulative/abusive relationship for almost 8 years and the stress took its toll on me... My highest weight was 239 in 2010, I lost about 35, kept off some, and here I am now I also got out of that bad situation and I'm a lot happier now so that's a plus!

Or perhaps it was due to a traumatic event, injury or medication? If you wanted to get all analytical, I had some really traumatic experiences when I was a child and a pretty bad back injury on top of the psychological stuff so that compounded with an unhappy childhood in general may have caused me to be an overweight kid. Or I just liked chocolate pudding too much, who knows.

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? Combination, I love to cook and I ate a lot of junk.

I was a healthy, slim child but I have inherited a big frame from my father's side. This didn't go well with my petite mother who happens to have anorexic tendencies. So from the age of 8, I was called fat, fat, fat (but I was also offered food as a reward).
I turned to comfort eating during my teenage years and got very overweight by the time I was 20. I went abroad for a year, away from my family, lost all the weight, and as soon as I came back home binge eating destroyed me.
I have managed to lose weight many times since then, but binge eating has always won so far.

I wasn't always overweight, really. Pretty skinny kid and early teen. But my weight started fluctuating between normal and slightly chubby the last couple years of high school then I ballooned up my freshmen year of college to full-blown chubby. However, I lost like 20 lbs and went back to being petite by senior year of college. Essentially, I was always a healthy, reasonable weight - just either on the lower end or higher end of it.

But when I started working and traveling a lot, the pounds packed on. I worked as a food and wine critic up until about six months ago (opting to do F&W writing freelance while going in a more press-based direction) and although I ate really healthy outside of my work obligations, my work obligations consisted of 8-12 course meals paired with wines for course, etc. I'm in high demand because where I live, there are only a handful of reputable wine writers in the entire country, so there's always wine dinners, tastings, and so on that I get invited to attend. So, I think that combined with my generally stationary position in front of my computer on my off-time writing, I just got heavier than I'd like.

I love and respect food, though. It is my life and I owe all of my world experiences to it. While I'm eating clean for the most part at home, I do indulge and luckily, I never feel guilty... I'm not having a weak moment and having Burger King, I'm having an incredible chef serve me lobster udon or crispy noodle-wrapped foie gras and a wonderful chenin blanc, so I am pretty happy about the relationship I have with food; it breaks my heart when I read some of the posts on here about someone regretting X meal or Y drink.

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