Why/how did you become overweight?

I have never been overweight, but I can honestly say I haven't lived a healthy lifestyle my whole life. I never played sports as a kid. I was generally active, but I wish I had been more athletic as a child to develop that healthy, exercising lifestyle. I freaked out about PE in junior high, like every girl does and managed to opt out of it. My freshman year of high school, that wasn't allowed. I made it through PE just fine and dove my freshman and sophomore years of high school. Around that time, I was about 130-135 pounds. It wasn't until I stopped diving and no longer had a PE class that I realized that NOT exercising at all was simply not going to cut it. By my senior year, I was up to 155, which is not at all large or overweight, but I wanted something different for myself. I thought that I was "just growing" and the weight gain was normal, but I reached my current 5'7" by the beginning of my junior year, so this was just an excuse I was making for myself. My family has a horrible history of diabetes and heart disease, and I did not want to fall victim to that. If anything, I want to be an example for them, because some of my relatives are in fact very overweight. I got my weight down to 140 in a little over a month just by running every day (I used to LOATHE running) and just keeping track of my calories. I used to use Loseit!, but I love this app much better. Anyway, I became so proud of myself at that point that I thought my work was done. I stopped all exercise and KIND OF kept going with the calorie counting, but by summer I was almost back up to 150. I was not about to lose all my hard work, so I began swimming casually over the summer. It wasn't until I got to college in the fall that I REALLY started getting serious. I figure if I build good habits now, I will never feel the need to "lose weight". I won't have to dread "baby weight" in the future because my naturally healthy lifestyle I am developing now will take care of that. In college I either ran at least a mile every day or went to the gym for an hour. I am back down to my usual 140 and I can honestly say I like what I see in the mirror. I am a weight junkie, so the bulk of my body weight is muscle weight. I guess I would just like to be lighter and more toned; not necessarily skinnier. It is very difficult for me to pass under this 140 pound mark because I feel like all I do is build muscle. So many people have helped me along my journey to a healthy lifestyle, and I would greatly appreciate any suggestions I can receive about my current obstacle Thank you for reading, and good luck to all!

Were you always overweight?
A little not loads, but never fit and healthy

Or were you once a healthy weight?
I think in my teens I was "normal" I never was made fun of about my weight or anything like that.

Did you "let yourself go"?
Yep, when I went to uni it started, cooking/eating on my own. Eating a lot of crap and doing little to no exercise.

Or perhaps it was due to a traumatic event, injury or medication?
Nope

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?
Eating crap, a lot of take out, I could eat a large dominos pizza and a side in one sitting...... I stopped caring about my body and abused it. I have some issues with emotional and boredom eating and have had to deal/control those which MFP has helped massively with.

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?

Not always. I started to put weight on as a teenager. I wasn't skinny before that, but I wasn't fat either. I was an active child, and as my mum didn't drive and my dad did shift work, we walked everywhere.

Or were you once a healthy weight?

As a child. Then again in my early 20s, my BMI was around 22. Now my BMI is 26.0, so I'm not far off a normal weight.

Did you "let yourself go"?

A little bit. I moved in with my now husband, and started eating bigger portions. I did my teacher training, and that was stressful, and hard work, and i put weight on as I didn't exercise as much. Then I lost some. Then I put some on again. Then I got engaged, lost around 40lbs for my wedding. A month later I was pregnant, and when I had my son I was bigger (probably a big US size 12). I lost the weight after him, then got pregnant with my daughter when he was 13 months. Put on loads with her. And now I've lost it all and more and am wearing clothes I kept from my mid 20s (i'm 35 now).


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?

Like I said, when I moved in with my now husband, we ate bigger portions, but it was healthy food. I've never been into junk food. We got the occasional take-away pizza, but with a new mortgage we didn't have money to waste! We'd make things like chilli, and have a huge bowl, and have seconds.

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 also think one of the biggest weight loss mistakes I made in the past was to not eat enough. I used to believe that 1200 calories, or less, was fine. In my early 20s I was probably eating less, and I was at the gym 5 or 6 times a week, but just doing cardio, no weights at all. And I think that's partly why my body was so quick to put weight on, especially in pregnancy when I just ate normally.

I was a perfectly healthy girl till I was 20. I have always been a fitness fiend and I started exercising by going for power walks at 15. I got fit and toned but I had the fear of piling on weight so I joined the gym. HUGE MISTAKE! coz I got bored of the close environment of the gym and quit at 21 and omigod I put on 23 kgs on my 5'3" frame. My weight went from 55 kgs to 78 kgs after I quit gymming. ITts been 4 years now I am trying to get back into shape. I started yoga a year and a half ago and go for walks and do JM videos from youtube I am gonna start running from 1st march 2013! Wish me luck )

I was always the skinny kid until I hit an early puberty at the age of 9/10, then even out at age 12. However I thought I was big because I was the most developed girl in the class, I looked like I was 16, it is just I grew tall and grew hips and a bust, I was no longer the skinny kid but had a womans figure.

I maintained a well balanced height and weight through-out HS, until I reached the age of 19, when I had a very bad case of ovarian cysts that sent me to the hospital and my first round of birth control pills, they did not set well for me and I went from a 5.6/7 height at 130lbs to 180lbs, I went from a size 10/12 to a size 16/18. I had a hard time loosing the weight until I went off the BC pills at 22. Which with excercise I droped back down to a size 12/14 and 145/50lbs... that lasted until I had my daughter at 24. I gained a lot of weight during pregnancy (220lbs) and after while I breast fed (260). That was my fault from just over eating too many good foods and just letting myself go as I was so super focused on my child. It was not until she turned 16months I started taking notice of how much I gained.

I went back to college and while in college took weight training and nutritional courses and began my weight loss with a focuss on being healthy not weight. From 2003 to 2006 I went from 240 to 180lbs, then in 2007 went down to 170lbs... I still wanted to loose another 20-30lbs but had reached a plateau, and it did not seem to matter how much I excercised or what I ate, it just would not move below 170lbs... but on the plus side though I would gain a little it would never go above 190lbs and I would quickly be back at 170lbs. So I maintianed a size 14, for over 5 yrs until about 2yrs ago I had some medical and traumatic events occur.

The result I went from 180lbs to 230lbs, from my 14/16 to a size 18/20, a size I had not seen since I was pregnant and breastfeeding...ugh! Well after two years of going to the doctors, I finally was properly diagnosed w/thyroid problems. It has been 1 month since I have been on medicine and I started anew to focus on my diet again Jan 1 2013. Before that I was unable to focus having Hypoglycemia, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, PCOS, Depression/Anxiety, it was like my body was working against me.... I spent a year in Counseling (& still going) and Saw a Natural Pathic Dr. & fouind a specialist for my thyroid and now I am finally feeling normal again.

It is soo good to have energy again, and put to use my knowledge of a healthy weight loss and eating, along with find new research to address my medical conditions. I do not like taking medications if not needed, I prefer to find natural alternatives first, so the only medicine I am on is my Armour Thyroid which is a natural thyroid from pigs.... and it is 15lbs and counting.

The book "Blood Sugar Solution" by, Dr. Mark Hyman, has helped a whole lot at understanding how to manage my health conditions w/my goal weight.

I can now say there are no excuses now that I have the energy and am once again motivated to get back to a healthy lifestyle. I was able to loose up to 90lbs before so I know it can be done again.

Having my thyroid diagnosed has help me to understand that is probably why I was unable to breach my plateau weight a few years back, as I had started noticing back then that something just did not seem right. It took a few traumatic events to triggure everything to a point where I could not even work for two years, by body literally shut down on me... I went from a very active person to soo lathargic and weak, that just doing basic day to day stuff was a challenge and sometimes could not even be done. Also I was in so much pain it hurt to move.... that is when I started doing a lot of research on how to find a way around the mass medications they wanted me on, the main being anti-depressents... I don't do drugs, I don't even like taking tylenol for pain.... I have chemical allergies and alot of the medicines set off allergic reactions... so do not help much. I also don't like quick fixes to treat symptoms I want to find the root cause and treat the problem.

I was a healthy weight until I left home at 18, moved to London and fell in with a 'word hard, play hard and play hard some more' bunch. It was a very unhealthy lifestyle; 60-70 odd hours work in the new media industry, then restaurant eating every night and pubs/clubs. So unhealthy food, too much work/stress, way too much booze and some illegal substances thrown in. Then I got CFS and couldn't walk across a room, let alone party....weight piled on even more. Queue tons of fad diets and a merry-go-round of losing mountains of weight and then gaining it all back again.

I've always been over weight. hit 200 at 12. for childhood, I think my parents are partial to blame. they never told me no, but I never passed it up. and since they were divorced, it was oh he got you this? well we're going out for ice cream type of thing. I always liked gym class and being outside, but then I think I just got comfortable eating crap. never got bigger than 230 in my adult life, I got down to 204 by eating right and exercise, but then I ballooned to 260 when I was prego. got down to 215 with eating right and exercise, but then I got a job at a fast food place and damned myself. got back to 260. been sick the last few months so i'm yo yo ing now.

I lived in Colorado a couple years ago and was 220lbs. I worked my butt off and got down to 165 in around 4 months. Went from 0 to 12 pullups. But then I suffered an overuse injury. ITBS. I got so discouraged about not being able to run that I pretty much gave up and gained it all back. I was 220lbs again but this time I'm playing for keeps

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?

No not really. However, my little sister was always tiny and had trouble putting weight on. In my mind, I was
always the "fat sister" even though I really wasn't overweight at all.

Or were you once a healthy weight?

Yes, I've been between 120-130 at my healthiest. 5' 3" tall, 180 pounds at my highest, 136 currently.

Did you "let yourself go"?

I've gone up and down. I lost weight before being really strict about calories and fat intake, then gave up and
slowly gained it back.

Or perhaps it was due to a traumatic event, injury or medication?

No, just busy with college, work and life in general.

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've always eaten out a lot but I'm a good cook too. Whether I'm eating fast food or homemade, I just tend to
overeat. I've never been very active outside of work. I've always worked physically demanding jobs though.

I was a scrawny kid. Quite thin (but not all skin and bones) until I was 19. Started to fill out (i.e., I started growing hips) and gained about 6 lbs and grew another inch taller. I had my first baby at 21. Only gained 30 lbs, but didn't lose all of the weight after. Kept about half of it. It didn't worry much even though distant relatives started mentioning I was putting on weight. Still wasn't paying too much attention. I never had to watch what I ate, and I still had that skinny girl mentality that I could eat whatever I wanted without exercise. Another two years and I was up to my highest pregnancy weight. Then got pregnant again. This time I did lose all of my pregnancy weight, but still kept the original 15-20 lbs I had gained before. Then got pregnant again when my second was 9 months old. Didn't lose all of the weight then. That put me in the "overweight" category according to BMI. Then got pregnant again when she was about 9 months old. Definitely didn't lose all that weight. I was put on Zoloft and I think that's why I didn't lose any weight after I gave birth. That put me in the obese range, but I still wasn't paying attention. I remember it crossing my mind that I should lose weight, but I didn't think I was FAT. Just chubby or what my husband called fluffy. I could lose weight any time. Skinny girl thinking I suppose. Two years later I thought that it was time to take my weight seriously. By this time I was 60 lbs more than I was when I got pregnant with my first. I looked up my BMI and was shocked I was obese. I was also a little annoyed that my doctors never mentioned it.

I think a lot of my weight gain was due to my thinking. I never took a good look at myself. I had four kids. I'm supposed to be overweight. It was vain to worry about weight and how I looked. I had more important things to worry about. Those pictures of me were just bad pictures. I can lose weight whenever I want. Then there was the fact that I never liked to stand out, and I thought subconsciously that weight helped me hide better. The people I was around weren't skinny. Some were "morbidly obese". Even now I get so embarrassed when people comment about how much weight I've lost.

When my thinking changed and I felt more confident, that's when I started to work at losing weight. I allowed myself to think about looking better. I started wearing make up again and wearing clothes that weren't baggy. I still feel scrutinized even though I know that isn't the case, but I'm working on that. I'm really working on being proud of what i have accomplished and not worrying if people are criticizing me for wanting to lose "vanity"pounds now.

I have gained 70 pounds since being on meds for anxiety/panic disorder. Almost 4 years ago my doctor recommended Adderall to assist in weight loss...I lost 60 pounds in about 5 months. As soon as I came off the medicine the weight came back on.

So that's why I am here...get healthy, the right way:happy:

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?--->Always skinny & underweight. Used to drink crap to bulk up a little. Ate whatever the heck I wanted (junkfood galore). Then I reached a certain age and metabolism slowed down and I started gaining

I've always hovered around the upper "normal weight" and lower 'overweight" categories...
Went to college where the caf food sucked, and started eating mainly pasta to survive... a lot of Chinese food, too.
I also started walking/running more in college, too, which helped a bit, but my eating habits were setting me up for problems later, when I quit exercising as much but continued to eat crap.
I got engaged a little before graduating and started taking birth control... and the weight started packing on then.
I started having blood sugar issues and was diagnosed with hypoglycemia, which I believe was caused by a combination of birth control and all the carbs I ate in college screwing with my system.
I have pretty much given up white flour & sugar, cut out rice (quinoa instead) and minimized potatoes... that, along with counting carbs, has helped me to lose weight and pretty much get rid of my hypoglycemia... I haven't "crashed" from it in several weeks! I'm ALMOST halfway to my weight loss goal, too. =D

Were you always overweight?
-No

Or were you once a healthy weight?
-I've been a healthy weight a few times. lol

Did you "let yourself go"?
-yes & no. Mostly it's pregnancy weight that wont leave. but it's also my love for Ben & Jerrys. grr!!

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 never ate right. ate out a lot.

Were you always overweight?

No.

Or were you once a healthy weight?

Well, I was born at 7lbs and 7 oz and 22? inches long. I certainly wasn't born fat. :laugh:

I was all limbs and skinny as a young child too. I was as active as the doctors would permit (I had a bone condition) which was pretty darn active (no jumping, limiting running).

I gained like most girls do in the pre-puberty years (chubby then). Then through puberty I got skinny again. So much so, in fact, that my mom was convinced I had an eating disorder. (I did not have an eating disorder. I did have to have my size 4 skirts taken in though because they were falling down.) My height had pretty much maxed out when I was about 14 years old. (5' tall then, 5'1" now)

In high school, I was mostly a healthy weight or just above (120-135lbs).

Ditto for college. I actually lost weight my freshman year (so anti-freshman 15 for me). So I was a healthy weight or very nearly so until I moved off campus and started to gain (plus I had a heavy course load, part time job, and extra stuff like that). Then BF (now hubby) and I started going to the gym on campus 3 times a week because I had a 2hr block of free time in my day that I didn't want to leave campus for. I trimmed down, firmed up and was in really good shape (size 6 petite and 130-140lbs but a lot of muscle). We tended to spend 40-60 minutes there at a time. I'd spend 10-20 on cardio and the rest was all weight machines (and I lifted pretty heavy for girl... heavier than many of the guys on those machines even). I felt really good about my body then and BF/Hubby was in the best shape I've ever seen him as well then.

Did you "let yourself go"?

I wouldn't personally say that, but you might think of it that way. To me, "letting yourself go" sounds like you don't care or didn't notice. I noticed. I cared and I hated it. I tried to stop and reverse the gain; I just wasn't successful at the time.

You see, I didn't graduate on the traditional timeline. I had changed majors and picked up a mine late in the college "game." Plus, I added a certification on top of my degree at the end of my senior year. I graduated on an aggressive schedule if you consider that stuff (4.5 years), but I still had to wait for the state to process some of my certification information and they were very slow about it. I had a hard time getting interviews even though I was highly qualified, because of the delay in my paperwork. Few places would talk to me without a certificate already in hand, even though it was a given that my paperwork was going to make it in "soon." I did land a job in my certification field, but it wasn't the best venue and the commute was long.

Long story short, my first year on the job was pretty much hell because I was a last minute fill-in for a position more experienced people had passed over. Between the stress, long hours and long commute (1 hour each way) that's when I really started to gain. I resigned from that after a year and landed a job in the same field, but a work from home position. In some ways it was better, but the hours were still long, I was lonely working from home, and the stress was still high even though it was a different sort of stress than the 1st place. After 2 years of that, I changed careers to a new field.

Or perhaps it was due to a traumatic event, injury or medication?

No for me, unless you want to count extreme stress, depression and insomnia (nightmares) from my first 3 years out of college. I knew I needed to get my weight under control as I was gaining so much. I tried diet. I joined a gym. Heck, I even tried a pill from my doc combined with a low carb diet and exercise. But the pill (Phentermine) made me feel like crap, and my life was so unbalanced that diet and exercise were too hard to maintain successfully.

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 overate some during those 3 years, but it was more a matter of quality rather than quantity. I skipped meals and often ate small meals but what I did eat was high in calories and fat and low in healthy nutrients. It was fast, cheap and easy, rather than good for me. So, while didn't usually eat a lot, I was still probably over in calories regularly. (Heck even a small sonic blast once a week adds up! Add to that getting nuggets or hash browns and an OJ from Chick-fil-a or some other fast once a week and eating out at local joints instead of cooking... It wasn't a lot of food volume wise all the time but it was a lot of calories.

Add to that the fact that I was sitting on my butt on my commute, then working in front of a computer nights and weekends (1st year) long after "work hours." And then sitting on my rear all day and all night when I changed to a work from home position with even longer hours (next 2 years) and, well, I gained. I gained a lot. About 60-70 lbs in about 3 years as a matter of fact.

Poor diet was a factor for me, but I'm convinced that stress and activity level were my biggest problems.

After that career change, I got my stress levels and work/life balance in a much better place with a career that's better for me physically and emotionally, I managed to stop gaining for a few months. I bought a treadmill and started working my way up in miles and speed. I started tracking my food on MFP (different username then). Then I managed to lose (about 15 lbs lost in about 6 months). Then I put that on hold for my honeymoon, house hunting, and the winter holidays/vacation (no gain, no loss).

Now I'm back on again and looking to drop the rest to get back to where I was in college--the strong, fit me that had nice abs, good health, and sexy muscles (not bulky, but definitely visible). Because the next phase after that is becoming a mother and I want to be in a good position to start that adventure off right.

I hate how slow my progress is, but I didn't gain it overnight and it's not going to come off overnight either.