Share the REAL reasons why you're fat (or too thin)

I too don't like confrontation!!!!!

I am hypothyridic and when i first started taking the meds i dropped tons of weight without changing a single habit, but i have always been moderatley active and i love my fruits and veggies. Anyways, im 5'3" and at one point i weighed 98.5 lbs. I was bullied for being skinny. My parents stopped me from joining any more sports teams, i wasn't allowed to walk the dog, and i was constantly being quizzed by people that were trying to make sure i was eating enough. I never counted calories then, so i don't know how much i was eating in terms of that, but i eventually couldn't take the pressure anymore. I wanted to gain the weight so badly i started bingeing. Entire cakes. Whole loves of french bread. Giant muffins. Often still frozen, and at night. After i gained 10 lbs from bingeing, i couldn't stop. I kept gaining more and more weight. I was then addicted to bingeing. It took me 6 months or more to finnally fully stop bingeing and not have urges to anymore. And soon after, i decided to set myself a healthy goal weight, get there, and stick to it. Once and for all.

I come from a family that has always celebrated with food. All our holidays were based around food, we'd get together for someone's birthday and it was always celebrated with a big fancy dinner at a restaurant or a potluck at someone's house. We'd go camping and one of the first things we'd do was plan out all the yummy meals we'd have plus all the car snacks to take along for the trip. When we'd go on vacation, we'd always find the most fun restaurants (buffets were always a good option for us) and we'd always treat ourselves because, after all, we were on vacation! And our family always has such fun when we're together. Food for us was all about having a wonderful happy time together as a family. Big Sunday breakfasts were amazing, and getting together with our extended family for wonderful big Sunday dinners was the highlight of the week.

So I've come to accept that I associate food with having a good time, being relaxed and comfortable. So when my life gets a little stressed and I want to have that sense of comfort, my very first reaction is to turn to food. For the longest time when I came home from work, I needed that comfort food break and then I could start planning dinner. I can recognize that now and I am trying to find alternative means to provide that comfort, happy feeling. And for family get-togethers, we are starting to try to plan more activities as part of the celebrations and not just only eating. But it's a whole lifetime, in fact, a couple generations of lifetimes, that have to be relearned.

injury and menopause.
Two things I was quite powerless over.
Working on getting moving again and being accountable for what goes in my mouth.
Inventorying your food is just like inventorying your self. You never really have to face the music or the truth until you see it in black and white. Hard to deny how much your're eating if you're writing it all down.
This is the best thing that's happened to me in a while.
So thanks friend for sharing it with me.

I would eat whenever I felt stressed or anxious. I wouldn't listen to my body to learn when it was full, I just ate because it tasted good and made me feel good. I can remember times when I would continue to eat even when I was full to the point of being sick. It was awful. I'm learning to respect myself more.

I was never "obese" and I have always made time to exercise, but years and years of working 60 - 80 hours/week, endless travel, business lunches, business dinners, and a desk job took its toll. Remember in "Gone With the Wind" when Scarlett O'Hara grabs a plant out of the ground and tries to eat it and says "I'll never go hungry again!!!". Well when I retired my rallying cry to myself was "I'll never sit on my *kitten* again!!!" So now I exercise at least 2 hours/day, cook and eat healthy, a dinner out is a treat rather than the norm, and I feel SO GOOD and happy. It's really true that the more you exercise, the more energy you have and the better you feel. So for you desk jockeys out there, do the best you can and keep your eyes on the prize.

Great question. I think my issue was getting older and metabolism slowing down. Never had a weight issue until my 4th child came along at age 36. All of a sudden the baby weight didn't go away as fast and I really had no clue how to lose it and keep it off. So now I am on my second round of weight loss and trying to do it the right way.

*Poor food choices (carboholic and sugar junkie, still to this day. *sigh*)
*Spurts of exercise, then deserts of laziness
*Late night TV watching companion (Ice cream, pop tarts, toaster strudels, etc)
*Too much soda, not enough (*ahem*ANY) water

I gained too much weight while pregnant. Went from 104lb (worked on my feet all day, too busy to eat much at all) to 160lbs after 2 kids. Stayed 160 for a year and decided it is time for a change. I didn't realize how many calories I must have consumed to maintain that frame (on a 5'2" body) until I started counting them. On 1360 calories a day I have lost 14lbs in 25 days. (was only trying to lose 1lb a week, lost almost 1lb every 2-3 days. I hated my body then realized my body is awesome. It was just giving me what I gave it. Now that I am eating healthier and much less calories, it is giving me my body back in record time. IN 5-7 more lbs I won't even be overweight anymore! (Though I want to lose quite a bit more, and tone up.) I ate crap, and ate a heck of a lot of it. Now I eat less crap (though I still eat some!) and eat a ton healthier than I used to. My diet of Krispy Kremes, buscuits, chocolate, hot tamales and potato salad wasn't doing the trick. I still eat chocolate daily though, but instead of 5 or more pieces, it is one or 2.

Two words. Law school. Due to all the stress, I was at my thinnest during law school, which was 119lbs (5'8"). I was pretty good about eating when I was supposed to, but I kind of lose my appetite when I'm really worked up. Since then, I have gained weight (125lbs), but now I'm working on making sure that weight is lean muscle instead of just fat.

I like to eat and I don't like to exercise. Too many calories in, not enough calories out. Simple math made me overweight. Damn you, Math!!!

OK, but the more honest and complete answer would be menopause. I was always *slightly* overweight. Always size 10 or 12, while the rest of the world was size 6 or 8. And for most of my 20s and 30s it creeped up very slowly but surely. But then the menopause threw me completely off course and I gained about 30 pounds in 6 years. And it seemed like I just could get on top of it. It spiraled out of control...so I gave up. That didn't help!!

Laziness and overeating caused me to become fat. I gained weight when I quit smoking and became a stay at home mom. I started smoking cigarettes at 15, quit during both of my pregnancies, but started smoking again within months after they were born. I didn't have trouble losing the baby weight. I was back down to a size 6 in less than a year. In April 2009 I decided to quit smoking, become a stay at home mom, and homeschool. So in stead of smoking I started snacking all the time. I also became lazy after sitting for hours at a time while homeschooling. I gained about 40 pounds in 3.5 years. I got to a point where I hardly recognized myself. I felt like Humpty Dumpty because I carry my weight in my midsection. Since January 1st I've been making time for exercise and trying to eat better. I've lost 13 pounds and I'm starting to feel like myself again.

I am generally a mostly healthy eater so it takes a lot to make me gain. In this case it was 3 things. Three surgeries in 3 years each one added a little weight. Otherwise I'm a pretty healthy eater so I find it relatively easy to stay thin once thin.

Chubby from a young age. Never seemed to know when to stop eating, couldn't turn down food. Stayed active, played sports but could never get my eating under control. In elementary school I was teased and bullied everyday about my weight, this led to more overeating, which led to weight gain which led to even more bullying and extremely low self esteem. Highschool was way better, no teasing, awesome friends, and I was popular, I was finally gaining some confidence! But old habits die hard, my eating was still out of control. I would try and tell myself I was gonna lose the weight but after a day or 2 of dieting I would give up. My self esteem was building for everything in my life except my weight and how I looked. Even though I was never called fat in highschool, everytime I heard that word I would and still sometimes do get uncomfortable, adjust my clothes, and have a voice in the back of my head saying "they are talking about you", those old wounds from childhood are still healing now at 21. I still have body image issues even though after losing 25lbs (and almost halfway to my goal!) I know I look the best I ever have and am the healthiest I've ever been. Being in University, living in my own place and buying my own food has made a huge difference...lots of booze and partying doesn't help but I can be good 80% of the time and have my fun on the weekends:)

I recognize myself in many of these answers, but the REAL reason I'm overweight is that I struggle with food addiction.

Have you ever been going about your day, when suddenly you're interrupted by a voice inside your head that says "CAAAAKE!!" You try fill up on something healthy, distract yourself, take a walk, or just say no, but the voice persists? Eventually you just have to eat the damn cake so the voice shuts up and you can go on with your day? But the trouble is, two hours later, the voice says,"COOKIES!!!" and it starts all over again. By the end of the day, you're demoralized, depressed and feel hopeless and maddeningly helpless. If that never happens to you, consider yourself blessed.

If I'm able to stay on my diet for a number of days, the "voice" loses it's intensity. If I'm able to stay clean for a month, I feel like a giant burden has been lifted because my mind isn't constantly being invaded by thoughts of food.

Eating the wrong kinds of foods literally makes me enslaved to the whims of the naughty child that likes to yell "cake" at me. This naughty child has lived with me on and off since I can remember. I wish I could just send her away somewhere - like a very dark, scary closet, or even the bottom of a swimming pool, but I think she's here with me for the duration.

Eating clean consistently is the only way for me, but consistency isn't my strong suit....yet.