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

I got fat because some moron I worked with couldn't listen to simple directions. His mistake led to me getting severely burned by chemicals. When the skin wouldn't heal properly, I was put on a treatment plan involving oral and topical steroids. I gained over 100 pounds in just six months. It has been a constant struggle in the ten years since then to take it back off. It seems like the more I do right, the fatter I get. So frustrating, but I won't let the fat win!

u look awesome in your profile pic! congratz

I COULD say I blame my Mom - she always said that I had to be careful because obesity ran in the family. When I look at my grad pics from High School, I think, man there is nothing wrong with me. She always told reminded me of being overweight...I heard it all the time. I know she loves me and i could do the blame game, but now I am 43 years old and am Ultimately in Charge of me. It took me a long time to realize that. I do love food - I think for the longest time I equated it with LOVE - emotional issues, holding in what I need to say, for fear of others judging me for what i think. So it is the bigger picture, MIND BODY and SOUL that I need to conquer this. A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE my dear hypnotherapist told me today, do not look at this a DIET, but A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. But now I am vowing to take a better charge of my life, LOVE and ACCEPT me for who I am. So, it is a variety of reasons why I am this size, but I am changing this for the better

i used to work out a ton, and I have an active job (construction) that kept me pretty lean and muscular for a long time. after i got married I bought a house far from the gym and new priorities like walking the dog i never had before, and watching tv on the big screen i never had before seemed so important. I eventually stopped going to the gym altogether, but was still eating the way i used to, probably north of 4000 calories every day. when i moved up in my job, and the demands became less physical more mental, that aspect of fitness diminished too, so here i am, 50 pounds heavier than i can carry comfortably, and trying to get back down to my fighting weight.

That's an interesting question...

Since this is all just therapeutic, I'm going to try and work through from the beginning!

I think part of it is genetics, honest to God. I was born at over 10 pounds, and even though my mother's brothers and sisters (seven) started out thin from childhood--most of them look like models until their mid-twenties, and one was literally offered a modeling contract with some big magazine back in the day--all of them ended up very overweight or obese. (One actually lost all the weight through the Atkins diet, and another one has had success with Weight Watchers, and a few others are slowly but steadily losing weight, too!) Anyway, I was a little bit less lucky, and I simply never lost my baby fat. (Also, I am big boned. It makes me laugh when people say that "genetics" or "big bones" are just excuses, because I live them! The size of my cranium has always been bigger than the average girl's. My skeleton is large. When I reach my goal weight, I will still be big boned.

I started journaling about how unhappy I was about my weight in elementary school, because the other children would tease me. Even though my mom cooked at every meal, I think I always had trouble with portion control. And, you know, lasagna and tuna casserole and chicken casserole and any pasta dish you can think of and beef strogonoff and beef stew and big hamburgers and chicken pot pie and all manner of extravagant foods can be nutritious and fit into a diet -- but I always ate in excess. Also, at some point, me and my brother took a particular liking to Top Ramen, and we learned that we could sneak more ice cream past our parents by mashing it down in the bowl.

I think eating too much just became my vice in life. Moderation is hard for me--But I've found that using smaller utensils and smaller dishes really helps.

Also, through high school, I went through a few different periods of eating disorder behavior... The first time I went on a diet, I didn't consult anybody about it, and I figured I would see results if I just limited myself to 500-800 calories a day. Thankfully, I don't think this lasted long. But as a junior in high school, I got into an abuse relationship and accidentally stumbled into bulimia. As a result, I think I think about food way too much. "Am I hungry? Am I really? Should I eat--should I wait--What's too much? Is it too late? Did I mis-measure?" These thoughts aren't at the forefront of my mind, but eating is definitely an Event for me, not just something I do to sustain my body. And that's a problem, probably.

I also simply just take a lot of joy in eating. I must have an emotional attachment to it. I look forward to mealtime!

Wow! Sorry for this long post. I feel better now though!

I grew up always being a chunky little nugget, growing up with just my mother - we didn't have a lot of money so we ate what we could, I actually remember a few meals being eating a teaspoon of vegemite....so I don't think I ever had a stable or reliable diet. When I would visit my father, he would love to spoil me, obviously his way to try make up for not seeing me as often as we'd all like, so often I'd return home from dad's even bigger each time. In primary school from the ages of 9 - 12 I was getting really fit, riding my push bike about 15km a day just too and from school, then I hit high school - I still saw myself as the fat kid so I didn't join in any school sports except for the few mandatory sports classes that I'd normally just do half assed anyways. So I slowly started to put weight on then, by the end of high school I would have been about 120kg. Then I hit the real world and had no idea about nutrition or anything, I was working full time so quick and easy meals normally take out - was what I'd have, I slowly put on weight with that, I eventually (about 4 years later) had put on so much weight I was so depressed/embarrassed/anxious about even going to work I ended up just not going and got fired. I then sat at home eating **** and doing nothing, my first long term girlfriend and I then broke up which sent me even further into the kfc bucket. I got to my heaviest about 1-2 years ago now, I hit 180kg (396pounds) I was probably heavier before then so we'll round it about 400lbs. A lifetime of bad eating, way too much negativity, putting myself down and no idea about nutrition and exercise lead me to that point....

No one to blame but myself, but just wish it didn't take me until the age of 36 to realize that I have no grasp on what a portion size should look like. Sure, I always read the boxes, but totally blew off the suggested serving size because it just didn't seem like enough food. Growing up in a family where I didn't have control over my portions and being told I had to eat it all probably didn't help with my perception on what a proper amount of food is. I've never been much of a junk food eater and have managed to maintain pretty good health for someone my age and weight because I choose healthier options, but too much of a good thing is still too much - and there's no way weight-related health issues weren't going to start cropping up if I didn't do something about it. The biggest help on this journey has been the incredible shrinking stomach, as it's now attuned to normal portions and I find it uncomfortable to overeat.

Mostly just living life. I love food, I love cooking, I love experimenting, I love love love rich foods. I live for reading. rich foods plus a book equals weight gain. I tend to do burst activities: weekend woodworking, horseback riding on an infrequent basis, and gardening that is mostly set-up and then harvesting. Not enough steady cardio.

And no one to be active with on a regular basis - walking, etc.

I'm fat because Nutella is a god send.

The reasons why I gained some weight in first place were hormonal.
Reason why it spiralled out of control to 120kg (260 lbs) was my weakness.
Why it lasted 3 years of being fat and miserable - lazyness and said weakness.
Lack of any knowledge about nutrition or just body and how it works in general didnt help.

Now am all happy and in control. With healthier body (hormones in check cptn!) and healthier mind.
I like to be in control and disciplined. NO MOAR WEAKNESS *roars*

*cough* I have special morning coffee me time now. SHE-HULK TIME.

Edit:
SHE-HULK CANT SPELL!

Horrible relationships. Abusive. I was raped. Best friend was killed. Got anxiety. Ate my feelings, drowning in pints of Ben & Jerry's, didn't work out. That's the basic run down.

A month and a half of high dose steroides jump started my weight gain.
After this I got really depressed for more than a year and started to play computer games to run from reality. My new lifestyle was all about take out food and sitting all day in front of the computer(I also have a desk job). My wake up call was when i tried on some old pants and couldn't get them up above my knees.
Now I'm much better and very close to my highschool skinny weight

I'm not overweight and never have been. But as soon as I turned 30 I put on about 20lb just from over eating and not taking care of myself.

I want to look good in a bikini!

7 down, 13 to go...

I was always a big girl, but like many people was in a relationship with someone who wanted a house wife and treated me like rubbish. So i comfort ate...moved...got home sick..ate more...but now i am in a relation a loving relationship with someone who loves me for me, and supports me all the way. I moved back home and vowed to put a stop to my bad eating habbits!

I'm not overweight now but trying to maintain. The reason I was too fat was I ate too much, too often and didn't exercise. Quite regularly I would binge eat as well out of boredom or being stressed. The latter is still a battle to overcome but most days I am winning now.