What made you fat and how are you overcoming it?

Lots of reasons. No good excuses other than ignorance.

Causes:
Quitting smoking.
Carb addiction.
Born into a fat family completely oblivious to healthy eating.
Guinness Beer.
Fast food.
Low self esteem.
Self sabotage.

Solutions:
Reading self help books on self esteem and parenting yourself.
Exercising in private.
Eating only fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean protein. Nothing from a box or bag.
Writing down all my foods.
Letting go of unhealthy friends and, sadly, some family. For now.

I was never *fat*, but a couple of years ago, I realized I was heading down the path towards it. I was, to describe it nicely, soft...and I didn't like it...so I started monitoring my calories in, doing a little cardio, and picking up (and putting down) heavy things.

Anyhow...

In...

...for educational purposes.

I blame my parents and my wife and my sister in law and Hostess and Sugar Pops for being good, and Oreos and Chips Ahoy and Chester Cheetah, and all the marketing firms and McDonalds, and Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Same 'Ol Joe's Pizza (OMG the Pizza Pie there is to KILL for!!), and shells and cheese, and tv and comfy chairs and air conditioning and the internet and good cooking and family size lasagna and fried chicken and hot dogs and hamburger helper and pop tarts and coke and Sonic with their happy hour and commercials and restaurants allowing the smell of food waft down the street when I'm outside, Chinese food, buffets...just all the buffets, clothing manufactures for not cutting things off at XL, and science.


Oh...and Obama, just because.


ETA: Overcoming it by making sure I can eat all the things, just not EVERY LAST OUNCE of all the things.

Well that's a long story - lets start with having a sit down job once I became an adult - there went my exercise... then getting married and having two babies - weight gain for sure cause I wasn't watching the calories and I did not move/exercise.

Now I have gotten fed up with being over weight because it landed me in the hospital the weight was stressing my body - I am eating healthy and working out every day now... .that is how I am overcoming it!

I never had a good foundation built for healthy eating or exercise. Looking back, I feel like maybe I lived under a rock?

I ate way too much ....very rarely anything that could be considered healthy....and I wasn't active.

I just wish I had started sooner!!!!!!!!

I think of this as a lifestyle because it isn't a diet...it isn't temporary. I will always have to be mindful of the foods that I put in my mouth and staying active. Eating healthier and exercise are a part of my life now.

i was addicted to sweets, fastfood and fizzy drinks, oh and i also have pcos so i gain weight quickly and i was very depressed about how i looked- (still am!!)

Being a 5'-2" female with a desk job eating like I was a 6'-2" man working construction.

Edited to add: Fast forward 2 years with MFP and I went through a major surgery (BRAIN!) and was able to keep the weight off. Love the tools I have learned here

Whole crazy weight loss/brain story here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/918358-they-cut-my-head-open-your-excuse-is-invalid

I was raised in the Deep South where everything revolves around food, and not much of it is healthy. Deep fried and delicious, I was fat by 13 and so was my entire family. I didn't know what a diet was, I didn't know what healthy was. No one in my small Alabama town ate well or exercised. I struggled with my weight all my life, but it wasn't until I was an adult and living on my own and got away from the lifestyle of junk food, eat anything you want as much as you want and went to nursing school and started doing some research that I started learning how to lose weight. I still struggle, because unhealthy food CAN be delicious and overindulging is easy sometimes, but when I look at my family ( my sister is 100 pounds overweight, my brother in law weighs 400 pounds, my teenage niece is already over 200lbs, my mom was just diagnosed with diabetes, my dad with gout) I know it's worth it. I'm healthy, and at least TRYING to be fit.

CARBS. Also I didn't even know what a calorie was or that they existed. I thought you could only get fat if you were eating burgers and milkshakes all the time. I was eating pretty healthy just in MASSIVE quantities. I didn't believe that you could get heavy that way. Boy was I wrong....

Same with me, all very healthy just far to much and not enough exercise

Well, I got really good at being fat over the years. I'd lose then gain more back, lose again gain more back....... over and over until I was an expert.

I'm retiring from this job, I'm really tired of it Eating better, moving more and enjoying life!

Definitely overconsumption and lack of activity i.e. laziness.

How I am overcoming it? Well, I consume better food of the right amount of calories for my body and I exercise daily!

I was raised in the Deep South where everything revolves around food, and not much of it is healthy. Deep fried and delicious, I was fat by 13 and so was my entire family. I didn't know what a diet was, I didn't know what healthy was. No one in my small Alabama town ate well or exercised. I struggled with my weight all my life, but it wasn't until I was an adult and living on my own and got away from the lifestyle of junk food, eat anything you want as much as you want and went to nursing school and started doing some research that I started learning how to lose weight. I still struggle, because unhealthy food CAN be delicious and overindulging is easy sometimes, but when I look at my family ( my sister is 100 pounds overweight, my brother in law weighs 400 pounds, my teenage niece is already over 200lbs, my mom was just diagnosed with diabetes, my dad with gout) I know it's worth it. I'm healthy, and at least TRYING to be fit.

^^^^ I can definitely relate to this.... Good for you!!!!

Lack of impulse control & laziness. I am overcoming it by honestly logging every morsel and working out like a beast.

I was an idiot :noway:

I was a hardcore athlete, put my lower back out and was unable to find activities that didn't make that flare up (even walking could land me flat on my back for a week)

the problem was, I still ate like a hardcore athlete but my activity was WAY down :P

I yo-yo'd a lot during these 7 years (back would feel better, would start losing, 20lbs or so then bang - back is out again and I gain it back and more lol) The problem is during all of those times (even the losing times) I didn't change my eating so I was still eating what I would as an extremely active person (not horribly unhealthy but more than a now sedentary person should) - not smart

sure the NSAIDS I was taking can cause weight gain and I am sure it didn't help the situation but that wasn't the reason. And the broken ankle and torn shoulder (both needing surgery) added to the activity restrictions but they aren't the whole reason. You simply can't eat like an athlete while being sedentary - doesn't work

How am I changing it?

Well, my back is feeling a lot better and I am back to being an active person. I also have great meds so if my back flares up I can take the meds and still be active (before all the medication PSAs start my doctor and I strictly monitor how much I take to ensure I am not getting dependant)

I am also making sure that if I am sedentary again I am not eating like I am training a lot By counting the calories

And obviously for now I have my calories set to a deficit. I would love to know if the TDEE calcultations are acurate for me though right now I am still trying to find the right balance

Complacency. I ranged between healthy and slightly overweight most of my life, doing quick fixes when the pants got too tight. The cabbage soup diet was my favorite because I like cabbage and because it actually works when you only need to lose 10-15 pounds every year or two. Then at some point I let it slide too far and bought bigger pants. I got comfortable in those and decided maybe it came with middle age. Before I knew it, I was in even bigger pants. Then I tried my quick fix and found that it was only good for about 10-15 pounds and that wasn't enough. I am overcoming complacency by being convinced of how serious and important this is. I also have this experience of being overweight for a few years pretty much behind me now. I really didn't like that. When I reach goal, I am getting rid of all the fat boy clothes and I am not buying any more. If things start to get tight, I may resort to one of my quick fixes again or I may adjust my portions and what not; I am not sure. But I will not buy the bigger pants again.