Curious - what made you overweight in the first place?

wayyyyyy too much alcohol when I was younger. Got a beer belly in my twenties and never did anything about it until now.

The first time-not caring. I dropped 60 pounds a few years ago and kept it off till this year. This time it was an injury that made me unable to work or workout at all. So I sat on the couch on painkillers getting fat for 6 months. It's coming off though-I didn't gain it all back-about 35 pounds of it

I was a chubby baby, chubby child, chubby preteen, chubby teen, and now chubby adult. My lack of activity through out the years along with my not so healthy eating habits did help that, but i'm working on it.

I know some people think genetics play a big role in your body type. I feel that it's not as big an influence as you think. I was adopted so was not raised by my bio parents. My bio mom is a body builder and has always been fit, so what happened to me? My (adoptive) family likes to eat. So as a kid I learned to eat and took it to new heights.
I have lost lots of weight in the past and fell off the wagon due to stress that was beyond my control. I know my body and if I don't work out every day I will not be able to maintain my weight due to my thyroid.

Eating too much of the bad foods and not enough of the good foods like fruits and vegetables. I still struggle with that. I am active yet PCOS makes weight loss frustrating at times.

When I was young, I used to admire my older brother. I was raised in a very Italian family, and and mother and aunts would always comment on what a good eater he was. Wanting to be more like him, I started eating more when I hit my teenage years. That was all well and good until I hit my 50's, and it started catching up with me as my metabolism slowed down. You know the rest.

An overwhelming addiction to fast food...morning, noon,and night. After consuming it, I would have the munchies and then eat some more. I abused my body this way with wreckless abandon.

I just absolutely love food. I grew up in a home that survived paycheck to paycheck and as we all have realized it costs more to eat healthy. All I knew was boxed and canned foods and occasionally we had something home made.

Neither of my parents ever had weight issues so health and fitness was never a worry to them so it was never taught to me.

I grew up on a farm and always had labor intensive jobs. Then I got a desk job but didn't change my eating habits. Not a good combination.

I gained 26 pds with each pregnancies,but lost the weight easily.Then my husband had to work odd hours.We had one car,lived in the country,so I think out of boredom,I became a good cook.Collected cook books,did lots of baking & it just rolled on from there.

After losing/gaining,I'm finally done with all that. Still love food,but counting calories & eating healthy has to come first.My wt loss is slow,but that's ok.Don't want to end up with health problems.

I was never overweight not until my dad died in a house fire anyway. After he died I ate for comfort more than I should and went from 135 to 165 in a year. Then I got into a horrible relationship and ended up pregnant. At 17 weeks It was found that I was dilated to 2 and could possibly lose my son. The drs did an emergent cerclage and I was placed on complete bedrest. While on bedrest I stress ate and went from 165 to 220 in 3 months. I gave birth to a premature baby he was only 3 lbs 3 oz and had to stay in the NICU. I continued to stress eat and got up to 240 before I decided to try to lose weight. I got down to 180 when I met my wonderful fit husband who loved me just the way I was. I got pregnant again *this time a much easier pregnancy thanks to an early surgery* I did not gain a lb while pregnant and got down to 175 after delivery.

Then we moved and I missed my family and friends and started to comfort eat and here I am at 214 lbs. I know now that I need to do something other than eat my feelings. I decided to go back to school *I start in the fall* and lose the weight I have put on! I am just at the beginning, but at least now I realize what my issues with food are so that I can fix the issue.

Eating too much. Moving too little.

I was an athlete growing up. I ate MASS amount as a child and teen and never gained a thing. I competed in swimming, soccer, gymnastics...so when I quit those things at 23 I started to gain since I thought I could still eat the same amount. It really just now, 10 years later, then I understand I need to get back to working out, swimming, sports if I want to eat what I want.

college

drinks lots beer/ booze > eat lots of food > hangover > cure with lots of greasy food and pot > get munchies & eat more food > repeat

yep

Hrm, let's see... Back in 2009 when I first joined, it was pregnancy that caused the weight gain. And, I won't lie, I used pregnancy as a total excuse to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. I guess I figured, hey, I only gained 15 pounds net with my first pregnancy and lost all the weight almost right after giving birth. So, therefore, wouldn't it basically be the same with baby number two? Um, no. I was the champion of the eating olympics, had a kid that weighed more than nine pounds, and came out of pregnancy at 184 (I'd been 145 when I became pregnant). No excuses there, I just wanted to eat, loved to eat, so I ate.

With the help of MFP- and a lot of hard work- I got from 184 down to 130 or so. But then I lost my job and kind of got depressed and had a lot of free time to munch. Not full-on pigging out or anything, but it contributed to a bit of weight gain. On top of that, I went back to school on a part-time, online basis and all that time in front of a computer and/or reading textbooks had a negative effect on my fitness level. On top of THAT, I married my partner of ten years in April, and was super hands-on and crafty with the decorations- which meant things looked GREAT, but I also was spending a lot of time on my butt doing them. Then on top of all of that stuff, my stepmother and my husband's cousin passed away within a 48 hour period, both due to cancer. This lead to more depression, more comfort eating, and a lot of time spent at family member's homes helping out with administrative-type stuff. Then, finally, right around the same time my family members left us, I developed a mysterious digestive ailment that stuck with me for about six months or so. Still hasn't been diagnosed, though my doctor suspects an ovarian cyst ruptured and became infected, leading to inflammation and problem with my lower digestive tract. This lead to me being fatigued and queasy, taking even more wind out of my sails, and leading to a rapid, almost ten-pound weight gain in a very short period.

So I guess you could say that I gained thirty pounds through a combination of factors that created a "perfect storm" of sorts for weight gain. Most of these issues have since been worked through or sorted out, and I'm feeling better now, so I'm trying to get back to where I was two years ago.