Why did you gain weight in the first place?

I've had a weight problem since I left home at 17, started eating junk because I did not have to prepare anything. Started my first diet at 18 because somebody said I had "thunder Thighs" but I was a UK size 10, so diet started lost weight and on it went again and more. It all became really bad when I stopped smoking 12 years ago, I replaced cigarettes with marshmallows, I ate 4 large bags a day of Haribo pink and white ones!. 4 Year ago I started to lose weight and have been managing to keep control of this, I reached my target weight last October but have gained 8lbs back which I struggle with daily. So Marshmallow make me physically sick now, thanks good for that.

Hypothryoidism since I was 9....did well once I started meds at age 17. Quit smoking at age 24....became addicted to food instead. I'm sad, I eat. I'm happy, I eat. I'm bored, I eat. I'm trying to replace food with exercise though and it seems to be helping a lot.

I gained weight on purpose. I was 18 years old, married, and weighed 97 pounds and looked horrible. Bought this product called WEIGHT-ON (I could not increase my calories enough). When I got to 130, I was satisfied. So what the H*LL happened?

I like to eat. I was always thin growing up - and very active - and didn't have to watch what I ate. And I didn't. And then the pounds started slowly creeping on during my late 30s. I've never been overweight but I was bigger than what I wanted to be.

Ok, it makes sense to me that a major support factor to any sustainable weight loss is to first understand how we got here in the first place. Only then can we recognize what we need to change, fix, cure, or remove from our life in order to lose the weight and in the end KEEP IT OFF. Isn't that always the most frustrating point: losing it and then gaining it back, and then some? And I think a lot of us can find support in others who are going through the same struggles and changes on this deeper, personal level.

Does anyone care to share what their "triggers" are that cause overeating? If you all are anything like me, there is more than 1. . . . . . .

This isn't intended to make excuses, only to identify causes, or through sharing,help others identify their triggers that they might not consciously recognize.

When I was in college, if I got stressed, I would lose a bunch of weight because I'd be too preoccupied worrying about other things to eat. Then I graduated and moved back home, got a desk job, and gained a bunch of weight. However my metabolism was still in great shape and my first job had a gym inside the office, so I was able to lose it pretty quickly and easily. Then I changed jobs, got engaged, got married, lost my free gym membership, and it was like a switch was flipped in my mind. I started turning to food when things got stressful. I tried previous successful diets to try and lose weight that no longer worked. I started lying to myself.

I was doing really well at the beginning of 2013 with the fitness portion of things, and I guess I just figured the eating would fall into place, but I still overate. I began to get extremely discouraged because I saw zero change in my weight even though I had finished my very first 5k.

Then, I had some pretty stressful/tragic things happen this summer that just really knocked the stuffing out of me. I lost all motivation to take care of myself in any way. From July to September I just didn't care, and I leaned on food the entire time to get me through it.

I'm now at the heaviest I've ever weighed in my life. I'm finding it very, very hard to keep on track. I come home from work and eat everything in sight. I make stupid excuses every weekend when I'm out and about. I'm hoping by getting this all out there and out of my system that I find just the tiniest bit more motivation to "stick to it" and get back to where I'm comfortable with myself again. I don't want to continue down this road and be in a REAL bad spot five years from now.

I barely gained during my pregnancies, and effortlessly and quickly lost what I did gain. It was not having a minute to myself to exercise or eat right for two years that was the problem. I'm sure the sleep deprivation didn't help either.

I got ran over by an 18 wheeler on my 21st birthday and couldnt walk anymore and got depressed and stopped living.

STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR YOURSELF!!!1!one!


(Okay getting run over by a truck seems legit. Nvm)

xD

i DID stop! and lost a backstreet boy!

Which one? I hope it was that dude with the aviator sunglasses. He annoyed me.

Mine was all from college. I drank 5-6 days a week and ate fried foods multiple times a day. I did work out, but not regularly. I actually think I'm pretty lucky that I only gained about 15-20 lbs over the 4 years of college considering how crappy I treated my body. I still have to be careful when going to visit friends because we slip right into that old pattern- tons of alcohol and eating every meal out. It's definitely still a challenge, even now, after 2 yrs of maintenance.

I agree with you completely!! Mine was all from college too. I went from not drinking and living with my parents, eating my moms healthy cooked meals all day... to living in a dorm with the party lifestyle. I didn't know how to cook, so if I wasn't eating take out, it was easy mac or cup of noodles (shudder at the sodium levels!) I consumed tons of beer and super sugary cocktails.. followed by Jack in the Box or Alberto's runs at 3 AM. Then in the morning, I would be too hungover to do much so I would go hit up the drive through again. Since I was taking 8 classes and trying to hold a part time job, ALL of my free time was spent sleeping.. or partying with my friends. I rarely worked out, except for the occasional aerobics class if I needed extra units. The schools really get you with the meetings too, offering free pizza in exchange for attendance. That is pretty appealing to a broke college student!

The "freshman 15" really does exist. In fact for me, it was more like the college 30.. it did not stop at freshman year!

For me, I quit smoking and gained 38 pounds. I stayed that way for 1 1/2 years. The smoking issue was done and over. Then I began my journey to lose that 38 pounds and I have! I actually didn't weigh myself for 3 weeks or so when I started MFP, so it is showing 31 lbs. lost. Either way I'm back at my pre smoking weight!

I spoiled myself when I quit, BAD I know but it helped. I "was" and stress WAS a DQ freak, sweet pastries, etc. and turns out I was eating about 3000 calories a day.........OMG I could not believe it. But my size 14 plants going on size 16 proved it. I am now 136 pounds and HOLDING in a size 4 & 6 depending on the style. Since quitting those stupid cig's I DON'T CRAVE SWEETS barely at all. Infact I don't use sugar either too sweet YUCK I use Truvia.

I continue to love me withough huffing and puffing and smelling LIKE CRAP. Couldn't believe I did that for so long. What an idiot I was.

I've gone through three major weight gains in my life that added up to putting me into the overweight category.

Once when I went from high school (5'2", 95 pounds), during which I played center midfield and ATE so much yet still looked underweight, to university (5'2", 125 - probably my best weight ever) where I stopped working out but kept up my bad diet - perogie day in the cafeteria was my favourite day ever! Eventually I started swimming about 2 km a day and while I stayed the same weight (thankfully!) I got into great shape.

Once when I started dating my husband (5'2", 125), which coincided with my graduation from university. I stopped swimming as much and went up to around 145 pounds.

Then I got sick. I was trying to lose weight, but lost it everywhere but my belly. Turns out I had an ovarian tumor that got to be the size of a football by the time I got a doctor to acknowledge that I was sick. I was up to about 145 after surgery and recovery. During recovery, I started weight training and got into good shape then, but I didn't watch my diet at all, so I went up to my highest weight of 165. Then I got pregnant, during which I went up to 185, which is totally a normal weight to gain during pregnancy.

I had my baby 10 months ago and through bootcamp and breastfeeding, by about 4 months after she was born, I got back down to 165, but held there for a little bit before joining MFP and taking diet into account. I've always been afraid of getting into dieting because I've watched so many people yo-yo diet throughout my life. Now, I'm managing some other health conditions and my weight and am back down to 146.5 as of yesterday.

What I've learned is that I don't manage my health well during transitions in life - I need to move from job to job and from life stage to life stage without failing myself. Oh and not get any more ovarian tumors... ugh. I need to keep up physical activity, and learn more about managing my calories. I also need to not be afraid of the scale. When I don't check it often enough, it can get out of control while I stay in denial.