Whats YOUR reason for gaining weight???

Thanks! It's really been a struggle and quite the feat for me. :bigsmile:

My mom has Huntington's Disease and is in a nursing home at age 62. I have a 50/50 shot of getting it as well. If I do get it, the onset of Huntington's starts earlier for each generation. I feel like a ticking time bomb. I eat and drink to block out how I feel and the worries I have.

I know I need to change my lifestyle, but it feels so impossible for me.

My reason: calories in > calories out

But I have lots of excuses. Mostly, I just didn't make my health a priority. There are people who are fit and at healthy weights who have much more difficulty in their lives than I've had so I know that anything I come up with is really just an excuse. For me, it's important to diffentiate between a reason and an excuse because only by thinking clearly and removing the rationalizations am I able to take action and do something about it instead of just letting things happen to me.

My gain is because sometimes I just don't know when to put down the fork. Let alone, being a full time worker (desk, sedintary) and a part-time/full time student doesn't allow for much exercising. Now that I'm done with the semester I am going to get back into my routine. Training for a marathon next year, too.

I gained because my mom passed away from cancer when I was 20 years old and I went into a deep depression for a few years. I quit playing my sports and working out and I just ate and drank and partied as hard as I could. When I snapped out of it, I had gone from 5'11" 160 lbs and athletic to 330 lbs in 6 years. I was miserable. So last year I decided to make a change and I have lost over 100 pounds so far. I want to make my mom proud

I've been overweight since I was a child, it (and I) grew out of control. I was 185lbs in 5th grade. I hated myself, had no confidence and used food and humor to mask my depression. I assumed no guy would want me, so I just became the self-depreciating unattractive friend. (If you can't be pretty, be funny?). I know my family history (my mom) was severely overweight and practiced a lot of emotional eating. It was a learned behavior that I still have a difficult time controlling.

At 26, right after marrying, went into a medical study for Victoza prior to its FDA approval, and I lost 70lbs (from 240 to 170!). Little did I know how much of a manipulator my SO would be. He didn't really ever approve of my weight loss because it made him self conscious and suspicious that I was fooling around on him. I just wanted to lose weight for myself! The last year of my marriage was rough, and finally tanked and so I have regained 30 of the 70lbs I lost... but I am back here so I'm working on it!

Binge eating during a bad marriage. Dumped the husband, dumped the weight....

at first my weight gain was done consciously because of a sport i played. at one point in my life i was really small and people never really took me seriously or i'd have people just completely disregard what i was saying by pushing me or picking me and laughing about it.

once i got to college, i started playing rugby and found out i was really good at it, my coaches suggested i gain weight and power. i did really well and would have had a chance to play for the US national team if i hadnt been injured.

i really like the feeling of being strong and powerful, so i think after rugby i just subconsciously equated that with being bigger. i did notice that the bigger i got, the more comfortable i felt expressing my opinions and speaking up for myself (i had a huge problem with that when i was smaller ).

plus i've always had large boobs and i hated the comments and attention i'd get when i was 28JJ and the rest of me was a size 4. i especially hated how people just assumed i was slutty. at least when you're fat with big boobs everything is balanced out

right now my main thing with weight loss is that i have to remind myself that i dont need to be physically bigger to feel safe. i've long since found my voice and i know longer need the extra cushioning plus i've taken self defense so i'm pretty confident i'd know what to do now if some guy tried to cop a feel

I stopped exercising regularly.

laziness and eating way too much

I like to eat and drink more than I like to move my **s off the couch. :laugh:

I've been a "solid girl" my whole life, and it's always been about eating habits and my inherent laziness. There's nothing I enjoy more than munching while I sit and read a good book....for hours! Over the years I can't even imagine how many calories I ate just sitting and reading. I used to sit with a tub of margarine and a package of crackers and just butter and eat them....Damn you Judy Blume, you made me fat!!

No real reason. Can chalk it up to being lazy and not even bothering to pay attention to my caloric intake. WTF was my problem? Geez.

Former athlete who kept eating and drinking like an athlete after college. I love food. Stressful desk job with long hours wherein didn't pay attention to myself. I love food. Polycystic ovarian disease and underactive thyroid. Did I mention I love,food? Friends who like to eat and drink. Two kids in 17 months. Did I mention I love food?

It's a whole mess of things:

Bad eating habits that started as a child. My mother would feed us as much as we wanted and pretty much whatever we wanted as long as we said we were hungry. She had an "I'm a bad mom" complex and would do things like giving us whatever we wanted to make herself feel like a good mom.

No real knowledge of nutrition. Food = nutrition.
It didn't help that all of food growing up orginated from a box or can and was drenched in salt and margarine before being served.

I was a pretty active child. I played outside every day. I was a tomboy and I played basketball, street hockey, football, climbed trees etc every day. I was a little chubby, but nothing out of control. I was called "fat girl" by all of my cousins and peers (I was maybe 5-10 lbs heavier than them, only about 5-10lbs overweight PERIOD, but kids are cruel)
Fat Girl became my persona; I embraced being heavier and didnt mind when the pounds began to be packed on.

The TV era began when we moved away from our friends and I was 12. I no longer did any sports or outside activities, but still ate like there was no tomorrow.

When I was 17, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I was put on different meds. I jumped from 180 (oh, how I MISS that weight!) to 220 in about 4 months. Stopped taking the meds, visited an eating disorder website, figured, hey, I'll use these tips to lose weight! Dropped the 40+ in about 4 months, started losing my hair and my breath was rancid/teeth were messed up from all the vomiting. Got pregnant with my daughter and was forced to stop my disordered eating. I had her, went back to disordered eating. Three kids, 20 fad diets, ED recovery and regular life stresses (miscarriage, job loss, bankruptcy) and I gained 127lbs. I have lost a few, but still have a lot to go