Why did you get FAT & why did you decide to turn it around?

I got fat purely from a lack of education. I had heard the obvious "mcdonalds is bad" and "bread is bad" and "candy is bad", without any explanation. Portion control - I did not know about that either. I figure just eat what I want, and how much I want so i could die happy.

I decided to turn it around basically because of my social anxiety. I noticed it was getting progressively worse, so when I asked myself "why am I scared to go out" the only answer I had was my weight and fear of judgement/hurtful comments regarding my weight. When I started, I compiled a list as to why I want to stick to losing weight which included the following

- To feel confident in front of a camera
- To wear whatever I want without feeling like covering up my tummy
- To look good naked/improve sex.
- Avoid diabetes, which is very high in my family.
- I figured that if i did not do anything, I would only get bigger and bigger until I became bed bound and essentially useless to society.

I never use eat healthy and exercised regularly, you don't gain weight overnight nor lose it. I just got fatter and fatter over the years, since I was a kid. But I reached my highest weight of 215lbs from just not going anywhere. I have always been unhappy about my weight but never done anything about. As of May 2012, I have been eating healthy and exercising everyday. I found out someone I knew had to get a limb removed due to diabetes, they later passed away. That was a wake up call I guess you could say, I also found someone on instagram/tumblr that lost 80 lbs, I use her as my inspiration.



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Going without a lot as a child but being spoiled by grandparents when I was with them which started the comfort eating.
Larger portions than are really necessary. Being a chocoholic and not being able to resist buying it when I stopped for fuel.
An underactive thyroid problem creeping up over a ten year period and being ignored by the doctors on the basis of stupid blood tests instead of looking at the whole raft of symptoms I was enduring and thinking I was losing my mind!
Back to comfort eating - and swallowing down anger, sadness and disappointments with a "whats the point" food/choc medicine.

And now - after managing to self treat and get my thyroid supported and relieving the symptoms I did lose half of the 2 stone I put on but have slipped and I need to try and lose 28 lbs but no silly very low cal diets or anything that is not sustainable- I have joined here for support and will be buying a FitBit 1 to help me along.

I am fed up with seeing photos of myself where I have felt at time OK ish and then the photo shows a different person. I am fed up with thinking that things will fit OK and then they are tight and look awful.

So - here I am at 50 weighing 12 stone at 5,2 - my goal is to lose a 1lb a week - and reduce my 41, 35, 41 inches down - hopefully.

I am sensibly starting from the end of this coming week when all Xmas food has gone at work and home and things are back to normal.

Happy New Year All

I slowly put on weight since I graduated high school. basically moving less and eating more, but at a rather slow rate (roughly an average of 40 calories a day over the whole period). I lost about 30 lbs in 2005 when I started working out again ad watching what I ate - not exactly by counting calories, but I watched portion sizes and checked serving sizes of any packaged food. In 2006 I stopped exercising when my stationary bike broke, and got lax about watching the portions since I was "in shape." I put the 30 lbs on and then another 20, reaching my highest weight of 250 lbs. in summer of 2012.

There were a few things that got me serious about my health. First, friends and family were encouraging me to get into shape. Second, my blood pressure (which had been normal all my life) went high and my doctor put me on a diuretic. Third I got a great deal on an Xbox 360 with Kinect, which inspired me to get exercise software and actually start moving.

In a little over a year I have gotten back to my High School weight and gotten my BP back to normal (without the need for meds).

I got fat because I ate too much when I studied. Unfortunately, going to medical school made it worse...well, at least for the first year and a half. It wasn't until I nearly hit 200 that I knew this was getting out of hand. So, I started exercising and watching my diet thanks to MFP.

After my second son was born I just lost interest in exercising, also didn't care to much about what i ate, because I never really had a weight problem. Then when he turned two I had my first fibro flare and that made working out difficult. It still is now, but last February (2013) I committed myself to working out and trying out my fitness pal. I was able to lose 30 pounds in 3 months. Had a horrible fibro flare in May and yet again lost interest. But I have been feeling pretty good and I'm ready to give it a go yet again!!

I became very anemic, I didn't realize for a long time, so I had very little energy and didn't move too much. 30 pounds later...plus pregnancy weight. After getting on iron, which is looking to be permanently, I gained back my energy. My self confidence in my body was low. I hated how I looked, and the weight I had. So I picked up a jillian DVD, and shredded it all off and more. At first it was to get the sexy body, now it's for health and endurance, and to go further than yesterday! And now muscle is showing, so now I'm ready and excited to start toning more!

For me I think it happened due to being raised in a convenience foods culture. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame culture rather than myself and my parents who raised me. But I think that's what happened. I grew up in the 80's and 90's in a middle class home where it was the norm to dine out many times per week, everything from McDonald's to Olive Garden, and grabbing quick snacks and never learning about healthy foods or how to prepare them. Cooking meant Ragu pasta and grilled meat with mac n' cheese. Baking equaled cookies or cake from a mix. I was drinking soda (often diet! LOL) from toddler age. It was honestly just the norm for me and most of those around me since I was very young, and I never saw a big need to change it. I've been overweight since childhood but obese since my mid teens. I considered it very "normal" for me honestly. I had good bloodwork and other tests at the doctor and I ALWAYS had very high energy levels.

I am 37 now. I gained and lost some weight here & there over the years, but was almost always in the 250+ lb range. I actually adopted some much healthier eating habits in my late 20's and early 30's, but I was still VERY ignorant of what was best for me diet-wise and seriously had no clue about proper calorie levels or exercise calories, etc, until I joined MFP. I lost 45 lb before starting MFP (from my all-time high weight) and joining this site happened because I was kind of ticked off at my body. I'd adopted such healthier habits and started being more active and eating "right" so I didn't understand why the pounds weren't falling off me like some of my friends/acquaintances. I was very frustrated when I joined this site back in March and fortunately with calorie counting I've lost more weight in a shorter time and am on my way to no longer being obese.