What did you eat to get heavy?

It's not WHAT I ate that got me fat, it was HOW MUCH of it.

14 years ago at my heaviest, I ate ALL the mozzarella sticks

I never thought I ate bad food (with the exception of chocolate and the occasional burger with friends), but I ate very frequently and without portion control. A dietician recommended I switch to eating Low GI foods every few hours because I don't process carbohydrates properly and started packing on the weight instantly! I was still eating the same meal sizes, just more of them!

I've only just started MFP and I've already noticed a huge difference. I was consuming a lot more sodium than I realised from pre-packaged soups and I've cut out a lot of processed foods. I make my own treats (crumbles, cookies, cakes, etc) so they're portion controlled and I know what's in them. I even find some chocolate brands way to sweet for me, so I tend to only eat the expensive good quality stuff that has no glucose or corn syrup. I'm now eating the same kinds of food, but better quality, and less of it.

Honestly I ate all the same stuff I do now, just a lot more of it and a lot more often.

This exactly. I still enjoy almost all the same foods, but before it was just too frequently and in portions that were too large.

I've only changed up a few things for health, not weight loss. Switching to pasta and rice with more fiber, lower sodium bacon and teriyaki sauce, etc.

Same here. I eat just as frequently and the same types of foods, just less of them. I am more focused on healthy nutritious foods now as well.

Another reason why I gained, was I just simply wasn't as active as I used to be. I am changing that up by biking to work and other places, gotten committed to swimming, and just trying to move more in general. And not have a few beers almost every night on weekends. :drinker:

Also those health/lose weight shows where they throw out all the junk. The producers buy the junk to have in the cupboards to throw out, and the deep fryers, etc

Everything. Mostly soda. I drank so much soda it was ridiculous. I stopped drinking it exactly 3 weeks ago. Haven't had a drop. I've lost almost 7 pounds since then. I still eat pretty much everything else I did before, just less of it. Soda is the only thing I have given up because I know I just can't drink it in moderation.

My problem was that I could not say no and stop at any time for food. When my husband (Who does not pick up weight) ate something - I ate with him - all the time. I gained and gained - he did not. It was time to accept I do not have his metabolism - and frankly can not keep up eating like him....

Going MUCH better now - He can still eat - though all chocolate temptations have been removed - so he is feeling healthier too. Amazingly even the kids like to snack on cucumber, carrots and green peppers (yes, they eat it raw as snack)after school now, the sweet stuff made way for a healthier family.

We can now all go on family hikes, where we switched on the tv before - it is actually great to live this way!!

I am a very picky eater - do not like most veggies and few fruits. Just a meat and potatoes guy. I used food as a reward for working hard. I ate heavy carbs especially sweets. I would eat a big dinner when I got home and after putting the kids to bed. I would eat at 830-9 then go to bed. I would always have a sweet afternoon snack with a diet coke at work.

Poutine. That stuff is so delicious.

PEANUT BUTTER

Whatever I wanted until I was uncomfortably full.

I'm a sucker for ice cream. I could eat an entire half gallon in one sitting if I wanted to. At some point I even had it for dinner.

I can imagine what that diet looked like in the future....

Chipotle, Taco bell, MacDonald's, all you can eat Chinese. Not eating during the day and then binging at night, not exercising, milk shakes. Dr. Pepper, CAKE oh how I love Cake. Homemade mac and cheese, velveta shells and cheese, chicken nuggets/popcorn chicken, little to no veggies. oh yes, I can't forget the chocolate.


ETA: I still eat those things, just in moderation and not every day.

For me, it was a lot like you, never ate breakfast and half the time, due to work, never ate lunch so dinner was a free for all. I am also an emotional eater so I think for me, it was carbs. I am a carboholic, I will take them over anything else. I am trying to eat a mid morning mini meal now and lunch, right now it's easy. It's summer, I am off because I work for a school. When school starts in August I am back into the routine of no breakfast and lunch if I am lucky. I need to plan a new strategy before I go back, that is obvious!!

I was always slim, never weighed more than 135 lbs. (grew up in SoCal) until 2000 when I had a nervous breakdown and they put me on meds that put weight on overnight. Literally. I gained 20 lbs. in one week! I had to concentrate on my mental health so my physical health sort of went out the window. After going off the medication, I had moved to the east coast and found out what real bread tastes like! LOVED THAT. Even though I was exercising, the food kept going in. Pasta, bags of chips at one sitting, fried food. Never sweets though. I know I'll never be able to be left alone with a bag of Lays again.

I lost weight after leaving home for college! Even though I was on my hs swim team and worked out daily, my family has TERRIBLE, "southern" eating habits. So much fried food, starches, fast food... My little brother and I both lost 30+ our freshman years of college.

When I started logging for the first time I realized I was eating over 3000 calories daily, during the middle of the week, not even on weekends... which I'm sure were way more...

It sounds like you're doing an awesome job!! Just be careful, if you dramatically change your eating habits really suddenly, it's less likely to stick. It's okay to take a long time getting healthy and slowly form habits you'll keep your whole life

What did you eat to get heavy?

I ate a lot of food...I ate large portions and anything and everything. There is no on particular food or food group or macro or whatever that makes you fat. Over-consumption of energy makes you fat.