how did you get fat?

I used to work for UPS, and it was like exercising for 5 hours a day. Totally intense. I could eat whatever i wanted all the time. Then I got pregnant, and moved to a desk job. I just kept eating like before (probably 2500 cal/day or more), but being pregnant I just thought my body was changing from having a baby. Once the baby was born I had gained 85 lbs!!!. I spent almost a year and a half being totally depressed and doing nothing. Then i got pregnant again and that was it. I exercised through my whole second pregnancy and ended up weighing less. Once I discovered MFP the weight has been falling off and I am totally in control of everything I put in my body. I only have 20 more lbs to go to get back to my original prebaby weight!

I've battled weight for a while. I had a baby in April 09 and became a stay-at-home-mom. I only gained 1 lb when I was pregnant. My doctor said it was fine because I was heavier to start with (213 lbs). I weigh more now than when I was 9 months pregnant. I blame it on my eating habits, sitting in front of the tv and playing on the internet. I found this site a few days ago and am starting to change my habits. I'm tired of this!

I was maybe 135 lbs in the summer of 2001 when I did an internship on a horse breeding farm and walked and moved nonstop. So I know I can be there again.

I had a baby at age 44 and I struggled to lose the 25 pounds of "baby" fat since then (4 years until I started MFP). Old bodies don't bounce back very easily I severely under ate, interspersed with binges due to starving myself. I slowly put on the pounds...about 5 pounds a year. For the last year and a half, I've been working on resetting my metabolism and getting adequate nutrition on a regular basis. I lift weights 3x a week and am seeing great gains.

I never enjoyed working-out, so I didn't. I've always enjoyed food, so I ate.
Too much pop, fast food & other junk. Too big of portion sizes.

Then, I got married and started eating the same size plate of food as my husband.
He can eat whatever and not gain, and I'd just go along with him.

Not paying attention. Not caring. Until my clothes stopped fitting. Then I started to take charge!

I became sedentary. I had been self-employed for a very long time which meant that I could wake up and still in my pajamas, log onto my pc and sit at my desk all day long snacking. Or even worse, in my bed with my laptop AND the tv on while I nibbled on this, that and the other thing. I used to be a gymnast and a dancer. I used to be that girl on the football field with all the guys. I stopped moving and kept nibbling. Then on top of all that, I broke my ankle twice in the same place which the doctors tried to convince me would cripple me for the rest of my life. I'm not crippled but the injuries had immobilized me enough to completely fall off any type of exercise regimen I had been doing.

I was an athlete my entire life. I graduated college, quit smoking and started drinking/eating a LOT. I lost a bunch of weight two years ago and was so proud. I was so busy being proud of myself that I gained all the weight back. I was back at day one in September. It took a lot to see I had a problem- sheer laziness. I decided it was time for a lifestyle change. So far so good. I don't really have goals other than to be healthier- for the long haul.

I was married to a military man so we moved a lot, and had 3 kids over those 7 years. I don't think it was having the kids that was the problem. Every time we moved back to the area (and during his deployments) I came back home to my parents' house, and they eat like crap, they buy nothing but junk food and snacks. I always was about 10-15 pounds overweight before I had kids. I'm sure having them didn't help the situation, but I think the eating habits I learned from my parents was a bigger problem. When ever I didn't live at home I ate better and felt better, and my kids even acted better. Now that I am back home once again due to the divorce, I have taken over the grocery shopping and have thrown out all the junk food and demanded it not be brought into the house because it's all my kids will eat if it's available. They walk around acting like they are starving cause there isn't any snacks in the house. When they get hungry, they eat, instead of doing it because they are bored.

I have also tried to show my dad there are other ways to cook stuff than frying. It's rare he cooks but when he does, a deep fryer is involved. He gets mad when I cook something else, but that's okay, he can get mad all he wants.

I put on weight because of My love of Pizza, Curry, Chineese, Kebabs and lager - now i try to cook for myself and try to stay away from the alcohol (apart from 1 day a week) xx

I could say it started when I got pregnant but my kids are in thier early 20's so I really can't use that as an excuse anymore. I switched jobs 12 years ago and know manage a bank so I sit at a desk on most days. I continued to eat as if I were still running around everyday managing a store. I didn't excersise so the weight just kept piling on. I knew this was happening and would 'diet' for a few weeks and lose a few pounds. Then I felt as if I could go back to eating whatever I wanted. Then for a while I thought who cares, I am married have a couple of grandkids, why does it matter what I look like. Well it is not always about how you look but how you feel. I started getting sick, diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes. I want to be around for a while to see my grandkids grow up and I want to play with them without getting tired, so here I am

I like to watch the biggest loser on Tuesdays and the trainers always try to get to the mental/emotional part of why the contestants are overweight. I struggle with this part because i have never been someone that likes to talk about my feeling. My family contributes my being overweight to the fact that my sister died when i was in the 3rd grade. I do believe that i eat to comfort myself. my thing is how to i overcome this feeling. My dad died almost four years ago, after his death i let myself go even further to the point where i was 340 pounds. This last year I worked hard trying to eat right and exercise and i lost 50lbs since then however i have gained 20 back. I have started today on my journey to a healthy weight and would appreciate any accountability that i can get.

Well, I would like to blame genetics since my mother and sister are so THIN... but that's not true. Lack of exercise and lack of healthy eating habits. I also had a horrible habit of eating the WORST foods very late at night. :sick:

I blame my mom!
But not in the way you'd think. She was always cooking healthy, low fat meals with small portion sizes for our family, encouraged us to exercise, etc. So when I finally moved out I though - "I'm free!" I had the stupidest mini-rebellion in history. I ate all the things that were banned in our household - and for a while, it was great! Everything tasted so wonderful. But then my portions got bigger and bigger, and it got harder and harder to feel satisfied till I was eating as much or more than my husband - and I'm small framed and only 5'3". That's why for me.

There are many reasons for me - too many to list here. But for the past five years it was due to injury - disc rupture, sciatica, heel spur, plantar fasciitis and knee problems.

From all of those combined and because I spend my day on my feet, all I wanted to do when I got home was stay on my recliner because I was in so much pain. Resting seemed to help me heal, but it made me gain at least 40 pounds.

I had to start very slowly with exercise. I started two years ago with a Wii Fit and gradually was able to move more easily. I listened to my body and when I needed a break, I took one. I've now graduated to Zumba, KettleWorx and 30 Day Shred, so I think I've made a lot of progress. It was slow, but for me it worked! Now my goal is to run a 5K!

When I was in college, I lived a relatively active lifestyle. I walked pretty much everywhere, went to the gym occasionally, and was forced to keep my portions down because if I ate too much dining food, it made me ill (they didn't cook things as thoroughly as I was used to). Then I graduated and got one of those dreaded desk job. The furthest I walked was across the parking lot. As far as food went, my workplace had a fantastic little cafeteria that baked fresh cookies every day, and an everlasting supply of snack food in the break room that was on sale for charity (for charity!). My sweet tooth was in heaven, but I put on twenty pounds, like most of the staff. On top of that, I was incredibly dissatisfied with my work-life. Working in a call center wasn't what I had in mind while earning my college degree. The work quickly became monotonous, and I was tired of people yelling at me. It was very difficult to motivate myself to do anything healthy. Actually, it was difficult to motivate myself to do things that I loved, like read.

Now I've made a lot of positive changes, eliminating a lot of the bad elements of my life and bringing in positive ones. I feel more in contro, and am doing my best when it comes to acting more healthy. Granted, my time after college made me realize how easy it could be for some people to just give up hope and life an unhealthy lifestyle. You always have a choice, but sometimes it can be hard to see that.

Hmmm Used to play high school sports, was in the light infantry in the US Army, and could eat and drink all I wanted.

Now some 15 years later i have the same eating and drinking habits. I have reached the point where I have said, "Thats it, no more , never again!!"

I have just become satiated with feeling and looking like crap.

Now I have started a blog at www.howtostartlifeover.com and am tracking my experiences as I quit smoking, get in shape, repair my relationships(including with myself) and start making real money again.

I encourage all of you to check in every once in a while to keep me accountable & I will be sharing strategies and techniques that I use along the way.

I understand it is not a destination, but all about the journey.

PS this app on my i phone is helping me a lot as i have an easy way to track my calories. I got a nice HR monitor and am going into a full fledged p90x/ weight lifting/running regime. This should be fun as we go!

Good luck to everyone on here. I hope to hear from you all.