When did you start gaining weight?

In 2010, I was in the hospital for Asthma & Bronchitis - pretty severe. They had me on steroids for a week, and I had to taper off of them when I got out for another 1-2 weeks. I was always starving and I ate everything I could to try to make the hunger go away. After that, I slowly started gaining steadily. After many, many stressful events involving a horrible breakup and the death of 3 close family members, I kept gaining, but I had no health insurance. Finally I had my thyroid tested and found out I was hypothyroid, and after being treated for that but still not losing any weight, I was tested and started being treated for PCOS. It's been a long journey and I'm trying to stay positive and change my eating habits. My current living situation is also very stressful but I am working on ways to cope.

Thank you everyone for your replies as well and thank you for this post. It was very interesting to read everyone else's story.

I was always 'chubby' and overweight growing up- I guess just bad eating habits from the start. I never ate balanced/well planned meals it was mostly snacking on and off all day paired with a LOT of soda. Sundays was the only day where we had any family meal since both parents worked late growing up. I did lose a lot of weight at puberty but went back to being chubbier by end of high school. When I went to college it just kinda took off even more with eating out all the time and convenience of things like pizza/subs.. Then when I had to take an abrupt break from school since my father was in the hospital for over a year to help my mom paired with being in a ****ty relationship; I kinda got depressed and before I knew it 4 yrs went by and I was a 100lbs+ heavier.

What an interesting and thought provoking question. It's something I've been pondering now for several days. I was lucky as a kid...I was so active and athletic I couldn't put on an ounce, literally. In my late 20's I'd taken up sailing and noticed at the end of summer I'd put on a couple of pounds....of course as soon as winter hit....it was gone. From 20 to 30 I gained about 5 pounds. It wasn't anything to worry about so I didn't. In fact, the extra couple pounds actually made me look better.

From 30 to 40 I was running my own company so wasn't getting as much exercise, more desk-bound and with the increase in income came a love affair with fine dining. While there's nothing inherently wrong with fine dining....there is when it's 4 or 5 nights a week and you're not running marathons on the weekends. By 40 I'd probably added another 10 pounds. Still not an appearance burden though....in fact, was probably about right for my 5-11 broad shouldered frame.

From 40 to 50 it was pretty much the same. I did get on a couple of different exercise kicks that lasted about a week a piece. BUT, at 55 I had a heart attack. It was minor, no damage done to speak of which I used as an excuse to not make changes in my lifestyle. I walked out of the hospital, got in my car and immediately lit up a cigarette. Everything remained pretty much the same.

A year and a half ago...I had another heart attack. This time though it was different....my heart arrested (stopped), I died. I was lucky....I got to visit the other side for about a minute and a half before being brought back. This time when I walked out of the hospital, I didn't light up another cigarette, and never will again.

During the last year and a half since...beyond quitting smoking I didn't make many other changes until a couple of months ago. It took some soul searching and baby steps, but I learned a lot. I know I have heart disease....the doctors confirmed that but that isn't/wasn't my real problem....my disease ISN'T heart-disease....IT'S MYSELF. I'M the disease. MY lifestyle and attitudes, not just about food, but I've always been an adrenalin junkie....with pretty much a fear of nothing. It was that lack of fear that let me think I was immortal and gave me license to abuse myself....it was the walk on the other side taught me, I'm not.

Someplace in there, there was an epiphany of sorts. Unconsciously I began taking my medications, when I was supposed too, then without really too much though began adding in walking, and now I'm actually watching my eating. All of it is going to be a process. I'm not going to go from dining out 4 or 5 nights a week to vegan smoothies....that simply ain't going to happen. But I will keep experimenting with food in an effort to winnow it down to those that are both better for me and I can like.

With my disease being myself, it should make it easier to find a cure so to speak....
Good luck to us all on our journey's to health.

I am 47, had gall bladder removal surgery August of 2012. I used to weigh about 155 lbs before the surgery. Since then I have taken Cholacol (Bile Extract) every day but only 1 capsule. (The directions read to take 1 capsule before every meal). I do not eat a lot- small meals or snacks during the day, with occasional fast food in there. I work at call center 40 + hours a week till midnight - so I do sit a lot, but I also have an Arabian mare, whom I go to and work out frequently either in the round pen, or riding her. I do gardening, house work, stay busy and exercise moderately on my WII fitness board. I currently weigh 188 lbs and have to wear size xlarge, and 12 in shorts- this is frightening to me because I used to be able to wear a size 7! I plan on increasing the Capsules to the 1 at every meal as directed, and exercising a bit more frequently every week, and I might start taking an enzyme and probiotic (like my mare does) to see if this benefits me in losing any weight. Note: I do not drink enough water - I am a very big coffee lover and have at least 2 cups in the morning, and one in the evening to stay awake on my long night shifts and drive home. I probably only drink 1 bottle of water a day- I just don't like water very much. I do not drink soda at all, and liquor is a big no-no when you have had your gall bladder removed but I do occasionally drink white wine. I have no idea if this has anything to do with weight gain. I feel fine except for the weight, which I don't like it at all!

This is very interesting, because I also had my gallbladder removed, and that's about when my weight started to gradually go up. I was thin my whole life before that. hmmmm....Why is alcohol a no-no after your gall bladder is removed?

I started gaining when I started teaching full time, plus working side jobs to supplement my income. I never had the time or energy to work out, and stress eating was a persistent problem! I'm trying to get better at prioritizing my health!!

I started gaining weight in my 40's, I have always been an active person and the weight just creeped up on me. I was eating less and gaining weight but slowly enough that I really didn't notice until I saw pictures of my fatter face. I stepped on a scale and I weighed as much as I did full-term pregnant. That changed my life and I started eating better doing different exercises (I used to only run here and there) now I run, bike, swim and lift weights regularly. My body is in better shape at 50+ then it has ever been.

What an interesting and thought provoking question. It's something I've been pondering now for several days. I was lucky as a kid...I was so active and athletic I couldn't put on an ounce, literally. In my late 20's I'd taken up sailing and noticed at the end of summer I'd put on a couple of pounds....of course as soon as winter hit....it was gone. From 20 to 30 I gained about 5 pounds. It wasn't anything to worry about so I didn't. In fact, the extra couple pounds actually made me look better.

From 30 to 40 I was running my own company so wasn't getting as much exercise, more desk-bound and with the increase in income came a love affair with fine dining. While there's nothing inherently wrong with fine dining....there is when it's 4 or 5 nights a week and you're not running marathons on the weekends. By 40 I'd probably added another 10 pounds. Still not an appearance burden though....in fact, was probably about right for my 5-11 broad shouldered frame.

From 40 to 50 it was pretty much the same. I did get on a couple of different exercise kicks that lasted about a week a piece. BUT, at 55 I had a heart attack. It was minor, no damage done to speak of which I used as an excuse to not make changes in my lifestyle. I walked out of the hospital, got in my car and immediately lit up a cigarette. Everything remained pretty much the same.

A year and a half ago...I had another heart attack. This time though it was different....my heart arrested (stopped), I died. I was lucky....I got to visit the other side for about a minute and a half before being brought back. This time when I walked out of the hospital, I didn't light up another cigarette, and never will again.

During the last year and a half since...beyond quitting smoking I didn't make many other changes until a couple of months ago. It took some soul searching and baby steps, but I learned a lot. I know I have heart disease....the doctors confirmed that but that isn't/wasn't my real problem....my disease ISN'T heart-disease....IT'S MYSELF. I'M the disease. MY lifestyle and attitudes, not just about food, but I've always been an adrenalin junkie....with pretty much a fear of nothing. It was that lack of fear that let me think I was immortal and gave me license to abuse myself....it was the walk on the other side taught me, I'm not.

Someplace in there, there was an epiphany of sorts. Unconsciously I began taking my medications, when I was supposed too, then without really too much though began adding in walking, and now I'm actually watching my eating. All of it is going to be a process. I'm not going to go from dining out 4 or 5 nights a week to vegan smoothies....that simply ain't going to happen. But I will keep experimenting with food in an effort to winnow it down to those that are both better for me and I can like.

With my disease being myself, it should make it easier to find a cure so to speak....
Good luck to us all on our journey's to health.

Quite the experience! Glad you're still here. :flowerforyou:

I was molested when I was 7 and I noticed the weight really starting to catch me up the next school year. It wasn't a ton, but it was enough that I noticed and felt uncomfortable by it. Once junior high hit, so did my depression and my weight upped. High school I had PCOS but didn't know it until i was diagnosed 2 years ago. and so that helped up the weight. Then 5 years ago I got married and have since gained 35 lbs. :P Time to work my butt off.

re-injured IT band running in saint lucia

Stopped growing shortly after I entered puberty, and I couldn't understand why I was gaining weight without getting taller (obviously my body was still rapidly changing, I don't know what was wrong with me to think that was bad), then my parents separated and I felt like my whole life was sort of spiralling out of control, so trying to get my weight down by not eating was somehow my solution. About a month later, eating 500 calories a day, I realised that I was becoming anorexic and decided to stop counting calories and just put the whole thing out of my mind. I started gaining weight again.
About a year later, I started really stressing out about school; somehow the only breaks from work I could find within my day were when I was eating, so that's what I kept doing. I started gaining weight, but I kept telling myself that if I started counting calories again, I'd spiral as I did the first time. I also told myself that there were so many things I was worried about, I couldn't worry about what I ate as well.
Came to my senses just recently.