For those who weigh 300 pounds and up

Remember folks, just because you find someone offensive or condescending doesn't mean that everyone does. I'd imagine that's why more than a few others are willing to answer the OP's question without accusing them of trolling.

I have always been big. When I graduated from HS, I was about 240. Yes, I was overweight and yes, I should have lost weight, but part of it was a skewed view of others. The other guys were so thin. What I did not realize then was, I had matured faster and was already in my "adult" body, many of the other guys were still growing and developing.

Part of my problem was my senior yr in HS, I had gotten a job working in a concession stand at the local rec league ballpark. And we could pretty much eat whatever without paying. So, I indulged in too many candy bars, and too much popcorn and hotdogs and nachos and sugary sodas.

So I ended HS probably 40-50 lbs overweight.

In college, I was on my own and making all my own food choices and McDonalds 69 cent cheeseburgers were prefect for my wallet. So I continued to gain weight.

I took up tennis at 19 and my roommates and I played daily. I was not losing weight, but I was maintaining (mainly because we ate a lot of pizza and such). Then I met the love of my life. And I started spending all my time with her and not playing tennis. I kept eating the same and no exercise and started to gain more.

She and I were both overweight and we never wanted to nag each other, so our weight continued to go up.

After a few years of marriage, and a couple of kids, our weight had gone quite high. I was pushing 400 lbs (a number I had vowed never to reach). But I had a sedentary office job and kids and bills and an hour plus commute each way and no desire to eat better.

I did WWers, I did South Beach, I did Atkins, I did super low calorie medically supervised diets. On each I lost at least 50 lbs, but then life would happen and I would regain what I had lost and then some.

Finally a year ago, I had been diagnosed as a diabetic and was on a low dose of orals and a low dose of BP meds. I decided I needed to get rid of the weight once and for all.

So this past Feb, I had WL surgery. I am down 95 lbs, I have been exercising (walking mostly) for the past 4 months and I feel great.

I have a long way to go and am still over 300 lbs, but I am moving in the right direction.

The key is managing what you eat. Exercise has helped me physically, but the food is the main difference in the WL.

So... you've never weighed 300 pounds and you want to know how people can gain enough weight to reach 300 pounds... because... why? This is a personal question that often has a complex answer involving painful memories. You don't ask someone about something that's potentially traumatic and/or embarrassing unless you've either been there or have a serious need to know.

I was over 300 lbs when I started this weight loss journey. Just like it doesn't come off overnight it doesn't go on overnight either. I hit 180 by 15 and then went up slowly, reaching 330 by 31, then lost 80 lbs in a year and spent the next 15 years working my way back to 300 again. The gradual change allowed me to ignore it or deny it. Yes my clothes got tighter, but I don't shop that frequently. I might go a year or two without changing sizes. I also hated to look at myself in the mirror or in photographs. All I saw was a fat blob. At some point it didn't really matter whether it was 250 or 300, I just hated myself.

I didn't eat because I was hungry. When I was bored, or sad or angry I ate. If you looked at what I ate during regular meals, my portions were reasonable and my food choices weren't terrible. The problem came in the snacking and the mindless eating I did, mostly in the evenings and on weekends. In other words food became a way not to deal with my other issues.

What changed was when my health started to suffer. I was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic about 5 years ago, but managed to control it for a while. Then last year I totally fell off the wagon and got to the point where I needed to take insulin. I did not want to go down that path. I started the insulin to get my blood glucose levels under control, but my goal became to lose weight and get off the insulin as quickly as possible. 5 months later I had lost enough weight I no longer needed insulin. 3 months after that I was able to reduce my oral medication to the minimum dose. At my next checkup I hope to be medication free all together.

I've learned a lot about myself and changed my relationship with food. I still find myself wanting to eat my emotions, but I recognize it and do a much better job of stopping myself and finding a more healthy way to deal with what I'm feeling.