Do you wish you had started earlier/younger?

almondbutterbay
almondbutterbay Posts: 221 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Someone mentioned to me how glad they were that they didn't start caring about their weight when they were my age and it made me think. Do you wish you had started being aware of calories earlier in your life or are you glad that you had some years that you were unaware about how much you weighed?

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Replies

  • WeddedBliss1992
    WeddedBliss1992 Posts: 414 Member
    i didn't gain weight until i was older so there was no way for it to have been of concern at a younger age. but i guess i understand your point. :smile:
  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
    I wish I had started earlier, but I'm not sure if I was ready until now (well, 2 years ago). I wasted a lot of time being over weight :(
  • almondbutterbay
    almondbutterbay Posts: 221 Member
    WeddedBliss1992 wrote: »
    i didn't gain weight until i was older so there was no way for it to have been of concern at a younger age. but i guess i understand your point. :smile:

    This makes sense. On one hand I wish I didn't care but on the other hand at least I won't be shocked by how much I weigh in the future cause that already happened last year and I lost the weight!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    Eh, I can't think like that. I was always big. I'm smaller now than I was in middle school. I'm just looking forward. I had a great time drinking and eating in college anyway and I can't undo it.
  • CatHunterFit
    CatHunterFit Posts: 194 Member
    Yes! I wish I'd started earlier. I spent my 20's overwight, but lost weight as I turned 30. I'm now 36 and have spent the last 6 years at t healthy weight and I'm so much happier and more confident. I'm also now a workout junkie, and I used to cross the street to avoid the gym. I wish I'd made changes sooner.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,779 Member
    I do wish I'd stopped wasting my time with weird restrictive diets much sooner, but I didn't so I can't care about it.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I gained weight starting in my mid-20s, bounced up and down the scale for a few years, had a baby and pretty much stayed overweight/obese until last year at 37. I absolutely wish I had those ten years of being overweight and feeling bad about it back. I can't travel back in time to change it so I don't dwell on it but yes I wish I had started sooner.
  • 85kurtz
    85kurtz Posts: 276 Member
    Hmm interesting question. When I was younger I had an eating disorder so am well aware of the pressures on young people (especially women) to be ultra thin. From that perspective I am glad I spent a while recovering from that. But I do wish I hadn't let myself become so fat now.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    I wasn't ready when I was younger, I was busy being an idiot. I also didn't have the knowledge and the tools I have now. I did lose weight before with MFP but I became unemployed and depressed which caused me to stop caring.
  • almondbutterbay
    almondbutterbay Posts: 221 Member
    I def don't think we should dwell or beat ourselves up about the past for sure! I was just curious about everyone's opinions on the subject since I've run into people in my life who think I'm wasting my time caring while I'm young but I happen to disagree.
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
    This topic kind of makes me sad. I can't change my past but I have the tools to improve my future and that's what I'm focusing on! :)
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
    I was lucky enough to be normal weight to thin most of my life. I could eat anything I wanted for many years with no consequences. However, I wish I had cared more about fitness. I remember how weak I was when I was younger, and in those days it was OK for a female to be weak. I remember being exhausted on camping trips canoeing and doing other outdoor activities and being out of breath on hiking excursions. I'm in much better shape now, but I'm heavier.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    I don't think so. I was thin most of my life, until I had kids. I made the changes when I was ready to.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    There is no point in wishing that you had done it sooner, except to depress yourself. I smoked starting at 15 years old, and didn't quit until I was 51. I cried and cried at how easy it was. Doesn't matter. I quit. Should have done it before, but didn't. It's life.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    I wish I was taught about CICO earlier... I've only ever been taught fad diets and they DO NOT work...
  • almondbutterbay
    almondbutterbay Posts: 221 Member
    LBuehrle8 wrote: »
    This topic kind of makes me sad. I can't change my past but I have the tools to improve my future and that's what I'm focusing on! :)

    Sorry I didn't mean to make anyone sad!
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    I started "dieting" at 11 years old and when I was in college I had to make a "bucket list" of things that I wished to accomplish before I died. Right on that list was - order a meal at a restaurant that I want to eat rather than what is the healthiest choice. So, needless to say, I do wish I had some carefree years, but I also appreciate the fact that I learned how to read labels and cook nutritiously at a very young age in order to lose and consequently reasonably maintain my weight with little effort.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
    edited May 2015
    Yeah, absolutely. For me the impact on weight would have been way less important than the feeling of achievement related to meeting fitness goals, and just the improvements in sense of well-being and mood (again from exercise). I think that would have saved me a lot of hassle. But then again, I did try various workouts out, and none of them stuck. I just wasn't ready, I guess.

    I love seeing the confidence many young people feel, in relation to playing team things, especially. I mean my mom did try, she supported me in at least a dozen things I wanted to do, it's just that I was really bad at most of them (except dancing, and I used to get horrible leg cramps from that).
  • almondbutterbay
    almondbutterbay Posts: 221 Member
    Queenmunchy wrote: »
    I started "dieting" at 11 years old and when I was in college I had to make a "bucket list" of things that I wished to accomplish before I died. Right on that list was - order a meal at a restaurant that I want to eat rather than what is the healthiest choice. So, needless to say, I do wish I had some carefree years, but I also appreciate the fact that I learned how to read labels and cook nutritiously at a very young age in order to lose and consequently reasonably maintain my weight with little effort.

    This is exactly how I feel. I wish I hadn't had an eating disorder when I was fifteen that when I recovered from it I gained a bunch of weight but I'm also glad I know the things I know now.
  • Tubbs216
    Tubbs216 Posts: 6,597 Member
    Yes, I definitely wish I'd started earlier, and then finished properly when I actually did start, and then didn't gain it back once I'd lost it so I'd have to start all over again this time! Eh, that's life.

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