Do you wish you had started earlier/younger?

almondbutterbay
almondbutterbay Posts: 221 Member
edited November 17 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: 15,573 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: 1,771 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: 1,660 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: 5,446 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.
  • ScorpioJack_91
    ScorpioJack_91 Posts: 5,241 Member
    I was skinny fat and nerdy back in high school (still nerdy but as you can tell by my pictures, I got a lean, muscular physique now) and I started working out at 17-18...made gains but didn't really take it seriously until last year.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    It's not that I didn't care about my weight when I was younger- I just lacked appreciation for how years of carrying around all the excess weight was going to impact my life in every way in the long run. It never seemed urgent. Now it seems urgent.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Nope
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    almondbutterbay wrote: »
    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?

    Well, I did care about my weight and was trying to lose weight when I was younger. I wasn't as serious as I am now perhaps but I still cared. I wasn't doing calorie counting then. I wish I had been because it is so much easier than all the other stuff I went through.

  • DebzNuDa
    DebzNuDa Posts: 252 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    almondbutterbay wrote: »
    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?

    Well, I did care about my weight and was trying to lose weight when I was younger. I wasn't as serious as I am now perhaps but I still cared. I wasn't doing calorie counting then. I wish I had been because it is so much easier than all the other stuff I went through.

    ^This
  • geotrice
    geotrice Posts: 274 Member
    I've cared about my weight for as long as I can remember. I wish MFP had existed earlier and I had found out about it earlier because it helped me stay on track with my goals and how eating at restaurants can destroy an otherwise careful diet. I've found that's the biggest thing that sabotaged all of my exercise as a youth: the excessive calories in most Restaurant grub. MFP gave be back control.
  • ScorpioJack_91
    ScorpioJack_91 Posts: 5,241 Member
    edited May 2015
    geotrice wrote: »
    I've cared about my weight for as long as I can remember. I wish MFP had existed earlier and I had found out about it earlier because it helped me stay on track with my goals and how eating at restaurants can destroy an otherwise careful diet. I've found that's the biggest thing that sabotaged all of my exercise as a youth: the excessive calories in most Restaurant grub. MFP gave be back control.

    I think MFP was around in 2005 but it probably was obsolete back then compared to how it is now. I never even heard of MFP until last year.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,687 Member
    Many days I wish I were back 12 years ago when I was thin as a rail and really active ... and could eat anything I wanted whenever I wanted.

    Since then ...

    Between 2009 & 2011, I gained a bit of weight, then lost it over 13 weeks in 2011.

    And between late 2011 & 2015, I gained 15 kg ... which I am getting really close to losing now (11 kg down so far).

    But during this process, I do think back 12 years ago when I could eat some massive dessert ... and wouldn't gain a kg. Would be nice to be there again. :)
  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 649 Member
    I've had the lifelong battle with weight. I wish I had learned how to maintain weight loss earlier.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    You know, I don't.

    The reason being that I learned how to love myself, and be confident at my old weight. How many people do we all know who have major issues with that, even when they are an 'ideal' weight? That would be a whole lotta folks I know.
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