Why did you all put on weight in the first place?

musicminx wrote: »

Was it because you were busy, sad, broke up with someone etc?
My troubles started when I was 21 and I went to live in the UK...not sure if the ingredients in the food I bought where different or because I started staying at home more? And then my weight went up even more when I moved to London (maybe it's partly down to living costs?). Anyway I put on 35kg all together!? I never thought that would be possible!
I have been living in Germany for a few months now and my weight is going back down already.

What's your story?

A lifetime of depression and using food as a source of comfort.

My picture says it all.

Stress, a loss in the family and tons of comfort food. Sheesh. Getting back to it, though!

Growing up, my parents were both on and off Weight Watchers, so I was exposed to a lot of healthy food and very little junk. Mom always packed a good meal for my lunches, and although I did have treats once in a while, they were just that - once in a while. So when I got older and started having spending money, I'd buy "treats" for myself. In excess. And it was so much fun to spend my own money and enjoy what I bought, I didn't care that my parents cautioned me that I'd end up like some of my obese family members. Fast forward to college, and I got to my senior year and was nearly growing out of my size 18s that I'd had enough and decided to try Weight Watchers like my parents did. Sheer determination got me through... and then I graduated and slacked a bit, living back home for my first year of teaching. Got back on the wagon when we moved to Georgia (from Ohio) and tried a Jazzercise class near my home... a year later, I was hooked.

I think deep down, part of my reason for wanting so badly to lose weight was that I'd never had a boyfriend, and was tired of feeling left out because of my size. I felt like nobody could ever want me like that. But then... I got down to a healthy weight and remained single. And eventually... I got tired of watching what I ate, and even though I was still working out, gained. I gave up on myself.

It wasn't until almost 6 months ago when I met an amazing man who loves me AS I AM that I've found a new desire to get healthy not only to inspire him to do the same (though I love him as he is as well) but to get healthy for myself and my desire to have a long future with him.

Mostly just a lifetime of eating bigger portions than I needed, and a fair share of those meals were pasta and bread. I am a supremely lazy cook.

Depression and a total lack of knowledge on everything calories/nutrition for my whole life until I started dieting because I saw it well that it was already too late and I realized I wasn't happy with my body. My mother never was home at mealtimes AND she never ever would let me indulge sweets/junk food, so when I was a kid I'd eat alone al lthe time, jump on the occasion whenever there was junk food around, and eat badly since I would have to do with what I had. Example : chocolate bars, muffins, candies bought from the corner store...then like maybe an omelet and a few spoonfuls of minced beef at dinner since I had snacked all day. I was difficult with food and never would eat normal stuff (i loved my veggies though, somehow.)
Then teen years came around and I was a chronic depressive. I didn't give two *kitten* about anything, and I didn't really notice I was actually getting really chubby, all that mattered to me was to find comfort in eating ''forbidden' foods and stuff. I always ate out or almost since I didn't really like the lack of interesting food at home (egg egg egg egg minced beef egg). So yeah, I'd eat a 2-3 servings plate of pasta at the school's caf, with a big cookie, or two cookies, and then afterschool get some kind of sugary snack like donuts, had dessert from the hidden provisions in my mom's fridge that night, etc. Really, the worst kind of diet you could possibly imagine lol. I was the kinda person who comes over to a friends place and constantly asks for snacks because we don't have any of these at home, holy *kitten* that tastes amazing, but oh no i'm not all that hungry for dinner sorry for not finishing my plate and looking uneducated in front of your parents.
After a particularly hard breakup which involved cheating is when I realized how much i suddenly hated my body image and tried to change it and eventually tried to eat less, then to eat healthier...the adaptation was real hard at first lol. now i'm somehow the biggest health maniac i know haha

I simply became complacent and "ok"...I stopped trying to eat well or better my fitness. I just was fine with how I looked, I got in a relationship that was bad for my (both my habits and my health), then I lost the loser and some weight...and then it found me but in a different way. I fell in love with my husband (my best friend and love of my life) who is in the military...he was away for a year and a half of our relationship and honestly I turned to food when I was stressed...then I lost weight for our wedding...then after moving half way across the country, not being able to find a fulfilling job, and having few friends made being home alone during the day stressful and sad...so food came back...now here I am unhealthy and unhappy with my appearance and I'm done with the yo-yoing!

Depression after a breakup and 3 huge losses in the family. I ate because it was the only thing that was comforting, still is. I just sleep instead.

Being a pig and not giving any crap about caloric values, if I even checked them. Also... Currently managing with meds from doc [much higher dosage of an OTC med, will not say what for safety purposes], but I had zero hunger shut-off. I would be crying with pain, throwing up from overeating, and still be starving. Now it is just a dull thread in the back of my head that I can easily ignore.

... Thinking about what I used to eat, I'm shocked I wasn't heavier than I was by over 100lbs.

I was never skinny, but I wasn't significantly overweight growing up. I'm 5'5, weighed 120 when I graduated from high school; at 30 I weighed about 140 and was in great shape -- I didn't have a car, so I walked and biked everywhere. From age 30 on I gained about two or three pounds per year. (Got my first car in my mid-30s.) Some years I didn't gain any, and other years I gained 5, but for the most part it was so gradual I hardly noticed. At 55 I saw the number on the scale brush 200, and couldn't understand how I'd gotten there. (Well, I could, but again, it was so gradual...) My goal weight is the 140 I weighed when I was 30 and super-fit; I've got 5 to go. I feel great! At almost 57 I'm turning the clock back to age 30.

Eating made the pain go away. Now I exercise and the pain makes the pain go away.

Growing up, I was always heavy. When I was young, it started with me being on the larger side but not quite overweight yet. As I grew older I went from overweight to very obese. Every year it seems like I always put on some weight. As a kid, my mom always cooked for us. We never ate out due to dietary restriction due to religion, which sounds like the perfect recipe to be healthy, except my mom cooked a lot of heavy, oily food with really big portion sizes. This isn't me trying to blame it on my mom, just how things were. And as I grew older, I became more and more sedentary. When I went to college and moved out of my parents house, there wasn't anyone to cook for me and since I stopped practicing the religion, there was nothing stopping me from eating out. I became a vegetarian in sophomore year of college, but really it was more like I became a carb eater. Surprisingly it's very easy to be a vegetarian and not really eat your vegetables.

Anyway, long story short, I never paid attention to the food I ate + I was a huge couch potato which leads me to my current dilemma.

Overeating, really. I like to eat A LOT and can easily graze all day - I've always eaten "well" and don't have much of a taste for things like chocolate or crisps/chips, but if you're eating too much of any food you will gain weight. And I did.
I was always big even as a child but used to be very active too, until pregnancy left me unable to walk unaided for nearly a year afterwards. I was still eating the same and quickly piled on the pounds, I gained 3 dress sizes.

Boredom eating is a big factor too. Now I'll exercise instead, but if it's a time where I can't then I head straight for the peanut butter sandwiches.