Why did you let yourself gain so much weight?

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  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
    edited December 2015
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    My mother has always struggled with her weight and yo-yo dieting throughout my life, and she and my father would attack me for being a fat kid, but all the while my mom would also guilt trip me into eating giant portions of food... Kind of a toxic relationship we had there while I was growing up. Then I fell into depression at about 11yo and really my only comfort was food, I didn't even have friends. (Add to that my self-loathing issues and how I always thought I was just too fat to have friends...)

    It's hard trying to get out of this mental hole that I've dug for myself over the years... But at least nowadays I have so many great friends, and I kind of see myself as worthy instead of worthless. o:) (By the way, I don't blame my parents, I only blame myself for making myself feel so crap)

    Also, my mom's had really weird excuses for us two being on the plump side our whole lives, and for most of my life I used to believe her. But then I read about other people's excuses for staying overweight/obese online, and it could've come straight out of my mother's mouth! So there's my reason for staying so fat, and also my wake-up call.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I was thin/fit until my mid-20s. My initial large weight gain coincided with my first management job, which required longer (sedentary) work hours, after which I just ate whatever was handy rather than doing any sort of food planning. After that I lost weight but then got pregnant. After having the baby I was exhausted and overwhelmed and probably a bit depressed (now that I look back at it) and food was a comfort to me. Then I got into a cycle of being tired meant little to no exercise, which caused me to be more tired, which caused me to be more resistant to extraneous activity. At a certain point I developed very bad sleep apnea, which caused me to be even more exhausted and continue that slow spiral downward, until the point when I started addressing that issue and started moving in the other direction (more/better sleep, more exercise, better eating, etc.)
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    myalgia, and it really sort of snuck up on me
  • prettysoul1908
    prettysoul1908 Posts: 200 Member
    edited December 2015
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    -depression (had a horrid job)
    -history of eating disorder (perception of health and weight loss was totally skewed)
    -disregarding CICO and looking for a way to "trick" my body into losing weight

    I've had consistent success since adopting CICO
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    I have always been overweight/obese, at least since age 9 or so. I can't allow hunger and satiety to control my food intake or I always will be.
  • noobletmcnugget
    noobletmcnugget Posts: 518 Member
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    LaceyBirds wrote: »
    Really don't mean for this answer to be offensive, but OP, why are you overweight? Not technically overweight, but your goals show that you have been trying to lose 13 pounds. How did that happen to you? What are your reasons for gaining that amount?

    I certainly never thought that I would be overweight or obese. At your age, I had never been overweight, never been on a diet, and wouldn't be until I was 25. At that time, I was newly married, was cooking meals and going out to eat and drink all the time. My husband gained weight right alongside me. I got up to 25 pounds "overweight" (but 21 pounds below technically being in the overweight category) and then lost it. I kept it off for years. After that, I would periodically gain weight, due to many reasons, enjoying food, eating too much fast food, eating due to depression or stress, but I was never in the overweight category until I was in my late 40s, and then I wasn't obese until about 10 years ago after a hysterectomy, job loss, losing my house and pets, moving across country, more surgeries and developing many chronic health issues, including clinical depression and anxiety. I'm 60 now, and have lost 60 pounds, with 35 left to go, and I hope to never be obese again, but life happens, as it happened before, so we shall see.

    If somebody has ever felt like they had to lose a few pounds, if their clothes have ever gotten too tight, then they are no different than any other people who gain weight or become obese - it is just a matter of degree.


    Not offensive at all. :) I think I gained weight because of the lifestyle change I underwent following university... eating too much junk food and starting to drink alcohol, combined with a lack of bathrooms scales meant my weight crept up.

    Sounds like you've been through a lot! Your loss of 60 pounds is very impressive though, and I wish you all the luck with the remaining 35. I guess you're right - life does just happens. I guess the degree to which you put on weight just depends on the time it takes to take control of it again. :)
  • epona08
    epona08 Posts: 39 Member
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    A combination of stress, I really love food and I'm not as active as I used to be would be my best guess. My diet really didn't change when it comes to how I ate or the quantity from when I was in college (not that it was the best diet though), but all of the sudden I just started packing on weight, so I'm guessing it was the combination of less activity and more stress.
  • Bex_hostie
    Bex_hostie Posts: 52 Member
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    Because I can be really greedy and could block out and easily ignore what was happening (weight gain)
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited December 2015
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    Its so easy to eat for the sake of eating....it is one of life's greatest pleasures but there also comes a point when you realise to be healthy means being more careful about quality and quantity of what we're eating....

    When I hit my 40s and was about to have to go up another size that was the turning point.
  • clark4unc
    clark4unc Posts: 2 Member
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    I was recently diagnosed with PCOS which causes me to be insulin resistent. I started gaining weight heavily when I went from being in a very active job to a desk job. I didn't realize that food metabolized differently for me so i never found the proper diet for my body until seeing a specialist.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    I had 3 kids in 3 years...never having the time to lose the weight between each pregnancy before I was pregnant again. It just kept snowballing with each pregnancy.

    I was overweight to begin with, but not FAT. I was FAT by the time #4 came along 16 months ago. He is our last baby, and I'm working off the excess now.
  • NinjaChinchillaNZ
    NinjaChinchillaNZ Posts: 56 Member
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    I've despised exercise my whole life, and 2 of my favourite things are eating and sitting on the couch. This seemed to work out ok until I hit mid-20's and my body decided it was going to gain all the weight. I still hate exercise and love eating, and even though I've nearly lost all the weight I gained I think about food all the time.
  • NinjaChinchillaNZ
    NinjaChinchillaNZ Posts: 56 Member
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    Oh also, it happened slowly over a couple of years and at first I thought clothing sizes were just getting smaller until I reached the biggest I'd ever been and realised it was my weight and not the clothing!
  • QueenofComeBacks
    QueenofComeBacks Posts: 165 Member
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    Grew up very small and fit. Played lots of sports in school then I got married at 20 got my first real job gain 15lbs. Became pregnant with my son gain 50 lbs. Got depress about my new body and thought I couldn't change so I got pregnant again with my daughter. Gain another 30lbs. Tired every diet in the book and gyms. Then January this year decided even though I had lost some weight but would gain most of it back it had to be the amount calories I was eating. So I decided to eat the food I like and let go of some I could live without. Proud to say I'm in healthy weight range now and starting to like my body again with all my scars and strength mark.
  • soapsandropes
    soapsandropes Posts: 269 Member
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    I thought that I would always be able to eat whatever I wanted. However, as I got older I couldn't. I fed my work stress with things that I enjoyed. I thought that 30 min in the gym would compensate, it didn't.
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
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    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    Because food is delicious and I was lazy.

    Yep, this. I just didn't care. I liked chicken tenders, Flaming Hot Cheetos, and Velveeta shells and cheese way more than I liked worrying about my health.

    Then I lost a bunch of weight (from size 46 pants, to size 33). Then my wife and I gained about 30 pounds after getting married, then I gained probably 15 or 20 more after she started cheating on me.

    Lost 38lbs so far, and I'm almost back to my pre-marriage weight*, so that's awesome. And to be honest, both times I've lost weight, it was pure vanity. I don't very care about my health (I'll die when I die). First time, I just wanted an attractive spouse, and not much has changed this time around. (Though feeling healthier is a great side effect. Love the stamina, and being able to breathe better at night.) Here's to hoping I find a better spouse this time around. xD


    *I was around 230. Not sure, since I only got weighed on the rare occasion I visited the doctor.
  • Zumaria1
    Zumaria1 Posts: 225 Member
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    I never struggled with weight until I got married 20 yrs ago, then gained 20 lbs from a combo of birth control and eating too much. Then, it stayed that way for 15 yrs, then lost it as a missionary walking everywhere and eating much healthier. Gained the same 20 lbs back from vacations over a 2 yr period and never lost it. Lost 22 lbs on this site 2013 then gained it back :'( again from vacations over a 2 yr period. Never being disciplined enough to lose from one vacation before the next trip.

    This time I really want to lose and MAINTAIN. That is my struggle. I love dancing, walking, being active, but then I go on vacation, will gain 5 lbs, and say "that's not so bad". Then the weight gradually creeps back up. This time I am more determined to monitor and try to MAINTAIN as I lose weight again.
  • lil_lizt
    lil_lizt Posts: 275 Member
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    I started eating loads when my dad got diagnosed with cancer. He passed away 4yrs ago and still try to fill the big void he left in my life with food. I have mental health problems, and self soothe with food. It's something that I'm trying to get out of, I've lost and gained the same 16lbs 5/6 times this year and I'll continue to keep trying. I'm starting therapy in the new year so I'm hoping that may help
  • MissLincolnTaylor
    MissLincolnTaylor Posts: 66 Member
    edited December 2015
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    Depression and food was the only thing I looked forward to. Also, my mother has bulimia so I used to binge eat with her in secret for years apart from the fact id keep it down and she would be sick.

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