Why are you fat?

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124

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  • CarmenSox
    CarmenSox Posts: 110 Member
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    Have you read the book Made to Crave where it talks about turning our craving's for food, to God?


    I read it! Its a great book! I so tried the same as her by removing the pony tail holder thinking its gotta weigth something right!!!!!!!
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
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    I'm fat because I like to drink. In high school I played sports and could basically eat however I wanted. Once I graduated I stopped playing sports and got lazy. I also gained the 'freshman 15' in college, more due to excessive drinking than my diet and it pretty much continued from there. Lost weight a few times here and there, but was never trying to lose weight when I did it. Lost a decent amount using (illegal) drugs and didn't care about eating, then lost because I was a waitress and moving a lot. But I always gained the weight back when i quit doing whatever I did to lose it. Basically I consumed more calories then I used, most of those calories just came from absurd amounts of alcohol. And years of drug/alcohol abuse combined with hardly eating completely screwed up my metabolism.
  • ladybug2020
    ladybug2020 Posts: 83 Member
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    I'm fat because I am an emotional eater and love junk food-especially cookies but mostly when I would get on the scale and see I was up a pound or 2 I'd think "I need to get that off" and then think "well its only 1 or 2". Then next time up again, think again how I needed to lose it, then once again not do anything about it. Did that about 30 times and now I'm here with a bigger struggle :grumble:
  • kristiedavis1
    kristiedavis1 Posts: 95
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    I'm fat because I weigh 321 pounds. I like food and have not until recently coupled my love of food with self-control. And the food I love is fattening (chips, salsa, dips, snacky type foods). I have never in my life enjoyed excercise. Why? Because I was fat. I hated the idea of sweating and being short of breath and other people pointing fingers at the fat girl. I am learning to change that thinking too. I am fat because I never understood the concept of eating healthy. Don't get me wrong. I was on a thousand "diets" as a teenager, but when your options are diet orange soda, a boiled egg, and beets I'd still choose being fat. Now I'm learning that healthy doesn't have to mean it tastes bad or being so restricted that I feel deprived and hungry. Made to Crave has been an eye opener for me as have a friend who has been willing to introduce me to excercise and encourage me to move even when I still don't always like it. Yes, there are those underlying mental issues of poor self-esteem, not understanding my own worth and value, giving to everybody else and not saving time for me, and at times just not thinking I could do it. But more than all of this it's about the choices I made in food and inactivity and the desire I now how to reach my full potential as a wife, mother, and woman.
  • flannan
    flannan Posts: 45 Member
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    I'm fat because of menopause, raging sweet tooth, and no excercise.
    I was thin my whole life up until 2 years ago. I never did a single thing to stay thin. Never excercised. never played sports. My family is all thin. I also have an out of control sweet tooth. Dessert larger than dinner. I ate anything I wanted too and way too much of it. But I was still thin.
    A year or so ago, when I turned 45, a little thing called Menopause came along. It has changed my entire metabolism. I have gained over 10 lbs in the past year. i know thats not much but it is a lot for me. I had to but a whole new wardrobe. Im not evven that upset about that but Im worried that the 10 will become 20, then 30,etc.
    It seems like i cant eat anything now without continuing to gain.
    I have fallen off the MFP wagon for a bit but I am back on. I need to change my diet and get moving. To be honest, having never excercised, it feels like torture to me.
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
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    I'm fat because I have spent years eating too LITTLE. So my body was holding onto everything it could get ahold of! I think everyone who is overweight has an unhealthy perception of food, whether they eat too MUCH or too LITTLE. I used to have an eating disorder where I ate very very little everyday... I did lose weight for awhile, but then gained it all back and then some! And it's been piling back on for years. Now I understand that I need to feed my body for it to burn calories and lose weight!
  • flabfighter31
    flabfighter31 Posts: 41 Member
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    I'm fat because i too am an emotional eater have been since i was 5 everyone thought i just grow out of it but no one tried to help they all just let me my mum walked out on my dad and took us with her no one really explained that too me until i was 8, figures well anyhow from there lots of emotional stuff went on and i just kept eating all the wrong things and too muh of the good stuff. Well to cut a long story short i have looked after various members of my family throughout my young life then this wonderful man asked me to marry him i jumped at the chance best thing i have ever done had four kids i never left any time for me at 31 i am finally realising that the time when most people go through college uni or move out of there family home to there own place to "find themself" i never did that so this is me on that road to finding myself (under piles of fat hee hee) no serious i started to lose this weight because im not going to be the emotional eater anymore i never smoked and the idea of getting drunk and having a constant hangover was enough too put me off drinking too much, i thought now its now or never and i am not going to give it up now and be miserable for the rest of my life. As i am kinda hoping i will live a long and happy life ;-p
  • carmenstop1
    carmenstop1 Posts: 210 Member
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    I'm fat because I have spent years eating too LITTLE. So my body was holding onto everything it could get ahold of! I think everyone who is overweight has an unhealthy perception of food, whether they eat too MUCH or too LITTLE. I used to have an eating disorder where I ate very very little everyday... I did lose weight for awhile, but then gained it all back and then some! And it's been piling back on for years. Now I understand that I need to feed my body for it to burn calories and lose weight!

    I have the same story as you, I starved myself in highschool to be thin, I starved myself in college! We won't even get into what I did for 6 months before my wedding, I can't beleive I lived through that! I had 3 babies in 4 years and I think that is the only time in my life that I ate somewhat healthy! Then I starved myself for the last 12 years, and somehow I ended up gaining weight while exercising every day and eating one meal a day! Learning to eat to lose weight is a whole new, and foreign idea that I struggle with every day! I have never been an emotional eater, I have never been a binger, but I have always had a weight problem!
  • LizzieBee17
    LizzieBee17 Posts: 123 Member
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    I am fat beause I was practically raised at McDonalds(yuck). :sick: My mom was fat and I ate what she ate. Which was junk or fast food. We never did anything physical. I went from a fat kid to a fat mom. I was a mom so young I never had any hobbies or even figured out what I like to do to start a hobby. So I eat sleep and go to work. :embarassed:
  • chicpower1
    chicpower1 Posts: 169 Member
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    I'm an overeater and am all about instant gratification when it comes to food. I like to eat high carb, high sugar foods and was raised that way. In my family, we have something sweet for breakfast, then dessert after lunch, and dessert again after supper. Most meals were fried, loaded in gravy, etc. Needless to say, my family and all my extended family is obese and diabetes runs rampant. At one time we were extremely poor and white bread with a heavy gravy was a typical meal for us. I just never learned to eat right. It wasn't until I developed gestational diabetes during my pregnancy in 2010 that I learned just how severe my eating habits were. I met with a wonderful dietician who taught me how and what to eat. I'm a very visual person and she did a great job of having actual packaging from many of the products I like to eat to show me the true calorie, carb, and fat content. I actually began to lose weight during the 3rd trimester after going on the diabetic diet. Instead of gaining 80 lbs has I had during my 1st pregnancy, I only gained a total of 30 lbs. My doc was thrilled because I was overweight to begin with and didn't need to gain much more. Unfortuantely, after the pregnancy I was so tired I didn't care what I ate, or in what portion size. I just wanted to eat and go to bed. Last week I took a long look in the mirror and didn't like what I saw. I wanted to go back on my diabetic diet but was a little lost because my original plan had been for a 2400 calorie diet--due to the pregnancy. I needed to eat fewer calories than that and was too fatigued to work out or even clean the house. I prayed about it and the very next day just stumbled on MFP on my droid and added the app. I've been hooked since! It's been one week today and I'm already down 7 lbs. SO THRILLED! I'm fitting back into my prepregnancy clothes and have even dropped to one pound less than I was just prior to becoming pregnant. I had just lost 5 lbs at the time because I took a physical job and was shedding pounds but only worked there for 2 months before becoming pregnant. Oops. LOL.

    Now I'm aware of what is going in my mouth. Just in the last week my energy levels have gone through the roof. My kids are thrilled. I have the energy to dance and play with the baby and my 5 year old. My husband is happy because the house is getting clean and for the first time in a year I'm caught up on laundry! Slowly things are getting back in order in our household, and within my body. Praise God!
  • Garae
    Garae Posts: 116 Member
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    Simply put-
    I eat my feelings.
    And I have a lot of feelings, haha.
  • Hollycat
    Hollycat Posts: 372
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    "I am fat because I ate too much - and exercised too little....... that is the reality of it - the moment I started managing my portions and got my butt of the couch I started shedding the weight!

    Frankly blaming it on anything else is not being truthful about the real underlying problem that needed to be addressed...."

    Ditto...

    Hollycat
    :flowerforyou:
  • karenkwalker
    karenkwalker Posts: 155 Member
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    I am a prof. counselor and held an emotional eaters group for well over a year. I feel there are two types of eaters one is more logistical - those whose schedule makes it difficult to eat healthy - no time to plan meals, exercise or eat right - often fast food it or convenience food, etc. and the other are emotional eaters. I believe awareness is critical for success. It isn't just a physical issue - that's why crash diets, and restriction diets, and groups that focus on the scale and food you put in your mouth - don't work. The comfort eaters intellectually already know what to eat or not eat and how much, etc. It is awareness of the emotional piece that causes real change.

    Great topic! Thanks for posting it!
  • jujubean1992
    jujubean1992 Posts: 462 Member
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    i'm fat because... i was on the depo shot and my hormones were making me gain so i'd starve myself for days then binge for days it was a vicious cycle.
  • penash
    penash Posts: 35 Member
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    I started gaining weight when I was a small child. I was always the chubby kid in class. Then I experienced some childhood abuse issues that completely obliterated every ounce of self-worth I had. I ate to my feelings. These issues were not even close to being resolved when I hit puberty. Unable to tolerate the changes in my body and how boys were starting to look at me, I ate even more. I now think of it like I was hiding out into the open. Has anyone else ever felt like you're invisible because other people can't see beyond the fat? That's how I felt...and I both loved it and hated it. If you don't see me you can't know/hurt/love me, and I don't have to deal with the pain involved in any of that. I didn't own a full length mirror for years...that was great for my denial. If I didn't see the problem, it didn't exist. Then I hit adulthood and wanted to live a more full life. I snapped out of my denial when I saw the pictures of my college graduation. I didn't even recognize the person I'd become. I made a list of everything about myself that I was unhappy with, and guess what was on the top...that's right, my weight. I joined a gym, got a personal trainer, started a food journal. Along the way, I started to address some of my emotional issues. I lost 80 pounds (30 came back, and I'm working on losing that again now). Weight loss, for me, is way more than calories in/calories out. It's a hugely emotional journey, and that's why I think I'll be struggling with it for a long time to come. I'm better now, I'm stronger, but I'm still a work in progress.
  • nibblerbigcat
    nibblerbigcat Posts: 60
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    I feel like I'm not the weight that I want to be because I'm scared to finally reach that goal (what else would I be working towards then?) so I subconsciously sabotage my efforts.
  • JadazV
    JadazV Posts: 26
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    Why am I fat? *shrug* I've got no excuses. I love food. A foodie through and through. I love trying new foods, experimenting with new foods and recipes. To heck with the fat and calories cause it had to taste good! Added to the fact that my entire family can cook.... well, let's just say that there was never a shortage of good food in the house. Yep, and the bane of my existence.....exercise! I hate sweating, which was probably why the only sport I enjoyed was swimming. I tried a few diets over the years, the most successful being Atkins, due to the high protein and no starch/minimal carbs. plus I walked alot. Unfortunately I came home (was on vacation before), and once I was back eating good food, pounds came back on and exercise stopped. Similar situations over the years. After the PhD and the promotion, I was primarily sitting in an office every day (considering I used to do field work at least 3 days a week). A couple of weeks ago, I reached an all time high (yeah 244lbs!!) *sigh*. My sister and mom decided to do MFP to lose weight and be healthy so I thought "why not".

    I still love food, but we have tailored our foods and experiments towards leaner meats, seafood and different veggies, and dang if they still taste good! :P I still hate the exercise, but the loss of the 4lbs in the 2 weeks has been very motivating. ONWARD AND DOWNWARD!!! (pounds)
  • MrsSki
    MrsSki Posts: 196
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    I'm fat for a few reasons:
    1) I quit smoking.
    2) I got comfortable with my boyfriend who is now my husband.
    3) Once I was out of college, I didn't walk everywhere or go dancing 3-4 nights a week. I went to work, and had a bag of Mini Reese's Cups stocked in my drawer at all times.
    4) I wore a uniform to work, so I didn't realize that I wasn't fitting into my normal clothes.

    These really aren't excuses, and it's not like I would go back to being a smoker. I knew what I was doing to myself and I just didn't care. Now I do care.
  • katekrise
    katekrise Posts: 178 Member
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    I am fat because I ate too much - and exercised too little....... that is the reality of it - the moment I started managing my portions and got my butt of the couch I started shedding the weight!

    Frankly blaming it on anything else is not being truthful about the real underlying problem that needed to be addressed....

    I agree! It really just comes down to a lack of discipline. If you blame other circumstances...you can't fix the problem...but if the fault lies with yourself...that's something you can change!
  • palaciosj27
    palaciosj27 Posts: 8
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    BAD BAD BAD EATING FOR ME!

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