What was your “reason” for gaining the weight?
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When younger, there was a component of emotional eating involved; I used food to celebrate, ease pain, out of boredom, you get the drift. Sure didn't help that I enjoyed cooking and feeding others. But I was never severely overweight and always healthy. Never had a doctor call me out on it. I felt good and looked good to myself and others.
I managed later in life to get past the eating just to eat reasons but I never was one to exercise other than taking walks, so that was certainly part of the problem.
The major main reason over the last decade or so was more than several physical injuries that kept setting me back physically for long periods of time as they rendered me fairly immobile. Add in long days working, getting older and totally not realizing pounds would eventually pack on because of age, bad food choices and inactivity. The usual deluding oneself many of us go through.
I've realized my biggest roadblock has been making poor choices for dinners due to being too exhausted end of day to cook. I eat really well the rest of the day while at my office so I'm finding alternatives for supper that are healthy, easy and fast to prepare that don't involve much time standing around in the kitchen. So far, this seems to be a major help to staying on track.
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shadow2soul wrote: »I became lazy, but continued to eat like an active person.
Me too. Blamed inactivity on painful hips and didn't actually do the research needed to resolve the problem. Just used the excuse.2 -
No reason to gain really, other than a love for calorie-dense, nutritionally void foods and poor abilities/desire to moderate.
But I'll say I had a reason/excuse for taking too long to pull myself out of it and get it off. Society spent decades promoting the perfect body. Then, we finally started to push back on that (rightfully so), but I wonder if we went too far in our quest to be more enlightened? Now we say that we should celebrate 400 lb bodies, and that there's beauty in everything and that it matters least compared to other qualities. I spent years believing they were mutually exclusive, telling myself that if I wanted a slimmer body that I was not being true to my liberal/feminist self, or that to be ashamed of my body meant I was somehow shallow and weak and not promoting the gifts of my intellect, friendship, and personality. For too long I saw them as exclusive of each other.
Gosh, I hope that didn't come across insulting or controversial-I'm trying to only speak for me. I'm one of the most liberal people you'll ever meet, and I do think that so many things matter more than a body size and shape, and there are many gorgeous strong women who are overweight, but I let myself get caught up in embracing obesity as though its something to be proud of on it alone- strong confident women don't care what other people think, missing the fact that I should care how I feel about myself and my future health.
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My O.B. said I had a metabolic disorder of pregnancy. Not sure what that meant, except (1) it wasn't gestational diabetes; and (2) despite gaining tons and drinking a lot of water all the time, my blood and urine tests showed I was "starving and dehydrated" whenever I had to be hospitalized for pre-term labor. I gained close to 100, and 13 of those lbs were in the week before I gave birth (a month early). Swelling like a tick. Still creeps me out to think about it. I had dreams where my fingers were like water-filled sponges. eww.5
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The short version: hit by car, pregnancy, mental breakdowns, couple with emotional eating did a number on my weight. It wasn't until my mother honestly swore I was pregnant (spoiler, I wasn't) and my arthritis got really bad that I started losing. My body image still ain't great but at least I'm skinnier by a long shot.3
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I was always big and my family are all big. Eating habits are learned. I have a lot of family pressure about food. I work shift work and it sucks being away from my daughter. I get bored at work during the night/eating at night helps me stay awake.
All that to say they are just excuses I have used to excuse my lack of self control. I'm getting better about it.1 -
Food is tasty.8
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Depression. Happens every time. The longer it lasts, the more weight I gain. I know that staying active helps alleviate the symptoms, but it is so hard when all I want to do is stay safe in bed, in a dark room, watching videos and eating.4
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My husband and I both really love fast food. Convenient and delicious. Especially this little mom and pop shop in town that makes the best Mexican food. My usual weight is 155ish, high school weight of 149ish. Twice I've gone up to 172lb before coming back down to 150s (currently at 152lb). Hoping this time to push it a little father to 130s or 140s. I usually stall out at about this weight but this time I'm trying to push through.3
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Two deaths in my immediate family. My family hasn't been the same since. I quit smoking. I also quit my job to take care of my fiance's grandfather who had his leg amputated. Instead of using healthy ways to cope with my stress and depression I chose food. 30lbs down so far.8
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I love cooking and food and found it to be comforting when I moved away from my friends & family to go to college. Between work & school I was tired & didn’t prioritize working out, and continued to eat like a teenager. Then my metabolism changed right around 21 and I began packing on weight. I had also gotten into a relationship with someone who wasn’t right for me and ate even more out of anxiety & unhappiness. When I finally got the drive to end the relationship I felt in control again and began to eat healthy. I cut out meat completely (just because I love animals) and lost 30 pounds fairly quickly because I couldn’t eat things like meatloaf, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, etc. I began to explore more kinds of produce and found new ways to enjoy cooking with my new lifestyle. I started getting active, taking yoga & spin classes, lifting weights at home...After that it has just snowballed into a desire to just love and take care of myself in as many ways as I can. I feel more strong & beautiful now than I ever have, and I feel like my selflove attracted my now husband to me. It’s been a journey but I’m loving every minute of it.2
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Growing up food was how my mom showed love. I was a sickly child from birth until first grade, then I ballooned into a porky kid. Food was my comfort through the rough years of being picked on. When I was in college, I had lost weight but food was still my comfort. I'm now 59 and I've lost some of the excess weight and regained much more than I lost with the multiple diets I've tried over the decades.
Until this year, I rarely put myself first. I threw myself into my job which was stressful and time consuming. I overeat when I'm stressed and when I'm tired. I grew to morbid obesity proportions. It wasn't until this past summer when I finally had enough of the pain in my joints, the difficulty of moving, the scare of having a miserable quality of life for the rest of my days, did I start putting health first. I'm down 75 lbs and still have a lot to go but I'm committed and feeling much better. I know I have to continue putting my health first or else I'll slip back into old habits.
For years I had the "mañana attitude" (I'll deal with it tomorrow), but no longer. Now I think of what I need to do today to be the best future self I can be.5 -
My reasons?
Lifelong anxiety disorder
Poor eating habits like dining out MANY times per week my entire life & eating dessert with every single lunch, dinner, and sometimes dessert-like breakfasts (starting in childhood and continuing into my early 30s)
Depression/stress especially after specific events like my parents' divorce, grandparent's murder, and various stressful jobs
Sedentary lifestyle due to personal interests (Art and reading over swimming & biking) and later, office jobs
I was also a really large kid (5'4" and 130 lb at age 10) and people tended to encourage me to eat more than my peers since I seemed so much larger and older. I was used to that my entire life and so when I was (for example) twenty years old and eating more pizza than my girlfriends did, it never struck me as weird in any way. I was bigger than everyone and it didn't really make me self-conscious or concerned since I'd always been that way. I honestly didn't even mind the plus size clothing or anything else until I hit 300+ at age 30 and started having health concerns like migraines and foot pain.
My first husband was also morbidly obese, sedentary & loved dining out and entertaining. I was surrounded by like-minded people and was the main cook for events centered around eating and cocktails that were at least 4-5 times per month. That was very central to my lifestyle from age 24-35.
Lots of reasons above to overcome but I did it. Now maintaining my loss of 130+ lb for over 5 years at a size that is about 10-15 lb overweight for my height and very proud of this.
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I have/had a whole lot of emotional problems due to some really intense trauma I endured as a kid. I've lost the weight, gained it all back, now I'm finally dealing with the core issues, so hopefully once I've gotten some of that behind me I'll be able to lose the weight again and keep it off this time.7
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Food comforts me.2
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Mine just sort of crept up on me over a period of about 18 years. No sudden increases or dramas. Just a lack of vigilance on my part, and a very gradual expansion of 3-5 pounds a year.1
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For me, I think it was a variety of different things. Primarily, lack of knowledge. I understood the difference between "healthy" and "unhealthy" foods, but nothing on caloric intake/output. Growing up, we had plenty of food at our table every night, and as I got older, I was eating equal amounts to my husband (over 6' tall, and 100+lbs heavier than me) thinking "its 50/50"...so in that regard, a lack of common sense. The other major contributor (as an adult) was a lack of enjoyable exercise. I was so heavy, that any physical activity was difficult, painful, and not enjoyable. It wasn't until I found exercise that I could actually do, is when things got better.0
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Eating my feelings and not even considering what I was eating.1
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It’s bazaar, but I either can’t eat or can’t stop eating, both stemming from abandonment issues. Apparently 2 years ago was the trigger to be constantly hungry. Not sure why opposite reactions due to the same fear, but at least I know the trigger either way. I am finally on the level now.0
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got married, stopped caring, loved sitting on my couch too much.1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Didn't have an underlying "reason." I was a competitive athlete .....
TL/DR...I was always very active, and then I wasn't.
Same here🙋♀️ Change of lifestyle without change of diet!
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PMDD and binged to cope. i was 210 pounds at my highest. Lost weight after my PMDD was treated, now at 140 pounds.0
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My reasons:
1. ignorance about what I needed to do to maintain my weight
2. stress from work
3. menopause
I was normal weight for about 35 years of my life. I gained about 25-30 lbs. when I switched careers, moved and changed my eating plan. ( was a vegetarian/vegan for about 10 years, then went back to eating meat). I no longer ran 4 miles daily. But that was controllable. What got me out of control (and gain of another 60-80 lbs. in 5 years ) was PERI-MENOPAUSE and a TOXIC work situation. I was fatigued, stressed out, didn't know how much to eat, no time to work-out.
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I went through a 9 month period of time when I would throw up after every single meal. After throwing up I ate crackers, was in pain and would force my body to sleep while holding down the crackers. The first 3 months my general practitioner was testing out different acid reflex pills on me. When that didn't work it was another 6 month wait to get into the hospital for a gastroscopy. After being fortunate not to be dead, I've done a number of damage to my throat, my immune system got partly eroded away from all the acid and I finally found out that I have celiac disease.
After hearing the bad news of the damage done to my body I was very depressed, but the good news was I could eat all the comfort food that I wanted as long as I stayed away from gluten. The good news is I've lost 120 out of 140 pounds that I had put on so I'm a lot healthier now. Only got another 20 pounds to go and then work on putting on more muscle.8 -
I gained with my first two pregnancies; I gained when I quit smoking; I gained while grieving a loved ones death; I gained during harassment at work. All that is behind me now and I am ready to get control over my life.3
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I already posted at length above but the one time in my life when I gained a major amount very quickly was when I started my first "career" job. It was very stressful and not a good fit with my personality, and 100% sedentary. It was not my first office position but it was the first time I had a closed door back office without running around all over the building throughout each day. I also worked with women who regularly inspected each others' food and talked about weight and diets in the breakroom. This caused me to severely undereat during the day and binge on my way home (McDonald's AND Starbucks, sometimes). I had been in the neighborhood of 240-260 lb for most of my 20s and suddenly found myself at 307 lb within six months at that job.3
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I started gaining weight almost immediately after high school and when I got married (a year later at 19). I was never overweight until I turned 20 or 21, then the weight came on FAST. I have no idea why so fast, because I didn't really eat healthy before then. I think it was just that I wasn't as active after I graduated, and I developed binge eating and compulsive overeating. The next 15 years was basically just me feeding all my emotions and feelings.
I lost weight a couple times over the last decade, but put it back on just as quickly. I think consistency combined with over-restriction/binge yo-yo'ing are my biggest challenges as far as long-term results are concerned.
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Depression and a new job where I am a lot less active (used to work retail and now work an office job).
When my depression rears its ugly head, I just don't care. I don't have the energy to care. Cooking isn't fun anymore. So I order in a lot or pick up fast food. I am also less active because I simply do not have the energy or urge to get up and do anything. I barely survive getting to work and taking care of my cats. Taking care of myself is the last thing on my mind.
Luckily, I am now on meds that seem to be helping and am seeing a therapist. So fingers crossed that I will be able to get back on the wagon.2
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