Why You Became so BIG?

AshleyWells86 · February 2012

There is no point in blaming anyone else, my mum didn’t force feed me and I wasn’t locked in the house, I had every opportunity to exercise and I never wanted for anything. My weight is my fault, I hit puberty and put on weight because I a didn’t exercise as much, I stayed in on the computer instead of going out to play with my friends, then I worked hard lost weight before I went to Uni met my now husband and stopped going to the gym, started partying and put weight on again, lost weight for my wedding, then got married and put the weight on again. I eat too much and I don’t exercise enough that’s the answer almost all overweight people should honestly give. I’m ready to change but there is no point me kidding myself that I didn’t do this to myself.

189andFalling · February 2012

Hi,

I think it's because I never really understood about nutrition or what a healthy balanced diet looked like, how to measure it, etc.

The odd thing is as a kid I was really healthy but still fat. I used to mountain bike 30-40 miles in the peak district and could beat all my slim friends up the hills. Guess I was 230lbs then.

I'm not sure what really happened but I suddenly started losing weight and was 145-150lbs at university BUT I still felt fat. I've always had a little belly that I just can't seem to get rid of. Perhaps it's left over from my previous weight or maybe just how I am.

Now over the past 5 years I've gone from super healthy out doing centuries on my bike to being lazy and not exercising. I genuinely don't feel I eat a lot but I probably have too many 'treats'. Anyhow my weight crept up to 190lbs(ish) and it doesn't look good on me.

Surprisingly enough I believe my natural body type to be slim. I'm 6ft 1 but very slim built.

I think what has happened with me is from being fat as a child all those 'empty fat cells' just sit around waiting for the first opportunity to spring back into life. Sometimes I wonder if lyposuction is the only true cure... get them the hell out of me!!

What I'm doing at the moment is trying to get back down to size. At the moment I'm approx 22% body fat so my focus is to get to 12% then stick in the 12-14% range.

Once there it's a case of building up the muscle and altering my body composition.

Marathon not a sprint...

LisaVld34 · February 2012

I am from an abused home. I ate because food made me feel better. I am trying hard to break those thoughts.

jabbaknight · February 2012

I just gradually put on weight over 20 years of marriage just 2-3 pounds a year, I love sweets, never paid attention to what I was eating, and slowed down in my sports playing as I hit my 40's. I give blood regularly, and found my blood pressure was getting higher, and about 6 years ago I realized I was up to 283 pounds (I am 6'0"). We had a biggest loser contest at work at that time, and I dropped 40 pounds. I started playing softball and soccer again but gradually put back on a little over half of that weight over the next five years. Decided after this past Thanksgiving that I wanted to continue playing those sports, but it was getting harder and harder at age 51. So I dropped about 5 pounds, and then in the middle of December, I bought an Amazon Fire, and found the Myfitnesspal app. Downloaded it and fell in love with it. I talked about 30 people into starting another biggest loser contest on January 6th, and am down 16 pounds since that point. My longterm goal is to get back to my marrying weight of about 215, so I have another 35 to go (although my goal on this sight is different). I never counted calories before, but this sight makes it so easy.

bellamia88 · February 2012

I've been overweight my entire life. My parents always spoiled me with food 3 times a week we'd have fast food and if it wasn't that we'd always have junk food lying around the house. I was just a child I didn't know any better and just ate what was given to me. I remember weighing 160 in grade 5 and I remember onetime during a ski trip I fell and one of the parent chaperones helped me up and was struggling and made a comment that I was too heavy and I was 10 at the time. I had low self esteem in elementary and I was always the target of ridicule. I even remember going shopping with my mom one afternoon and she was upset that I couldn't fit into one of the pretty dresses she saw.

I've always been an active child. I was enrolled in almost every sport in the book when I was little but the amount of eating I was doing was canceling out my excercise. Fast forward to high school I stopped all sports and was sedentary. I remember going out to eat all the time or having fries at the cafeteria but then I was fooling myself by not eating breakfast that it was okay if I ate more junk. It never occured to me that by the time I graduated I was 230 pounds and now looking back at pictures I can't believe that was me. I knew I was bigger but I didn't know I was THAT big.

I joined a gym shortly afterwards however I had no knowledge about excerise and calories etc I would go to the gym and only burn about 200 calories each session and I thought that was A LOT but then i'd go home and probably consume 1000 calories more than I was supposed too and I was getting frusterated with myself because I wasn't losing anything. I started to think osmething was wrong with me and that maybe I had a thyroid problem. It wasn't until last fall I told myself i'm going to go on vacation and lose 20 pounds. I found this site and downloaded the app on my phone. I actually never thought this would work but as the months went by my pants started feeling looser and I started getting all these compliments that I looked great and I lost weight.

This site really helped me understand nutrional intake better and I didn't realize how much fat,sodium and calories I was taking in before. I also didn't realize how many calories certain foods had in them. Some seem so healthy to the eyes and ears but not so much when it's analyzed. I really need self control in my house because my mom seems to be the only person clueless about nutrion. She's always been thin so she never understood what it was like meanwhile my dad was always big like me. He joined weight watchers last year and is more mindful of his eating but my mom will still buy junk and fast food so I need to stay away from it.

dollydaydream80 · February 2012

I was big as a child. Never had a big appetite but seemed to put on weight overnight according to My Mum. So I was on countless diets from the age of 10. Lost a ton of weight when I was 15-16 basically by not eating much apart from black coffee, weetabix with water and sugar free chewing gum. Felt tired all the time then though. My Mum took me to the Dr's as I was always getting colds/bugs. All Down to my bad diet, lack of vits etc. So I started eating properly again.

Then my Mum was killed when I was 17 so I started to comfort eat... All the way up from 10stone to 17!!! I'm only 5ft 2 so far too much weight for someone my size. I got pains in my chest when I was 24 and it frightened me. I had 2 babies by then and wanted to be around for them when they grew up... So I changed my eating habits and got to 9st 7lb

I quit smoking and have put a little back on, but I know I can get it off easy by eating properly and NOT Starving myself

rachellosesitall85 · February 2012

I was a thin, happy kid before the age of 3. I was molested countless times until I was 13 years old. I started to look to food to heal me around that age. I also took on some issues regarding the molestation like ADD, The food comforts me and I'm trying to let go of it but it's extremely hard stopping a bad habit of emotional eating when it's been a 13 year habit.

smpaselk · February 2012

I was a very active and thin in elemntary school. When my father died when I was 12 I stopped eating and lost a lot of weight and got really sick. I had to go live with my mom who had divorced my father when I was 4 and had little contact with her. In middle school I was always outside and active. When I was in high school I was athletic, not really think but muscular. I did dance performance power lifting , volley ball and even tried out for wrestling just to see if I could pass there test (it was hard). My mom was a drug addict, but she loved me. We were poor and lived off food stamps and my mom mowed lawns to earn extra cash. Most of what we ate was hamburger helper and pasta, she was not the best cook and never taught me the importance of eating right. Due to my previous bad eating habits I would starve and then binge, I could never through up, but was always conscious of my body. When I moved out on my own I picked up some other bad habits following in my moms footsteps but I started to become more concerned with my weight and my eating. In 1998 I decided I did not want to go down the drug road as my mom had and left the state I lived in. My mom was on the streets and had no where to go so I gave her a card with info for a rehab. When I moved to my new state I started eating healthy and when I went to college I started doing aerobics several classes a day and weight training. I learned all I could about health and fitness and was on my way to be an aerobics instructor. That next year I had broken it off with a boyfriend I had been with for 6 years since middle school (very unhealthy relationship) and that same year my mom died.

I had a hard time with her death, I was not emotional we never had a good relationship, but I knew she loved me. I am an only child and felt very alone. So I stared dringking a lot. I still continued to try and eat healthy and ran a lot, mostly to vent my sadness and anger. I meet my now husband, he was healthy but not concerned about health. I never though about it but a year later I moved with him to his home state. Over that year I started to be less concerned with my weight and health. When I meet his family they actually gave me a hard time about me not eating red meat. Later due to budgeti would give in and eat red meat cause my husband liked it. I gained a lot of weight, I worked went to school and put myself on the back burner. I got pregnant with my son and after he was born got depressed and ate mor horribly than ever.about 4 years ago I work two jobs and had a horrible boss and my blood pressure was sky high and so was my anxiety. I reached my highest weight of 260 and have been there for about 4 months now.I also have pkd and if I don't get my weight under control it will cause me more problems with my disease and possible dye young. I do not want that, funny thing you would think that with the knowlege I have about health and fitness it would be easy, but its not. It come to self control and mine is weak, but I'm working on it every day.

Thanks for reading

kuunsilta · February 2012

Depression. Stopped giving a **** about my self and my body. I felt like I deserved to be fat and ugly because I thought I was both fat and ugly inside out *shrug*

Also, I've always had the seefood diet. When I see food I gain weight.

umachanxo · February 2012

I over ate and didn't exercise. I didn't care much for my body image. Health is really important to me now, and I want to be fit and healthy from here on out.

SomeMorr · February 2012

I hate to say I "blame" my mother but in a big way I do. Before I was born, my parents had a baby that was delivered and only lived two days after being born (he had only 3 of 4 heart ventricles so his heart was not strong enough). I dont know if my parents ever sought counseling but I was conceived very soon after they lost the baby. As a kid my mother fed all of her emotions with large amounts of bad food. (fast food, sweets). At her highest was around 350lbs. At the age of three when I went to a doctor they told her I was overweight for my age and should have a restricted diet. When we left the doctor my mom had a outburst and started crying that the doctor called me fat (and probably in turn she perceived that the doctor was calling her a bad parent), and then went to eat fast food (my sister remembered and told me this recently). Her depression really affected how I dealt with my life and caused me a lot of depression.

My whole life I never knew what self control, self respect or portion sizes meant. I never knew how to properly have self esteem or feed my body right. I was teased about my weight constantly in school. I was 185 in 5th grade (ugh) I remember this b/c we had a math class about averages where they weighed everyone to get the average, and of course I had to be embarassed by knowing I messed it up by being so heavy. I just kept growing outwards fitting into my sister's size 18 pants in 6th grade. I was sneaking food into my room, and eating large portions for dinner because if you did not get what you wanted on your first plate there were never any leftovers. So my sister and I gorged.

I eventually capped off around a size 22 (around 250lb range) in at age 18. When I graduated high school I did the atkin's diet and lost about 30lbs. It stayed off until I re-introduced carbs. and gradually went back up to a size 20. In the last two years being with my husband I have learned my value is not based on the scale and I didn't have to be self conscious around him. But I have strived to lose weight to feel/look better for myself.

I am working on being healthier, I have also been chosen to participate in a medical weight loss study for a new drug that is trying to come on the market. With that program I have not only the medicine, but a nutritionist and a feeling of accountability to really make the most of this opportunity. I have lost 30lbs in the past 5 months the right way with food tracking and exercise.

rmsrws · February 2012

As a child I was always small and even through high school. In my teens I even did the beauty pageants winning a few titles here and there. I met a guy I was in love and nothing mattered. My hopes and dreams and future didn't matter. I had love what more does one need, right?

I was in love and dropped out of high school half way through my senior year because I was in love and that is what he wanted. I Soon I was finding myself distanced from my family, I was in Love!

That Love turned in to control. I lost who I was. I turned to food for comfort. 6 years worth of physical and mental abuse, and two babies. I was divorced.

Lost most of my weight, met a wonderful man whom I am still married to. Gained the weight back and then some. Started having serious medical issues, and Dr. said we need to get the weight off.

9/21/10 I had gastric by-pass surgery. I have lost 133 lbs since then. My marriage is better than ever and I feel great!

So I guess I would have to say I became fat because it filled a void I was feeling in my life!

My name is Rhonda, and I am an emotional eater!!!!

ShrinkinMel · February 2012

Very similar to mine! I don't want to blame my parents, but I must. All my life my parents have resorted to take out and fast food whenever they were too lazy to cook dinner. But honestly, their dinners aren't that much healthier to begin with. My mother would deny that we've always practiced bad eating habits-don't get me wrong, there were apples on the table. When when you're a child and a teenager, don't Cheetoh Puffs, Chips Ahoy cookies, Lays, Soda, Ice Cream, Candy, etc. seem more preferable? I come from a family where these things were always in stock, no matter what. My downfall originates from when I was 13. That's when I discovered the 50 cent Chocolate Pudding Pies at grocery stores.... these bad boys:

They're 500 calories each, and I was having one 4-7 times a week. On top of that, my dad would surprise me with a hamburger almonst every day before dinner. That's an additional 300-500 calories. I didn't start gaining weight until I was close to 15. Looking back, I realize I started to worry about my weight at a very early age-about 14. At 4'10, I was a size 00 when I was 14, I must have had a fast metabolism, because I did zero exercise, ate as terrible as I did and still maintained a weight of about 90 pounds! And I felt like I looked like a whale, even at such a small size. My mother started telling me I needed to eat better because it was getting noticeable. So many terrible comments came from the mouth of my own mom.

I'm a few years older now. I gained the weight slowly, but my highest weight was around 120 pounds, at 5'0 tall. I started MFP when I was at 114, and am now 106-107, looking to get back down to the 90's or a solid 100. It was and still is up to me to change my dietary habits as well as my fitness habits! While my childhood/teenage struggle with weight wasn't/isn't fun, it encourages me to ensure my children will never experience this.

It's great you are wanting to get healthy and eat healthy. But 100 seems low let alone 90!!! 90 doesn't sound too healthy at all for an adult woman even at 5ft. Sure teens may run around 90 even taller ones. Well done on your changes and loss but don't go unhealthy. You look fantastic. The problem with feeling huge at a small size is probably because you feel any bloating at all. Limit your sodium and that should help. I had a friend in high school that was also a 00 and always trying to say she was huge. UMMM no I was a 16/18 depending on brand at that time. She didn't have no right telling me how huge she was. LOL

ShrinkinMel · February 2012

Okay for me I could blame my mother but in a lot of ways I can't blame her for me STAYING big and getting even bigger. I was raised eating a lot of healthy foods(fresh fruit/veggies some we even grew ourselves) BUT we also had that junk around chips, candy bars, ice cream etc. We also had a lot of processed foods at times as my mom struggled to raise 3 of us often on the child support alone. This was how I first became overweight eating things like mac and cheese, hamburger helper, spaghetti o's ravioli all those things we'd have at least 2-3 times a month. She did the best she could trying to keep 3 kids fed on what little she had. More importantly I learned a lot of bad portion control. My mom would eat chips out of the bag sometimes finishing the bag in a day so learning that was no help to my weight issues. I remember being about the same size as my older step sister if I recall at age 11 or so(was in 5th grade) I could fit in a women's 12 but they had to be taken up a slight bit. So even by then I was an overweight child but I got a little active and was doing fairly good not increasing weight for awhile until 7-8th grade when it started coming on more with puberty. By the end of 8th grade I was in an 18 on most clothes.

In my Junior year quit eating meats and cheese/milk(the dairy was causing digestive trouble) and I started paying attention to foods I ate and started walk/jogging and joined a gym. Got down to a loose 16(probably a 14) at the end of my senior year and then after high school I moved across country and didn't get a gym membership. I really really loved the running and would like to get fit enough and reduce my weight enough to do so safely to prevent injuries. Anyway in this time I was starting to know what it meant to eat healthy but while in Florida I didn't continue to lose I ended up putting on some weight and was back into size 20s some 22s fit but were bigger/baggier. Eventually I was missing my friends and my best friend was pregnant and I just really got lonely with no friends there so I moved back across country and soon was seeing a guy and we ate out a lot to have alone time(we each were staying with family at 19) I gained some weight and soon my 22s were tight. We had been not preventing pregnancy and it took 11 months and I had a miscarriage. I got scared my weight was the issue and went on the pill and joined weight watchers. I lost 40 lbs and really started to learn even more healthy eating habits in that 20 weeks or so. Then I decided it was time to register for college and get started on my goals and dreams. So while working 40 hours a week I signed on for 4 classes that kept my evenings busy all week as well. I just didn't do well when I switched to the WW online program without the accountability of in person weigh ins I just didn't stick to my healthy eating. Eventually the relationship I was in turned bad and I was in a depression and gained a small amount before I ended the engagement. I was maintaining after that but not for long until I was dating again and eating out a lot. Anyway the moral of that story is I KNEW what to do and how to eat but have on and off been choosing not to do the right thing. So yeah I can blame my initial overweightness on eating habits learned in childhood but overall I know what to do but don't always do that. Portion sizes on snack foods is definitely a big one that I would say caused me to become BIG. The other is not staying active. And especially in times of unemployment I've had twice in the last 3-4 years.

Some of this time I've had a lot of health issues but still I would say I was capable of doing exercise and eating healthier.

Why You Became so BIG?

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