Why are you fat???

I had a baby. A late age baby. And unlike the previous two babies, this baby weight did not go away. So I starved myself and did a number on my metabolism. Still didn't lose the weight. Finally, I joined MFP and started getting exercise again while counting calories. And NOW I'm losing the baby weight.

Oh and she's 6 years old now.

I've always been fat, I started gaining at around 7 and by fifth grade I was already 160 pounds, by ninth grade I was 202 pounds. My father lost his job when I was younger and started getting into cooking with insane portion control. Instead of a reasonable plate for a 10 year old he'd take a twelve inch plate pile it to to sky with shrimp Alfredo pasta then on a second twelve inch plate he'd put a stake mashed potatoes and garlic bread dripping with butter. Not to say that today it's his fault, I'm 18, but it wasn't a great foundation. Growing up fat ****ing sucks btw. I wish I knew what it was like to be skinny well, I'm on my way I guess, I'm at 156.5 as of yesterday, first time in my life since I was 7 that I've ever been at a healthy body weight

The answer to this question is the same for all of us: we consistently consumed more calories than we burned. The first time I realized I was too big was when I literally COULD NOT find one outfit in my closet I felt comfortable wearing out! I was just crawling in my skin every day, wishing I looked and felt different. SO glad I started MFP! :-)

I orginally got fat because I got pregnant and depressed.

Now I'm just lazy, and don't eat properly. I love food. I hate to cook. So I eat a lot of convenience foods. This makes me feel tired and I make excuses not to or just simply don't exercise.

I lost about 20 lbs a couple years ago, then I got a desk job and gained it all back and then some.

I came out the womb big bone (weighing over 10lbs at birth). Not to mention I was brainwashed to eat everything on my plate. When I was little, I was fed adult serving sizes. I grew up to a restaurant/ fast food junkie. And because my overweight parents & grandparents were food pushers, I was taught to eat when I'm happy, sad, depressed, bored etc.

Now that I'm an adult trying to be free from obesity, I'm really thinking I never had a chance to be anything other than fat. It's quit depressing when you think about it. The sad part is many people are starting their kids off the same way. In 30 years there will be millions more with my story.

i have always had weight issues but have never been as heavy as I am now. i just started eating to fill time when I was bored, which I know is wrong. then i got sad about being overweight so I ate some more to cheer up. Not the smartest of ways to cheer up, but hey, I'm not perfect.

Because I was eating too many sweets and carbs. Now I am trying to stick to a Semi-Vegetarian diet

I gained all of my excess fat post-menopause. My body changed but my habits didn't. I put on about 15 pounds a year for 6 years before I put the brakes on it!

Wow you had a lot going on!

Well, first I moved home and was less strict about what I was eating. Then I ran a race that ultimately blew out my knee and because in my warped world there was no other form of exercise than running, I just stopped doing anything. Began drinking more wine and eating more cheese (Put some Pinot and Brie in front of me and watch me go!) and not doing any exercise. My boyfriend at the time (now ex) didn't make me feel particularly attractive- not that he wasn't caring, but he wasn't interested in me intimately it felt like so I felt even worse about my body so spiral spiral spiral and that's how I reached my highest weight.

I always want to say my story of being overweight is complicated, but they boiled down to being unhappy.

BUT! Now my knee is better, my exercise mentality isn't all or nothing, and my current (and hopefully long long term!) boyfriend makes me feel very attractive and is supportive of me. I think all of these things came about from putting effort into liking myself and being more moderate about things. It is a struggle every day, but the struggle gets easier! Best wishes to all!

BUMP! I like this thread.

i felt invisible and didnt give a crap what i looked like,,thus I ate crap didnt exercise,,Met my now husband,, he loved me for what I was no how big or little i was... still didnt do anything about it... thought i was having a heart attack at 25..(esophageal spasm from reflux). SCARED ME INTO losing the flab and getting healthy

Physical issues: I was anemic for a while due to heavy periods - this made my eating go crazy as I was always tired and trying to wake up using sugar. Then I had a terribly difficult pregnancy (I have fibroids so I was very big very quickly) I couldnt walk for more than 15 mins without needing to sit due to intense pain in a vein. So I was more or less bedridden for about 4 months. Cue a huge loss of strength that I am still trying to get back.

Emotional issues: our daughter has special needs and I was been misery eating for over a year before mfp. Tiredness, feeling overwhelmed, unbelievable sadness, anger, no time at all to process any of what was happening. My husband got diagnosed with MS in the same period and I put on about 8 kilos in the space of about 3 weeks I just ate and ate and ate. Eating was the only release valve I felt I had left. I was reading Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman and she writes about how overeating is a typically female way of having a breakdown without inconveniencing anyone else. I burst into tears because knew I needed help urgently or I was going to eat my way into an early grave.

Psychological issues: my x partner left me at a time when I was very fit and well - I looked bloody good. Our break up came out of the blue for me. I was deeply in love with this guy and devastated for a long time - we had been together for over a decade. His wife is a fair bit bigger than I was then. After meeting her I put on the kind of weight that makes me look like her in about 2 months (I realise this only in retrospect). Somewhere underneath I still think if I gte too thin/fit my partner will leave me. This reason is somewhere deep down and I think I will only confront it once I get near the weight I used to be when I was together with my ex.

God this is very honest but I think it helps to say it 'out loud' somewhere - even if it is just on here

I think it's because I don't really exercise anymore...

There would be days when my intake would be extremely low, and then days when I'd just binge! Doesn't work out well.

pretty simple I had two babies within 22months time and got very lazy while not watching my portions

I had always been underweight and never had to worry about how much I ate. I had a superfast metabolism so that I had to eat a lot so I didn't get sick. Then, I had three kids in 4 years and then got divorced. Spent a lot of time watching TV because it's easier than trying to cart three babies around to do stuff. Then I started eating out at restaurants a lot because it was easier than cooking and I work a lot of hours. My concept of portion size was total off, so I was eating 3 to 4 times the calories that I really needed. Thankfully I think my metabolism hasn't gone completely to pot or I would have weighed much more.