Why did you gain weight?

children, no support network. End.

I have been overweight almost my entire life and until I got to college, it didn't really bother me that much that I was fat. Except in gym class...gym class was always torture. I dreaded going because I was terrible at sports, a very slow and clumsy runner, and always picked last for every team. It was more like a class on how to deal with embarrassment. I have also had OCD and depression since I was 12 or 13, and food became my coping mechanism because while I was eating, I was calmer and my disordered thinking didn't scare me as much. Some people turn to drugs or smoking or alcohol...my comfort was food.

Then in college I lost about 70 pounds but the more I lost, the more obsessed I became with losing more. As a teenager I had just decided that I was incapable of being good at anything physical, but I discovered that I actually could run, and I did it a LOT. I used self-hate as motivation, did a lot of binge eating and then excessive workouts to "undo" it, and I think I might have screwed up my metabolism to some degree (and I screwed up my mind a lot).

And now I'm back to the weight I started at when I graduated from HS, and I'm just tired of it and I want to look and feel like the beautiful person I know I can be. I'm tired of feeling like I am wasting my potential. And I'm tired of allowing food and binge eating to control me. I don't think it's my antidepressents or my hormones or anything, although those could make it harder to lose the weight...but mostly I just need to step up and take control. Sorry for the book, lol

Most of my memories have to do with food. Always thought of food and turned to it as comfort or a way of not dealing with what was going on in my life- even remember this as a young child. There was mental abuse, always told I was fat, even when I was a normal weight, I was date raped as a teen, and just finding out this past year I was sexually abused as a young child.

Once I had my child at 19, my weight spiraled out of control, just getting higher and higher through the years. The more I had to worry about in my life (mainly took care of others, never myself), I would just use food to help the anxieties, stresses, or the love I was needing from others. Almost like a drug or alcohol others use to try and not deal with their problems. It takes the pain away for a temporary moment, and the cycle starts all over again.

I am facing the issues head on now because I no longer want to be a victim, but a survivor! I will not let my past define who I am, or let the abusers steel the rest of my life I need to live. I normally would not go around and tell people my story, but I believe there are a lot of victims out there who suffer from child abuse, both mentally and sexual. One of the major signs of child abuse is obesity or some sort of eating disorder, I hope my story can help someone else that may be dealing with the same thing.

Mines simple; I ate too much of the wrong foods and didn't exercise!

I was never overweight until I became pregnant so I can blame about 15-20lbs. on that (and maybe for messing a bit with my metabolism) but I packed on an extra 50lbs. after that by becoming lazy and eating crap.

Strangers with candy.

I got put on a medication for my depression and anxiety and ended up gaining 80 pounds in a matter of 3 or 4 months. After gaining that much weight I had low self esteem and was less active so I ended up putting on another 20 pounds. I finally decided I had enough of being huge for my height and started cutting out junk food and taking the stairs instead of elevators wherever I went. I ended up losing about 50 pounds from that and hit a plateau. I have realized now I have to actually eat healthy and not just less junk food and I am starting to exercise too.

I gained weight from starving myself for so many years...20+ years and when I FINALLY started eating like a normal person. I guess I gained weight b/c my body would NOT let go of anything b/c I was always going to extremes...Either I ate nothing or I ate too much...Plus I passed the age of 35 and my metabolism slowed down even more than ever!!! Now I am paying for it for sure...UGH!!

Thank goodness for MFP for making me realize what I was doing to my body...It's just going to take quite a while to fix it. But I am determined to get it done!!!

All my life I thought I had a weight problem and have had food issues but it wasn't until a big move from LA to Chicago when my partner got a too good to refuse job offer that I gained 100 pounds. I had two young kids and felt so far away from family and friends. It was then that I realized okay, so THIS is a real weight problem that before was nothing. I changed my eating habits and started exercising and lost some weight and then we moved back to LA, broke up and I gained more weight. I've gone down and up for the past 15 years. I'd get close to my goal and then think I'm good I can stop paying attention now. Each subsequent relationship breakups seemed to validate that I wasn't worth the effort.

Then last year I moved again from LA to Kansas to help with my dying mother and diabetic dad. Of course I gained weight putting me at a new all-time high. I don't know what clicked. Maybe it was turning 50 this year. Maybe it was feeling so bad. Maybe it was seeing what diabetes has done to my dad. But something clicked and I was ready to make changes and finally I felt like I was worth taking good care of.

I already struggled with my weight. I was about 40# overweight. Then I started on some medication. I gained 150# in 18 months. Everytime I would talk to my doctor about it she would tell me that I needed the medication and once I stopped taking it the weight would just come off on its own. I stopped taking it after a few years but the weight went no where. I weighed 350# at my heaviest. I was miserable. I was able to lose 50# but then I plateaued and got discouraged. Seems like I went back and forth from 285-315 for about 8 years. Now I am taking control.