Why did you gain weight?

LONG story short: I stopped caring.

Spine surgery that didn't fix the problem and have been in pain since.
During 6 months after surgery I put on most of my weight
through inactivity, medications and eating crap.
Had a weakness for Mountain Dew and ice cream, really anything sugary.
And doing nothing but watching tv and movies.

Added to the weight over the course of 4 years, started trying to eat better and control
portions more last year, but didn't start exercising until the end of January.

I have been struggling with weight problems since early childhood, so my weight has been up and down a few times. I was actually always very active, played a lot of sports, and started going to the gym as soon as I was old enough to get a membership. My weight gain came down to the simple fact that I ate like crap and had no idea. No offense to my parents, they were wonderful parents in many ways, but they sure failed at teaching us how to eat properly. We're a family of 7, and everyone but my youngest brother is either currently overweight or has been in the past.

I didn't have the slightest idea what eating properly even entailed, and when I was 15 and desperately trying to lose weight, I ended up developing an eating disorder because I thought the only way to lose weight was to just eat less. So I ate waaay less. Like...400 calories a day kinda less. I lost bout 40 pounds but of course couldn't maintain that lifestyle and gained it all back, and then some. It wasn't until I moved out at 18, educated myself on nutrition and exercise, that I was able to successfully lose nearly 70 pounds.

But since life isn't easy, things eventually went downhill for a variety of reasons (money/work/school/family issues/boyfriend issues) I found myself broke and extremely stressed/depressed, and packed on the pounds again. I have a lot more than 70 to lose this time...I honestly am not sure how I let it get this bad. What I do know, is that I am never letting it happen again. This time the weight is coming of for good.


Phew, feels good to put that out there. Honestly I have never told anyone the full story before.

Was skinny my entire life (I'm talking 40kg/ 88lbs @ 5'1)

Until my first marriage - when I gained 5kgs.

Separated from him, went back to my normal weight overnight seemingly (I didn't have to try)

Moved in with husband #2 after about a year and gained 13kgs very quickly. I have battled it ever since.

My current husband is obese and his eating habits influence mine, lets order late night pizzas (ok!), let me but you a choc when I fill up my car(ok!) ad infinitum...

It is very tough to live with someone so indulgent. Very tough.

I started gaining weight my senior year of high school (1998) because of stress, bad eating habits due to "the munchies".
Then I moved and was eating a lot of junk since I was working constantly and just ate whatever was handy.
Then I got married and drank, smoked and ate way too much garbage (he worked at McDonald's and Taco Bell and always brought food home at night). We were drinking a 2-liter of regular soda each per night and we never did anything that slightly resembled exercise.

Then I got a divorce and lost 60 lbs, but then got pregnant with my now-husband and gained it all back. I steadily gained weight over the next 7 years due to late night eating, too much soda, too much carbs, zero exercise and a sedentary lifestyle of sitting at home watching TV, playing on the internet and sleeping too much.

I really didn't have a good excuse :P I ate more and moved less, and kept telling myself that it wasn't my fault, and that it would change when life events changed. So after 50lbs of this I had to just take responsibility for it or keep on gaining!

This is the same for me:-) I gained 50 pounds during a 8 month period by just eating whatever....

I was a skinny, skinny kid. Puberty was not kind to me and I began gaining weight and spent my teenage years being just a bit chunky, nothing too serious. Gained up to 166 lbs after I got married at 17 but lost it all when I got divorced at 21 and was the lowest of my adult life at 120. At 28 I quit smoking and then got pregnant and had a baby and have never been lower than 165 since. At my highest was 231 and currently at 194.

I have eaten out of boredom, stress, anger, fear, depression, celebration. You name it it has been a reason to eat. I have "stuffed" my emotions away by stuffing my face. Finally I decided to try and understand what is going on and deal with things a different way, now I exercise my troubles away. I still find that the desire to eat overcomes me at times but I have learned to recognize the triggers and try to circumvent the hand reaching for the food.

Depression and new medication.

I gained weight when I started dating my boyfriend. We live in a small town, so when we started dating, pretty much all there ever was to do was go out to eat, so we fell into the habit of eating out ALL THE TIME. 3 years later, I've gained around 50 pounds while he gained, like...20

I dunno, not really. Recently I caught up with a friend I went to school with back in the 1960s. He had some photos of us then, as 12 years olds...I'd say we were the same weight, more or less. Difference is he was 6' 2" built like a bean pole, I was 5' 2 and built like a barrel. So I don't really buy into this stuff about broken marriages and giving up smoking as root cause reasons for weight gain; I certainly know as many who have lost weight apparently due to the same kind of stresses.

I think advertisers picking on our innate weaknesses is a major, along with unscrupulous food companies after a fast buck. And governments more interested in fighting wars in someone else's country than looking after the health of the people who put them there. It's ironic indeed that the population of Britain was never so healthy than when it suffered the constraints of food rationing during WW2, for example.

I think genetic disposition is the biggy. and not being adequately informed about the importance of energy balance.... our kids still don't get taught that at school, do they? It's certainly taken me till I'm 65 to get a real grasp on the energy balance thing, I suspect most of us who subscribe to MFP can say the same.

I've been a fat git all my life, is the truth, until about now, and I can't really say I've ever eaten any more food than those around me.

Having said that, I also believe that if you're not measuring it you're not managing it, which is why MFP is so important....and why the people who invented it deserve the recognition of nations...

So why have I always been fatter than my skinny comprades? Because I have a much more energy efficient digestion system than them, is the real answer.

Cheers

Laziness, low self esteem, no exercise, going out too much trying to keep up with friends...so partying, and just generally bad choices

Got a divorce,left my job in the fitness industry, started a job driving an average of 1000 (yes that 3 zeros) a week while going to school, graduated from college and started a HIGH stress job (CPS, ugh!). It snow balled and I gained 65 lbs in 4 years. It seemed to creep up, but looking back, that is a huge gain in that amount of time. I am moving forward with a lesson learned, a very heavy lesson. Lol.

I have PCOS and blood sugar problems, so I developed an incredibly terrible sugar addiction, leading to severe binges. I recently lost 13 pounds through will power, but the last week has been a terrible 'relapse'. Today is day 3 of being back on the bandwagon though

For those with diabetes and insulin resistance, you'll understand the drug addict-like response to sugar when you eat it. Just gotta cut it cold turkey unfortunately!!

I had a broken heart and did not want to go through that ever again , gaining weight made me sexually irrevalant and men did not pay the same kind of attention to me as they did when I was thin. Pizza and cupcakes were my news lovers ...they never rejected me or made me cry ... my weight protects me and keeps my heart safe. Safe , but not healthy ... I am ready to shed the " protective gear" .

Depression medication, plus working in fast food.

PS i still work in fast food