Why did you gain weight?

I was an obese kid who wasn't active and I had an obese motther and sibling so that was basically all I knew.

I honestly gained it from Birth Control. I was 115 all through high school, I hit 18 and started taking birth control and that's when I gained all my weight. I've never eaten healthy (until I decided I needed to lose weight and be healthy) until about 2 years ago, and since then I've been fighting my willpower to lose it. But now I'm set. I know the body changes at age 18 or around there, so it might have really been just my metabolism slowing down or something along with the birth control. I'm not making excuses, I'm telling the truth. Since i did start gaining weight, i didn't really care. I was too caught up in life to care about health or anything. But now that I'm older and more mature and more aware of what's going on, I've realized I've let myself go, and am working on fixing it.

I got cocky. I was always in great physical shape my whole life, especially while I was in the military. I was one of those hard-charging paratroopers and could eat whatever I wanted and burn it off the next day. After I retired from the Army, I still went to the gym but also dined out more, especially with all of the Mexican food San Antonio is famous for. I never noticed exactly when it was that I was no longer hitting the gym and ordering extra portions at each meal. I rationalized that the weight gain was a natural part of getting old. Even though I was wearing larger-sized clothes, I would compare myself with others and rationalize that at least I'm not THAT person who clearly needs to lose weight. Then came the high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which I thought was a big fuss over nothing until I started to suffer some of the bad symptoms. The doctor tried to talk sense into me, but I was simply too arrogant to listen.

When I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, the doctor explained in great detail where I was headed. THAT was the attention-getter. It wasn't until I started my journey that I realized exactly how overweight I was. I thought I was probably going to lose about 20 pounds and even out right there. In the last ten months, I've lost 50 pounds. I still have a ways to go before I'm completely out of the woods, but this is a new lifestyle for me and not just a temporary measure to reach a target weight.

I'm a true convert and focus more on healthy eating choices as opposed to working within a certain calorie limit.

ate too much in china. then i ate too much in laos. ate too much in cambodia. and then i ate way too much in thailand. then ate too much in vietnam :yawn:

I ate way too much and just never really burned it all. Of course, now is the time to change all that!

NOt enough fruit, vegetables, or excersise.

That is a really good question.
Of course, you don't gain weight without eating too much and exercising too little. I started to gain weight in college probably because my lifestyle had changed to a life of going to classes, partying, going out late and "pigging out" at a diner and not sleeping.
I didn't know what exercise was so I gained 30lbs. Then in my early adulthood I found the outdoors. I became very active but yet still held on to about 15-20 lbs give or take. Yes, I accomplished lots, with rock climbing, hiking, biking and trail running and there were times in my life when I was thin and then I would gain it back so quick. As I look back, I think I did have a weird relationship with food. It was my comfort and my friend growing up but now it doesn't have a hold on me. I have been asking myself recently, why do I seem to throw up roadblocks and excuses now when it is so easily attainable for me. Am I afraid of it? Am I afraid of having the true body that represents who I am inside....HUM?? Am I the only one that thinks like this?? Is it fear? I am curious.......

I've wondered about this myself. It's not as painful to be rejected because you're fat as it is to be rejected for who you are inside. Maybe the extra weight I've carried for most of my years has (in part) been my neurotic way of protecting my fragile ego.

I'm determined to drastically change my patterns of thinking. I've been reading "Wishes Fulfilled" by Dr. Wayne Dyer, and am beginning to put some of his techniques to work. I've rewritten pages of his book to give it a Christian orientation that will be more useful to me. Sooo - I'm assuming the feeling of a wish fulfilled. In my spiritual and emotional reality, I am thin, strong, and confident. The physical manifestation of this will come in Divine time!

Well I've always been the "bigger" girl...but this last year I gained a ton of weight. I think it was a combination of eating out a lot more, drinking alcohol (I started gaining weight right after my 21st :ohwell: ) and also being way more comfortable in my relationship. My boyfriend is so good at making me feel beautiful that I think I stopped caring about my physical appearance.

I started to gain weight when I stopped playing sports after highschool. I went to college started partying and next thing you know, I was out of college and not only did I gain a degree but 70 lbs too! Oh my goodness! I lost 60 of it to only gain 30 back during a recent move. So, I have 40 to lose again! Don't ever stop eating healthy and working out! I promise it's harder to get back into a 2nd time around more than it is the first time around!

Also, add me as a friend! I need motivation and I love to give it too!

i gained weight because i have no friends no where to go ,i am a comfort eater and i eat to comfort myself. i have never been athletic ,i didnt exerscise enough .i stayed in my bed for days ,uhealthy eating,eating late at night before i went to sleep, smoking ,watching tv ,sleeping too much ,loving pizza ,staying online to much . staying inside my house too much.i sat around and cry about being overweight but knowing, i have to try harder to lose and not finding the will power to do so.

for me nothing really happened. maybe the fact that i've always been super confident with myself made me not realize how big i was getting. i didn't even notice it until this past month actually. haha.but i guess i've always been big, it just never bothered me before. i started noticing when i couldnt walk up two flights of stairs withoutgetting out of breath

I am a compulsive overeater/food addict. Many people think that diagnosis is a crock of crap, but trust me, it's not. I struggle with it everyday. Food can be very powerful IF I let it..

I've always been heavy. Even as a kid. And I was an active kid to boot.
I never weighed myself as a kid...but I know by HS I was in size 26.
I'm not an over-eater or an emotional eater.
I'm just me...weight and all.

I want to be healthy.
I want to start a family...and have a round belly instead of the over-weight women I knew who just looked heavier insead of pregnant.
I want to like as good as my husband thinks I do.

moved to PA to live with my boyfriend at 19...worst mistake ever!! homesickness and low-self esteem caused a 50lb weight gain. Then a baby added another 20 on...needless to say i'm finally on track and thinking of ME and being a healthy role model for my daughter.

I gained weight out of a severe depression and food became my friend. I started date "J" at 145lbs (and I looked and felt fantastic)...I stayed with him 8 years and when I left him I weighed 265lbs. He was very controlling, I feared leaving him because i though he would try to kill me. He would not let me have friends or work and the only thing I had was the kitchen...I learned to cook gourmet style, thai food, you name it and I can make it.

Then I woke up one day and realized.. I deserved better. I deserved someone who though I was the most amazing, smart, and beautiful woman ever. All he did was tell me that noone would want me, I was lucky he even did, and worse as well....

I was right though...he went ballistic when I left and he got violent..but I didn't care. I was leaving the house or this earth but was not going to be with him one more minute.

2 years ago I lost 50 of those lbs and have maintained that weight loss. Now, I want to lose the rest. I have found who I am now i want the outside to look as good as my inside feels... I know my self worth and will not let anyone take that away again.

The only way someone can have that power over you is if you let them...so I will keep it. I know my worth now...it was a hard road but I managed to stay on it.