I know this is a really general question, but hear me out.
I often come across a couple of interlocking ideas that exist in the medical community that fall under the umbrella: diets don't work.
I read an article in the New York Times a few days ago about obesity in pregnancy and the Dr. said that most women don't become obese by eating too much or eating the wrong things...
I also just saw this video, done by a bariatric surgeon. His point is slightly different-- he says that people don't become obese by eating too much. They become obese by eating the wrong kind of food...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U40tKCxHHtc#t=1148
So, I'm just really curious about this. In my own case, I can definitely say that I became obese because I ate too much and too much of the wrong things. At first, I gained weight because I ate large quantities of sweets, and after a while, I kept gaining because I ate all the time and also, large quantities of high calorie foods. That being said, I was a pretty serious binge eater all the way through my teens and twenties, but due to exercise, and I guess a pretty good metabolism, I never got obese until after my first pregnancy at age 30. Before that I hovered between the high normal end of BMI and the low overweight end of BMI. I can also say that even with rigidly counting calories and running 4 miles a day and consuming consistently between 800 and 900 calories, I was unable, at age 51 to drop my weight below 186, which is in the overweight range for BMI, so obviously my metabolism has changed.
Now, since hanging around 3FC, I've noticed that we really are all different. Some of us not only are struggling to lose weight, but we also have serious "food issues". Others seem to have pretty normal eating habits, but maybe just too much concentration on stuff like fast food...
So, I'm just wondering. Do you think you got fat while eating normally, or do you think you got fat because you eat a lot more than your skinny peers?
(and on that note, I know that there are these mythical people who eat whatever they want and never gain weight, and maybe that's true, but my impression has always been that the skinny people who order cheeseburgers and large fries at every meal usually don't actually eat as much as we think-- they don't finish their food, or they skip lots of meals... etc. Also, not sure any of this pertains as much to guys.)
A lot of trauma in my childhood led me to hoarding food and binge eating in elementary school and beyond. Never really dealing with that trauma kept me in that same cycle (100 lb gain, 100 lb loss, repeat). Starting over in 2012 with therapy, a great support network, and a healthy lifestyle plan has helped me to almost reach my goal now, with binge eating episodes greatly, greatly reduced. So yes - eating too much, and eating completely unhealthy foods, led to my obesity!
I don't know.... I was never a normal weight. I was born premature and only weighed 5 pounds, and I think that was the last time I was ever normal or under weight. I was a chunky baby, and a bigger than average kid in early elementary school, and was 100 pounds by third grade. I had pretty severe allergies (still do) and preferred to sit inside with a book instead of running around outside playing (still do) and as I got older, the reading and snacking habit continued... I was hovering right around 200 pounds when I graduated high school.
I was diagnosed with PCOS in my early 20s, and that was shortly after I had moved to a new location and had just started a new job with weird hours. I ate a LOT of fast food, all the way up to 300 pounds by my mid 20s.
I don't think I was ever consciously craving junk food... It was just a lot of easy fast food because it was late when I got off work and didn't feel like cooking, and days off, I didn't want to do anything out of my apartment because I'm a bit of an introvert and my job required me to be much more social than I'm comfortable with. Also, I didn't really know how to cook for myself, so when it wasn't fast food, it was freezer food. I was a microwave aficionado.
A lot of times when I was just sitting around relaxing, eating was something to do with my hands. Can I blame my lack of a hobby as the thing that made me fat? For me, it was copious amounts of high calorie junk food and a lot of time being still (because I am a big fan of being still).
When I was a kid, my parents were always feeding me and would actually brag about how much I could eat, even as they scolded me for not being thin and athletic. I lost weight after high school because I had control of my own portions and meals when I moved to college.
I gained weight back in 2012 because I donated eggs. The hormones and such I had to take pretty much simulated pregnancy, and I gained about 15 lbs. without a baby to show for it (but also fewer stretch marks at least). That's what I've been working to shed right now, the 15-20 the hormone treatments packed onto me.
Growing up I was very very skinny and ate just about anything and everything. I was also very active and played all sorts of sports for fun. I did not start gaining weight until I became an adult and became a lot less active. I remember when I was younger, doing things like running for no reason other than just feeling like running. Realizing that my life is so very much different now, I have had to pay more attention to what I eat and my activity levels.
I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't fat, my earliest memory is of my father singing "I don't want her, you can have her she's too fat for me" I ate because I liked food, because it medicated me, because in my out of control home it was the one thing I had control of. It is a cycle and now that I'm old and sick (55 with diabetes) I've had to take a different kind of control.
I had my first child at 17. Before that I was always thin. And I ate whatever I wanted. The day I found out I was pregnant I was 118lbs. During my pregnancy I went up to 189lbs. I was a bit if a wild kid obviously and I exchanged nights out with friends for cross stitch and snacks.
Withing 3 months of giving birth I gained another 10lbs. I ate more and moved less. I was always home and always eating. Lonely and depressed I would wake with my daughter every 3-4 hours at night and we would both eat. Marriage, and three more children later the gaining continued.
Take out! So much take out. And exercise non existent. In my mid twenties I started eating better and walking everyday. I lost 100+ lbs. Now in my 30s I'm trying to loose it again. I put back on 75lbs by eating the same crap as before in similar quantities and stopped exercising regularly.
So in short pregnancy, wrong food, too much food, and being sedentary made me fat.
I ate too much of the wrong things and when I was calorie counting I ate too much of the good things. I just like to eat. I enjoy eating. I love the way food taste. It's an addiction to me. If I could eat all day long I probably would. There is no other reason that I am fat other than that.
I have had body image issues as long as I can remember. I've always had a curvy body. My family is Cuban and well endowed. My body image issues come mostly from years of being belittled and criticized by my narcissistic plastic surgeon father. When I was in HS and weighed 135 he told me no one would love me unless I lost 40 lbs because I was fat. He also told me often that my appearance embarrassed him (I look back at pictures of myself from back then, and I was perfect, not fat!) I gained weight toward the end of college when I was incredibly stressed and my dad was particularly agressive toward me. Because of a dramatic and crazy family story, I ended up back home with a broken spine. I was bedridden for a month, and havent built back my back muscles properly. I lost weight before I got married while my husband was in Afghanistan but did nutrisystem to do it. I lost 30 lbs (gained from stress eating and bad food choices) but gained it all back and then some over the past two years. My downfalls seem to be stress eating, rewarding myself with delicious food, eating out of boredom instead of for fuel, and not being aware of how much I'm putting in my body. General emotional baggage fuels the fire. We are all different, but for me I need to adjust my head and mental state to be truly successful!
I like to say I got the worst of both parents LOL:
My dad eats like a starving wolverine BUT hikes and bikes and chops wood and isn't fat
My mom hates exercise, stays inside, but eats tiny portions of food.
Lucky me ate like a linebacker and never moved a muscle LOL
I didn't get obese til I moved out @ 20ish and lived on my own a few years. I didn't have the stabilizing influence of home-cooked meals and limits, so I went crazy. I had the spoiled brat mentality, whatever I wanted I should have, right? I'm awesome, I 'deserved' it!!
Once I worked on THAT bit of nonsense I was able to finally get things under control and lose it.
Of course it took 20 years, but better late than never
1. Lots of work stress: nervous energy resulted in drinking coffee with croissants, muffins, other starchy foods that are display at cafes; eating on the run; lattes with sweet flavouring!
2. Reduced activity level during my 50's! Active up till then, and then stopped doing fitness classes etc. Husband is not very active either now.
3. Boredom and being home alone: now that I don't work, it is easy to go to the fridge out of boredom! More easily tempted with junk food available at home, hence I am tossing it all out now! Stocking up the fridge with fruit and veggies, no fruit juices, only milk and water!
4. Eating out more: salt can play havoc as well as sugar on weight gain, hence trying to eat more healthy food like salads with protein when eating out.
5. Feeling down: as one ages, one sees your body changing. Need to see that ageing is alright and one can be at a healthy weight by seeing others at older ages being healthy weight. Role models are important to keep going.
Why did you get fat?
