well it would be the easy way out to blame my parents. they were the ones who took me to germany when i was younger and introduced me to fabulous bread, chocolate and hot chips/fries with mayonnaise (still love it!).

but really it is only me that can be blamed for allowing myself to develop these habits. i think ownership is part of the battle.

I don't blame anyone for being over weight per se, but I do blame my grandmother for "loving me with food". She's the one who started me on emotional eating, finding comfort and love in food. I became overweight (more severely) just about 2 years ago. She always used to say I looked good when I gained and would yell at me if I lost weight. It was kinda funny since my aunt and cousins are tiny tiny and so are my mom and sister. I was really the only one that wasn't, but she decided she liked me chunky I guess. I don't blame her I guess, but I do know that a lot of my food issues stem from her!

I was always a chubby baby. My mom tried to get me to lose weight as a child. She tried EVERYTHING but I just didn't like it and wouldn't really commit to doing it. I can't blame anybody. I can only blame myself for staying this way for so long.

The only person I can blame is me, and boy do I.
But it doesnt mean dont have ill feelings to certain people.
My parents being one, teaching to eat even though full, making comments about my fat and faces at me.
My Mum asking me to go on diets with her that I wasnt prepared mentally to stick to or understand how its worked.

i said aside from yourself :)

all good answers!

Blame probably isn't a good word - I think the better question would be "Who has influenced you the most when it comes to your weight and the choices you make when you eat."

yes yes yes - the point was we all know we blame ourselves for the outcome - but there are also always outside influences on our decision making - really i was wondering does it ever stem from others. we know there is peer pressure - or living in groups with kids where junk food is the norm - and hey - you are looked and thought of as strange if you don't participate. "oh come on, you can eat it!" etc. and maybe not all of our parents were big eaters. etc.

I could blame my son cause with my pregnancy I gained 60lbs. I lost 20 of it as soon as he was born but the rest has been slooooow. Last year before all of the family trauma I was down to 205. But it all slowly came back on. The only trouble I am having is with the extra flab around my tummy. I hate it and want it to be cut off. But I know that if I want it gone, then I need to get my butt in gear. So far, march is going well for me. Just need to get out of this plateau.

I was certianly influenced by my sister. She was always really thin and I was always bigger, she always got lots of attention and I rarely got any... and I always kind of felt that it didn't really matter what I did because I could lose 30 pounds and still be the fat one so I might as well not bother. Then, years later, she confessed that she had been alternately battling and embracing an eating disorder for many years and that's why she was so thin. It made me very angry that she had been so secretive because we both had problems (I overate, she underate) when we could've supported each other and tried to help each other and ourselves out of our misery.

Wow, that got pretty intense. Sorry. :o

I blame me, myself and I. When I was young, my mom forced me to eat everything on my plate and that was ingrained (is that a word?) in my skull forever until I realized that I don't have to eat everything. However, I don't blame her for it. She grew up poor and so when there was food she wanted to make sure it wasn't waisted. I blame myself for picking the wrong foods, not exercising, not watching what I put in my mouth and how often. I blame myself for not having self confidence. I blame myself for wallowing in self pity and eating even more. I can't blame my mom, dad, sister, friends, boyfriend, co-workers etc. I am the one who makes the decsisions in my life whether they be the right or wrong ones.