What makes you gain weight?
 

I was wondering what specific types of food or actions you've noticed that cause you the most weight gain. The three things I've noticed over the years that cause me to quickly gain weight are:

Eating *anything* when I'm not really hungry.
Cream cheese, usually in the form of cheese cake.
Smarties....those tiny disc shaped candies.

Those are the 3 things that come to mind that always pack on the pounds (fat, not water) instantly. I'm curious what experiences others have had.

I self-sabotage a lot. So comfort eating is a big one for me...I know I shouldn't but I get this sick weird feeling of just not caring and not feeling I deserve better. It doesn't matter what the food is, but I tend to go for bread...simple carbs...sweets somewhat, but I prefer savoury. Toast and butter.

One thing that must make me put on weight - as it certainly comes off if I cut it out is potato chips/ crisps at lunch with a sandwich. I really should just cut the crisps out completely. They are bad for me. Junky take-away suppers a couple of times a week and I blimp out. AND I feel bad, too as I'm a gal who really needs lots of fruit and veggies to feel good.

But really it's just eating too much - not any particular type of food - other than the crisps.

This is probably my biggest problem. It used to be something I did when stressed but the last time I did it was because the restaurant here actually had two different meals I wanted. Normally, the vast majority of what they cook, I don't like. So seeing two things I wanted was like...whoa... So I got one, came back several hours later, got the other. I wasn't hungry but damn... >.<

I don't really notice any problems with particular foods. If I eat something high in calories, all that typically means is I can't eat a lot more later in the day. /sigh

Night time eating is my biggest problem. I am a healthy eater during the day... when darkness falls... I liked to have my share of Ruffles chips, chased by a can of diet pepsi! :P I am a carb addict, I love my bread too.

My favorite meal - I would eat this several times during the week when I am at my lowest/not working out/not caring. Now it's a meal I only eat if I am severly hungover [oops] or really craving comfort food which luckily is not often b/c this is bad.

1/2 - 3/4 box pasta
red sauce
butter
ricotta or mozz.
LOTS of parm cheese
salt & pepper

I mix it all together - it's my favorite...this & velveeta shells & cheese!


My stomach is always puffed out the entire next day thanks to the loads of cals and sodium...

Butter, cheese and cake.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

My downfall is cheesy/crunchy/salty combos. Things like cheddar/sour cream Ruffles chips, or CheezIts, or Doritos ... if a bag gets opened in my presence, I am going to the bottom of it, no matter how big it is.

Sometimes giving in to a craving will make me go overboard and eat all sorts of crap, and definitely if I am emotionally upset over something, that tends to lead me astray too

I would have to say junky carbs and highly processed ones. I can be out of control with cereal, granola bars, candies, chips, you name it.

Chinese food. I don't gain fat because I still count calories, but I gain water from all the sodium.

Restaurant meals.

Eating extra junk after I've had a few - usually gigantic slices of pizza and/or candy bars from corner stores.

Bread
Cheese
Chocolate

Being tired + boredom = instant overeating!

If I have not been sleeping well (which is fairly often for me) it's much harder to feel satisfied with my normal meals. I know it is a physiological issue; leptin levels dip, ghrelin levels skyrocket, and my willpower takes a nose dive in addition to that.

Add that late afternoon slump to it when there is nothing to distract me, and I'm a goner! I end up looking at food websites online and watching Food Network which is just a recipe for disaster. :hungry: I might be FAMISHED (again, totally physiological) and then I have one small snack. That would normally hold me over, but if I'm tired and bored... no way.

I am maintaining my current fitness, so my conversations with myself end up as "I'm tired, I'm fixating on food, I must NEED to re-feed/carb up, right?" Hello binge... LOL I'll spend the rest of the day eating everything in sight and THAT is what makes me gain weight.

I usually lose it all within a week or two, after I have a food baby, :preg: but it's still not something I like. It's not the same as when I enjoy myself on special occasions - it's a desperate "screw it, I give up" mentality because I'm just too tired to resist.

They say that sleep is just as important as diet and exercise for weight management, and for me, I could NOT agree more!

Not getting enough sleep which then leads to worse food choices. Without a doubt that is the biggest reason I ever go off plan. Maybe the ONLY reason I ever get off plan - just not enough sleep. Get enough sleep - good decisions are much easier.

I think it's for two reasons.

1. you think better/rationally when well rested and
2. you don't rely on food/sugar for a pick-me-up as you don't need a pick-me-up because you aren't overly tired.

*eating too much* makes me gain weight. :^:

seriously. that's been my problem all along... for years & years & years, since I was a kid, it's like I have no "turn it off" button when it comes to food. both good & healthy food, and junk food as well.
ugh... 2nd portions
ugh... extra huge helpings
ugh... a whole bag instead of an actual "serving"
ugh... eat two, then go back for two more, & two more, & two more...UGH

learning to do "the simple thing" of
eat when I'm hungry
and stop when I'm full
~that has been my goal
it is STILL my goal
I am still working on it
probably will be forever
but it's worth it
to be healthy, and not so dadgum fat. :yes:

Myself.

Processed food.

Not caring enough about #1 and ending up neck deep in #2.

For me, it's my perfectionistic mentality. I'm all or nothing. Either I'm eating 100% on plan or I fall off the deep end. Sometimes my binges are for only one meal but I've had binges last for weeks and even months....once I gain that much weight rapidly, I can just throw in the towel and just not care (suppress any feelings of concern, of course) and eat anything I want. I've gotten much better but that's how it has been for years and years.

My typical binge foods: Nutella, chocolate, bread with butter, pizza, ribs, nuts, peanut butter, cereal, cake, pastries and ice cream.

The answer to the question though is always eating more calories than we burn, but the truth is that it's never quite that simple because it's more of a mental battle than a physical one....not too many people become obese from binging on broccoli.

Sugar cravings are the worst for me.

Mindless restaurant eating, whether it be fast food, take out, or sit-down places. I love gooey stuff like nacho cheese and just about anything deep fried. I very rarely eat fast food anymore and I look up nutrition information ahead of time when eating out.

Sugar mixed with fat, especially with things like frosting, chocolate (peanut butter cups and Cadbury eggs are favorites), and ice cream. I buy sugar-free candy and no-sugar-added ice cream to eat in moderate amounts now, and will occasionally have small amounts of regular candy, like a serving of dark chocolate.

Bored/night time eating. I can do well all day at work and I get home and it goes right out the window. I've been working on this lately but it's still difficult at times.

I also have a problem with portion size so I just really have to count, weight and measure things to get me on track and stay there. I'm not ultra strict about it but really, I go easy on things that I know are calorie laden like potatoes, starches, sugars and load up on veggies, fruits and lean proteins.

Chips! Big bags of Lays natural chips with whisky cocktail dipsauce.
That's what did me in mostly. At one point I was so ashamed of myself I would not go to the corner store to get it but to another store because I was afraid they'd remember me coming in to buy a bag of chips EVERY day. And that's like a 1000 calories every day. I would skip breakfast, have a carby lunch, a high carb dinner and then around 8pm feel hungry and go buy a bag of chips.

I have not eaten a bag of chips in months. I've had 1 bag of rice-crisps that are half the calories on a binge. But not THE chips I like. I think I'll allow myself to have it once I reach goal. And then only twice a month at most. I can work off a 1000 calories. And not ever having it again would be so sad. It's the only food I really really miss. All the other junk I eat is just because it's infront of me. I would never go to the store to get it. But the chips.

So yeh.

Going to restaurants. I always go way off plan when I eat out, but it's a conscious choice. Usually I'm back in the saddle the next day.

F.

Yes, that pretty much sums it up. Eating too much is what makes me gain. If you ask me what causes me to eat too much it could be having foods in the house like gluten free macaroni and cheese. So..I don't keep those around anymore.

Medications for depression and OCD made me gain...a lot. Not by magic of course but because I ate a ton while taking them.

what makes me gain? too many calories in + not enough calories out. meaning munching all day repeatedly without exercising.

I can relate to so many of these, and it makes me give more thought to what to watch out for. Like being tired--I never paid much attention to that before. Or the perfectionist attitude of all or nothing.

My newest one is rebellion. The hubby usually is on the road all week but he's been home ALL day EVERY day for the last couple weeks and asking me daily, "What's on your schedule today?" Sometimes twice a day, "What's on your list of things to do today?" Driving me crazy and I've rebelled (stressed) and went off plan. Got back on yesterday.

- Feeding my feelings (comfort food and binging)
- Not active as a kid
- Going whole hog when going out for dinners/lunches/breakfasts: appys, dessert, drinks, etc

Oh, and if we're listing specifics, my go-to fat-kid foods are; Ruffles cheddar and sour cream chips, Twix, Twix ice cream bars, chocolate and fried chicken. Of course I love to have indulgent restraunt meals and desserts, but again those are more on the planned special-occasion. The "gotta eat now" stuff is usually what I listed above.

I'd say another huge one nobody else has mentioned yet is ALCOHOL! Ugh, talk about killing willpower! One drink is enough for me to throw all my concerns out the window. (I'm pretty tiny and rarely drink, so one beverage gives me a pretty solid buzz...) After that it's all over. I end up drunk, overeating, and usuall hungover which makes me miss my workouts some days and then want to lay around and eat junk again. I have no issue recovering from an indulgent day, but if there is alcohol involved it's considerably harder.

Agree with above, totally! Alcohol most definitely reduces inhibitions, especially regarding food! I can budget the calories for one drink, no problem, but after two, I forget to keep track and get a bad case of the "F it's". Cutting way back on the casual drinking can mean the difference between maintaining and gaining.

For me it's overeating, period. I proved to myself yesterday it doesn't have to be junk food.

That in combination with not weighing myself. It lets me pretend there are no ramifications for my out of control eating.

So if I do overeat, but continue to weigh myself it helps me get it in check much much more quickly!

ha ha ha ha this is sooo easy! simply because i have no self control YET (i'm working on it), so i eat whenever i'm emotional, bored, happy, basically i graze all the time.....i actually dont know what 'hunger' feels like. and when i do get those hunger pangs before dinner i end up grazing when i'm cooking and ruining my dinner!!!! so then i feel guilty about eating more than i should and say what the heck today is ruined i may aswell continue and start again tomorrow. i'm trying to break the circle!!! :(

Dessert and fast food. I've always noticed that when I quit eating so much dessert, the scale goes down easier. I used to eat dessert twice a day and have fast food at least once or twice a week, and since I've kept dessert down to maybe once or twice a week and hardly any fast food ever, the weight has definitely come off.

Not getting enough sleep makes the scale bounce even when my eating is perfect. No particular food packs on the weight for me, per se, but some make me feel cruddy and others create massive cravings. Sugar and starch that quickly converts to sugar in my body are the big ones, yeast (bread and brewer) also kick up inflammation like nobody's business in me, the same as sugar.

Unsoaked nuts make my mouth itch.

But the worst of all? Eating when I am not hungry! This is why controlling my cravings with fairly low starch and no sugar is so important, because then I can control my impulses and listen to my hunger cues much better when my body isn't screaming for junk.

What makes me GAIN weight?

Having babies. Gained 10 pounds ish for each of my 3, which I didn't take off any of those 3 times.

I'm actually good at maintaining. Other than having my 3 kids, I have never really gained weight in my adult life... (oh wait, I guess I have since I lost 30lbs twice in 20 years and regained it each time...). But I'm not one to go up up up over time - I'm very stable.

So what makes me poor at losing weight?? I think - alcohol too. I love a glass of wine (sometimes 2 :o ) a day as a way to manage stress. Those cals add up, and I bet my portion sizes are not as on the mark with dinner as they are for breakfast and lunch. I don't snack in the evenings, so yeah - I think I blow it daily in the late afternoon/dinnertime - aka happy hour. ;)

1) Eating out at restaurants if it's part of the calendar for the week. I'm not good at making good choices there. 1 meal, I'm okay. 2, I'm sunk. 2) Those times of the year when it's really hard to get out to exercise (about 3 of 12 mos) because work is super busy.

It's usually a combination of factors, such as:

Eating too much of the wrong/junk foods and not accounting for it in my calories (and I did this many times before I started actually counting calories).

Eating too many lollies/candies/sweets on top of my regular diet and doing ZERO exercise. This I now identify as my comfort eating.

In the past some medications I took increased my appetite and I was HUNGRY all the time so I gave into the hunger and ate whatever, whenever I wanted it.

I 2nd this!!

I had three glasses of wine the other night, on an empty stomach no less! -and I'm such a light-weight drinker, all my willpower out the window PLUS the fact that I knew I had to eat to help soak up all that alcohol!... I had Chinese food... not TOO bad, BUT... 6 pieces of buttered bread, too. WHOOPSIE! :o :^:

I do a lot of stress eating and I like fast food (well all food really).

I go out a lot for lunch during the week just because I have to get out of the office. Ideally I would go home for lunch because we generally have much healthier food at home, but so many days tacos or cheeseburgers or ice cream sound so much better. I also visit the vending machine too often as well.

When I was at my heaviest I would have a bad habit of eating to try to make myself feel better/happier and then continue to eat even though I was stuffed. I have gotten better at that but I still need to make better choices.

Pasta. I avoid that stuff like the plague since the late 90's and then I got thin. I started having weight issues again after having my son.

Stress, not enough sleep and fast food... Can't really do away with the first 2 because of shift work. I try to eat at home and cook for the family as much as I can and I slowly lost the weight. Hubby improved his cholesterol level too!