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So why did you gain weight?

Old 07-06-2011, 01:39 PM
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Default So why did you gain weight?

In line with Annah_H's "Why are you losing weight" thread, I thought I'd start this one.
I know for me it has helped to know where things started to go wrong for me, weight-gain-wise, so I figure if people put into writing why it happened for them it could assist in avoiding it in the future.

For me it was pretty simple, I've always had a big frame, but I played golf, a lot. I'd be playing nine holes every day after school, and played 18 holes both Sat and Sun, so the daily excersize kept me in reletively good shape.

The I had two jobs while I was in my final year at school, quit golf entirely, and the weight stacked on. I didn't really notice myself getting bigger, and now I see myself as 'always' being overweight.

So that's me, hope this helps you guys.
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Old 07-06-2011, 03:00 PM
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My mother died when I was twelve just as I was hitting puberty and gaining weight anyway. My oldest brother had died when I was 9; my other one was dying (and passed away 5 years later after protracted lifelong illness.) For a while, all I could eat was sweets. I gained weight. When I lost it, people noticed. Thus began a life of yoyo dieting. I'm 51.

I'm not sure my story will help anyone but if anyone has eaten from loss, stress and grief, you're not alone.

Last edited by canary52; 07-06-2011 at 03:03 PM.
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Old 07-06-2011, 04:38 PM
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Default I'll tell you why....

Why did I gain weight? Wow loaded question...

Always fit and healthy as a high school and college athlete. College ended..went back to grad school full time..which meant odd hours of classes which were usually at night until 8-9pm...which meant I would eat dinner that late when I got home..and then go to bed.

Also I became engaged which then allowed me to become for lack of better terms..comfortable. So I packed on a few pounds...It also does not help that I am marrying into a 100% Italian family where every celebration or get together has a heaping amount of food..Seriously, picture My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Italians. You eat, or you offend the family. Not kidding lol.

And that is why I gained weight..no fault but my own, and that's why I am here today trying to fix my mistakes!
Best of luck everyone!
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Old 07-07-2011, 12:07 AM
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Gee where to begin? I was never a "skinny" kid, for the most part I was always ever so slightly chubbier than average. I grew up on a farm, where we as a family worked like men every day, doing chores seriously took an hour or more both morning and night, in the summers I baled hay and tended a large veggie garden. I also went horseback riding nearly every day and I played sports, mostly volleyball and softball. On top of that I was in the marching band which maybe doesn't sound like a workout, but I played the bass clarinet, which is fairly heavy and we were a high stepping band to boot. So the next time you get the opportunity high step march across a football field in double time and see if you don't break a sweat.

When I graduated from HS I weighed 118 pounds and was built like a sack of wildcats. I went off to college, where although my life was very busy, full credit load plus part time employment, I managed to pack on a little weigh every year. Nothing major, just 5 pounds here, 10 pounds there. Unfortunately between undergrad and grad school, I was in college for 10 YEARS!!! When I finished grad school I weighed about 175 pounds.

After graduation I got a job near my parents home and moved back in with them. The job was all sitting at a computer, 12 hours/day with an hour commute on both ends of it. To make matters worse the first floor of the building had a bar and grill that gave DISCOUNTS to people that worked in the building! Then I got married, had 3 kids and the "gain-a-little-weight-every-year" trend continued. I didn't really keep any of the weight from the pregnancies, but they did have a negative affect on where my curves are. Can you say "poochy baby belly"?

So at the age of 41 I found myself at the edge of desperation, weighing in at a whooping 244.6 pounds, I'm 5'-1 3/4" so that my friends means I had a BMI of 40, placing me firmly in to the "morbidly obese" category. I started dieting the day after Christmas 2009 and have since lost enough weight to put me firmly in just the "overweight" column. I'm still working on it and try to either workout or do something very active with each and every day and I watch what I eat to the best of my abilities (thanks to my childhood on the farm I can eat on par with Joey Chestnut). It's hard, but then again so it being morbidly obese.

Last edited by almeeker; 07-07-2011 at 11:14 AM.
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Old 07-07-2011, 04:22 AM
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Red face

Depression. I have been on medication and "stable" for about a year. But one of the side effects is a "dont worry be happy feeling." Which is great, but gaining 30 pounds in a year! Yikes. I was overweight to begin with and then my DH had open heart surgery and that last 20 pounds came on FAST. Facing the scale at 199 was a wake up call. But since we are now a heart healthy home, it only made sense to make it official. He is limited to a one pound weight loss per week.
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Old 07-07-2011, 06:15 AM
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Wow, that is a big question...

Up until I was about 8 or 9, I was your average all legs thin girl but...
Growing up I did not have a 'mother of the year'. Her idea of dinner was giving us money to go to the convenience store three blocks away and get whatever we wanted to eat. Being kids we loaded up on chips, candy & subs (sandwiches). I can't really remember not being overweight except in the few pictures that I have left of that age. I played basketball 4th, 5th & 6th grade but got turned away in 7th because I couldn't run fast enough to keep up. (politely...you are too fat) So other than walking to friend's houses and horseback riding, I had little to no physical activity. I can honestly remember in 7th grade weighing 180lbs and wearing size 16W jeans. Not how I want my children to turn out (and they aren't, thankfully).

Then when I met my hubby he spoiled me. I was 15 at the time and he was 21 (I know, I know, LOL). He took me out to eat places I had never been. And I was a big Mountain Dew addict. I was a stay at home wife/mother until I was 24 or so. I was at the heaviest in my life. The scale at the dr office went to 350 and would not weigh me any more. I was very unfit but still a very active mom and wife. House always clean, kids taken wherever they wanted to go and have fun.

I think my biggest issue is that I just like to eat and eat all the wrong stuff! I could eat a full bag of chips in one sitting if it was the right flavor. So what I am doing now is avoiding unhealthy snacks, eating more appropriate portions, more raw veggies & fruit, less processed junk, and drinking water. Walking 5 days a week and working out 4 days a week. Since 02.21.11 I am down just over 40lbs and loving it. I don't want to ever go back. At this point we are not even really going out to eat unless we are on a trip that makes it necessary. I can't even think about what I would want to eat if I were out without feeling guilty because I know it won't be what I should eat. And feel like a waste of money to order just a salad.
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Old 07-07-2011, 06:19 AM
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I think it's a lot of little things, for me.

I was always rather "built" -- I started getting my "woman curves" (as my mother liked to call them) when I was 7 years old, in 2nd grade. I also always had a pretty good appetite, and my parents weren't exactly gourmands. We usually had fast food about three nights a week (McDonald's was right down the street), and on the other nights we'd have meatloaf, baked chicken and baked potatoes, pasta (usually with lots of butter) or grilled cheeses. No vegetables to be found other than potatoes or the occasional carrot. I was very ill-educated about food and cooking. This compounded with the fact that my parents used to shoo me out of the kitchen (even in high school!) led me to not knowing how to cook anything except to heat up a can of Campbell's soup or pop a box into the microwave to heat up. I even developed a cooking phobia, convinced I would burn everything and serve poor food -- I think this is because of the few times I did try to cook and having my parents chide me (rather than help me).

I was overweight throughout high school, but I was often told I "carried it well" and that I was "statuesque" even though I'm only 5'4 1/2" I also played tennis, softball, and swam along with some track and field, so my bad eating habits really didn't catch up with me. Until college.

I put on, I'd guess, about 25-30 lbs. through my undergraduate years and was probably borderline obese by the time I left undergrad. I kept up only eating pre-packaged food and fast food for the most part. All the walking is probably what kept me the weight that I was (my guess is about 180 lbs., though I never weighed myself back then).

Then I went to graduate school. The stress of earning my Ph.D. and a largely sedentary lifestyle ballooned me up to 215 by the time that I got my graduate degree, and I was pretty miserable. Food was my comfort when I was depressed, and it was truly a love/hate relationship. My boyfriend, bless his heart, tried to teach me to cook but I was really stubbornly scared about it, and for the most part, while he cooked *better* than the food I was used to, it still wasn't particularly healthy.

I still struggle with food sometimes, but I think now I'm just in a much healthier place with what goes into my body. It'll always be a struggle, because I still want to turn to food when I'm upset or stressed. I probably always will. But that's ok
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Old 07-07-2011, 06:33 AM
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Originally Posted by tonkajen
Depression. I have been on medication and "stable" for about a year. But one of the side effects is a "dont worry be happy feeling." Which is great, but gaining 30 pounds in a year! Yikes. I was overweight to begin with and then my DH had open heart surgery and that last 20 pounds came on FAST. Facing the scale at 199 was a wake up call. But since we are now a heart healthy home, it only made sense to make it official. He is limited to a one pound weight loss per week.
I was still very thin years after having my 3rd child. I weighed 95-100 lbs. Went through a divorce, but maintained weight (lost a little). Met new husband-to-be, got very comfy and happy w/him and packed on the pounds. Had a major crisis and was down from 133 to 118. Weighed 124 on wedding day 3 years ago, then gained weight from asthma steroids. Major episode of depression in early 2010 and I shot up to 140. Conceived after a year of trying, lost the baby. After that, I shot up to 153 and the day that those #s were on the scale,I decided to make a lifestyle change. Long journey, but I'm back on the losing track weighing 145. I've never had to work to lose weight, so this is difficult.

Last edited by 25Less; 07-07-2011 at 06:39 AM.
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Old 07-07-2011, 10:00 AM
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Wow guys, I'm sorry if I brought up touchy issues for some of you. I guess being my age I'm still a little naive and didn't expect some of the replies here.
Thanks for sharing, though, it's opened my eyes quite wide.
I never really thought of overeating as a disorder before I joined this forum, but even looking at my own emotions and eating habits sometimes, as well as reading many of the posts on this site has changed how I see food and the relationships we have with it.
Again, thank you all for your honesty, and I'll be here to see you guys fight and win against this beast.
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Old 07-07-2011, 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by wowgirl88
Wow guys, I'm sorry if I brought up touchy issues for some of you. I guess being my age I'm still a little naive and didn't expect some of the replies here.
Thanks for sharing, though, it's opened my eyes quite wide.
I never really thought of overeating as a disorder before I joined this forum, but even looking at my own emotions and eating habits sometimes, as well as reading many of the posts on this site has changed how I see food and the relationships we have with it.
Again, thank you all for your honesty, and I'll be here to see you guys fight and win against this beast.
I didn't read any other posts but not touchy for me. It's quite simple, my job changed and I didn't and I let myself get fat. I went from an active job to a desk job but continued to eat as if I had an active job.
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