How did you get fat?

[Kalipso2 25]

i was a skinny child... people used to joke that i'd blow away if it were too windy. in high school i wore an "average" size 6 and my older sister and i used to share clothes.

my earliest memory of me gaining weight was when i was 21. i used to go to mcdonald's every morning for a sausage mcmuffin (or 2).

one night my boyfriend was driving my car and dropped me off in front of a store while i ran in for a minute. when i got back into the car, the entire passenger seat and floor was covered in mcmuffin wrappers. i used to hide them under the drivers seat and he found all the wrappers. he asked me what the hell i was doing and it was like a slap in the face.

from that point on i gained weight each year. i'd tell myself... i'll diet when i can't fit into a size 10 jeans. then it was size 12... 14...16... i knew i had to put an end to it.

here i am now... almost 39 and fitting in a size 10 jeans! i'm not at my goal yet but still working towards the size 8!!

[lauragshsu 6]

I was an average weight child, but developed a weird relationship with food early on. I had an emotionally abisive (and sometimes physically abusive) father. The only time he seemed to act like normal father (loving, caring) was when food was involved. For me, food started to equate love. Fast forward until I was 16, and started dating an even more abusive man. For me, since food=love, I used food to fill the empty hollow where love should have been. I worked hard on my relationship with food, but it's still an every day struggle. Try being 22 and having your father tell you he won't be proud to walk you down the aisle because you're so fat, no one would want to hire you because you're fat, no man would ever want to marry you because you're fat.

It took my husband to show me what love truely is, not something conditional, something based on what you do or what you look like.

There's more to this story, involving sexual abuse by a relative, 2 years of infertility (because of PCOS), etc. But the above is really the bare bones of it.

[shadst8 8]

I was a 10lb baby--I told my mother I didn't have a chance at skinny!! I have been overweight since I was child. My being fat is genetic and then the rest was me! My mom is morbidly obese, all of her siblings, and now all of my older sisters are overweight or obese. I was not taught to eat healthy and not encouraged to be active. I only ate three meals a day usually and was not a snacker, but when I did eat, a great deal of it was not the healthiest of choices. I was born in Brooklyn--after my first year after moving to NC, I went to being a chubby kid to just fat--by high school I was obese. In college I began to loose weight, but by my senior year--I had put it back on plus more. I have been yo-yoing ever since and every time I gain, I gained it back double. I decided, before I turned 40, I would no longer be obese and I am on my way with the band!:thumbup:

Edited May 7, 2010 by shadst8

[TwilightLover83 0]

Lots of things contributed to me being obese. Never thin as a child...always had the "baby fat" my mom thought. My parents didn't have alot of extra money laying around to spend on good healthy groceries.....i never was shown good eatting habits or the importance of exercise. Then in my teens a gf & I started using food as entertainment & it was just fun to eat. I really started picking up the weight then. In my freshman highschool physical I weighed 236 pounds! Of course I had tried diets but that's another subject. Then after highschool I was sooo heavy that I was depressed about it, but I would eat to momentarily feel better about myself.

Turning point- my sister got engaged & wanted me to be in her wedding. I started Jenny Craig at 362 pounds (only being 5'3.5") lost 50 pounds & then stayed there for nearly 2 years (well I did gain about 5 pounds back) before being banded.

So that's my story in a nutshell.

[Humming Bird 275]

How did you get fat? It's not as easy to answer as how did you get pregnant it is?

I think it was many things for me and 45 years is a very long time.

#1 Genetics. My father was 500 pounds and had his stomach stapled 2 times. He was 500 pounds again when the cleaning lady came and found him on the floor suffering from a massive stroke. It left him completely paralized. I guess he could only communicate by blinking. He died at age 63 from his obesity related illnesses. I was only 18 months old when he and my mother divorced and he was a deadbeat dad. I met him when I was a teenager. I did not grow up seeing his eating habits and my mother was very thin and ate healthy. So I am thinking genetics with that one. My sister is also obese.

I was a chubby kid and did deal with teasing. I thinned out as a teen and was very mature for my age. That led to dating older guys and getting married at a young age.

I had a baby at a very young age, but can not blame that for my weight. I only gained 19 lbs during pregnancy and it came off as soon as I had the baby.

I ended up being in an abusive marriage. I divorced the jerk and started making it on my own with a toddler in tow. It was very hard because I was so young and wages were low for me. I got very thin because sometimes I could only afford food for my son and not myself. I couldn't afford cars that ran for long, so I did quite a bit of walking. I got too thin for my frame. I was about 128 lbs and size 7 jeans were baggy.

I met the great guy I am married to now and he moved in. I was 21 by then and my son was 4. With 2 incomes we got on our feet quickly and I could afford food.< /p>

This would be my #2 reason for the weight gain I guess.

I ate because I could! Food was so darn good and going out to eat was such a treat. I treated myself a lot. I chose whatever I wanted on the menu no matter the cost or the calories.

reason #3.....YO-YO dieting for years! I tried every diet on the planet and then some! Take off 30 lbs- gain 40 lbs, take off 40 lbs - gain 50 lbs ..........

reason #4..... I gave up! I was FAT! There was no getting rid of it for good and no use trying. It only made matters worse!

reason #5 ..... hysterectomy at a very young age.

reason #6 .... fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndroms.......constant pain and no energy. I ate for energy.

Fast forward to 2009. I weighed a whopping 264 lbs!

Then I got banded! I have lost 86 lbs and now weigh 178! I want to get to 150 or lower and keep it off!

Edited May 7, 2010 by Humming Bird

[illuminationlady 7]

I was fat from the start. I was a big baby and like Hummingbird genetics was against me. My mother and father and sister all were heavy. So, I came from a fat family.

My family glorified food. We had big Sunday dinners with roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy and so on. I can remember eating steak and eggs for Breakfast. We were always eating, eating, eating.

Finally, when I found an interest in boys I begged my mother to take me to a specialist who put me on a very strick diet with pills. I lost most of the weight and sustained it through my teens. I dated and married at age 23.

Then I went through three pregnancies getting fat and then losing the weight.

I yoyoed up and down all through my adult life. I have always been able to lose weight; just can't keep it off. I even lost 80lbs. once and sustained it for 2 years, only to regain that and then some.

I sometimes think the band will do the same thing. I'll lose the weight but regain it. I don't want to believe that this is it. That I won't regain this weight that is coming off now.

My daughter was banded in March. I hope and pray she'll lose the weight and not have a yoyo life like me.

[StevieVieth 0]

I wasa thin child, until I hit puberty when was 8.. Yes, I know so young! But after that I was always on the chubby side. From about 12 or 13 till I was 16-17 was160's to 170's I finally had enough and developed eating disorders both anorexia and bulimia for about 4 to 6 months. ALong with a 2 year binge on diet pills constantly and over using. I drastically lost and abundant amount of weight I was down to about 118 lbs and I was content with that. I am however only 4'10ish 4'11 at the most. So I wasnt completely skin and bones. I was a comfortable size 5. I am extremely busty and curvacious. I maintained that weight till I was 20 and got pregnant with my son. I gained 80 lbs when I ws pregnant and when I had my son I became severely depressed and obsessed about my weight. I have binged and purged since having my son only with guilt. But in the last year and a half I have decided I needed to do something about it. I was told I was borderline type 2 diabetic, and borderline thyroid. Nothing they can help me with... So I have been doing well I have lost 24 lbs since surgery 2 months ago and I only have 58 more to lose I am happy with my choice to get the lapband!:thumbup:

[vlp1968 83]

I have been overweight since about 9 years old. I ate to stuff my feelings. I never had a lot of friends and ate out of boredom and lonlieness. I believe myself to be a food addict. Infact, I have other addiction issues. I yo-yoed all my life. Loosing weight and then gaining it back very quickly.

The good news is I am in therapy, working on my addictions. I was finally ready for the band Nov. 16th 2009. I have lost 74 pounds and feel great. Still things to work on, but am proud at how far I've come.

[ginger61 0]

I was extremely skinny all through out my High school years. My aunts use to tell me I have to gain weight, as it looked like the wind would blow me away. Being 5'7" and maybe only 110 lbs.

Then I got pregnant (out of Wedlock) and the 1st trimester I was extemely sick not gaining weight at all. That concerned the doctors and they advised me to go out and start eating and drinking milkshakes in order to gain. Well needless to say I then gained 60lbs throughout my pregnancy. After my daughter was born (she was almost 10lbs) everyone said I look fantastic and this was the ideal weight for me. Now I weight approximately 145 lbs.

Yeah I got to admit, had more energy looked healthy and all. But damage was already done I got use to eating fattening things and I still continue to do so in more moderation then. Then I got married and got pregnant, has miscarriage and then pregnant 2 months later. The doctors has me so stressed out that they said I should have waited at least 6 months before trying to get pregnant again. Nothing that I can do, considering I was already pregnant. So gained 75 lbs with 2nd pregnancy.

Use to blaime my fat on my kids since I gained so much weight during a pregnancy. After 20 years (my youngest son's age) I decided that I needed to get my life back. My mom died at an early age and I was not about to! I have been on so many diets, always lost weight but then gained it back. Primary reason: Stress!

I know with all of us sticking together here on this forum we will all be successful with this new leaf on life we are being provided. Look forward to sharing this journey with all.

[LeighaMason 19]

My family was very poor when I was a child, there was not always enough food to feed the 4 of us. So a lot of the time I ate less so my brother and sisters had more, many times my subsidized school lunch was the only thing I ate that day. By the time I was a teenager we lived in a house with no refrigerator, so once again food was scarce. I was 5'5" tall by 16 but only weighed around 100.

Then my family moved to Florida and I stayed in Texas, I was working 3 jobs and going to school a half day so I really didn't have much time or money to eat. Then it really got bad when I started using drugs and running with a rough crowd, when I was 20 I woke up in the hospital, I weighed 89 pounds and I was having a hard time regulating my heart rate so I decided if I didn't change I would be dead shortly.

Fast forward 2 years, I got a good job for the phone company, was making good money, got married and I was around 130 or so (I thought I was fat!) Then like Hummingbird I started eating because I could. Got pregnant and started my 16 year long yo-yo cycle of diet pills, WW, Adkins, etc. I decided to do something about it and got my band 10/20/09 and finally got off the diet treadmill (or more accurately I got on the treadmill!)

I wouldn't trade my band for anything its the best $10k I ever spent!

[Laura Lane 0]

low self esteem, during highschool i had many boyfriends,got married and then got a divorce, found him with another lady. my weight plummeted. i've always loved food, but after the divorce there was no stopping me. until i had my sleeve. and it has been the best decision i've ever taken.

[onikenbai 33]

I've always been well above the normal range of weight for a child, as was my brother, and my mother compensated for that by severely restricting the food both my brother and I ate as children. I have memories of telling my mother I was hungry as a child and being given a glass of Water to make it go away. We once had a competition to see how long we could go without eating: I won for holding out for 3 weeks. Turns out my mother hid food in places like closets and secretly snacked.

I sort of managed to get over the weird childhood food issues, but then I got sick. Fibromyalgia really takes it out of you with the constant pain and fatigue, plus the drugs I need to keep my body running are famous for inducing carb cravings.

Genetics + illness = nothing good

[JoJo1 0]

I've always been well above the normal range of weight for a child, as was my brother, and my mother compensated for that by severely restricting the food both my brother and I ate as children. I have memories of telling my mother I was hungry as a child and being given a glass of Water to make it go away. We once had a competition to see how long we could go without eating: I won for holding out for 3 weeks. Turns out my mother hid food in places like closets and secretly snacked.

I sort of managed to get over the weird childhood food issues, but then I got sick. Fibromyalgia really takes it out of you with the constant pain and fatigue, plus the drugs I need to keep my body running are famous for inducing carb cravings.

Genetics + illness = nothing good

Because I had a lot of, at that time, unrealistic ideas about my weight, I decided that when my first child was born, I would see to it that she never tasted sugar. I decided sugar was my whole problem so I was going to fix it in my child and not allow her to ever taste it. I figured that if I did that, she would not have to endure the weight issues I had. Let me tell you this was not easy. I had to tell the baby sitter, her relatives, etc, I am sure I made a total ass of myself over it. I did not starve her I only with held sugar.

When she was two years old, my mother sent her Easter candy in the mail. I knew I could just throw it away, but instead, I felt guilty because I loved my mother, and I wanted my daughter to love her too. I gave her the candy. In my mind, I was going to only give it to her this once. However, she instantly loved it (go figure) and became obsessed with it. I created the very problem I was trying to avoid. In her adult life, my daughter has a much more severe weight problem than I have ever had. She is now banded and is still struggling, but she has lost 95 lbs. Your Mom thought she was fixing herself by fixing you. Too bad she didn't figure it out before she created the problem she was trying to avoid. In later years, I had to figure it out a few more times, with other issues. I didn't think my kids should watch R rated movies, but I created a larger than normal interest in them by forbiding them. (go figure again) whew!! Life is full of it isn't it? Hugs!!!!

[Windus 0]

In my mind I have been fat from childhood. My mother put me on weight watchers before I was 10 yrs old. I was put on Nutri-System and all other manner of things and always thought of myself as fat.

BUT, when I look at pictures of myself up until graduating from high school I was no more than chubby and often not even that. Frankly it makes me angry as I see it as kind of a self fulfilling prophecy. People tell you that you are too fat as a kid, they put you on diets, you start to believe you are fat, you go on and off diets and the yoyo system starts and presto chango, suddenly you are in your 40s and are 120some lbs overweight and you actually are fat now!

Windus

[/url]

[Marine mom 3]

I agree. I think that people forget that kids pudge out at certain ages, but that if they are eating ok and active they will be fine. I know that people were concerned when my oldest went through it, then the middle, and not having learned their lesson, now the third is going through it.