If you are overweight, what, in your opinion, made you that way?

[SistemaAddict]

There's been lots of threads recently about weight inspired by the government trying to crack down on obesity yet encouraging us to eat out and posters bemoaning the lockdown lard/pandemic pounds. There has been lots of discussion about the causes of obesity or being overweight due to societal and financial factors but I wanted to ask what posters think made them either overweight or obese because reasons will vary. Certain medications and conditions can cause weight gain and/or make it harder to lose weight and the peri-menopause/menopause doesn't help.

I stopped breastfeeding a year ago and my appetite didn't return to normal after stopping so I gained weight. Then my asthma was bad from October onwards and my ability to go on bike rides was limited. Then lockdown and shielding and my 5 mile school hike up and down big hills went out of the window and I ate too many biscuits and chocolate and would eat in the evening while reading or watching tv. I gained around a stone and that took me into the overweight category.

In June I decided enough was enough and started 16:8 and limited myself to around 1250 calories a day. I bought a fitbit and started using my fitness pal. Both encouraged me to go on walks with the dc and to take more trips up and down the stairs than were necessary to meet my target of 25 flights a day. I stopped eating after dinner, watched my portion sizes and cut out most of the junk I was eating. I'm now a normal weight with a BMI of 24. I'm carrying on with my healthier lifestyle and improved habits but it's hard especially in the evenings when I want chocolate. My aim is to get to a BMI of 23 as that is where I look and feel best.

I don't want this to be a judgemental thread, or for anyone to fat shame posters, I just wanted to share my own reasons for weight gain and ask others' experiences because it's a very individual thing beyond "too many calories in vs calories out" and it can be very complex.

Plus I do love food and booze

So similar to you. Stopped breastfeeding but kept eating so just tipped into the overweight category (not helped by lockdown). Have been on a diet for the past 1.5 weeks (have just reduced the amount I eat, drank plenty of water and made sure I am exercising enough). My BMI is healthy again but I plan to reduce it a bit further - probably aiming for 28. If you don't mind me asking, how have you managed to keep the weight off? Any tips for me as someone a few months behind you?

Menopause at age 41 is the main contributor. I do youtube workouts most days, play tennis and swim. But I am fat and my GP has referred me for a scan on my neck/thyroid but due to covid, it has been postponed for 5/6 months now, indefinitely.

Other contributors are spending the vast majority of my time looking after my family (incl SN), grabbing food on the hop and having no time left for myself. Also being bullied by an adult at a sports club I used to attend regularly to the extent that it was so miserable going that I didn't go anymore.

If I didn't eat my food as a child I would be forced fed with a giant spoon by my father. My dad especially would cook horrible food no typical child would like and I was always in his care on half terms. By 12 I decided to cook my own food as refused the horrible meals my dad would make my mum cook. I cooked the usual junk food, but as a teenager I got into a habit of binge eating and starving to get rid of any bloat (I was very skinny and tall). As I got older I didn't care as much about the bloat and just binged myself to a size 18. The smallest I've got to is a 16 over the last 8 years, the weight is almost protective and I still binge. I hate my body and massively self sabotage in every aspect of my life.

A combination of things:

My mother telling me how fat I was and insisting I wore tent like clothes to cover up disgusting self. I wasn't fat - I recently found my school skirt which reveals that I had a 24 inch waist. I just had big boobs which she felt was the same thing. That made me feel ashamed and embarrassed and I binge ate. She still makes comments about my size and it has never done anything other than set me back

Hormonal issues - going through extremely early menopause (22) undiagnosed

I don't enjoy exercise at all. I have realised that I need to do it anyway but it isn't easy when you hate it

I live with a tall man who can eat a lot more than me

I'm not overweight, but I do eat (and starve) my feelings. Depends completely on my mood really.

I had a baby and just when I was starting to shift the post baby belly the swimming pool I used closed for repairs, the weather turned nasty and then Covid and lockdown limited my exercise options. I’m working on it though, not giving up

Obesity is a choice.

I chose to make myself obese by consuming far too many calories and doing hardly any exercise. I alone was responsible for what I chose to put in my mouth, as we all are.

Being a healthy weight is also a choice, of course.

I stopped going to spin class three times a week and didn't do the usual rushing walking around at work. I did a lot of sitting down and drinking wine. I shouldn't be surprised that I'm now having to stop drinking so much wine and cut back in the crisps and carbs to loose weight. I have gone back to spin class yet, but I'm now longer technically overweight. Just.

Obesity is a choice

In that case, so is being underweight.

I was healthy weight, no eating problems. Taking an antidepressant (10kg/1st 8lb in a month). I lost that weight very slowly but have never been able to stabilise. I eat too many calories and don’t exercise enough.

There is an element of lack of cooking skills (physically harder) so I didn’t learn. That’s more an excuse now than a reason I eat more processed food. NHS says lose 5% would make me into healthy weight.

I went up to 11 st7 ( had previously always maintained a 9.5 to 10st healthy weight aside from pregnancies etc) purely through unhealthy snacking, sugary coffees and the main culprit was a large glass of red with doritos and /or a chocolate bar every evening as a " treat". From mid July I've packed all that in now, still eat desserts with special meals, have a small glass of red most evenings so not depriving myself of pleasure. I weighed myself today and am 10 st 13. I aim to be 10 st. In short, I was over indulging on pleasures in the evening. Dropping sugar in my coffee took a few days to get used to but feels normal now.

Well done on your weight loss :)

For me four children, depression and anxiety then made worse by an antidepressant that made me gain an extra 2 stone in 9 weeks that tipped into disgusting range :( coupled with drinking too much and a recently discovered underactive thyroid.

I absolutely despise the weigh I look and the way I feel and despite best efforts im really struggling to lose it. Feel like shit every second of every day.

Associating food with celebrations, treating myself, being kind to myself, eating with family, sugar highs. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had bad news and found myself at the biscuit barrel.

Clearly the opposite is true but I’m an emotional eater, it’s my comfort blanket. I don’t like hugs, I like food, fancy restaurants, tasty things, treaty things and never, ever being hungry or empty.

Working on it but I don’t know how to stop it spilling over into my children...

Genetics and massive childhood portions and limited exercise set me up to be predisposed to fat.

My parents portion sizes are insane and both have massive weight issues.

There a picture of me as a toddler DD1 is the spitting image except I'm clearly much heavier. It was very much finish everything on your plate household. Older brother was allowed out much more and cycled for hours a week so wasn't as bad and younger sibling got away with being fussy eater and lucked out being much taller. As adults both have had weight and eating problems.

As soon as I left house for university - weight melted off with no effort. Once you have extra fat cells though it’s always much easier to put weight back on.

When I started work really long hours and long transport commute meant most of the day was working so I often didn’t get enough sleep and I’m really shit at looking after myself so living by myself I wasn’t eating great. So did put weight on but did something about it lost it – when moved in with DH put some on then we moved start of first pg and walking in one of the hilliest parts of the UK lost excess with no effort – didn’t put anyone on despite very disturbed sleep patterns till another move. That move left me by myself with young kids a lot more and very unhappy.

I think as an unhappy teen I developed unhealthy relationship to food on top as an emotional crutch.

Exercise is another issue – as child I was often wheezy as an adult I developed asthma and GP said looking back may have had it as a child. Also have dyspraxia so uncoordinated. Was bullied by PE teachers at school – as adult have tried at various time exercises classes and gyms but always experience unpleasant people which puts me off. Kids being old enough to be left more should help there.

Ultimately though it because I’m not exercising enough or restricting my calories enough – and my age starting to -play a role.

Having my baby in January. All the ways I'd usually exercise have been closed until very recently.

I went from a size 4 to a 16 after my first. Took a year to get weight off but ended up with an eating disorder.
I love food. I can't do low cal diets or I end up binging.
I'm now an 8 and happy. I have to run 8 miles every day or I'd be big again.
I just can't diet at all. Stressed etc I eat or have wine in evenings.
I'm such a food motivated person. I wish I wasn't.
I had my 2nd baby in Nov and made sure to buy a running buggy.
Soon as I felt ok after section, 4 months, I was running again.
I feel life is too short to not have what you want.
I want a burger. I want pizza. I want cheese and ice cream.
I don't want to eat lettuce most of time and have a burger once a month.
I hope my appetite wanes as I get older or I'm going to be a very large older woman as I doubt I'll be able to maintain running so much into old age lol

I ate too much, pure and simple.

Disability.

I used to walk everywhere and therefore could - and did - eat whatever I liked. Now I can't get down the road to the shops! I can barely make it up the stairs at bedtime.

If I need to shop I have a mobility scooter (that has been awful for piling on the weight). When I the scooter, I had intended to go to the gym to try to counter-act the inevitable, but found I couldn't afford it anyway.

I am increasingly immobile. This is part of MS and I can't do a great deal about it. If I had the funds I could probably find things that would help a bit, but I don't have the funds - we are hand to mouth here now, and racking up debt every time we eat something! Some of our current penury is COVID caused, but it is largely related to my having MS. (Yes, I get PIP. It helps a bit.)

I am looking at a long slow decline

The chain-sooking of sugary drinks.

I remember after my mum died I had just started secondary school. I'd never ever eaten breakfast even when in primary so first time I'd eat would be lunchtime. However, in secondary school, we had a vending machine. So I'd take a pound from my dad's coin stash every morning and at break time, I'd be starving and buy myself four chocolate bars...I remember they were 25p each. I was comfort eating after my mum's death but also really hungry because I hadn't had breakfast. My father and nanny (as in employed nanny not a grandma) noticed me getting fatter so banned all snacks. This made things worse as I'd come home from school and there was nothing to eat except proper food and ingredients so I'd cook myself anything I could find...bacon, potatoes, or I'd make myself cake mix from the ingredients in the fridge and cupboard and eat that which was fat more calorific than if I'd come home and had a bag of crisps.

I lost weight once I hit my late teens and became interested in fashion and boys.

Long term anti depressant use and mental health problems

Greed and DH's cooking and portions. 😉

Moving to the UK and discovering the amazing tea and cake combination😂

I can't blame my 3 stone of excess fat on abuse, illness, disability or emotional issues: I had a great childhood, am healthy and have a happy marriage and plenty of friends. I am fat because I like the taste and texture of food, and find it difficult (unless I'm asleep) to go more than 2 hours without eating something. Booze, extramarital sex, scratchcards and shopping, fortunately, are unappealing to me