Why are you fat? Time for honesty!

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COVID19 has brought obesity to attention. The greater risk of becoming seriously ill or dying with COVID19 if you are overweight cannot be denied.
64% of the UK is overweight or obese yet many seem to be in denial or not aware that they are in fact overweight.
Time for honesty- if you are overweight or obese, why? Is it will power? Money reasons? Lack of knowledge of health eating?
Have you been in denial about your weight? Has coronavirus alerted you to the fact you are indeed overweight?
I am speaking from experience as I was in denial for years - thought I could eat anything I wanted and didn’t put on weight. It wasn’t until I went with the friend to a WW meeting (only went to keep her company as she didn’t want to go on her own) and I got weighed and was shocked that actually I was overweight be a good 2 stone!
So- why are you fat and are you going to bother to do anything about it?

I eat when I'm happy,i eat when I'm sad.

I over eat, eat too much carbs and eat late at night. I've been on antidepressants for over a decade.

I know this is going to kill me but even that doesnt prompt me into doing anything. I'm sad and fat.

* I suspect the biggest markup is on crap foods full of sugar so the supermarkets want to sell us that.*

Surely if price has increased - then this is not an inducement to buy?

@PrincessConsueIaBananaHammock

Exactly my point. It’s not about “liking food”. It’s about liking food that is high calorie and high fat and that combo tends to be... chocolate, crisps etc

I'm not massively overweight but could do with losing a stone and a half.

I love food. I love carbs (especially pizza). I love wine. The three go perfectly together.

My life was utterly shit for a couple of years and I stopped caring about myself. Lost control, focus and drive to eat well. I stopped exercising - I used to run, but can't even walk very far at the moment due to my weight. I existed on crap food, takeaways, cakes and biscuits, and alcohol. Tried to suppress my feelings with food.

Fair to say I was in a dark place.

I got help for my mental health and a year on I'm ready to tackle the 5st+ weight gain and so I'm starting with a weight loss support group on Tuesday. Offered by the NHS (not WW or SW). My GP has been great.

I don’t drink alcohol
I don’t smoke
I don’t take any drugs, prescribed or otherwise
I do not go out, I am an antisocial introvert
I have a very stressful job
I have had 2 children
I have had horrendous things happen to me in the last 15 years.

I enjoy food. It gives me pleasure. It is everywhere I go,
it holds a prominent social link to friends and family for me.

We meet up, we eat. I have a tiny group of friends that I have had for 20 years +.
It is my one most dominating thought for most of the time.

It has taken years to get to this size, a million contributing factors and as many opposing forces to halt it.

It is my most challenging fight every single day.

I'm fat because I eat too much. Much like most (but not all) fat people. Not sure I understand the point of this thread.

Yes I'm fat. I love eating, cooking, talking about and sharing food.

I'm also not as active as I should be.

It only takes a 100 calories a day over (a few extra mouthfuls) to put on a pound every month. That's 12lbs a year!

It creeps on slowly.

I had to make a conscious effort to eat less and I hate it. Im aiming for a few mouthfuls less each day to loose the 12 lbs a year.

It works. Over the last 18 months I've lost nearly 1.5 stone.

I've swapped all my dinner plates for 9inch ones so it looks the same.

Last night 9pm and the night before I was fantasising about grated cheese so I ate a whole bowl full - at 9pm! My mind doesn’t stop until I eat the food I’m thinking about. It’s an addiction 100%. I think about food every hour of the day. I’ve gone from a size 10 to a 14-16 in the last 10 years. I literally have no will power and my double chins are getting bigger by the day 😂😂

I eat too much
Drink to much
Don't move enough
Also, l love food

I’ve got binge eating disorder.

I got my head together a few years ago partly by reading brain over binge by Kathryn Hansen and lost 6 stone and physically felt and looked much better however the respite from the eating disorder voice was the best thing ever. I’ve slipped a bit since then and have really struggled in lockdown.

To me the eating disorder voice (which has been created by repeatedly binge eating) is something I really fear, it’s like a physical sensation and I guess a similar feeling to what smokers feel when they need a cigarette. Thing is you can’t give up food so everyday is a challenge, especially when I’m out of routine.

I simply love food! I love cooking. I love trying new recipes and cooking for my family. I love restaurants. I love deciding which restaurant and choosing off the menu. I love rich sauces, butter, cream, dressings, cheese. Growing up we had basic meals and there was never enough. So as soon as I had my own income and discovered Italian, Indian, Chinese... well you get the picture! Oh I love wine too!

Surely if price has increased - then this is not an inducement to buy? @Sodamncold thats not what mark up means. Mark up is the difference between what they pay for the food and what they sell it for. The margin for profit.

I've been overweight since my teens. I overeat and I am an emotional eater. I also hate exercise. I've been 13st for about 15yrs so whilst I'm not a healthy weight, I'm not putting weight on, I'm maintaining.
I'd like to be slim but living on salads and water is just too depressing to me.

"My portions are too big - I weighed the amount of muesli suggested on the carton and I pour about three times as much into my bowl."

I was doing the same with muesli and I'm not fat nor do I generally eat portions that are too big. I think muesli despite being healthy is very calorie dense and it's difficult to get a good enough portion without it being very high in calorie.

I think the media tends to perpetuate this view that people who are very overweight eat when they’re depressed.. therefore they must be very depressed people. I don’t think that’s really true. Sure I eat when I’m depressed but I also eat when I’m happy and every other emotion just because I love eating! In fact I’m not even sure my eating is linked to my emotions at all, I just love food. It’s that simple for me!

@MarkRuffaloCrumble

Yes I get that.

But there’s been fair bit of talk on mumsnet about supermarkets marking up prices to take advantage of corona (I don’t see this at all, there’s just not the usual proliferation of offers).

Thank you for this thread op, we should me more honest (with ourselves as much as anything) about why we're fat instead of the often repeated message that it's not our fault. For the most part, it is our fault.

I'm fat because I eat to much. That's it. Nothing more complicated than that.
Food is so delicious, I eat more than I should. I bet if food all tasted disgusting nobody would be fat.

I'm about 7 stone overweight. I'm disgusted by it as I lost it all on ww then put it all back on again. I was just thinking while reading this, how embarrassed I'd be if the overweight people had been classed as high risk and made to stay home for 12 weeks. I'd be mortified. That's enough to make me want to lose it for good

@KenDodd
You said it - I too am fat because I eat too much. Food is delicious.
If I'm feeling a bit down ( and life hasn't been great ) I'll give myself a treat.
Sweet or savoury - I like most things.
Since lockdown the fridge and pantry are too near.
I must use my willpower. Saying I have no willpower is self fulfilling.
I even tried hypnosis. It didn't work but I think perhaps the hypnotist wasn't great.

@Finewine1976

Isn’t the very hard scientific evidence of the much higher risk to obese people to corona (and indeed and a huge number of other very serious illnesses and conditions) enough? Genuine question.

I eat too much. I eat healthily but too much of it.

I used to keep weight gain in check with exercise, but then I had a baby & it’s less easily done. Luckily I’m not that overweight, and have only gained it in the last year, so I’m not long-term overweight and it should be easy enough to lose once my snacking’s under control.

"I eat too much. I eat healthily but too much of it."

No offence, but I don't quite get this. Fruit and veg is so low in calorie with a few exceptions, I don't see how someone can become overweight on it. You'd have to be eating sacks of lettuce to get fat.

Yes @sodamncold it is enough. I think the thought that colleagues could have been discussing overweight people, saying "WELL fine wine is overweight she needs to be home" is worse. It's embarrassing, it's not something you can't help like underlying health issues. It's a greed.

@planningaheadtoday that’s bloody scary when you think about it isn’t it! How much can be gained in a year by being just 100 calories over your needs each day. I bet that’s how it happens for lots of people. All of a sudden you realise you’re nearly a stone heavier than you were last year and it’s just from that each day.