Why are YOU Fat?

Ok, I just saw this thread after 15 pages, LOL.
Why I am fat, hmmm. well as a child and teen I was extremely thin even under weight. I danced and gymnastics for hours everynight. I could eat and drink and not worry about it. When I was 15 1/2 I became pregnant. (on purpous). I gained 65lbs and all the nurses and doctors only shook their heads at me instead of helping me. I never did lose the weight completely. Then we moved and I gained more weight. We moved again and I still didn't lose. Then I had another kid. When I was pregnant I actually lost weight before I gained it. Then after him I gained a little more. Then I had another child 3 years later and I gained but then when she was about 2 I got down to 145lbs. I was 25lbs away from my goal weight. Then I have no clue what happened I just started gaining again. I was on the Atkins diet to lose the weight but after trying it a bunch of different times. I guess it is true that when you go off the diet that you gain it all back and then some. My husband claims that because I was getting compliments that I figured that I didn't need to try any longer. I disagree.
I enjoyed being pregnant very much and I guess, and my fat belly resembles a pregnant belly. I have thought about this a lot, and that is my theory. I also eat when I am bord and stressed. I also have a portion control issue.
To be 100% honest, I feel like I am in a fat suit and I can't get out. I hate it! I am ready to change it and that is why I got the band, I am ready to shed the pregnant belly look. I am ready to have my slender body that I know is underneath the fat suit!
I know it sounds corny but thats my story.

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I am fat because of bad eating behavior. I will never believe it's a disease. It's my fault.

I used to eat late, used to eat crazy sized proportions because I'd skip a meal or two, sometimes just have a snack the whole day, didn't exercise and thought I could eat whatever I wanted. Truth is, I would starve my body. By eating once or twice a day, I was making my body scared. I made it store all of the food I did manage to eat, which happened to be late evenings and silly ol' me wouldn't exercise either. I was just outright..WRONG to myself. I mistreated my body and my heart.

It was poor judgement of food and bad eating behavior.

Before I decided to do the lap band, about 3 weeks prior, I got up off of my arse and started to ride my bike. I started walking and biking and drinking 2 protein shakes per day and a few bites of dinner. Before the surgery, I lost 8lbs on my own.

I look at the Lap Band as a friend. It's just a tool to help assist me in my weight loss goals. As I ride my bike on the road, I can feel the port inside...with some slight pain every now and then as I hit an incline or a bump and it reminds me of what I am really trying to accomplish.

Pain in my sides... or thorn in my arse. Hehehe...either way, it's with me, hopefully for the long run and it's like my drill sargaent.

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Telly
(Melinda)
04/11/2006 - Banded with Dr. Rumbaut
10/09/2006 - TT in Tijuana with Dr. Romero
10/04/2007 - Leaking Port or Dislodged Tubing

H-240/S-235/C-128/G-120

Hi,

Just had to post my story - very similar to some I have read - but here goes.

I had a wonderful childhood - my parents would take me to the ends of the earth for my sport - which was synchronised swimming. I exercised every day - I was thin and ate anything I wanted. Of course in every field there are different shapes - I certainly wasn't the thinnest or the biggest - but I still felt FAT.

When I gave up synchro (because of a boy!!) I stopped exercising - but carried on eating exactly the same - the weight starting to creep on. I went to my first slimming club at 16 - lost a little bit but my metabolism was screwed up so it was a struggle from then on.

I got married and had my first baby at aged 25 - I gained 3 stone - I was told it would fall off! - It never did - instead I gained another 2 stone. Had my second baby at 29 - gained a further 2 stone.

So 3 years later still carrying all that extra weight - I was 20 stone (believe me in the UK when we talk about stones - 20 is a shocker!!) That is when I decided to look into the Lap Band. I had tried many diets - I could never stick to any of them for more than 2 weeks - I tried slimming tablets Xenical - BAD reaction!!

Then on February 11th 2006 I had my lap band fitted. Since then I have lost 24 pounds, have started swimming again (its the only thing I can do!) and even did an aquafit lesson on Tuesday - my calves are killing me today!!)

This tool that we have is the only thing that has ever worked for me and I can now see me reaching my goal - it was never going to happen before.

The only sad thing is that people are starting to notice that I am losing weight and commenting on it - while this feels great I get very embarrased and blush - its like while I am fat I am invisible and now people are noticing me - its gonna take a lot to get used to.

Thanks for listening to me.

Jen

why am I fat?
Perfect timing for that question -
My mother just call yesterday and told me she had found a card I made for her back in 3rd grade for mother's day. (fyi- I was an average sized kid until I had my tonsils out in 2nd grade - and then food just tasted better - my mom's theory)
the card read:

What "MOM" means to me -
......it means homemade cookies
......it means cake and brownies
......it means lots of hugs
......it means lots of kisses
......it mean buttered popcorn and chips n dip
......it mean family but most of all it means love

My mom and I agree that those foods listed above were part of my life. My mom was always baking for us and for her demons - she was a lonely/emotional eater. I learned many bad habits from her. Unlike my life today, fast food was not part of our lives back then. We just had too many wrong foods available in our house.
Today, my problem is fast food - it is too easy. I also don't know when to stop until it is too late. (things that I am working on now :) )
I also find that my energy level is at an all time low. (working on that too- actually raked the back yard for 1 hour today - this is big!!)
My husband is very supportive and wants to work with me on change.
My oldest (11) knows my struggles and is very helpful. We had supper at Subway last night - and she told me we should cut McDonald's down to once a week. She also asked if we could do our "Mother/Daughter walk and talk" again.
Looking forward to change and better health - for me, my husband and my kids!!
Can't wait for that band.

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That's all from -
Bubbyville :thumb:


6/20/06
267/215/150

For me, My parents never tried any of that, my whole family is overweigt. When I was 14 I weighed 180 to 190 pounds. And I was well proportioned, but I felt fat even though everyone else told me I wasnt that big. When I turned 15 my thyroid began to slow down on me if not stop completely, and I gained 80 more pounds in a matter of like 4 months. And it slowly gained in numbers until now I am at 264. I am a binge eater, I go all day without eating and then at night I eat and eat. I am also addicted to fast food, which I have went without for 3 months now. I am not big on candy however I like potatoes ALOT!!! I know most of it is my fault but I still tend to blame my thyroid. I am always thinking that if the doctors ever figure out why it isnt working then they will be able to treat it and the weight will just come right back off. However, None of that has happened for 5 years, so I need to take the innitiative and do something that I know will work for me.

I feel like I did this yesterday in my psych assessment.

Why am I fat?

1. I was an active child, but when my breasts popped out as 36C at age 11, I found my balance off, and I tended to turn to reading or watching TV. Also, I found as I became heavier, boys didn't tease me about my breasts as much. I hid behind the weight.
2. Summer of 8th grade I did lose from size 13 to size 8 and maintained it for two years. Fast food my junior and senior years got me back to size 13.
3. I discovered the wonder of walking in college. I was walking to class more than I had ever walked and losing weight. I could still have pizza and beer and maintain 125 lbs.
4. Alas, a career in radio -- sitting and talking -- got me up to 285 at age 30. I did the Shaklee diet and lost 122 lbs in four months.
5. My biological clock was ringing loud at age 35, and I spent the next five years dating and searching for Mr. Right. All that fast food, restaurants, and home BBQs just added pounds back to 285.
6. My mother died in her sleep on Christmas Day when I was 39. I had lost my best friend in the family. I gained 100 lbs. (385) in next three years.
7. My boyfriend died of a heart attack at age 48. So, I felt that my dream of children and marriage was over. I gained another 65 pounds (450).
8. Finally, I finished my grief issues and got my act together. Started walking and lost 68 lbs. THEN I fell down the front steps carrying out the Thankgiving dinner, injuring my left leg. I gained back the weight, and may have a lymphedema problem with that leg now -- the doctors say it is a tumor after the CAT Scan.

So, why am I fat? Emotional eating plus not getting off my rear enough to exercise.

This was the best thread that I've read so far. I'm new to this site and just discovered it the other day and I can't keep myself off of it.

I'm planning on getting banded this summer and I've always wondered if the band could help me because I'm (like all of you) are an emotional eater. I've dwelled on my weight since elementary school (I'm now 46). I could identify with so much of everyone's story.

I was a pudgy kid and my brother and sister teased me all the time. I guess I learned to turn to food for comfort and it became my friend (even though I've always had lots of people friends). And it has been my friend ever since.

I've worried whether or not the band could help an emotional eater like myself but as I read your stories, I see that there is hope out there for me and that I can do this with the help of the people on this site. I have a three year old and I don't want her growing up with a fat Mom and thinking that it's okay to be fat. I don't want her to grow up with the turmoil that I've felt all these years. Nor do I want her to lose her Mom at an early age because I developed one of the diseases that goes along with being Severely Obese. So I'm praying that the band will help me.

Sarah
not banded yet
current weight 193
5'3"
goal 120 something (never have been there)

ok, here it goes....

I grew up chubby and my lovely sister always called me fatty and other caring and thoughtful words a sibling might say. I guess I took it literelly and made her words truthful. Even when in high school I was wearing her size 5 jeans. But that didn't last long because after she would call me fatty again, I would bloat back up to my chubby self. I allowed her words to dictate how I was going to look and feel about myself.

It is sad that when growing up I was never told that I was a great person no matter how much weight I had on me. I wish I could have been stronger and had some self esteem.

I hate blaming others for my misfortune and I am the only one to blame first of all for stuffing my face and secondly for believing the lies others were saying to me and making what they said, "truthful".

:think

evertime i come to this thread i become so emotional....i read your stories and look at my own life stories.....how we got where we are today....it is no wonder we are still standing!!!

but we are still standing and have long lives to live. saraintyler, joyceGA and others...i can not tell you what to do, but i believe the band can help you get where you need to be. i was an emotional eater big time!!!!! the band has stopped that for me, the bottom line is, if i try to eat too much, i get sick, so i stop. it is the first time in a decade that i feel like i have control over what i eat. it has literally saved my life!!!!

best of luck to all of you...feel free to pm me if you have any particular questions or just need to talk : )

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Harrisburg, PA Banded 2 Dec 05 - Dr. DiMarco
4 cc Inamed Band
1st fill - 1/9/06 - 1cc
2nd fill - 2/14/06 - .7cc (1.7cc total)
3rd fill - 9/18/06 - .3 cc (2.0 cc total)
4th unfill - 9/21/07 (-.5cc) (1.5cc total)

285 High BMI 47.4/277 Surgery BMI 46.1/168 Now BMI 28/160 Goal BMI 26.6

I started getting heavy right before I got married and it was in conjunction with symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome. I dont know whether getting PCOS helped me pack on weight or packing on weight gave me symptoms of PCOS. Doctors dont even really know for sure.Add that to my parents divorcing a few years later. The icing on the cake is when I quit smoking 1 year ago. So I have managed to gain about 140 pounds in 7 years. I feel better losing 20 pounds and not smoking then I did when I smoked and was about 50 pounds lighter than I am now.:violin:

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Because I just went to grab a few do-si-do's before sitting down to type this!

:phanvan
I was always a bit chunky as a kid, wearing size 14-16 by the end of high school. At 5'10", I was about 180 for my wedding. After a few years of marriage, I was close to 200. Then began my struggle with infertility. Three years worth of hormones and other ovarian stimulants, I was about 225 when I finally got pregnant. After a few years more, I could not get my weight under 235, and I did another IVF cycle. Got pregnant with triplets. To feed my flock during pregnancy, I was encouraged to eat alot. So, of course, I did! How nice to eat without guilt!! LOL! Well, after that pregnancy, I have not been under 245, and am currently..... 260. :omg:
I am sick and tired of always dieting. And never losing more than a few pounds, then gaining it back. I cringe at the thought of living the rest of my life this, guilty, embarassed, ashamed, stressed and depressed. So, if I can get insurance approval, I am going for it!
Jen

Most people here have faced the loss and gains repeatedly over the years. If there is one thing learned is that as hard as you try, you can loose the weight but it will, always come back. I do not think the fight is against weight but rather the fight is against your body or your brain. Your body, your brain has it's own idea as to what your weight should be and if nothing else, it has proved itself effective in beating you every time at the weight loss game.

In most other aspects regarding ones body, Genetic make up plays a crucial role in development and disease. The maintaining of a constant state of over weight may be one more thing attributable to genetics. IT is not to hard to believe that one person may metabolize fats and carbs differently then the next person.

Obesity has been found in certain Indian families and Hawaiian families further proof of genetic findings. The foods you eat play a role but in so far as keeping it off the fight is against your own body and your body usually wins. That's why the band is so useful, it leads your body to think is is the weight it should be.

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Gene Florida
Banded
03/30/04

I eat more, and move less. I often put other's needs ahead of my own. I end up eating late at night. l usually eat big portions. I don't eat often enough. I take lots of meds that add extra weight, or make me hungry.

I like exercise, but after working out for months at a time and losing 10 lbs, I get discouraged. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to have the band as my helper, my tool.

Wow, what an amazing thread! Everyone's story is so moving and inspiring!

My mom was a single parent, and I think part of my problem began as a child. She let me eat pretty much whatever and whenever I wanted. I was never very active as a kid, I preferred playing with my Barbies or reading a book over riding my bike. But despite my mom letting me have free reign of the fridge, she was hyper critical of me. She started putting me on diets at around age 7 or 8. 'You have such a pretty face', or, 'if you lose weight, I'll buy you a whole new wardrobe', she'd say. Other times, the comments were mean. When we went to pick out my first training bra (oh the horror!!), I found a nice, stretchy one that looked comfortable. Best of all, it was one size fits all. I showed it to my mom who looked at me in disgust and said, 'it says one size fits all- not one size fits all elephants!' :(

I began to slim down some as I went into junior high, and I noticed that the boys were beginning to take notice! I wanted to lose more weight, so in my freshman year, I began taking speed. I dropped another 35 lbs quickly (amazingly, mom didn't notice!), and I somehow managed to keep an A average despite being in a daze and sniffling like a coke fiend all day. This was back in the '80s, and I was doing the '20-minute workout' everyday, and working out with Richard Simmons on his tv-show every morning as well.

After high school, I began working, and was living on fast food, and beer and a ton of mixed drinks on the weekends. My weight would yo-yo up and down, and I'd try any fad diet that came along, because mom was still harping on me that I was fat. At one point (when I was about 35lbs over my ideal weight), she asked me if I was pregnant. WTH?! Anyway, I met Mr.Mommy2Kai, and we got married.

I lost about 25 lbs before our wedding, and then started gaining about 10 lbs for every year we've been married, which has been 11 years. I'm an emotional eater, and Lord knows we've had a lot of stress in our marriage. When I'm upset, I calm myself with food. Food has been my best friend for many years; it's been much better to me than drugs or booze have ever been. And, I don't exercise like I used to. A couple of months ago, I joined Curves and I've gone two times. I'm using the excuse of 'I don't have time! I don't want to get sweaty on my lunch hour/before work/after work!' I'm so busy taking care of Mr.M2K, and my son Kai that I don't ever feel like I have time for me.

At any rate, I'm ready to tell food that it can't be my best friend anymore. Oh, it can be a part of the big celebrations in life, but they won't be centered around food. And it will be there to sustain me and keep me healthy, but it's not going to be my therapist anymore. I want to see my son grow and get married and have his family, and maybe even stick around to see their family! I want to grow old with Mr.M2K, because he'd miss my nagging!

I go to my seminar on May 20, next Saturday. I'm hopeful that after that, I can get in to Dr. Malley soon, and begin my first steps on my journey to reclaim myself.

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If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.