Why are YOU Fat?

What a great thread!

I am fat beacause I LOVE food.
I am fat because I rarely exercise.
I am fat because I eat when I'm bored.
I am fat beacause I eat when I'm stressed.
I am fat beacause I eat when I'm happy.
I am fat because genetically I'm not "blessed" with "skinny genes"....both parents are fat as so are most of my relatives.
I am fat because I love going to restaurants often.
I am fat because being of Italian heritage food is considered a big priority in my family, I can still hear my mama and nonna "manga,manga" (eat,eat) or "have some more!".
I am fat because I have no idea about portion control.
I am fat beacause I think about food morning, noon and especially at night.
I am fat beacause I can't say no.

But I won't be fat forever!

I was going to go back and edit my original post, but well, I didn't feel like digging through 16 pages. :)

I'm fat because I have a brain tumor and gain weight at 1000 calories a day.

I am fat because I choose to eat...over eat and not make healthy choices.

Lifestyle more than anything else has been my problem. I had a wonderful
childhood, great mother and family. Up until the last few years I have been very active, played lots of golf and worked 100 hour weeks for 30 years. I was able to do so because I required little sleep and in general was in very good health considering my weight. .

I strongly feel that my problem was that I was on the road a lot and relied mostly on fast food (about 2/3 of all meals). I graduated from high school weghing 180 pounds From 1965 to 1988 I gained about 250 pounds. Since 1988 I am down about 30 pounds from a high of about 475. In retrospect I was gaining about 1 pound a month, that's a little over 100 calories a day.

I have a wife who also is heavy and loves to snack at night, an additional problem since seeing her eat triggered my appetite. Looking back it seems that it would have taken so little to avoid my tremendous weight gain, eliminating a piece of bread, soda etc daily would have made a huge difference.

Since 1988 I have needed to change eating habits to keep from gaining and aditional weight. At first it was eliminating the soda, then late night snacking etc. Now I eat a very heathy diet with very few refined carbs
and that is what is required simply to stay even.

I am due for Lap Band surgery soon and hopefully I can drop enough weight to start exercising so I can increase my metabolism. As you would expect I have constant back pain and joint problems.

Moving from the midwest to the Northwest has been an eye opener. There is no question that there is more emphasis here on a healthy life style. People are far more active and make better eating choices. I also now have many neighbors from their 40's to mid 80's who are extremely fit. My friends back in the midwest were all heavy, ate lots of unhealthy food and exercised little.

For years I passed the buck and simply blamed genetics and thought that poeple who were thin were simply born with "skinny genes". I am sure that helps, but my neighbors are all very disiplined about exercising and they eat very healthy diets, that more than anything else accounts for difference between us.

So friends, in my case lifestyle and lack of self disipline has been my downfall.

I got fat b/c of hunger pains. I have always had an abnormally large appetite and do not get satisfied easily. My weight has fluctuated since I was a little girl but overall I have been heavy. The only time I wasn't heavy was in college b/c I took speed to not eat at all. But the side effects were not pretty and once I got off of the drug I re-gained all of my weight that I had lost plus an additional 90 lbs. My boyfriend and family have heatlhy appetites but they can get satisfied off of normal portions while I needed much much more. When I tried to stop eating when they did I would secretly binge eat about an hr later alone and in shame. That is why the Lap Band has been such a lifesaver for me. Even though I am not anywhere near goal I have lost over 30 lbs and am not starving all day. I look forward to reaching my sweet spot and not having to worry about gaining all of the weight back AGAIN when my will power runs out. My whole life the only way I could stay at a normal weight before the band is with extreme will-power and self control which made my life miserable. It feels so nice to go to sleep and not have painful hunger all night long keeping me up. I love my band!!

~Liz~
banded 03/10/06
Dr.Ortiz
237/205/150
5'7''

Tricia K.....I have always had a tendency to gain weight "easily"I just assumed I had a slow metabolism ( I always managed to stay within a "normal" weight range through starvation and exercise) then when I was 32 my periods became irregular and I started gaining weight. I went to the doctor who did blood tests and told me my testosterone levels were elevated but it was nothing to worry about.
Between my 32nd and 38th birthdays I gained 100lbs....I had no idea how, but blamed my inactivity and love of food.
So again I went to the doctor who just told me to lose weight and my periods would get back to normal.
Then one day I was watching a current affairs show that had a story on "Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome"...a lightbulb went off in my head....I had ALL the symptoms. I went back to the doctor and told him all about PCOS, I had tests and it was confirmed I was one of millions of women with dreaded PCOS!

I thought to myself "Hallelujah!.... Now I know why I've gained so much weight, I've got PCOS, I'll have treatment or take a pill and it will go away. I was so excited that there was a "reason" behind my rapid weight gain, lethargy, excess hair growth, irregular periods and moodswings however this feeling of elation soon subsided when I asked my doctor what I should do for treatment for PCOS and he replied "Lose Weight!" AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!

Thank-you all for sharing your stories.

I can say I eat for all the same reasons but to be honest I don't really know. I love food, I can't control the amount that goes in, I eat to feel better, I eat to punish myself.

I have been banded and I am waiting for my first fill. I am sticking to the post surgery diet (4 weeks now, 2 to go) but its difficult not to grab a pack of chips or pig out on what my family is having instead of my half cup of chicken and vegatables.

Food for my is an addiction. I have kicked the habit before but then fallen off the wagon and each time its harder to get back on so the weight would come back and each time add more.

I'm hoping the band is a kind of seat belt that won't let me fall off as I don't think I could stand one more failure.

Pam:paranoid

I believe that we are fat because there are a number of factors. But the first and formost is willpower and choice. What do you all think:huytsao

Food is a good friend that has now been replaced by my new best friend, the Lap Band. I never overate. I couldn't eat large amounts of food. However, I would be on the run most of the day and remember that I forgot to eat.....then I would eat the wrong things. Lack of planning also contributed to me becoming MO. I loved to eat after everyone else went to bed. It was comforting. Now, LBT is my comfort and keeps me from eating at night.

I was so happy to hear from you yesterday and hear that everything went fine for you. You have been in my thoughts and prayers, and I thank you for keeping me in yours.

I wish you the best of luck on your band journey. I know you will do incredibly well.

Hey my friend...Tony hurt his ribs pretty bad last night and I lost all interest in the race. I don't even know who won...and don't think I care :) Did you watch it?

Take care. I'm sorry you had that PB so soon after surgery. That's about the soonest I've heard of anyone having one, so you are officially a bandster.

God Bless,
Dody

Uh thats an easy Question., Choices that I have made...................

I'm fat because I use food at a coping mechanism rather than some other healthy alternative. Add a lack of exercise and a little depression, and voila! Fat Me.

Why I am fat....LOL well there are a couple of reasons... Ever watch DR. Phil??? When I heard him say I believe people gain wieght for a reason and then to keep it on for another reason, well thats me.
When I was young I knew that my mother had a problem with her body, she thought she was fat, and her greatest fear was that would become fat... You see my fathers sisters were all over wieght. But she was not fat, she was beautiful, but never saw that in herself... When I was 9 my mom met my future step father, and there was little time spent with me... I was angry, and hurt, so I started acting out. Ate all the girl scout cookies I "sold". When they married I was 11, and changes happened. I was so angry about being ignored that I started stealing the special food mom bought for dad. Cheeze itz, Snickers, ice cream... things we never had before. My mom was so angry because I had started gaining wieght. At 12 she took me to Wieght Watchers, but I had a plan...I would eat half a can of creamed corn and put the other half in my closet so when she would search my room she would find it....When I gained wieght she pulled me out of Wieght Watchers, but I always got attention one way or another.... but then things changed. Men started noticing me, not boys, but men. And that was a problem....
When I was 2 years old, my cousin came to live with us for a couple of months in the summer. While he was there he molested me. Due to this as a child I was very permiscious. So when I was 12 everything changed .....I was not fat as a child but at 12 I looked like a woman. Men would follow me home, stop me on the street, buy things for me... I remember once sitting in the back of the truck with my 19 year old step brother and the car behind us was honking his horn. He rolled down his window and yelled can I get your phone number, I would like to take you out... My brother jumped out of the truck and was yelling at the man, she is 12 years old what the hell is wrong with you? But I know I did not look 12..... When I was 14 I met a man that was 25. As our relationship progressed I was feeling uncomfortable... the last conversation I had with this man still haunts me today, we were talking about sex, and he had found a hotel out in town (lived in Japan at the time)... And he said to me when we make love you will always be mine, forever...I completely freaked out, and never spoke to him again, but he would stalk me in the commisary...He would follow my mom and me in the next isle and sing the song he sang at the talent show, Secret Lover... I never told my mom about this, I never talked to anyone about it, but I remember this was the first time I ate a bag of Cheetos and threw up halfway threw and continued eating them till they were gone... Just internalized the fear... As time went on I noticed something, men did not look as much, with the more wieght I gained, and that was a comforting feeling... I was tired of being hurt by men, and making bad choices with them....As a senior in high school I was moved away from my family due to my mom having cancer. I gained 100 lbs that year.By the time I graduated high school, men never approached me, and I was happy about that... I was on my own, with an appartment and a job, and I stayed to myself for many years... I was hiding, my fear of being hurt emotionally and physically had taken over my life...I stayed fat to prove a point, in my stuborness I have abused my body....Now it is just painful to work out and I am LAZY!!!! Fast Food is EVIL and so Easy. I usually starve all day and eat 1 meal at night...ARGGGGGGGGG..... I have created a cage that I no longer wish to live in...BUT, I found a man that loves me for who I am. We were married last Halloween (2005) LOL... now I just need to get approval from the insurance for the BAND... One side note, I just found out a week ago I have diabetes and I think I have PCOS too but I feel much better now that I am on drugs. I dont feel tired and sick all day!!!! Now I just need to get my fat arse to the gym!!!!
SOOO SORRY IT WAS SO LONG...

I just wanted to say Hi, I am new here, and trying to see if I set everything up right. I dont know how to get that ticker thing downloaded right. Anyway, I sooo relate to what you have said. My struggle right now is that I am at the end of my ropes with the insurance. I have been going to the Dr for about 11 mos now and my insurance has used so many delay tactics. Last month, I gave up, gained a few pounds, and was told that even if my insurance okayd the surgery, the surgeons would say no because I screwed up and arent proving that I am serious. Here is the thing though. I have never ever ever been as healthy as I am now. I actually like water!!??? I make healthier eating choices, I am not getting the weight off like I used to. I swear I hit 30 and it is so hard. I never believed everyone. I know I did some stupid crap to loose weight in the past before, which I am paying for now. At least I can say I learned my lesson the hard way. I have never been this big, and for the first time in my life I actually love myself, and think I am hot. LOL. Thats a whole other discussion.. Anyways,, My thing I think I wanted to bring up while I was aimlessly ranting, is that, I freak out before my monthly weigh in. I do good all month, then like 5 days before I have to go get on the scale and answer what I have been eating, I binge. WTF?? Its making me want to just say forget it all. Now after all this time, I dont know what to do. All my insurance co. wants now is a letter from the surgeon. Which the surgeon tells me is not protocol, and is just another delay tactic. Ive done everything a good lap band wanna be should. The psych consult, dietician, exercise class, monthly weigh ins. I guess I am glad I found this site. Hopefully reading all of your posts will help me make a final decision.
Sorry for going on in 8 different directions, I could seriously write a book here with all I have to say!!!

Why am I fat?
Oh, the stories...like so many of you, there was abuse and neglect. I thought I was huge because I had a sister who was slightly built and I was regular.
Food is an institution to me. I know more about how and where and why we eat than anyone else I know. FoodTV was created for me. I could have written the programming when it first hit the air 10 years ago.
More interestingly, in my quest for the band and getting my head shrunk a few times a month I've gotten over my depression that I would have to give up my history of all things food. Certainly my relationship with food will change, but even if I tried I couldn't forget the trivia I've learned or the consideration of the social impact food has on humans...and with the band I don't need to. It made me very sad thinking that it would all come to an end.
Anyway, thanks all for sharing.