Thread: Why are you the way you are?

I got to 200 lbs before I realized that I was obese. It goes on so slowly that a few years go by and the weight goes up a little and then a little more until one day.....whoosh, I'm suddenly FAT! I don't eat junk food and I don't drink sodas. I do enjoy a pizza once in a while but generally I eat good home-cooked food. My serious weaknesses are probably potatoes and chocolate. I love roast potatoes and creamy mashed potatoes with a meal and I always allow myself a couple of squares of chocolate after my dinner at night. I'll drink an occasional glass of wine with a special meal but generally I'm not a drinker and I consider that I eat pretty well. But I obviously just eat TOO MUCH!! So, I have to get the weight off and then reduce my food intake in the future to ensure that I do't end up at 200lbs again. Nobody else is going to do this for me. I am the one who is in charge of my life and I am the one who will have to take the responsibility. I have the inner strength to do this.

Reading P& I sealed the deal for me so I know.
Mine is congenital. My mothers side has malfunctioning Diencephalons. this is usually stressed by adolescence. In my case it was set off by the child abuse that caused me to have epilepsy. Then I compounded the error by hating myself and going on forced fasts and lots of exercise. the harder i worked to "fix" me the worse it got and because society at large agrees with what I did i didnt know any better. Now i do.

Growing up with a single father and only child we seldom had balanced meals, we ate what we liked. Pizza, subway, take out and local place that my father frequented. As I got out on my own I continued to just eat what I liked...and plenty of it. I LOVE my food. As my family started growing I started doing my best at more balanced dinners so that got better somewhat but my love of food and sweets of ll kinds coupled with quitting smoking years ago has just piled on the pounds.

When it comes down to it, a whole entire 1 lb bag of m&ms eaten at one sitting shows in my size.

For me the struggle is eating to live and not living to eat.

My issue has always been self-discipline. I was heavy most of the time growing up and had a lousy self image. At one point we moved to a new town and I spent almost a year without a single friend outside of my family. After high-school I got down to about 165 but quickly gained 30 pounds after I got married in 1994. I rocked along for several years until I took a new job in 1999. This had me eating at restaurants several times a week. That old lack of self discipline sprang up again and I ballooned to over 200. I haven't been below 200 in over 10 years. In 2006 I got on a workout kick and lost to about 223 but gained to 256 (my largest weight) in February 2010.

Now, thanks to HCG, I'm poised to be in onederland this time next week. Never to return to the dreaded 200's

Growing up food was hard to come by so my Mom bought what was cheapest, mostly starches. Nothing for our dinner to consist of a box of Mac n cheese, black eyed peas and cornbread. I never "learned" to eat healthy. Fruits and vegetables especially fresh were beyond our budget. Sad to eat healthy costs more then to not financially when in every other way the cost is greater to not! I was over 200 pounds for my 18th birthday. I was 220 by the time I was 20 and then my body seemed to land on 232 and stay there most of my adult life. Til my parents died. I lost my Mom and Dad 11 months apart and that pushed me over the edge, the depression and loneliness allowed me to let my eating to go nuts and I gained up to 250. I managed to loose 30 pounds on my own but could never break that 220 barrier, it was a wall until I found HCG. After my first round and 23 pounds gone I am stabilizing well at 201. Looking forward to my next round and seeing Onderland for the first time in 15 years! All that said for me being uneducated in how to eat healthy and emotional eating were how I ended up where I am today.

Wow. After reading everyone's response, I'm amazed. Isn't it interesting that people from all over the world who don't know each other, have LOTS of things in common! What's incredible to me is, the secret of obesity. No one ever wants to talk about and we take on shame from it. We try to keep it hidden, in the dark, so that we can protect ourselves. I guess this creates a vicious circle to keep us in bondage. Although I have lost all of my weight before, this is the first time that I have ever been so open about. (Even if it is to a group of complete strangers.) I believe that one of my biggest keys to my success, is having a place to just "put it all out there and be honest." This is a great place to do that as I feel no judgement.

I was adopted as an infant and honestly had a great set of parents. I was an only child and grew up in a minister's family. Yea, I know, I was the preacher's kid.....you have all been warned about us! Anyway, my dad was a pastor as well as an evangelist, so he was out of town quite a bit. He traveled the world alot and many times I went along as well. My dad came from a family where he was the oldest of 9. They were poorer than dirt and had hardly any food. So, his way of showing me love, was to feed me. We always had good ole home cooked southern meals that my mom would cook, and several times a day, treats from dad. I see now that I paralleled food with love. I was always a little chubby but was happy. I got married very young (17) to my soul mate. When I got pregnant, I gained 85 lbs with my daughter. I listened to everyone tell me, "don't worry about it, as soon as you have the baby, it will just fall off." This couldn't have been further from the truth. Four and a half years later, I had our second daughter and gained 35 lbs. I began thinking about my life in 1999 and decided it was time for a change. All in one day, I quit smoking, joined the Y, and started the Atkins diet. I became obsessed. I dropped 150 lbs in about 18 months and felt great. I became a fitness instructor and started teaching at the Y, Norton's hospital, and University of Louisville. I eat, breathed and slept fitness. I was overboard in the opposite direction. Didn't eat a carb for about 3 years. (God only knows what I did to my body) I was in a car accident and hurt my back and my neck, so teaching was out of the question. It was just way too much stress on my body. It probably took me about 18 months to put all of the weight back on. I remember being embarrassed to see family and friends who you don't see very often. I could see the shock in their face even though they tried to hide it. I was shamed. I was a failure. (I am type A personality and a perfectionist so this was not an option) I look back now and see that when I am happy, I am gaining. I celebrate with food. The last few years have changed for me though. Food is no longer and idol in my life. I don't know how this happened or if it is hormonal, but the switch has been turned off. I can regulate my body weight well now....I just can't get the weight off.

I guess, after all this, my prayer is that, "Please God, let this be the answer."

I'm a stress eater. I'm a foodie. I love to cook. I eat when I'm happy, sad, nervous. I love to eat! I love to cook good food. You name it, my southern family was all about "getting down" in the kitchen.

I own my own business and I can tell you that since being on this diet for 2 weeks- I can identify triggers, which is amazing to me. After I do a bridal party, even though its a happy day, it's a lot more stressful than I thought and all I want to do is have some "comfort food." I have found after weddings is the biggest time when I want to eat. (Or even seeing clients in general) Why that is I have no idea. I will have to visit that and ponder that a bit more.

I am learning a lot about myself on this journey.

I always had to watch my weight but I was always pretty active growing up. In my mid to late 20's I got down super thin and muscular with phen/phen (anyone remember that? ) Loved Phen Phen...!!

But opening my business took a toll on me in more ways than one. I have had some major success with my biz (am in the October issue of InStyle mag) but it has really affected my weight and overall health. And now instead of taking care of others, it's time to take care of ME!

So overall I must learn not to eat when stressed. But will you ever be cured of that? I wonder.