I have been looking through this site for a while and I have posted my story on as well. I am a very large girl officially classed as mobidly obese. I am in the process of seeing if I can get funding for Gastric Banding surgery.

Whilst looking through people's posts there seems to be alot said about the reasons why people may be fat. Some people have mentioned the word Gluttony, many have talked about having to solve the issues inside you before dealing with the outside. Some have said about people will loose weight if you just exercise and eat the correct food.

I was just wondering what people really think has made them fat.

Me personally, I don't have any 'issues' that need to be dealt with that has made me overeat, as a child I was chubby and I have gotten bigger over the years. I weight about 23 stone now and I am nearly 24 years old. I love chocolate.

I haven't been able to exercise in the way in which I would like to anymore (I used to be active when younger, badminton, horse riding, swimming etc, yet was still 'bigger' than average) due to severe Epilpesy and being diagnosed with Idiopathic Intercranial Hypertension. I would if I was able to. For me the surgery is a way to perhapes help me cope with illnesses I have better, I cope pretty well now, but of course being big means extra problems which I could do without.

I am fat becuase I loved chocolate. I am fussy with any other type of food (only eat chicken, no other meat at all) and chocolate is my downfall.

How much in weight is 23 stones. In pounds.

I don't know...alot though!

I, too have been fat. I am still fat I consider as I still have about 35 pounds to lose. I am fat because I choose to eat. I am fat because I have no will power. I am fat because it is easier to be fat and lazy than watch what I eat. This way I can eat all I want to. It is called comfort food. I am fat because I have issues. Anyone who says they do not have issues is fooling themselves.

Before I started dieting I was up to a size 26 pants. Now that is hefty. I am probably between 5' 8" and 5' 9". Both you and I know how fat people kid themselves just like you told me you did not know how much stones weighed. You are again fooling yourself. You just do not want to put the weight down. Will I will up you one. When I started I weighed a good 273 pounds. I am now down to a sexy size 18 and about 193. I still want to go lower. No, I will say that again. With God's help I will go lower. I never say I will, I say with the Almighty help. I am not overly religious. My husband always loved me. Now he goes crazy for me. We have the most wonderful sex life in the world and now I seriously know why I got thin. Will I ever give this up and get fat again. Lord No. When hell freezes over. What we have I would never trade for a chocolate bar or pizza. Food really does not tempt me anymore. I stay busy. My next goal is the next 10 pounds. Losing what I have I no longer need the comfort food. I would never have the stomach band surguery. I know people who have gained weight back on it and it is a cope out. All you are saying are cop outs. I have problems to but you are playing your own game. All the reasons why you do not want to get serious about yourself.

I am not being mean but there is no fast remedy for what you and I have done. I have been working on it since January. BUT when I put on those slinky three short and skimpy nighties purchased from the top sexy place around for $180 which barely cover me and go in to my husband it is all worth it.

Just a few ideas of why I do not plan on ever gaining it back and still losing more. People are always here to help.

be careful with that type off surgery do your homework. ive heard alot of bad things about that, and if you want it done do it for you and not your boyfriend ect.... good luck hope you find happiness...

I believe a stone is 14 lbs, so Bonnie is a large girl. Best of luck Bonnie.

I'm fat for many reasons ... many within my control, some not within my control:

Genetics
Underactive thyroid
Too much food
Not enough exercise
Love to cook, but too lazy and/or busy to do it every day.
I'm a stress eater

I've been heavy since childhood. I was a serious but non-competitive figure skater as a kid, skating 12 hours a week when school was in session and 20 hours a week when it wasn't. My school required phys-ed classes 3 times a week. I also loved to bike ride and swim and did it regularly. Often getting up at 5am to bicycle for exercise before school. Yet, despite all the activity, I was 170lbs when I graduated high school. I'm only 5'5". Once I finished college and started working 40 hour weeks, it was in evitiable that my activity level went down and the weight went up.

I'm a bit over 250 lbs now, but still fairly active. I skate w/ my kids, I can walk forever. I have no desire for weight loss surgery and I doubt I'd qualify as I do not have any of the co-morbidities -- normal blood pressure, no diabetes, no joint pain, normal cholesterol. I'm 46 years old, so it's not that "youth is on my side".

My grandmother lived to be 96 and was always 50-75 lbs overwieght and in old-age her only medical problem was pernicious anemia, treated w/ a monthly shot of one of the B vitamins (I forget which one), so I guess in THAT respect, I have 'good genes'.

And before anybody jumps to tell me that genetics is a myth and it's a learned behavior ... I have one adopted child and one biological child so I have the whole nature/nurture thing going on and when it comes to food, they are DRAMATICALLY different. Both were fed the same way as babies, yet as they got older ... the adopted one prefers to eat PLAIN veggies and fruit. He'll eat any veggie you put in front of him, as long as it's simply cooked w/ no sauces and by itself. He eats some meat (but is picky) and cheese. He'll eat a small serving of starch, such as rice or pasta, but never asks for 2nds on that, often leaving it on his plate, barely touched. He likes his sweets, but he'll more often ask for an apple or a cucumber for snack than something sweet. And I need to set limits when it comes to Clementines ... if I don't monitor it, he'll single-handedly eat an entire 5lb box in two days!! When it comes to activity ... he's a natural athlete, and loves to compete ... he can focus on school work and on some days would watch TV for hours if I let him ...

My bio child eats NO cooked veggies but potatoes ... she'll eat raw carrots, brocolli, lettuce and cucumbers. Her favorite "meal" is a bowl of rice or pasta (plain is fine, as long as it's starch). She LOVE all meats and will rarely eat a peice of fruit. She loves sweets, begs for them, and was sneaking them out of the kitchen (she's six) --- I stopped buying them for that reason. She's getting chunky. She LOVES to dance and skate and go to gymnastics, but she just doesn't move as much as her brother. When she plays outside, she's likley to sit on the sidewalk and make chalk pictures or play 'house' with her dolls and neighborhood kids. She rides a bike, but slowly, not worrying about speed.

So it is about the NATURE of the child, not only how they are taught.

Speaking for myself, I do want to get some weight off and like half the people in industrialized nations world wide, I'll try, AGAIN, to do that after the first of the year.

Well 10 stones is 140 pounds but the page doesn't say how to convert or go any higher.
Anyway, I got fat in 2001, I got very sick and I went into the hospital weighing 136 came out at 122 (my weight until a year before that) and I had to take steroids, I have ulcerative colitis, well I had to take them for eight months, and steroids put the weight on. I have never eaten much, nor do I eat bad. However with colits I cannot eat any veggies, except potates, or very many fruits, which is what I lived on before. I was so sick for those few months that I couldnt' do anthing, I was stuck in bed for almost 2 months, so for that time I was gaining weight pretty fast. I literally gained 40lbs overnight. Anyway, I got up a good ways higher than that. And I finally started losing it and then got sick and had to take steriods again, so I put that back on. Well then again i started losing it, and got pregnant! But I only gained 28lbs while I was pregnant, and 10lbs of that in the last 5weeks after I had some early labor I started retaining water really badly. So after I lost the baby I lost most of that. Within two weeks I had lost the baby weight, and have lost 62lbs since the baby came 6 months ago, I have a long weigh to go though. I didnt' get fat from eating badly or too much, I don't eat much at all, and I drink mostly water. But, until recently I had been to sick to do much exercising. I always had this feeling that after I had a baby it would be easy to lose weight, and I was right. I am down to a 12 in most things, but I still have a ways to go, most of the weight is in my chest I am still having to wear maternity bras, because my chest will not get any smaller.

If 1 stone is 14 pounds and 10 stones is 140 pounds then 23 stones is 322 pounsd (23 times 14).

Let's see...

I am fat b/c I don't watch what I eat. I am fat b/c I don't exercise AT ALL. I am fat b/c I eat when I get bored and have ZERO willpower or discipline. I don't have any personal issues except the fact that I am fat.

I never thought I would use the word "fat" to describe myself, but now, I do. My weight has been as low as 120 and as high as 170. I am now approximately 185 pounds and 5'6". At 170, I was like "I need to lose some weight". But being 185, I can REALLY SEE that I am fat. And I hate it. I absolutely hate it. Posting/realizing this is so ironic for me b/c I have read testimonials here and in other places about people saying "I'm so fat!! I hate looking at myself in the mirror!! I'm depressed b/c I'm fat!! I hate buying clothes!!", and I just didn't understand how their weight could make them feel that way. I now find myself saying and feeling those same things, and I never thought I would. I now know how those people felt. It's not a good feeling. I feel like I have let myself down. Physically, it has taken a toll on my body. Even though I feel this way, I do know one thing-only I have control over what my body looks like and how much I weigh. Only I can make the weight go away, and nobody else can. And knowing that gives me hope. I just have to believe in myself and tell myself "I can do this". I am "starting over" in January. I AM going to lose these 50+ pounds. I AM going to look good. I AM going to feel better than I have ever felt. I am 34. My dad had a heart attack when he was 38, and that fact is never far from my mind.

I am fat because I also have no will power. I do have alot of stress in my life and I am an emotional eater. I actually do most of my eating out of boredom. I am very rarely hungry. I know I have some issues I need to deal with, but i don't want to say my problems are why I eat alot...I actually don't undersatnd why I overeat.

I am not fat(have lost 20 lbs several years ago) and believe that the obesity problem is so simple but everyone wants to make it seem so complex...pure and simple...human beings are eating food that a human was never meant to consume. Food is addictive...the more refined carbs we consume...the more we want to consume. When these refined carbs are not eaten, the uncontrollable urge to eat this goes away! A human's digestive system was not meant to eat this stuff! I've never seen a doughnut growing on this Earth...have you?

I'm fat because I can't keep my mouth shut. My mother was fat, too. Whenever I cut back and started to lose weight, she'd tell me that I wasn't going to succeed and cooked everthing she could that would sabotage my diet. I was 11 or 12, and I couldn't go to a Fast Food place because back then, nothing on the menu was healthy. And when I asked my mom about cooking something not so fattening, I got the standard "You'll eat what I put on the table and be damn happy about it."

I think that I've finally taken my life back. I've lost 35 pounds so far, so I'm at 25% of what I want to lose. Whenever I was sad or happy, food was my comfort. Not anymore.

wb

I really dont know why I am fat...maybe because I have no drive. I would love to wear the cute little clothes in the summer and to go the beach with my friends and to have a stedy boyfriend, but that will never happen....with me being as fat as I am. I am very down most of the time. I worry about things all the time and I have never had a true boyfriend (except middle school when i was slimmer). I try to act like I am fierce and like I have never had any problems but clearly that is an academy award winning performance. I am fat because Food is my best friend....no matter what happens it will be there...and that is an addiction in itself.

Danni -

I've learned that in order for someone to lose weight, they are going to have to decide that they want to do it. I've tried so many diets and such, but never counted that extra sour cream I used, etc. But now, I've decided that it just has to be done. I've lost 35 pounds and need to lose 100 more, but I'm finally moving in the right direction.

wb

I would love to wear the cute little clothes in the summer and to go the beach with my friends and to have a stedy boyfriend, but that will never happen....with me being as fat as I am. I am very down most of the time. I worry about things all the time and I have never had a true boyfriend

Please don't let this become a self-fulfilling prophecy. You are more than your weight. Don't try to think about 'cute little clothes'. The worst thing a large person can do is try to squeeze into clothes designed for people w/ tiny chests and flat butts ... find clothes that FIT and ignore the size tags. Also, when it comes to boyfriends .... large women DO have boyfriends, they DO find love and wedding dresses come in PLUS sizes. ;)

I am fat because Food is my best friend....no matter what happens it will be there...and that is an addiction in itself.
You are right about that ... but recognizing that can be the first step to doing something about it. ((hugs)) to you.

Both of my parents were very abusive (but not sexually, just physically and stuff), so I put on a lot of weight when I was about 7. Before this, I was a skinny kid, but I got too depressed and I would watch tv and eat all day. From there, I'd go about 3 years fat, 3 years thin, 3 fat...

When I was 19 I was put on medication and diagnosed w/ ptsd from my childhood (the abuse happened until I left home on my 18th birthday). I was gaining weight anyway at this time, and I went from about 150 to 190 before the medication after I moved out. In less than a year, I was up to 280lbs. I would just eat and eat. I didn't enjoy it then (I love food now!), but I'd eat 6 or 7 candy bars in one sitting, while I was half-asleep. I thought that I did like it, but I realized while doing it that I just couldn't wait to finish all 7 bars so I could stop. I just ate so much... I managed to get back down to about 235, and my eating habits are good now. I still eat a lot of the things I like.

Now, my meds don't cause much weight gain, but I really hate to exercise. I'd rather starve than exercise, if I had to choose. I truely enjoy eating now, though. I know that I'm extremely unhealthy (bone-wise, I have a small frame, and I get more bone and joint stress than I would if I were big-boned).

I can't blame just my past, though, because it was my choice to turn to food for comfort. It doesn't help that it tastes good, though!

I'm fat because my childhood was lacking a ton of "should've been there" love and affection. My mother gave me a cupcake instead of giving me a hug. I therefore, learned to eat for comfort. As a family, we celebrated birthdays, holidays, outings, vacations, stressful times, angry times, and bored times with food.....we would eat the worst foods when we were at the happiest times...and the even more horrible foods when we were at our lowest times.

It kind of spun off from there and I carried and still carry these habits and up-bringings. I have absolutely nothing wrong with me, I have no heath problems, I have no history of obesity. I am an emotional eater. Food is my #1 love.

NOW : I used to think I was HUGE when I was 175. Now i'm at 205. I was up to 225 a few weeks ago, barely fitting into an 18 Woman.....but I think my head started to screw on straight for once. Things started to make sense and I realized that my weight problem is completely mental with me. Food is no longer my #1.

This is why I am fat.

20lbs down.

newbie chiming :wave: in , , ,

I learned to use food the way an alcoholic/smoker uses booze/ciggy's, to relieve stress. Think they refer to it as an "emotional eater". My father was also a VERY negative person. He always told me what I did wrong, not what I did RIGHT. So I've always struggled with self esteem issues too.

Yes, I'm weak & I have little self-control. But I don't think DIETS are the way to go either, I believe that only a H*U*G*E life-style CHANGE can help someone like me, who's been 80-100 pounds overweight for more than 25 years. I'm 46. I just haven't found the key to my sucsess YET,,,

I enjoy good food & I eat too much of it. Yet there ARE times, when I find my inner-self :nono:ing the OUTER-self, who is mounding that 3rd bowl of ice cream , , , , , , ,

GLAD :D I found you all

Body Image

That is part of my problem. I am fat because like others, I like my relationship with food. I enjoy eating what I like when I like and how I like. And because I need to exercise more but can't due to health issues (fibromyalgia and a rare nerve problem with my abdominal wall). But I am working on getting more excercise. Part of the issue is that I feel like in order to sucessfully lose weight I would have to obcess about food. My mom lost 120 pounds a few years ago. She joined weight watchers. She keeps it off by obcessing over food. What she ate, what she can eat, what she will eat. I don't want to have to be like that.

Now body image is a big issue for me. When I look in the mirror I do not automatically see a fat person. In some ways I have the opposite problem someone with anorexia does. I just see me and I don't see myself like I really am. The me I see is a lot thinner than I really am. She looks good. She has nice curves and great boobs. She is not morbidly obese.

The problem is that I am morbidly obese. I am 5'8" and I weight 268 pounds which I think is aprox 19 stone. I have a spare tire or two and a double chin and a fat face. I am fat. I have heavy thighs and arms and a huge belly and stretch marks. Somtimes when I look in the mirror I look at my stomach and wonder how it got so big.

I struggle with motivation to change. I have a wonderful fiance, great sex life, like my relationship with food. Exercise is not related to diet. With my health issues and also with a learing disability I sometimes feel like there is already so much I have to control- medication, sleep, job issues, academic issues, etc. Why should I add one more thing, one really big thing, to my life. Why make things harder?

But I know better. I know that the weight is bad for my health. My doctors tell me so. It will be better for the fibro and the GERD and the nerve problem if I lose weight. It doesn't matter that these are the issues which contributed to my gaining some of the weight, it still needs to be lost.

If I want to have kids in a few years, I should lose weight. That is a big one. In order to wear cuter clothes, weight loss would be nice.

I am considering the lap bad in the future. But first I think I should try it on my own.

Before I have lost weight, about 30 pounds, the good old fashioned way with diet and excercise. Then I got rid of H Pylori and got off my antidepressants... well the combination was fatal for my physique.

What I learned then was that I need to find motivation. For me it is key to address my body image issues. that means I need a more realistic body image. Not a bad one, just an accurate one. I found that shocking myself helped. I would find pictures of myself that showed me looking fat and put those by the mirror. Another thing I would do is get magazines and so forth with before and after pictures with people who have had dramatic weight loss. I would read the stories for motivation. And I would cut out the before pictures and put those by the mirrior or fridge too because I also did not want to look like that.

And after I had lost 15 pounds and then 20 and so forth I would take pictures of myself and compare those to the fatter pictures. I liked what I saw. That really helped me out, I think. It helped me get an accurate idea of what my body was like and what I could accomplish. Looking at skinny models does nothing for me in terms of either. But just looking in the mirror doesn't help either because I don't really see what I look like unless I work at it.

And then I would make a list of reasons why I had to lose weight. For health, for whatever. To decrease the thigh chaffing when I did exercise. To fit into that pink dress. To pick up cute guys in bars. To lower my blood pressure. And focus on that rather on the cake.

i first became fat after a course of steroids aged 8. before that i was an atheletic tall slim young girl. gorgeous if you will.

the weight ballooned over a year and its frightening to see the photos and difference in just 12 months.

then as i got older i went through a particularly traumatic relationship which was very violent and psychologically destroying, i turned to food, then therapy, then drugs and lost a LOAD of weight and was gorgeous again. as soon as i stopped drugs, the weight came back.

now im doing it the right way. healthy eating, exercise and now xenical :D

I was kinda overweight when I was a kid. Not terribly overweight, just a bit above average weight. I was fairly normal though. I remember always thinking that I needed to lose weight when I was 10 or 12 years old, but I look at those pictures and I was really a normal-looking kid.

When I hit 18 years old, I was in two bad car accidents (neither were my fault, I just had a very unlucky year), and this hurt my back. My back did eventually heal, but for a while it was so hard for me to walk. It still is hard to walk but not as much. I gained about 100 lbs within a year from this very limited mobility.

I could not get that weight off afterwards because I couldn't exercise well. Now, 8 years later, I think my back pain is manageable so I'm going to add more exercise.

I have very good willpower, though. I've been on 1000-1200 calorie diets for 8 months, no cheating. Lost some weight but seriously stalled. I was on four other similarly restrictive diets for about 5 years. Long-term diets, each lasting longer than half a year. No cheating, ever. I vividly remember being starving and sitting in an italian restaurant with some friends who were eating this really lovely pizza. I drank water and had a salad with no dressing. It was a test of will, and I won.

But I hate eating like that. I love pizza and fatty foods, and part of me thinks that if I had to choose between eating great food and dying 10 years earlier.... well... :nono: Like I said, it's only part of me.

Now I'm concentrating on portion sizes and exercise. I truly think exercise is the key, since I've restricted diet so much with only small loss.