I became obese in my twenties. I really don't know why. So I would love to hear form the crowd, form those patients who were not obese for virtually their entire lives. What is it that caused you to become obese? Thanks for sharing. I am trying to figure out why I became obese and your answers may help me to find the answer.

Pregnancy with my son (only child) 22 years ago. Haven't been under 200 since then

Same here I struggled with my weight but after my pregancy I never could get back to what I was. I gained 60 lbs then lost 30 then kept gaining

Marriage! Of course, that is somewhat of a joke, but at the same time it is not. I really think I just became very comfortable in my life and didn't feel that I needed to work on myself. Before I knew it, my weight had gotten WAY out of control.

Pregnancy, followed by a disastrous relationship is what my knee-jerk reaction is, but the fact of the matter is that I caused my obesity by not being able to put down the damn fork!

I'm with superdave. We both got really comfortable after marriage.

We got married and moved 700 miles away. Then we ate out a lot.

Within first year I went from a size 12 to a size 16.

Then stayed comfortable for 5 years eating whatever I wanted and he put on 50 more pounds.

Then I got pregnant and blew up 60 pounds during pregnancy

Never lost that and only got bigger.

With my second I didn't gain an ounce during pregnancy.

But the. Evry year I dieted - lost weight and regained. Every time with a 10 pound added to base.

So at 240 and a 16 yo -and 12 yo. I did it.

Now at 173

When I gradated high school in 1970, I was a very anorexic 108 pounds. Back then it was called "she eats like a bird". I would avoid eating with my family or would put food on the plate and scrape most of it into the trash. you look in my gallery pictures (click on Betty Boop and open up 'gallery'. You can see in my wedding picture one year later how skeletal my arms were. If you look at the older coupe sitting on the couch, that is my folks. In that picture Mother weighed 320 pounds (she was 5'2"). She died shortly after that picture was taken of an abdominal aortic aneurysm).

Most of my family was large like that, and I say was because most of them are dead already or very ill from the consequences of obesity. I did not want to be like them.

My first daughter was born prematurely in 1976 and I had only gained 15 pounds. My second daughter was born full term plus a week 1978 and I had gained 70 pounds which I never lost. Divorce, re-marriage, divorce, and menopause later my weight hovered around 185. When I had a botched knee replacement in 2007, I was sedentary for a long time and gained another 50 pounds. All the while, I just yo-yo'd around losing the same few pounds over and over.

When I had a stroke in 2010, at the age of 59, I was scared sh**less into doing something about it. More diets failed, so on 12/23/2013 I got sleeved. I lost 65 pounds very quickly but have been on what feels like a terminal plateau. Well, I am not stopping at 172. I am not giving up yet.

I was very active in my teens and 20's .... cross country runner, softball player, ski instructor, raft guide, hiker, mountain biker, backpacker, kayaker, etc. And I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight. Then I turned 30 and just like my mom warned, my metabolism slowed down. Then I changed to a career which didn't naturally burns thousands of calories/day. Then I turned 40 and my metabolism really slowed down. Then I got lazy and spent more time on the couch than on the trails and rivers. Then my brother died and I spent over a year and a half mourning his loss with alcohol and food. LOTS of alcohol and food.

When I finally woke up from my haze of grief, I realized I had become a miserable FAT person that hurt all the time and couldn't hike or kayak or mountain bike even if I wanted to. And for the first time in almost two years I didn't want to feel miserable anymore. So I did something about it. Now, less than 2 years later, here I am, looking a lot more like the 25 year old I used to be than the 46 year old I had become.

For me, the answer is two-fold...the combination of a busy life and a life of convenience. I don't think I've ever really been "thin", but the worst of my weight struggles started when I finished college. I got a job in my field and threw myself into my work with all I had. Being single, I had no reason to slow down for anything or anyone, so it became much easier to grab a quick "something" instead of sitting down to a proper/healthy meal.

Now, years later, I found myself still doing that. As I advanced career-wise, I found I had even less time to take for a meal & often ate/eat lunch in the car, driving from one appointment to another. Granted, I cook dinner every night, but not being a "starving artist" anymore enabled me to experiment with rich foods, savory tastes and a penchant for anything decadent tasting. I basically exchanged one problem for another- I went from eating cheap junk food because I was "too busy" to eat right, to learning how to be a pretty good cook- just cooking ultra rich things.

Low self esteem. Possibly some depression, though I was never diagnosed with it. I was always thicker than my friends but I didn't know until around 11th grade (weighing in at about 175-180 at 5 feet even ) that it was just how I was built. I've never been "skinny". I always thought I was fat because I didn't look like my friends and my family didn't exactly tell me otherwise.

I developed a very poor body image and though that since they say I'm fat I should just accept it. BAD BAD BAD!!!

The summer between 9th and 10th grades I went from a woman's size 8 to a woman's size 14 and my dad dragged me to Weight Watchers. I did WW off and on from 10th grade until about 2 years ago. I lost but always gained back plus some.

After I had my son 40 pounds vanished into thin air ( seriously! I gained no weight during my pregnancy and 2 weeks postpartum I was 40 pounds down) went back to work and was reminded if how much I hated that job and gained about 70 pounds smh.

Now at 298 I can't wait to claim my seat on the loser's bench!!!

In high school and college, I danced, practiced, and exercised at least two hours and sometimes up to five hours most days of the week. With all that exercise (and youth), I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight. When I finished college, I got a 9 to 5 job and stopped working out altogether, but I didn't change my eating habits. I gained about 30 lbs in the year between my college graduation day and my wedding day. Later, I gained more weight during my two pregnancies, much of which stayed with me.

I was always about 15 pounds heavier than my class mates until I hit 15 then I maintained a weight of 115 until I hit 21 when I met my now husband and began working at home health care, all my then boyfriend and I would do was go out to eat, not to mention I became addicted to Dr. Pepper and loved running into gas stations for candy bars, by the time we got married I weight 210, I began dieting and had some success when I got pregnant with my 1st child, I had very bad high blood pressure problems and they put me on bed rest in my 7th months where I ballooned to 275 most of it was Fluid cause after I had the baby, I came down to 225, up and down my weigh t went for 4 years never getting below 200 pounds, I gave up and when I got pregnant a 2nd time I weighed 240, this pregnancy was different though I had gestational diabetes and had to go on a special diet, and wound up only weight 242 when I gave birth, after the birth I managed to get down to 199 and low and behold here came Laura, Again I had blood pressure issues and this time I was back up to 230 after having her via C-section, not long after having her I got a bulging disc in my back my weight began getting worse with 2 babies at one time I had serious post partum depression, it wasn't long till I was 275, I had given up literally. It wasn't until the babies were 3 and 4 did I attempt weight loss again getting down to 240 with the help of the Wii Fit, but it wouldn't last I just get overwhelmed with the amount I had to lose. This descion to have lapband is a last ditch effort I have scoped out three different places been to several seminars I finally just said I'm ready let's do this thing.

I was slim all my life, ate whatever I wanted, stayed around a slim 125 lbs. Then late 20's my metabolism started slowing down, got married at 29 weighing a still comfy 143. After having my son 18 months later my metabolism just died. ( He's 26 now). So I gained 100 lbs over the years, tried Weight Watchers, lost 12 whole lbs, Ive been almost 3 yrs banded, now Im at a very happy 160 !

Well I was always chubby but not obese as a child the way you see some kids these days. I liked to eat, I was born a 10 pound baby in 1982 ???????????? my dad had to supply extra boxes of formula for me way more often than when my sisters were babies ????????????????

When I was in the 8th grade I went on my first "diet" where I cut my portions a bit and went jogging with my cousins and uncle from time to time. My uncle loved to run so he forced us to do it -- literally ????????????he chased us (my cousins and sisters) with twigs in the park. Kinda scary for a kid but it really did work and kept us moving, he never hit us if we took breaks or stopped but it is still a fond albeit scary childhood memory. He's still my very fave uncle to date and I'm 32 years old now. I'm not a runner but he still is at 58 years old ????????????

Soooo throughout high school I was always chubby and hated gym class or anything fitness related ????????I was bigger than my girlfriends by far. I ate 90% homemade foods by my mom which I think kept me from obesity but still I remained overweight ..my mom was and still is a phenomenal home cook and baker. I like to bake but I am no cook ????

The stressors of working full time after college and paying bills then marrying an idiot and attending grad school part time led me to comfort foods to numb the pain and stress which resolved nothing but led me to my all time highest of 293 (I'm just under 5'8" tall) In high school I wore mostly size 12-14 maybe a 16 at some point .....but at 293 I was squeezing into size 24 jeans from Lane Bryant ???????????????????? I divorced the idiot and took a year off of grad school to focus on my health and wellness ...lost over 95 pounds within 15 months but gained over 60 back due to emotional eating and various life stressors.

Enough was enough so at 260 I sought wls. I had surgery at about 240 lbs on dec 12 2013. I fluctuate 163-167 these days but would like to see 155-160. I workout regularly now and enjoy yoga, Pilates, barre and spin classes, anything low impact effective and fun really.????????

Edited November 28, 201411 yr by sandisleeve

I was okay until I got preg. gained 70 lbs. lost most of it. and than 6 years down the road after many up and downs I got busy and lost all the extra wt. and was exercising like crazy. and than I met my 6'3 husband. I ate like a tall man. my wt went sky high. I lost it and gained it back. and than I got diabetes. I was never able to lose the wt. again. dieting was a big bomb. when my diabetes got so out of control and I kept gaining wt. and my heart stopped for 12 seconds I knew I needed help. so wls. so happy I did it too.

I was chubby as a child, about what is considered 'normal' for kids now... but compared to my age mates, about 20 pounds bigger. I was the biggest girl on my cheerleading squad - but small enough to be on it, if that makes sense.

I was put on Lithium at the end of my teenage years after an errant diagnosis of bipolar disorder. I gained 50 lbs in less than 4 months. I lost about 10 lbs in the following year, then had an activity restriction during my first pregnancy. I didn't gain much in the first four months, but I gained at least 50 in the last 5. I lost most of my pregnancy weight, but with a new baby - exercise just didn't happen... so I gained it back afterward.

And then I lost 50 lbs and found 60.

And then I got pregnant again. And gained 30 more.

And then everything hurt, and I had two babies hanging on me, and ugh.

I gained another 40 lbs in nursing school.

And lost 40, gained 40, lost 30, gained 40... so now I'm looking at surgery. And I need to lose 150 lbs to be healthy, 180 to meet *my* target goal.