Donali inspired me to start this new thread. She has been providing information to us regarding Morbid Obesity being a disease, which is a very powerful topic for all of us.

Lately I've been discovering that there are many different categories that we fit in, so I was wondering what category you are in. I don't have labels for the categories, but let me start by telling you why I am obese.

First, my family history includes severe mental illness (Mom, aunt, etc.) I inherited a branch of mental illness - Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which had me extremely ill in my youth. My panic attacks have been under control for years, but I still have many anxiety-related problems, one being that I never stop thinking, and at night, the thoughts are consumed by food. Part of the reason I'm obese is becaseu I can't fight the mental struggle to eat for long periods of time. That part of my brain is stronger than the sensible part.

But my biggest problem is portion control. I'm obsessed by enormous quantities of food. I simply don't understand how anyone could order just one taco, or have a small serving of anything. With me, it's all or nothing. I would rather fast all day than to eat one chicken thigh. It's torture. A half gallon of ice cream is two servings. A family dinner is two servings.

And mine is all a night time disorder. Someone baked us fresh Cookies, all warm and steamy, and I didn't even look at them. I don't give a damn about food during the day. I feel like a monster.

I have thought about this a lot lately.I am coming to realize that I was an unwanted child from the beginning. Probably an accidental pregnancy; my sister is 11 years older & my brother is 14 years older. My early childhood was very lonely. I always perceived myself as being in the way. Then at age 11 or 12, my mother abandon the family. I was really alone then. My father had no idea how to raise a young girl. Sometimes he was gone for days. I was scare & sometimes hungry. I remember eating concentrated orange juice out of a can. My siblings were grown & gone. Other family members either didn't know what was going on or didn't care. To cope with all of this pain, I think I turned to food for comfort when I had some.

I am new to this particular forum....and what a topic to start it off with. Ive been asking myself this for a while now...not why im fat...bc i am fat bc I binge eat, eat out all the time (and always get an appetizer), and im inactive. What ive been trying to figure out, it why I binge eat. I will come home, and eat...like anything i can. Or ill make pasta and eat a MOUNTAIN of it! Ill go out to eat and eat an appetizer, bread, salad, and a big dinner...and still was desert later. For about 6 months straight I would have 3-4 freshly baked cookies every night and a big glass of milk. I get a high from eating. I am addicted for food....and i havent really figured out why yet. I was always just a little bit over weight as a child and my dad HATED IT..youd think that I wouldve turned aneoreix..but nope... i just kept eating. I eat when Im stressed, bored... if its dinner time and im not hungry...well i still need to eat bc its time to eat. I was jsut banded on 2/27 and I am looking forward to this journey, however it is SO HARD. I wish they had a cure for addiction bc that would be good for all of us!

My reason is simple... I love food too much! Even worst, I eat at night before I go to bed because I hate going to bed hungry.

Crosby: Man a cure for addiction would be fantastic. I was watching a movie on TV the other night and one of the female characters walked in the door from rehab, glanced over at a bottle of alcohol and the look she got on her face, that look of wanting that drink, needing that drink and how it made her feel, was exactly how I feel when I see or think about ice cream. Man, it was scary for me. She left the room and gave herself a chance to think about it, but rushed back over and poured herself drink within a few minutes. My behavior to a T!

I'd like to believe all the hype that binge eating is something we can overcome by understanding that it's just calories in and calories out and if we like ourselves enough and wish to be thin, we will burn more than we eat. Well, it isn't that simple and if it were, people wouldn't be overweight if they didn't want to be. Millions of us don't want to be overweight anymore than alcoholics want to be dysfunctional because of drinking or anorexics do because of not eating.

If some researcher can figure that part of the equation out, maybe there would be a chance for a cure.

BJean--that is one of the reasons I chose band over bypass---I am the same way---but mine is more with the chips and that kind of thing. Being told I could NOT have any sweets with the bypass, made it a no deal, I do not deal well with deprivation!!! The band allows me to eat a few, but makes me a sick puppy if I eat a few too many!

Aversion therapy----I keep hoping someday I will learn. I will say, after sliming potato chips, they are NOWHERE near as appealling as before!!

I agree with what you are saying. My brother had/has an alcohol issue. He has been sober for over 7 years---but before that he tried and tried....and failed and failed....same as me and dieting! It is still something to this day he avoids situations that put him in close proximity to lots of drinking.

Kat

This question is so easy for me to answer, yet I remember when I was a kid I'd always tell people that "it's genetic" since my grandpa was a very large man. I just love food. Growing up, I felt like I was never full. I could put away a whole package of hotdogs or a pound of turkey cold cuts on two sandwiches. It didn't help that my mom is disabled with a low fixed income so I never understood why she always got mad when I would raid the food when she was sleeping. Of course, I feel awful about it now. Surprisingly, my eating capacity hit a wall a few years ago, I can't eat nearly what I used to be able to (I'm not even banded yet), but my eyes are still bigger than my stomach and then I just love the taste of food and want to finish whatever I am eating instead of stopping.

kat: You can't imagine all the types of mental diversion or aversion therapies I have tried. Did you ever read Dr. Phil's book on losing weight? Geez, you're so busy doing all the stuff he commands you to do that there's no way that you'd have time for a meal plus the way he presents it, you'd be a total nincompoop if you kept binge eating. Unfortunately I am not that easily insulted or intimidated and I am very hard to retrain.

As many have pointed out about drugs/alcohol vs. food addictions, it is somewhat easier to avoid drugs and alcohol than food. You have to plan for and eat food and it seems that our social lives are centered around food, even at church functions.

Angel: I sure don't discount genetics when it comes to overeating. I am definitely not convinced whether true obesity is caused from learned behavior (handed down through family lifestyle) or actual genetic predisposition. When you consider the studies done with twins who were separated at a very early age, they've found that identical twins often have become adults with very similar weights and proclivities for certain foods. That would indicate that genetics may play a larger role than just environment.

There may be recent updates about these types of studies, but I haven't kept up with them. Have you?

In addition to the twin studies, they have done some recent brain studies and found that overweight people have less brain activity in the left posterior amygdala, which plays a role in appetite. Specifically, many overweight people's "full sensor" isn't as sensitive. That means when they are full, the brian isn't getting the message.

I can really related to that one because once I started going through puberty, I never felt full and that's when I stopped being a teeny tiny thing and started being "fluffy".

I don't discount genetics as a factor, it's just that I hold myself accountable for my bad eating habits, which I think will help when I finally get my band.

Best of luck to you Angel, on your journey to "band land"

In addition to the twin studies, they have done some recent brain studies and found that overweight people have less brain activity in the left posterior amygdala, which plays a role in appetite. Specifically, many overweight people's "full sensor" isn't as sensitive. That means when they are full, the brian isn't getting the message.

I can really related to that one because once I started going through puberty, I never felt full and that's when I stopped being a teeny tiny thing and started being "fluffy".

Me too! I think it's a combination of things...learned behaviour (family stuff) and genetics...just my opinion...but I have noticed that I don't feel full like some folks do...I remember when I took the Merridia in the late 1990's thinking to myself "So this is how it feels to be full"...I was never a skinny kid, I was always told it was the Italian in me...Chell ....so where did the Irish side do?..wink...LOL

so where did the Irish side do?..wink...LOL

I'm half Irish and it didn't stop me from gaining... must be all those potatoes! (I lurve potatoes.)

U R not alone on that my friend.

I could blame genetics because most of my family is obese, but really it's my fault. If I didn't eat junk for everyday I would be this way. It is really an addiction. An alcoholic or smoker can give up alcohol and cigerettes but we cannot just give up food. Though I guess I could give up the junk food. But I am getting the band next Wed. and I am hoping for a big change!

I think this is an interesting thread topic, so here's my story....

Every person in my family was fat and we had to eat everything on our plate. Our family did not eat healthy - Dad cooked breakfast EVERY morning: fried eggs, bacon or sausage, a can of biscuits. And for supper: a meat and 2 starches, no bread or dessert. We never had sodas in the house, but we went through at least one gallon of tea per day and sweetened it with 2 Sweet N Low per glass. We never had snack food, cookies, etc.

I began to gain significant weight in 4th-5th grade and started my period in 5th grade. I think that was very beginning. In junior high, both parents worked. I would come home afterschool and my two main activities were watching TV and eating. I have peanut butter sandwiches that were HEAPING with peanut butter (mixed with honey) and jelly OR hot dog sandwiches. I wouldn't do my homework till late - I would sit, watch TV and eat.

Every female in the immediate and extended family would make snide remarks about each other's weight, but we were ALL FAT. It was confusing and emotional.

With each year came more fat and I became comfortable with it. I don't know myself any other way. As the years have progressed, I have realized my emotional eating habits - not cool at all. I moved to Houston right out of college and was single for 8 years with an busy career and no accountability for my eating habits. When I met my DH, I discovered a man who would love me for who I am. Being fat hasn't been that big of a deal. Until, the health/lifestyle issues started to creep into my life - sleep apnea, the fear of diabetes, not being able to fit comfortably in a movie seat, asking for an extension belt on the airplane (ugly cry moment), depression, muscle aches, ankle/feet problems (are they really made to carry this much weight), etc., etc., etc..

Right now, at 300 lbs., I am NOT comfortable - everything is an effort and I feel like my legs are going to burst half the time. I am predisposed for Diabetes with my mother and her mother having been diagnosed with it. I am 35 years old, but my body feels like it 65. Fat is no longer comfortable.