Be honest: fat guys, how did you all get that way?

I am "skinny fat" atm. Injury prevents me from doing the exercise I used to do although it is really no excuse.

Holy crap, I agree with thegerg.

Guys, the apocalypse is coming...

@thegerg: That's the scientific explanation. I'm looking for the social explanation which is more complex.

How could someone allow themselves to be that huge and unhealthy? We already know how they go there, I'm looking for the why.

Because food tastes good and exercise kinda blows.

Fat as in out of shape? Well, science will answer that for you. I weight train 5 days a week because looking like crap scares me. Most people on the chubby side probably don't look into a mirror often. I know a few people that are just flat out lazy... that and yolo or whatever.

I gained weight growing up through my family having shitty eating habits and lack of exercise. I eventually weighed 300 pounds and I realized I needed to get healthy. Lost 110 pounds total before I sprained my knee which prevented me from exercising, I injured it more before knowing it was sprained through exercise. Once my knee was almost healed I got into a car accident which left me with pretty bad whiplash to the point I could barely walk for a few months. Gained weight from that and am now getting my diet back on track and exercising more regularly.

i find it really funny when skinny people act like they've been doing it right all their life only to get fat later because they really ended up doing nothing to stay in shape and just assumed fat people stuffed their face 24/7 and did absolutely nothing but take shits and sleep

usually happens right about the time they can legally drink, it's all that empty calories and drunken munchies and hormonal changes that come from lack of proper sleep and nutrition

My case is really curious. Or maybe not. I let you be the judge.

So I'm pretty overweight for my height. 175 cm and around 90 kgs. Weirdly enough I do not have a huge belly. Most of the fat for better or worse has been stored in my legs.

It all happened with the start of university. Before that I was a pretty active sportsman and a really fit guy too. I did swimming, played soccer, did running, trained at home things like that. But then all of a sudden I stopped doing all of those activities for no apparent reason (I really don't know why I stopped). It wasn't so bad for the first year but from then on it was very noticeable that I'm getting fat (chubby cheeks). I hate cookies and fat but I think I consumed a great amount of rice and bread and that's what made me fat all of a sudden. Lack of scheduled exercising also played a great role.

And here I am still 90 kgs. But I have plans for this summer. To be honest I didn't mind getting fat that much. Sure old clothes don't fit anymore but besides that I getting fat was never something I would freak out about. But what's worse is that in recent months I've noticed that my muscle strength has greatly deteriorated. This really freaked me out and I definitely am going to do something about it this summer God willing.

I am lazy.

people get fat usually because of bad diet and little exercise. It's really really easy to have a bad diet in modern society. I work in an organic grocery store, get free food and still it's hard for me to eat healthy. All it takes is Mcdonald's or junk food once in a while to mess up your body for a long time. The I am lazy I have no energy thing is a symptom of bad diet, problem is it takes hard work and dedication to get any energy. I'm healthy as heck and still it takes effort to have energy, I get why it's hard for people because it's hard for me and I have every advantage. If you drink sodas it pretty much guarantees being overweight, the amount of refined sugar in them is insane and is basically a get fat cocktail. Coca-cola should be called coca-hugegut.

You want to know why fat people got fat? Because society makes it so damn easy, spend 2 bucks a day on the wrong product and you pretty much guarantee being fat. With how competitive job industries are, with how much dedication school and careers take nowadays getting fat isn't a matter of choice for a lot of people it just happens because of the environments they are in and how hard it is to get proper nutrients from the surrounding area. It takes a lot of work to have a proper diet, you have to put effort into preparing meals or spend a whole lot of money for food everyday and in a lot of places we are talking astronomical prices. $100 for an actually nutritious meal where ten bucks gets you a value meal. The why is because the food industry provides food with no nutrients, tons of the wrong kinds of sugars and fats as well as a bunch of synthetic chemicals. Even the grocery store I work in has food that is bad for you when it claims it's good for you, just imagine how bad everything else actually is for you.

I need to lose a few inches around my waist.

Currently 6'10" 247 lbs, about 10% body fat (I was around the same weight but 2% body fat in my early and mid twenties). I got fat because I never had to do anything to counter act it, and I have a mostly sedentary job. I just got back into running in the last four weeks and have lost a little over five pounds. I use to have about a 5000 caloric daily intake, but cut that in half because the first time I ran up the stairs and felt the giggle I became frightened of what would become of me.

At 10% body fat, you have a 6 pack. IFBB pro bodybuilders hit the stage at 2-4% body fat which is unhealthy, unsustainable, and absolutely shredded. You were never 2% and you're definitely not fat if you're 10%

http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/

On topic: I'm about 20-30 lbs heavier than I'd like to be (6'0", 223lbs). I lift 5 days a week, but don't do a lot of cardio. I eat pretty much whatever I want and have a sedentary job. I don't gain weight, but I don't lose it either. If I got down to around 190, I'd be pretty cut up.

Why are you so interested?

@bforrester420:

Oh I was, and was considered anorexic by my doctors (I heard it from the age of 12), but I couldn't do anything about it; practice and my natural metabolism erased any chance of me gaining weight (or muscle mass).

My definition of fat is for myself, as that is the only comparison that really matters, and currently, I'm fat.

I'm about 20lbs heavier than I'd like to be. I'm about 220lbs. 5 foot 11

I'm pretty aactive exercise a lot, can run 5k in less than 30 minutes which is about average.

I just eat way more junk food than I should.

The food they ate, the food they love.. fastfood and big jug of soda.

Maybe that's how they wanted to be.. they like being big.

I'd imagine they at a lot

I'm not fat anymore

i wouldn't consider myself fat but i've gained about ~5 lbs. after an ankle injury that has prevented my normal exercise activities ( running, soccer )

I'm was one of those bone skinny kids with a super hero metabolism. So naturally, I wasn't limited by what I eat. Once I started drinking and smoking in my 20s, that all slowed down and next thing I knew, I gained 40Lbs.

I've since lost most of it and quite drinking/smoking but my metabolism was never the same again.

Wow Gerg is really stupid.

I'm disabled but not leg disabled so I look in the mirror everyday. Im chubby but if I get a double chin ill go walk 20 miles. If my belly gets too big ill also walk a ton.

Recently my medication caused me to gain weight. I was 240 (Im 6'4) suddenly I was 290. Through exercise I was able to lose 50lbs and so far I manage to keep it off.

I've struggled with my weight my whole life. As of right now I am swimming daily and cutting down on portions.

back when i worked in social psychiatry, many of our clients gained a considerable amount of weight due to a mix of pharmaceuticals (e.g sparked food cravings) and depression (compensating out the low mood with "happy" foods such as chocolate)

would have been interesting to see how those causes would have fared in the polls

Hey, it's your story, tell it how you want. I'm highly skeptical to the point of outright disbelief that you were ever 2% body fat. I wrestled competitively in high school and in phenomenal shape, with weight cutting, I would only get as low as 6-7%.

Right now: injury. I lift weights all the time before injuring my left hand. One surgery operation and 3 months later to repair to severed tendons and I'm almost ready to start working out again. Gain about 20lbs during my injury because I miscalculated my diet. xD Whatever the case, it would be nice to start getting back into shape starting next month when I'm cleared to lift more than 15lbs--can't wait.

Pretty sure if there was a single reason, besides the whole eating more calories then you should, why someone gained weight, then people would know what to look out for so they didn't head down the path.
But it's more diverse then that. Lack of motivation?, Dislike of overly physical activity?, Emotional reasons?, genetical reasons?, Choice? etc.

I make 2 liters of sweet iced tea a day, one cup of sugar. I've been doing this for 20+ years now. I also eat some of the most unhealthy food you can imagine: deep fried, pan fried, ladles of gravy, breaded, salted etc. I'm 39.

Why don't I get fat? Because I burn it all off. If I have to go to the store for one or two things, I walk the 2.5 miles (5 miles round trip). Takes an hour. If I don't feel like cooking and go get some fast food, I walk. Again, 5-mile round trip.

I mow with a push-mower, my neighbors all have riding mowers, and I have twice the yard any of them have. I get outside and keep my house repaired, they hire people to do it. I'm getting out and rebuilding my deck, everyone elses is rotting and falling apart because they can't bother to even weather-proof it.

And I look around me, at all my fat-ass neighbors, and they take the car to the mailbox. Seriously, they get in the car, back up to the mailbox, then right on back up the drive. These driveways aren't but 50-80 yards long. And it's not that these are old folks with mobility issues, either...just fat ass lazy people afraid to move their feet.

Our bodies aren't meant to be sedentary. A half-hour gym workout and then going home and sitting on your ass isn't going to cut it. You have to have a consistent schedule of physical activity, day-after-day. Get home from work, relax and refresh for a bit, then get off your ass and do something, because I'm sure there's work that needs to be done.

I used to be fat because I was lazy and ate too much. Thankfully I've sorted it out in the last few years. Why the hell did I go through life like that though, should have sorted myself out much sooner!

Calories are not the mazing indicator to weight control everyone seems to think they are.

1000 calories gained through eating almonds compared to 1000 calories gained by fast food metabolise very differently and have very different impacts on the body.

The eating more than you burn through exercise is an ignorant stereotype used to sell people diets a gym equipment. You can exercise all you like but if your diet is wrong your going to gain weight, or fail to lose it.

You can be a skinny kid but be in the same poor health as a 300 pound man internally. Size isnt the primary indicator of ones health.

The solution to a healthy body, is a healthy balanced diet sourced naturally.

At my heaviest I was 240. While I am 6'1" and have a fairly large build, I was def fat. Cause? I have a thyroid issue and am genetically disposed to being heavy. Nothing I did was able to help me loose weight and honestly who is anyone else to say what is the optimal body type? People should stop...heh...ok I can't even type that shit out with a straight face :P

I was fat because I ate too much crap and didn't work out enough. I'm currently down to around 215 and feel much better. Working out 30-40 mins every day and eating a lot better too. I def could stand to loose a few more pounds but am pretty muscular as it is. My goal is to hit 205.

Are people really taking this thread serious? LOL OT i mean come on its so obvious that the TS is trolling.

It also pisses me off when people say a healthy balanced diet is expensive. Sure if you want to by the super organic premium packaged stuff in a supermarket filled with branded products then your going to be paying a premium. However you cannot sit there and tell me that fruit and veggies are bloody expensive. By fresh food and cook it and stop blaming the society that thrives on people making stupid decisions and falsely believing everything you hear.

Exercise is important but if you eat shit food you will be unhealthy regardless of your "size and shape".

Also good food is not more expensive, it might appear expensive in comparison to the mass produced, chemical laden, heavily packaged heavily marketed shit that surrounds you but a carrot can only get so expensive folks.

I pretty much grew up fat. As a kid, I wasn't obese but, I was chubby. It wasn't until middle school where I actually became obese and since then I have dropped weight, gained it back, dropped it again, gained it back again and so on. What happens for me is that I'll be all pumped up for like half a year, then I'll start missing junk food and start to slowly step out of my diet and exercise routine. Then after another 5 months, I'll be all hyped up about dropping pounds again and the stupid damn thing continues. I'm in a circle and I can't get out.

I'm 35 and have a lean muscular body. What I do every day to keep it in shape:

- Walk for an hour (during my lunch break)
- Ride my bike for 90 minutes (bike to and from my work and ride some more when I get home)
- Do 250 situps
- Plank for a couple of minutes

I burn about 5000 calories a week.
It takes time and effort.

im 6' and 185 pouds. so, not fat, but a lil chubby. Mostly from just getting older. My metabolism isn't what it used to be. I used to be able to eat anything and everything and wouldn't gain a pound. Those days are over but it took me a lil while to change my habits.

I also have had to take medication on and off that totally makes me balloon up. It's lame.

How's your eating habits?

It's not that I never eat junkfood, but I try to eat healthy and stay away from snacking.
Luckily I love fruits and vegetables.

Care to link any crediable scientific source that shows that the difference is anything besides practically zero in the great scheme of weight loss?

You know, I was thinking the same thing. Some people are just naturally skinny. Back then, my skinny friend and I had the same diet (unhealthy, empty calories). He did NOT workout, and neither did I, yet I was the chubby one. I worked it off of course. My friend is skinny, but he sure as hell isn't "healthy".

I can believe it.

how far away is your job from your home.

I used to be physically fit but I lost all the weight because I injured my arm and haven't worked out for a year.

I lost 20-25 pounds of muscle.

So I'd imagine it's the same thing for fat people, only instead of dropping weight on account of being ectomorphic, they put on weight because they're naturally heavy.