Well Mary...I do agree with you, about being thirst instead of hunger.* They say most of the time when we think we are hungry we are really thirsty.* So I'm gonna start drinking a glass of water everytime I think I'm hungry...guzzle it down and wait 15 min. before I eat. *

Tanae - There's no such thing as too long!!!* That's why this thread is here!
Marilyn - I'm gonna argue with you...LOL!!!* When I started gaining weight, I was eating nutritously.* I was pregnant with my daughter.* I ate only fresh fruits & veggies, fish, chicken, skim milk, no sugar, very low-fat, and very little breads, potatoes, rice*or pasta.* I kept my calorie count to 1200 to 1500 calories a day.* I gained 80 lbs during that pregnancy.* I kept up the same type of diet after she was born and through my pregnancy with my son.* I gained that much more plus.* The only way to explain it would be heredity because the same thing happened with 1 of my sisters and several cousins.

Actually, I saw that in Woman's World Magazine.* It's true.* There are many misconceptions about water and how you should drink it.* Great article.

Mary, when I was pregnant I gained 80 lbs.* My doctor kept telling me to slow down because the weight I gain during pregnancy I'll eventually gain it back. That's because Fat Cells don't go away.* When we are pregnant we tend to store more food and if you were only eating 1200 calories while pregnant your body felt the need to store as much fat as possible because you were pregnant.* So naturally if you gained more fat cells they didn't go away when you had the baby they were just dormant waiting to be fed.* That's just my theory from watching Dr. Oz on Oprah!

I'm so ticked right now.* After Micheal's interview in Nashville Monday, we're going to go to Arkansas and spend the night at Dad's.* I*text messaged*my daughter and asked if I could bring my grandaughter back with me.* She said no, that her (Nova's)*step-mother was taking*Deavinie to Minnesota with her.* (Linda & my ex are separated and she's been staying in Minnesota with her family). I told her I was Deavinie's grandmother and it's my turn.* She said sorry, they're leaving*early tomorrow*morning.* She'd told me Thursday that they weren't going til Thanksgiving.* She's mad at me cuz I wouldn't send her any money.* All she had to do was tell Linda that I wanted to take Deavinie for a while and that would be it.* But no!* She won't do that!* I'm so mad at her right now.* We didn't get to see Deavinie the last 2 times we were down there because she was in Minnesota with Linda.* Linda won't even wait til after we come back home to leave.* I'm royally PO'd!!

I'm replying to the intial post,although I am sorry you have to go through that Mary.*
I think genetics does play a role,but envirorment even more so.I have two brothers besides myself. My older brother and I are overweight,but our younger brother was really thin as a child and now is average as an adult. Both may influence,but also coping mechanisms during childhood may influence how you cope as an adult.Just a thought. BTW, both parents are average,considered thin as children.

You know, I agree that the genes sometimes make us more prone to gaining weight! I just don't think that it's a life sentence (death sentence, really) to a lifetime of obesity. But just like being short, one's body, through genetics, can be more prone to gaining weight. Ok, I'm shutting up now...lol.

Mary, I'm so ticked about the situation with your daughter and granddaughter....aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!* And about eating little and gaining, I'm telling you that that is exactly what happened to my mother.* The woman took care of herself, ate only healthy food and very little of it and still maintained her weight.* It was awful to watch because you could see the sacrifices she was making.*