I love this topic, and I think the answer is, it varies from person to person. Some people are influenced by family lifestyle, others initially start eating as a trauma response or for comfort, and then there are those of us who just, well, love fat.

In my case, I'm a fat person in a thin to average sized family. I remember being very very small, before kindergarten, and loving cartoons where a character ate a lot or visibly ballooned up. I was also chubby by the time I was three or four, and I remember people commenting on my fat cheeks and pot belly. By first grade, my mother was pushing healthy snacks only, but my father was a little more lenient. Still, I wasn't exactly pigging out, because where would a 6-year-old get access to tons of extra food? Nevertheless, I started to get properly fat, and by 4th grade I could no longer fit in the school desks. I also remember the issue being raised at my pediatrician's office, and he just treated it as an issue of eating too much and playing too little.

I will add, I've always had a proclivity to being sedentary. Sports or physical activity didn't interest me. I liked to write, draw, and I loved movies. Not exactly burning a bunch of calories.

By 3rd and 4th grade, I started to stash household snacks in my bedroom, and that's when I really put on weight. I hit 200 before 8th grade, and in high school, I went up to 300 lb.

Interestingly, teasing as a fat kid didn't bother me. Classmates would comment that I tired out more quickly in PE, that I had a big tummy, or that I had gained weight over the summer. I knew all of those things were true, so I didn't really perceive the teasing as an insult. I think the fact that I didn't react negatively meant I didn't get teased a whole lot. There was no payoff to anyone who wanted to make fun of me.

In high school, I also started exploring the internet. I lurked on this site as a guest before I was old enough to join. I looked at pictures, read A LOT of fiction, and usually stuffed my belly while I was doing it. I also got a part time job, meaning I had money to satisfy my appetite. Then there was college, when I could eat whatever I wanted, when I wanted. This was when I decided I would one day become not just fat, but super obese. It's also when I had my first real feedee experience.

I said all this to say, there was nothing about my upbringing that would have overtly encouraged this lifestyle. My interests also predated the knowledge there could be anything sexual about eating and gaining. I'd definitely have to say it's nature for me.

I should add the caveat that I have always been a big eater. When I was in high school, I would bring a lunch, buy a lunch, and then usually eat at the diner where I worked after school before starting my shift. I was over 300 pounds at graduation as well. In other words, my stomach was probably already very well stretched out.

I will also say that some people just struggle with stuffing. There are a lot of factors, including food intolerances and biology. What works for one person might not work exactly the same way for another. However... I have never met someone who didn't put on weight and grow their appetite by pushing every day. It's expensive, there are side effects, but it absolutely does work. Just be sensitive to your body. Push hard but not too hard so you don't turn yourself off from stuffing. Good luck!

Sounds delicious! God, I miss these monster breakfasts!

Such a beautiful sentiment. Truly, thank you.

Yes, I'll definitely lick it, but not a whole stick! 😊

Again, you're also kind, and I truly appreciate all the input, from considerations around footwear, to floor layout, and most importantly, enjoying the planning without panicking and driving myself crazy!

My mother, who has given up commenting on my weight years ago for the most part, asked if I was going to try to "size down" for the wedding. I'd be lying if I said that didn't hurt. It means even if she typically doesn't say it, deep down, she thinks a smaller version of me is a better version of me. I disagree. Also, it's my fiance's and my day, and he absolutely loves me, mind, body and soul. And that means every pound of my body, as long as I choose to be at this weight. Plus, we share a home! It's not like he doesn't know what I look like.

Good choice steering clear of that one. I've done it once, years ago. I was young and stupid and also quite possibly intoxicated at the time. Let me just say that the digestive, um, situation that ensued about 5 hours later led to me having to discard some underwear in a public restroom and pray I could make it home.

There just might be! Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your journey!

I'm one of those people who lost and then regained (plus some) and have a very different body type than I did previously. Before my weight loss, I had already been obese my whole life. I reached around 370 lb, and my doctor encouraged me to lose weight. At that time, I was soft with a big belly, big hips, big thighs, a puffy face, and I jiggled when I moved or walked.

With a lot of diet and lifestyle changes, I got down to around 190, which is still obese for a 5'3 woman, though admittedly, I felt thick, but not fat.

When I decided to regain, I did it intentionally, and my major strategy was mass stuffings. Though I'm well aware of pitfalls of living off of carbs, cheese, and snack foods, most of my weight came from eating this way, in large quantities, as well as extreme stuffing. I eventually regained every ounce I lost, and I kept going, putting on 140 lb more than my previous high weight.

Though I am bigger than I have ever been, I'm also less jiggly. My fiance describes it as "firm fat", particularly in the belly area. Though it obviously does hang some, because , well, gravity, I have the kind of pot belly you see sometimes on an ultra supersized man. I do have a huge muffin top and lots of back rolls, but even that fat feels like it's somehow "tighter" than previously.

Additionally, a vast majority of my weight settled in my midsection, so I have an enormous circumference. I've been told my face, though chubby, is actually slightly more defined at 510 than 370. My back side is also big obviously, but it's not quite as wide in proportion to my body.

I know many many things my factor into to change in body composition and fat distribution. I'm approaching 30, so hormonal changes may be at play. I also gained 300 lb in less than 3 years, which was not the pattern previously, when I had just always been fat. And, at the height of my weight gain, I was stuffing to oblivion daily, eating mostly junk food and carbs. I like the effects, and my fiance enjoys the big bellied look too.