Ok, so I didn't get fat because of the excuses that I often tell people. I got fat because I was in the army, I knew that I was going to have to go to Afghanistan, and I really didn't know how to deal. And then I went over there, and it really did suck just as bad as I thought it would. Still didn't have a way to deal. Most Americans have no idea what it is really like to have freedoms taken away. I was in a situation where no shit the only thing that I had control of was the food that I ate. SO, I could eat good food, and continue to be depressed, or I could eat junk food and feel good for just a little while. Only it started to take more and more junk food to make me feel better, (by and large because the situation I was in got progressively worse.) Food became my drug. I was very addicted. I still am to a certain extent, but not like a couple of years ago. During my second deployment, I was a little more grounded, and I started getting better, then one of my best friends was KIA. I was devastated, and I went back to the only drug I had available, good ole junk food. only this time instead of putting on 5 to 10 pounds, it was like 50, and it was fast. Maybe six months. I had to get out of the military because of the "up or out" rules. I had been in for 7 years, you have to make at least E-5 by 8 years, and I was 50 pounds overweight. No chance in hell I was gonna get promoted. All because of this addiction. People who drink alcohol can go to AA. People who smoke crack or shoot heroine can go to rehab. There isn't much available for folks who get addicted to food. And the worst part is that you HAVE to eat. And so, your stuck in this situation where you have to do this thing that your addicted to, but you have to only do so much of it. The other really bad part is that junk food is a hell of a lot cheaper. Healthy food is harder to find, harder to prepare, and is cost prohibitive. We have moved to a sedentary lifestyle as a society, and it is a pain in the ass to find time to work out, especially when many of us have to work, and go to school.