[kcontreras]

Hi there! I'm pretty much a newbie here so I wanted to introduce myself and hopefully make some new friends!

For starters, my name is Kari and I'm 26 years old. I've been married to my DH now for almost 2 years and we have an awesome labradoodle, no kids.

I've been overweight since childhood and have been on many diets throughout the years. It has been several years now since I've made any kind of an effort to lose weight and I know it's time that I do something.

My highest weight was 320 lbs (in 2006) when I was diagnosed with PCOS. I was started on Metformin daily and I dropped down to 270 lbs without any change to my diet. After about a year I began gaining weight again and have been steadily gaining since then.

I currently weigh 297 lbs, am feeling miserable, and need to make a change. I've always been the type of person who needed a structured type of plan to lose weight (those have always worked for me in the past) so this time I've decided to try Slim Fast Optima shakes. I've never used Slim-Fast before, however it appealed to me after I checked out their website and came to realize that it's not just two shakes and only one meal per day. You are allowed a light lunch with your shake as well as plenty of snacks in between. I think a lot of people have that misconception about Slim-Fast. I know I sure did. So I will be starting my plan tomorrow (01/03/09).

Because I have so much weight to lose, I don't want to make a huge goal that I may not ever see. I would like to lose 20 lbs and get down to 277 lbs and then go from there. I will also be using Fit Day to track my food and exercise to help keep me on track.

So I look forward to starting this year off on the right foot and become a happier, healthier me!

I'm sorry that this introduction ended up being so long. If you made it this far - thanks so much for reading! I truly look forward to making friends here who I can give support to as well!

Thanks again for reading!
- Kari

[chick_in_the_hat]

Great intro!

[nicolen]

Hey, Kari!

A labradoodle is a lab/poodle cross, yes? Sounds like a gorgeous dog!

Sounds like you're coming in with a great attitude, so I'm sure you'll do well. Looking forward to getting to know you..

[angiemo3]

Hi Kari, to the 100lb club. 6 years ago I was 282 and could not get pregnant so I took metformin because of insulin resistance. I lost 60 pounds got pregnant and have not taken the metformin since. My kids are just now to an age where I feel I can work on me, so I found this place a few months ago. I do not know everyone very well yet, but they are all very welcoming. I have joined a few challenges and you should check out this board and see if any of them might help you http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=159 There are long term challenges and short term challenges. I think I saw you sign up for the 5 pound challenge didn't I? Anyway welcome to the group.
Angie

[time2lose]

Welcome Kari,

It is great that you have decided to take care of your weight while you are young. It sounds like you have a good plan. I look forward to seeing your posts!

[cfmama]

Welcome to your new home!

[valpal23]

[2ndChance09]

Welcome! Great intro, I loved the purple writing! I wish you the best of luck. You can do this! Posting here daily and entering challenges is really helpful. There are so many nice people here and I think you will find a lot of support!

[kcontreras]

Wow - thank you all SO much for the wonderful welcomes! I truly appreciate that! I can tell this is a wonderful site already!

angiemo3 - Thank you for sharing your story about TTC and sucessfully accomplishing that after losing the weight! I probably should have mentioned that DH and I have been TTC for two years now and have recently started seeing a fertility specialist. He is willing to help us at my size and has never brought up my weight, but I feel it's obviously for the best for me to lose some. Also - thanks for letting me know about the challenges they have here. I had no idea that there was such a thing on here so I think that's a wonderful idea! I will go check it out!

nicolen - Yep, our labradoodle is considered an F1 labradoodle (50% Lab & 50% Poodle). Another type of labradoodle is an F1B Labradoodle (75% poodle and 25% lab) and they are more wavy coated and do not shed. (Ours sheds like CRAZY) lol. We adopted him from a family who could no longer take care of him as a 10 month old pup and he has been my world ever since. He's such a great dog.

Well - thanks so much again for the welcome! I look forward to getting to know many of you and look forward to my stay here at 3FC!!!

- Kari

[second chance]

Welcome Kari

i wish the best of luck!!! i started from about the same weight as you are! so i know how hard it is to see the end of the tunnel and set a goal for the weight loss.. hope you successed in your diet
i decided to get to a 100 loss in the long run! and it IS do-able i lost now 65 pounds in about 5 months..

if you have any questions or you just need a buddy - im here

good luck!

[fiberlover]

Good luck and welcome to 3FC! I look forward to getting to know you