3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

Where do I begin? I grew up in a culinary family with a very health conscious mother that works out, and still works out two to three times a day and a culinary father with whom I learned all things delicious and nutritious, but not moderation or portion control. I guess now I am the best and worst of them both: a love/hate relationship with exercise and a love/love relationship with food.

My earliest memories include me eating Doritos on my Daddy’s lap while watching the 3 Stooges, making homemade popcorn with butter drizzled all over it, making fruit salad with my mom, learning how different foods combine and mix and what flavors go together. Then I was old enough to have chores where one of them was preparing a meal 3 days a week during the summer…and if one tablespoon of butter is good, why wouldn’t 5 tablespoons be amazing? My dad owned restaurants all over the world. My brother cooks. My mother cooks. We are a bunch of cookin’ fools. We host events, we cook for family and friends. We celebrate food.

I played soccer growing up so I was extremely active, but I fell in love with the arts and started singing Opera. I stopped playing soccer when I get serious into Opera, but didn’t stop eating. When I stopped playing soccer four times a week I put all of my weight on. In 5 years, I was the fat, outgoing, funny girl at graduation that peaked at 325lbs with the blink of an eye. At 18 and 325lbs I was confident, but I wasn’t healthy and I recognized that, but not much changed until my birth control changed. I lost 100lbs over about 4 years without much effort at all. I saw the weight was coming off so I watched what I ate and exercised a little, and by a little, I mean I took the stairs…sometimes… Then for about 5 years all I’ve done is lose and gain, lose and gain…and it’s exhausting. At one point I was back up to 285lbs. I’m not that confident 18 year old anymore. I worry about my health, I worry about my future, I worry. I’ve stayed under 230 for the past two years and then this past year I’ve gotten down to 210lbs, but now I’m back up to 226lbs and I can’t wrap my head around it. I’ve made the healthier changes and make all “light” foods. I eat my salads, I make my own ranch with greek yogurt, I only buy light mayo and light butter, etc. etc. But truth be told, I need help with learning moderation, learning portion control, and learning to say no. I’ve said yes for far too long.

This year I committed to staying active no matter what. And I have. I work out 4-5 times a week. I spin, I dance, I run, I swim, I cycle. I’ve run/jogged/walked three 5ks, one 10k, completed the super sprint PTC tri, and now I’m doing a real sprint tri in August. My mom is supportive and does some races with me. My best friend is supportive and trains with me. My husband is ridiculously supportive and also trains/does races with me.

My support system is all in a healthy/normal weight range. They want to lose those 10 vanity pounds, where as I could still lose 100 pounds and still be in a normal weight range. It can be hard exercising with people that don’t have worry about things like inner thigh chaffing and rolls just’a bouncing away. Sure it motivates me and pushes me, but let’s be honest, I can’t keep their pace and it’s down right embarrassing when they offer to “keep my pace” and then they don’t even break a sweat while I’m gasping for air and counting the seconds to my eminent death.

I’ve got the exercise down, I’ve got family and friends that love and support me, but….

Hi, I’m Danielle and I’m a foodie: I cook, I eat, I discover, I over indulge, I comfort, I celebrate, I binge, I love. I’m an addict.