Danielle here...

Nice to be here! This is my first time dieting, using a dieting forum, etc.

I have always been pretty active. I love to walk, I like to be on my feet doing something. I have never been one to 'sit around.' However, I am very overweight. Very. I just turned 31 about 2 weeks ago, I am short, 5 foot, and the last time I was weighed (New Years Eve 2014 because I was at the dr with the flu!), I weighed in at 296. Um, wow. I can't say I don't know how I got this size, because that would be a complete lie. I LOVE FOOD. Oh, and I have a major Pepsi addiction that I have been slowly curbing since I was sick with the flu. I know, I know. Horrible!

I do enjoy water, however, everything else is nasty to me. I have tried diet drinks, I have tried different juices, fat free drinks, etc. And before you say it, I do not like any kind of flavored water - I have tried over and over and I just can't do it. I would rather have plain water!

I KNOW that if I laid off of the Pepsi and started eating better (which I have no problem doing, because I am not a fan of fast food or frozen foods - I like veggies and salads and all that jazz), and stay as active as I am right now, that I would be losing weight like nobodies business. It's just... hard! OMG! SOOO HARD!

I have no children (my choice, I do not want to have any), I am not nor have I ever been, married (again, my choice - I've been engaged but it is not for me). And so, this is for ME. Completely!

I have a free gym membership through my job, however I have not been. I used to work out 3-5 times a week at Curves, and I am thinking of going back into that just for now until I get back 'flexible', lol. At the gym through my work, there is no one there to 'push' you, and I think right now, I need that. And that is also a reason I have joined this forum!

Ahhh. OK. That was a lot of info! Any feedback is appreciated, and nice to meet you!

Hi Danielle,
I read your story and sorta know what you mean by having that shock to your weight. I was already my heaviest when I married 2 years ago. But this halloween I saw a pic of myself & thought...good grief. I jumped on the scale and was totaly pi**ed! lol. So I think it was enough for me. I like a challenge so Im taking it as one.... Can I get my body back? I think so. So can you! welcome and good luck with your journey,
Natalie

Danielle, sounds like you have a recipe for success there. You like water so wean yourself off the Pepsi and drink nothing but water. I didn't have a big soda addiction but we were drinking a very sugary iced tea mix (I don't like the diet sodas either but don't believe in drinking them any way) so just giving that up and going to water ... lots and lots of water ... was good.

So what else are you eating that is the problem? Sounds like you're good with the veggies and stuff and no fast food.

The free gym membership is awesome. Find something that will push you if there isn't someone there to do it. You're already prone to being active, you can think of something.

My top weight all time was 212 and I have no idea why it wasn't more because it should have been. At 31, I was only about 35 lbs overweight but I thought it was awful and, of course, it was only the beginning. If only I had realized then. But you have the chance and, like I said, you seem like you have all the attributes there in place to be successful.

Hi I am finally going to start the IP diet.... I am so excited I hope to lose enough weight so that i can be healthy and feel more confident about myself.

Yes, it has certainly been a shock. I have always been 'chubby' but I dress well and carry myself well, which I think has a lot to do with self confidence, which you definitely need! But when I seen the actual NUMBERS, I said to myself WHOA!

Thanks for your welcome

Yeah, I am not into tea at all, and I have tried unsweet and lemon, etc., and I can't do it! Every once in a while I like to have a little bit of chocolate milk, but even then, it's a rarity. I am not a big fan of chocolate either (except Reeses Peanut Butter Cups - OMG!)

Right off the top of my head, I can say that I eat no breakfast. I don't really eat hardly anything at all, maybe a snack, until I get home from work and then I eat something quick because I am so tired from work, and unfortunately, it's usually a hot pocket. That coupled with the fact that I do not take the time to grocery shop for my salad ingredients, etc., and then the fact that I consume umpteen dozens of Pepsi a week... well, it explains itself. Since I got over the flu, I can say that I have went from 3 12-packs of pepsi a week (if not more), to 2 cans a day. Which is still bad... however compared to what I WAS drinking, it's a huge jump for me. I have also already incorporated a lot more water into my 'diet', but I am definitely not doing my 8 or more glasses a day.

Really, it is in my head I think... I know that I CAN do this, I just let everything else (like work), get in the way. I need to stop!!

And hey, good luck to you!

Congratulations and good luck!

Thank you!

Danielle,

I'm so glad you are off the soda it is sooooo bad for you. If you haven't read the reports in the Huffington news then please try to find it and read it.

There are so many side effects from soda that people are having and is being blamed on other illnesses. After going off the soda the symptoms have disappeared. I don't mean to lecture you I mean it has another boost to get away from the soda.

Also my girlfriend was having a hard time losing weight she was complaining to me. I finally got the courage to talk with her about it.

I told her Cheryl you have a 6pk of soda a day that's roughly 900 calories a day wasted. Times that by 7 days it's 5600 calories. That's a lot of food you can eat. Well she stopped drinking the soda and lost 35 pds very fast JUST by NOT having soda. Or like so many people like to refer to it as empty calories...

You being very active is so great you will really drop the pds when you set your mind to it. Something I need to do. I have a very active job I walked 8,000 to 10,000 steps just at work alone. I know it's an excuse but exercise is just not something I want to do when I get home. Plus I'm in my mid fifties. ( no excuse either).

Mary