My name is Karen and I am a carb addict. I've been overweight my entire adult life, and much of my teenage years too.

I figured out 10 years ago that I am at least gluten intolerant (severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea after eating bagels, couscous, drinking hefeweizens, etc.). I haven't been tested for Celiac because I refuse to do a gluten challenge (torturing myself by eating gluten for weeks just to see if I'm "official" or not? No thank you, I'll just continue avoiding gluten).

I had good luck three years ago with Medifast, which I tried because it was one of the only prepackaged diets that had gluten free food and I needed something effortless - I had just started a new consulting job, so I was at one or two different companies each day and had no real consistency of available food. I ended up losing 85 pounds, and got down to 200 pounds for the first time since college.

It didn't last long because... SURPRISE, I got pregnant! We had tried for a long time with no success, even going to an infertility clinic and doing several rounds of clomid. I had decided that it wasn't going to happen and to work on me instead (which is when I lost the weight). Apparently losing the weight and going on vacation to Bermuda (I ADORE Bermuda) worked. :)

I gave birth to my gorgeous little man in March of 2015, after gaining a lot of the weight back. They say that breastfeeding burns a lot of calories and you immediately lose the baby weight. What they don't tell you is HOW HUNGRY YOU ARE ALL THE TIME while breastfeeding. I guess I'm special, because when I started my first DietBet a few days ago, I was 295 pounds, 10 pounds heavier than my heaviest weight previously. So... I gained back the 85 I lost, and found 10 more of their friends. :(

I was feeling really bad about myself, but I've decided to try and turn that around. I've already lost over 5 pounds, so that's good!

My goals and rewards:

  • 285 pounds (previous heaviest weight) - Cleaning service to clean my house
  • 265 pounds (heaviest when while pregnant) - New board game
  • 250 pounds - New workout clothes (and I'll begin lifting weights and running again - right now I'm carrying so much weight that I get winded just walking up the stairs and it would be very difficult for me to ru and lift)
  • 235 pounds - Haircut and color (I want silver-blue ombre hair with an undercut) :)
  • 215 pounds - Cute new clothes!
  • 200 pounds - Start planning a trip to Europe!
  • 185 pounds - Spa day :)
  • 170 pounds - GOAL! New tattoo!!!

So there we have it. I have 170 in mind for my goal, but I'm going to be flexible when I get there. My real goal is to feel healthy and feel good about how I look. I will want to put on more muscle, so if I'm heavier than 170 but feel and look great, no biggie.

So... a long road ahead, but we can do this, right?