A 28-year-old woman has lost 150lbs after her middle-aged mum outshone her during a hike. Danielle from Milwaukee, Wisconsin struggled with her weight since a young age. Due to bullying Danielle became very introverted - and found comfort in food, consuming around 3,000 calories a day. At her heaviest, Danielle weighed 340lbs and struggled to find clothes that fit her larger frame. The first time Danielle tried to lose weight was in 2015, in preparation for her sister’s wedding - but after the wedding she lost her motivation. It wasn’t until a hiking trip with her mum and sister Kelsey that Danielle decided to change her life around. Danielle began a strict diet and exercise regime and over a year lost an amazing 150lbs. Five years after her sister’s wedding, Danielle tries on the very same bridesmaid’s dress she wore on that day.
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00:00At my heaviest weight I weighed 340.8 pounds. There were a lot of occasions
00:06where I was made fun of for my weight and it definitely hits home. And I was
00:10always a shy and introvert because of that. I lost 150 pounds in about a year.
00:16Here's the bridesmaid's dress. Honestly now when I look back at these pictures I'm
00:20like who is that? How would you describe your weight slash size over the years?
00:32So I've been overweight ever since I was a kid. I don't think it got bad until my
00:37last two years of high school. My eating and drinking habits were very poor. I
00:42consumed probably upwards of 3,000 calories a day. I was bullied. I was told
00:47I should be drinking slim fast. There were a lot of occasions where I was made
00:51fun of for my weight and it definitely hits home. And I was always a shy and
00:55introvert because of that. How did bullies treat Danielle? Bullies treated
01:00Danielle kind of rough. We would go shopping and she would never find
01:07anything. She didn't really have as many options as I did. I guess I just didn't
01:13realize how difficult it was for her or how hard it was for her to find things
01:17that flattered her. The first substantial time when I tried losing weight was for
01:22my sister's wedding. My other sister and I were bridesmaids and we had these very
01:27nice black dresses and I lost a good 40 for the wedding. But once the wedding
01:32happened I you know my motivation slipped. So this picture is from my
01:39graduation from my master's. Isn't that crazy how big my arm was there? Or my chin.
01:46Look at your fingers. Even your fingers look bigger. Mm-hmm.
01:51Here's the bridesmaids dress. See how like tight it was like right in the right
01:56here? Crazy. I swear I don't even remember you being that big. Me neither. Like
02:03honestly. It's now when I look back at these pictures I'm like who is that?
02:08Yeah you it's you're not even the same person. The turning point for me to lose
02:14weight was when I was on a trip in Kentucky with my mom and my sister and
02:19we went hiking up this rock formation. There was one at one point where I had
02:24to lift myself up with my body weight and it took me so long to do it. I even
02:29had to stop and take a break and let people pass me. And it was really
02:33embarrassing. I saw my sister do it with ease. I saw my 50 something year old mom
02:38do it with ease. And at that point like I knew it was me. I was very very
02:44strict with myself. I didn't really allow myself cheat meals for the first like
02:49nine months or so. And then I kind of loosened the reins a little bit. So when
02:53I was 340 pounds I wasn't able to exercise in the way that I am now. I
02:58wasn't able to run. And the most I did at the gym for the first two months of my
03:02journey was 30 minutes on the elliptical and a couple dumbbell exercises with
03:07for my arms. Now though I'm able to run about three or four miles a day. I work
03:14out five days a week. It varies but you know I'm very able-bodied and what I'm
03:20able to do now which is very different from when I was 340 pounds.
03:28At my heaviest weight I weighed 340.8 pounds. I lost 150 pounds in about a year.
03:36I'm very happy with where I am right now. A healthy lifestyle is important to me
03:42because it allows me to live the life that I want to. It allows me to be active.
03:48I knew I would have excess skin. I just didn't know how much. A lot of my excess
03:53skin is in my stomach. As you can see I have a lot on my thighs. I can literally
04:00like lift my thigh up and this is all excess skin. I'd rather have what five
04:08pounds maybe of loose skin versus being morbidly obese. I think that documenting
04:14myself on Instagram as a form of accountability has definitely helped
04:18inspire some people along the way. I get people that message me on Instagram
04:22stating that I've motivated them. I've helped inspire them to start their
04:25weight loss journey and that just means the absolute world to me.
04:30How did it make you feel seeing Danielle back in her bridesmaid's dress?
04:33I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Danielle in her bridesmaid's dress again.
04:40All right here it is. Look at how huge it is. That's how much extra we got going on here.
04:50I really did not realize how big she was at the time and how much weight she's lost.
04:57Has she changed since she lost the weight and how?
05:07Okay. I'm trying to.
05:12I have definitely seen a change in Danielle since she's lost the weight because she is a
05:18different person now. She's outgoing. She's free-spirited. She really
05:23is a completely different person. You think you'd be this emotional?
05:30Well I would have been nice to know these damn questions. I let you know them. You did not.
05:36Losing 150 pounds is not an easy task to do but if you're hesitant or you're wanting to change
05:41your life but you just don't have the motivation or you don't know how to start just all I can say
05:45is get started the next day. Don't wait. Get going and get moving.