MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR MILESTONE: I'm HALF the woman I used to be!

Wow, I can't believe it's been since November since I posted. Time flies when you're out living life. Geez! And honestly, the holidays were crazy - I was a scrooge until we got the house decorated, knew the job was ending after Christmas, more than a little stressed, yanno?

Then there were hormonal issues that I had to deal with dating back to November - the joy of being a woman I suppose. The hormones I was taking stopped my weight loss dead in its tracks. I was stuck at 167 for what seemed like forever. But... 167 was my doctor's goal weight for me, which represented an 85% excess weight loss. And for all intents and purposes, would have been the definition of success. But you know me. I'm not satisfied until I've done this thing my way. (Oh great, now I have Frankie singing in my head... dang! But I digress....) While this stall from hell was here, I kept taking measurements and checking to be sure I wasn't blowing back up like a balloon. And I wasn't, thank God. I'll admit it bothered me. But not enough to drive me completely crazy. I kept reminding myself that I have another 6 months to a year in which I can lose weight before the proverbial window closes. I kept doing what I was supposed to be doing and checking in with my awesome support group (you know who you are - and you ROCK!).

So in January, I started back to the gym a little more faithfully. I've managed to squeeze in 2 days a week so far, but classes are nuts this semester and I'm SO focused on getting done and getting a job. So yeah, I can get more than a little obsessed. (OCD much? Nah, just a little.) Anyway, I started to see the scale move ever so slightly. That was encouraging. I've kept with the high protein, and tried to watch the carbs, especially the simple ones. I did lose a terrible fight with brussel sprouts last Saturday night that resulted in them being on my banned foods list right behind spaghetti. I'll spare you the details, but it was UG-LY.

So the weight report: Last Saturday I weighed 159. I was excited because I finally broke into the 150s! Woo Hoo! Then I weighed on Wednesday and was down to 157. More excitement because I could then proclaim that in just 5 pounds, I would be half the woman I once was. Well friends, from Wednesday to yesterday morning, I lost 5 freakin' pounds! Actually 5 and a half. So you know what that means?!?!?! I AM HALF THE WOMAN I USED TO BE!!! Actually, I'm a half pound less than half, but who's counting? hehe So today, I weigh 152 pounds and I have lost 153 pounds. I have lost a whole other me! Oh. My. God. It is still so surreal that I have a hard time wrapping my head around it.

This does give me hope that I might be really close to my goal weight by the time my birthday - my 40th birthday (Yikes) - rolls around on February 24th. I had begun to let go of that dream. But now it seems achievable. If it happens - great. If not, I know that it will soon thereafter. Either way, I'm letting my DS drive. Which is another great accomplishment for a control freak like me.

Happy New Year?!?!?! Indeed.