Do people who are alcoholics or those who have quit smoking celebrate anniversaries like this? I am so excited that six months ago today on April 15, I hit my weight loss goal of 160 pounds. This represented a loss of 168 pounds from my high of 328 lbs., and I was so proud--because it was the FIRST time I had ever hit a goal. Never before had I made it that far. I always quit before I got down to that preset weight, that magic number that I hoped would show up on my scale. Of course my thinking on previous weight loss attempts was entirely different than this time as well. I just wanted to diet, get the weight off and be done with it. I was hungry and wanted to go back to eating my candy, cookies and chips. This time, I knew I couldn't return to that lifestyle. There was no end to the "diet" this time. If I wanted to be healthy for life, I needed to just keep doing what I did to lose the weight. And this time I had Spark!

I am still in that mindset. This morning I weighed 144.4! That means I've lost another 15 pounds from my goal of 160. I have been as low as 141.8. That lowest weight gave me the hope that someday I could see the 130's pop up on my scale. But since seeing the 140's pop up was beyond my wildest expectation, I don't know that I will ever make it to the 130's. But I haven't given up hope. I have probably 10-15 pounds of excess skin, and even subtracting 10 pounds from my 144, puts me at 134, which may be as low as I can go. To be honest, I'm kinda bony now, in spots anyway. Like around my neck, I really look like an old woman, and I can feel my hip bones and my rib cage sticks way out when I lay in bed. Of course there's also layers of flab all over. My body is not attractive in any way. I abused it with food for too many years, and now that I'm 60, even though my weight is normal, I have pockets of fat here and there, and loose skin almost everywhere. But I can cover it all up with clothes and now that fall is here and winter is coming, I'm almost looking forward to the cooler weather, so I don't have to feel so weird wearing long sleeves all the time!

I treated myself today to some more new clothes. This morning before I went shopping I was working more on cleaning out my closet, giving away the rest of the 3, 4 and 5x's, and I tried on some of the pretty new sweaters that I just bought last winter. Most of them are XXL, or XL. I swim in them. I thought I would be able to wear the newest sweaters again this year. My son bought me a beautiful plaid jacket for Christmas last year. I put it on, it's huge. I just can't wear those clothes that are too big anymore. I have worked way too hard to get this body smaller, to mask it in clothes that hang on me. So....it's a good thing I have been building up the wardrobe in the last several weeks. Even without the sweaters I bought last winter, I have PLENTY of clothes to wear this Fall & Winter. I remember last year just after my birthday (1/1), I weighed 188. That was the weight I started at for our Family's Biggest Loser Challenge. So I have lost 44 pounds since then, no wonder those clothes I bought last Winter don't fit. When I weighed over 300 lbs. 44 pounds didn't make much of a difference, but when you get below 200 lbs., you go down a size about every 10-15 pounds I found out. I even tried on some size 8 jeans today. THEY FIT! But they were very snug. Even though I can wear an 8 comfortably in slacks, I decided to stay with the size 10 in jeans. I don't think anybody wants to see a 60-year old woman in skin tight jeans, do you? I did get some with sparkly rhinestones on the back pocket though!

Thought I would share a little picture history of my transformation. The total loss stands (as of today) at 184 pounds. My 144.4 lb. current weight puts me at a healthy BMI (barely). I am off 3 of the 5 blood pressure medications I was on, and hope to eventually get off the last two. I walk miles at a time, and at a much faster pace that when I started out, and my life is 1000% better than it was when I weighed 328 lbs.!


I won't start at the very beginning, but this is me on my wedding day, 9/4/70. I probably weighed about what I do right now, although the pounds have shifted, because this dress will no longer zip up. I know I had dieted the spring before the wedding, losing probably 30 or so pounds, but over the summer, I had gained back some of those pounds (as I always did), and we were all relieved when the dress zipped up that day.

It wasn't long, however and I looked like this:





Then in December of 2009, I heard the fateful words from the doctor, "The EKG seems to show you've already had a heart attack." That was my ENOUGH IS ENOUGH moment. I as tired of the humiliation and embarrassment of being fat, of knowing that everything that was wrong with me health-wise, was of my own doing, from the bad food choices I made, from my lack of discipline, and self-control. Subsequent tests with a cardiologist proved that my heart was fine. I was so relieved to know it wasn't too late for me. I could make a change, I was one of the lucky ones, because I knew with my weight and my age (58, almost 59 then) that it was only a matter of time before my luck would run out.


This is me on my 59th birthday (1/1/10), at Olive Garden, celebrating with my family. I ate too much that night, but I got right back on my healthy eating the very next day, and never looked back!


This was taken in Feb. of 2010, about 2 months into my journey. Not much difference yet. I probably lost close to 100 lbs. before many people noticed.


This is from April 2010, 4 months after I started my new lifestyle. The 5X blouse is starting to get a little baggy.


July 2010, in my new jeans, size 22. I was in the 240's by now, a loss of close to 90 lbs.


Also in July 2010, swimming in our backyard pool, for the first time in many years!


Aug. 22, 2010, with hubby.


My oldest son and I on the family trip we took to the State Park to celebrate hubby & I's 40th wedding anniversary on 9/4/10. I know my goal was to be in the 220's by then and I made it!


October 2010, in my first Cornhusker t-shirt. I could never find one big enough to fit me before!


Nov. 3, 2010, the day I hit ONE-derland. Gosh, I've been in ONE-derland almost a year now. I LOVE IT HERE!!


Nov. 25, 2010, celebrating Thanksgiving. My youngest son & I went for my first 5K walk earlier in the afternoon, anticipating eating too many calories. Must have worked--I didn't gain any weight. Might try that again this year!


Dec. 1, 2010, in one of those pretty new sweaters I bought last year, that are TOO BIG this year. I remember when I bought them, I would think, "I wonder if these will still fit next winter, I sure hope they do." Of course I was anticipating that I would gain weight and they would be too small. So having them be TOO BIG is a GOOD problem!!


Jan 1, 2011, my 60th birthday. My goal had been to be below 200 lbs. by then, and I think I was weighing in around 190 that day! This jacket is also too big. I LOVED that jacket!!


Feb. 14, 2011, celebrating my youngest son's birthday on Valentine's Day. I was weighing in the 170's by then.


March 2011. I was in the high 160's by then, fast approaching my goal of 160 lbs.


April 23, 2011, just a week after hitting my goal, showing off my much smaller rear end.


May 7, 2011, with my best friend from high school, who is my best friend forever!


May 15, 2011, wearing a skirt and jacket (hope this still fits!) to celebrate the end of our Family Biggest Loser Challenge, Even thought I hit my goal and definitely lost the most weight over-all, in the time the contest took place (Jan-May), my youngest son lost the largest percentage of body weight and won. I still credit that little challenge we had for helping me lose that last 40 pounds! Overall I lost 54% of my starting body weight.


June 11, 2011--wearing shorts for the first time in many, many years.


August 1, 2011, this is the "after" picture that was in the local paper on 9/4/11.


A comparison shot of the size 36 pants I used to wear with my size 10 jeans on top.


And the 5X blouse compared to the size Large blouse (from the Hollister Girl store) I'm wearing in the picture.

Remember.....this is how I looked before






And this is how I look now...


I still can't believe the transformation I have made...it feels like I have shed my cocoon and emerged as a butterfly. I really felt like this thinner person even when I was fat, and now that thinner person is the one you see. But that fat girl is still inside me, and if I gave her even an inch, she would re-emerge. I do not plan on letting that ever happen! I still find the fact that my body is not morbidly obese anymore totally amazing and pinch myself every day to make sure I'm not dreaming. I need to quit pinching myself though, cause if this is a dream, I never want to wake up....I'm having way too much fun now!