Thank you SO much you guys. I really appreciate all the nice comments.
That first photo (the before one) is very blurry because it's a photo OF a photo....but I think you can clearly see what a mess I was. It was Thanksgiving of 2006, I was the fattest one there, and I'm sure most of them were thinking, "who is the fat lady that the cat dragged in?" because I really had no interest in my appearance when I was that fat....no make-up, bedraggled hair and hiding in a huge mens shirt.....which was basically what I wore all the time. And I was so uncomfortable in clothes....and couldn't wait to switch to pj's/lounge wear stuff as soon as I set foot in the door. I had trouble cramming myself in front of the steering wheel because I'm short so have to have the seat moved up quite a bit.
But it was SOOO fantastic to go to a recent family gathering at a normal weight. Any sort of family gathering or social event when I was fat was a nightmare for me. I did NOT want to go to any of them and would have to go out and try to find something to wear and the experience was always so horrible....those dressing room mirrors make you look even worse/fatter.....and I either couldn't find anything to wear or got something I hated because I was desperate.
Being normal again is such a gift. Nothing ever tasted as good as this feels.
deena
about 1.5 lbs. from my technical goal
Congrats!!! The difference is AMAZING! You've done so well!! 
