Wow Jeri! You look terrific! Wow!

Wow, those pictures are amazing!
Thanks y'all. I do agree about the mini goals as well, if I just focus on the big picture I get overwhelmed. The 8 I lost was part of my lose 10 for Lent goal, now I want to lose 5 by the end of May. I need to get some rewards in place for my mini goals, that would totally be helpful.
I am also right there with you, Josey, the idea of being thin kind of scares me because I've gotten so confident in this body it makes me nervous to have to do that again in another one.....
I totally appreciate the input from everyone, I just needed to know I wasn't the only one who freaks out about this from time to time :-)

it's a hugely scary number to think about. i started with 135lbs to lose. i still have 113lbs to go. but i don't look at it that way anymore. that's what put me off track so many times before "i have to lose HOW much more?!" so i'm doing it in 10lb chunks. i can look forward to the next 10lb mark. 10lbs isn't as daunting as 100+. i just celebrated hitting 280, and now i'm working on 270, not 165.

buy something you can add to or decorate, and buy a new piece for it whenever you hit one of your mini goals. if you like to paint your nails, treat yourself to a new bottle of polish (or two or three) every time you hit one of your mini goals. set bigger goals (like 50lbs) and go get a mani/pedi or something. if you like to scrap book, take photos of yourself, tags off of your clothes, etc and keep track of your progress to keep yourself motivated.

don't look at it as a one stop trip, the mini goals are wonderful motivators. :) this many people in agreement can't be wrong! :D

Great advice from everyone! I just want to stress again that you do not need to be anywhere close to goal to start reaping the rewards of what you are doing! I have lost 102 of the 200 total I am shooting for, so just a smidge over half-way there. And already I can't believe (can't BELIEVE) the different life I have. I am still morbidly obese, but compared to 350, I feel like a million bucks. I think when I first started, I didn't take into account enough how much better I was going to feel even before the goal got close, so I wanted to shout that to ya! ;)