Thanks everyone; the support received from this forum was a major contributing factor to my success.
I will get some new pics taken soon, but in the mean time you can go to the mini-goal photo album. I think my post was "150+ down..." Or something like that. I'm about 10-15 lbs lower than when the bottom two pics were taken.
I know I must look different, but when you see yourself everyday, you don't notice the difference as much. But a neighbor stopped me when I was walking today and said I look like a totally different person.
Could I lose another 10-15 lbs? I suppose. But the last time I got down to this weight, about 8 years ago, I think part of the reason for the regain was trying to lose those elusive last 10 lbs. I felt like a failure because I couldn't do it. So I am keeping 164 as my final goal and feel happy with that decision. I am my own worst critic and I think I look good at this weight
. If I lost more, I think I might actually look sickly.
I want to see how well I do with maintenance. Maintenance sounds like almost as scary a feat as, I don't know, losing 165+ pounds?
