Today is November 28th so it is time for my one-year anniversary post.
A year ago today I looked down at my scale in the morning at it said 130. That day I felt it was kind of anti-climactic. I spent 15 months of hard work to get from 185 down to 130, and in the end all it was was another number on the scale. It actually took a couple weeks for it to sink in that I had actually accomplished something huge -- sometimes I still feel like my 55 pounds were nothing, seeing how some of the other amazing ladies here have lost over 100.
It actually took me a little while to stop losing after reaching my goal. My weight went down to 127 before stabilizing since I didn't really change my eating patterns or exercise habits at all. I stayed in the 126-129 range for many months -- at least according to my scale at home, which I have since learned reads three pounds lower than my weight according to the scale with the balance bar at the gym.
Today I weigh 131 according to my scale at home. To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed in myself. I really took a lot of things for granted before that have disappeared since graduating, moving halfway across the country, and getting a real job. The big one is being able to get up at 6:30, go to the gym, come home, get cleaned up and dressed, and be where I needed to be on time. Well, nowadays I have to be at work at 8, so I'm up at 6:30 just for that, and I really can't wake up any earlier. Now I do my workout after work, which is a million times harder. Also, I used to be able to take off from school around 3:00 and go to a gym class before coming home. Now I have to be at work until 5 so unless I can find classes that start at 5:45 or 6:00 it's no deal.
A big change that has affected my weight has been my health. You'd think usually you get healthier after losing weight, right? Well, since meeting my goal I have had a series of injuries and problems mostly unrelated to my weight loss. But having a cast on your wrist means you can't work out too hard or the sweat will get it wet, and an aching knee means the end of my running career when I only managed to run one 5K race. I had really looked forward to improving and finally meeting my fitness goals -- being able to run a mile in 10 minutes and do a full push-up. I made it to 10:30 before my knees started hurting, and I managed to do a full girly-style push-up (on my knees) before my wrists hurt too much for that. But I am upset that I couldn't make it all the way and it may be a long time before my body is ready to start trying again.
BUT! Let me not forget that when I weighed 185 lbs I could not run even 1/8th of a mile without having to stop because I felt like I was going to keel over, and I could not even hold a push-up position on my knees for more than a couple seconds. Yes, I am disappointed that I wasn't able to work up to running a half-marathon. But I am still proud of myself for that one day that I jogged six miles, even though it took me two and a half hours. And for completing a 5K in under 40 minutes. I even managed to bench-press more than just the bar.
I don't know what I'm trying to say here, I'm just rambling about my experiences with weight loss and maintenance. I may not eat quite as cleanly as I did a year ago today, but my diet is amazingly better than it was before I started losing. I eat a balanced diet, get lots of fruits and veggies (which it turns out I LOVE without dousing them in butter -- who knew?), make half my grains whole, and focus on lean meats and low-fat dairy. I still have my "cheat meal" every Saturday night where we go to a restaurant and I get whatever I want, including splitting a dessert. But it is nothing like before I started losing, when some weekends I would go out to eat Friday night, Saturday for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner, and Sunday for breakfast. Holy cow! What a pig. Now at least if I find myself in a situation where I am going to be eating lunch out and it is in addition to my cheat meal, I pick someplace that I know has healthy options and get a salad or a light sandwich.
I love cooking, and I love experimenting with lightening up recipes, or making delicious meals from my box full of Cooking Light cutouts. That magazine is like my recipe bible -- every single thing has nutritional information and I can trust that there will be plenty of entrees that fit my plan. Every Sunday I pick out three recipes for the week. The in-between days we eat leftovers or pasta with veggies (I know some people are low-carb, but pasta and rice are still my staples). If I really want to bake up something special, we try to bring some of it to my fiance's parents' house and share it with them.
Anyway, the fact that I am at 131 today shows that I am still learning how to be a maintainer. I haven't totally gotten a handle on it yet. But I know that I will figure it out and get back to my comfort zone, largely thanks to all of the people here at 3FC. If not for this website, I would have continued to yo-yo diet and not figured out that "maintenance" even existed. So I just have to say a big THANK YOU to everyone here who made and continues to make my weight loss and maintenance a success!
One year of maintenance!
I know myself sometimes I've ideolized a certain number, like when I get there, things in "weight-land" will be perfect, although I know that's not necessarily the case. 
