I'm having trouble believing that I should be anywhere near the Featherweights forum. I've lurked here a bit, and maybe posted on occasion, but in my head it feels like this is where the thin people are, and my inner fat girl keeps telling me I don't belong here.

I think I probably do, though. I've been losing for about a year, and have gone from around 200 pounds to 129 at today's weigh-in. That puts my BMI at 23.6, which is normal (for the first time in adulthood for me). I'm wearing size 6 and 8 pants and M and L tops, and most days I feel like I look pretty good.

However, I'm still not where I want to be. Some of that is toning - my stomach, in particular - and some of that is loose skin. But I know there's still excess fat on my body that could come off. I'm an apple shape, and would love to have a waist-to-hip ratio of under .8. I would love to have a BMI of around 21-22, which would be around 115-120 pounds. I don't want to get all wrapped up in arbitrary numbers, but I think the middle of the healthy BMI range seems like a good place to aim for.

To me, these are not vanity pounds, but I can see why some people would look at them that way. In that respect, I think this forum might be a good place to hang out and get some support. And hopefully give it!

Welcome JenMusic, and congrats on your 71 pound weight loss!!! That's fantastic, what type of plan are you following? 129 definitely makes you a feather!!! And if it helps solidify this in your mind, you weigh 10 lbs less than me and I post here all the time!

You'll see we have a thread for "getting out of the 120's" (and 130's and 140's and 150's) - you fit right in!

WOW you've lost a TON of weight, especially for just one year!

Don't think of it as "vanity weight;" think of it as you getting and keeping control of your body!

You definitely belong in featherweights.....that is the while idea to lose those last stubborn pounds ,that just seem like they don't want to leave.
Congratulations on your great loss , so far.

welcome! Congrats on your weight loss

Thanks for the welcome and the encouragement!

It's nice to to know there are others in the same boat, and we're working on this together.

ETA: Wildflower - I'm counting calories. I didn't know what the heck I was doing when I started, really, so I kind of chose 1400 a day as my limit. I stayed there for a long time (looking back at my tracker, I was probably averaging a little bit over for the first few months, maybe 1400-1450 range). I got more strict about 1400 in the fall, and now I'm closer to a 1350 average.
I don't love exercise, but I do DVDs 4-5 times a week. Mostly 30 minute circuit (cardio/strength) workouts, a la Jillian.

Welcome! That's an amazing loss so far.

I have similar problems with my stomach. It's still there and still flops around, but for me doing a lot of pushups, ab work (simple stuff - crunches, planks, "bird dogs," Billy Blanks Tae Bo DVDs) has helped a lot. Sometimes after a particularly good workout I swear I can see where my abs would be if they "popped."