When I started this last July, I split up the 110 pounds I wanted to lose into 4 separate mini-goals. I've had so many mini-goals along the way that I sort of forgot about hitting my 3rd one of those (also, I took it off my signature because it seemed too big with all that stuff on there). But when I keyed my weight in my chart on Tuesday, I realized I'd hit my 3rd mini-goal, so I'm 3/4 of the way there! More than 3/4, actually, because I only have 25 pounds left and the 4th mini-goal is 27 -- woohoo!!

I honestly can't believe that I can say I have just 25 pounds left to hit my goal. I may want to lose more weight when I get there -- I'm not sure -- but it's such a miracle to me that I only have to lose 25 to get to a reasonable weight for me. Seriously, if I can lose 85 pounds, ANYone can.

I just felt like celebrating! I was supposed to hit the 3rd mini-goal on May 7, so I'm still ahead of schedule! The losses have been a bit slower lately, but I'm hoping to still hit goal at some point in late summer.

WOOOT LISA! GO Lisa Go Lisa!

That is fantastic. I know when I get that close to goal I will be crying tears of joy. You go girl.

LisaMarie you are FABULOUS!!!! You're amazing, your weightloss is amazing, as is your attitude, your determination, your running, your everything. You are such an inspiration.

But I think this might be the first time we disagree on something - You won't need til late summer to hit your goal - you're gonna get there way before. And when you do get there, there will be no turning back for you. You have changed your lifestyle and you are staying this way forever. Congratulations!!! What an incredible success story you are. *hugs*

Way to Go!!!! You are an inspiration.

Stephanie

Almost there! I bet you can't wait! Woo woo!

Congratulations!! It's a joy to hear your story.

Is there anything about the process of losing weight successfully
that has surprised you or that you wish you had known when
you started?

Lisa

That's a great question, Lisa (great name too). Nothing has surprised me TOO much, because I guess I always knew how to do this -- I just didn't want to do the work. Or I wasn't able to do the work yet, I'm not sure. I do wish I'd known just how much I would fall in love with running, because I would've started it sooner and I would NEVER have cared about running in front of people. I got over that pretty quickly, though, which was kind of a miracle for me. There are things I'm glad I DID know, and here they are, in case it helps anyone!

1. You don't have to eat cottage cheese and cauliflower all day. You can have "bad" things like high-fructose corn syrup every single day and still lose weight. Yes, it's true! Obviously some people have issues with various kinds of food, especially if you're diabetic. Now that my disclaimer is out of the way, let me repeat: YOU CAN EAT A LITTLE BIT OF WHATEVER YOU WANT AND STILL LOSE WEIGHT. Most people know this and still choose not to tempt themselves and so they forbid certain things to avoid a binge. This doesn't work for me, and I'm just glad I always knew that I didn't HAVE to do that. Quite honestly, that's probably the biggest reason I've been successful, believe it or not. If I completely eliminate something from my diet, I WILL binge on it. It's guaranteed. If I allow myself to have a little and fit it into my calories for the day, I'll be happy and I won't have a REASON to go off plan.

2. For me, this one is absolutely true and is the secret to my success so far. I've learned that I have to keep track of my calories (or WW points) ON PAPER. If I don't write them down (some people use Fitday -- same concept), I won't be as likely to stay on track. A 50-cent little notebook that I carry on my purse is probably the BEST thing I've bought for weight loss (that and my running shoes, maybe).

3. You can't use a plateau as an excuse. I used to go on diets and then slack off a bit and hit what I called a "plateau" and deny the fact that I just wasn't sticking to the commitments I'd made in terms of eating and exercise. Our bodies DO hit plateaus sometimes (though I can't say I've really seen one yet this time), but we have to make sure we're not tempted to use that as an excuse or to justify our slacking off with "Oh, my body's just not letting go of the weight right now." It may very well be true, but we have to make sure we're doing the right things. Since July, I've hit a few snags where I didn't lose anything and one week where I gained 2 pounds, but I can point to exactly why. I wasn't diligent in the prior week or two (sometimes bad behavior has a delayed response on the scale!)

I've probably rambled enough.

Hey Lisa! We used to talk on the ww thread. Congratulations for sticking to it!! I fell off, but I am back now.You are almost there chick!!!! Congratulations!! Keep kicking that serious butt!!!!!

Hey, pacemom!! I remember how you were always riding a kazillion miles on your bike!! I've lost track of the WW thread because I've spent more time in the 100 lb club and the Exercise forums, but it's good to see you!!! Glad to see you're right back on track and back here at 3FC!

Lisa you are truely an inspiration to me. I am so happy I logged on today and you have this posted. Do you have any progress pictures or before and after posted somewhere?

Thanks, Tracy! Knowing I can be an inspiration to someone else is a big part of this for me. I don't want to ever give up because I know if I do it I can inspire other people to do it, and that has become VERY important to me. By the way, I do WW Flex too!

I don't have progress pictures, unfortunately. I'm thinking about taking some pictures and maybe cropping them from the neck down. I'd like to post pictures of myself but I'm kind of iffy about that. I have this fear of my students finding me online or something, and a picture would really confirm who I am. Sounds odd, I know, but I'd rather people I know NOT read all my personal posts. Those posts are for strangers to read! Also, I don't really have any "before" pictures because I avoided a camera for years. If I can find any, I"ll eventually post them, even if I crop my face out of the picture. I've gone from a size 22 or 24 pants to a size 14, so there IS a big difference. I'd like to show pictures of my face, though, because that has really changed, I think.