I can totally agree!
 

I know exactly what ya'll mean! My main goals are #1 to have a regular towel wrap around me w/o any peekaboo thighs. #2 is to buy clothes at places other than Lane Bryant. seriously, they know me there! Congrats on progress so far & good luck!

carafree

trying on a pair of jeans only to find that they ARE TOO BIG!!!! I could take them off without unzipping them!

moving back the hooks on your bra and seeing less back pudge! laying down and feeling an actual hip-bone instead of extra padding....bending over to wash and seeing your upper thighs instead of a poochy pouch.....

less fat on my cheeks, I feel 5 years younger!

Ah, I STILL have a poochy pouch! Darn loose extra skin!! LOL I do have to say though that is looks a whole lot better than it used to!! I remember walking around the apartment in a night gown or just nude and thinking to myself, "I wish my stomach didn't touch/lay on my upper thighs when I walk!! Now it doesn't!! Oh and the first time you realize that your thighs don't rub together as much as they used to!! There's a gap there now!! Hooray!!

Feeling more energetic because of the exercise and proper nutrition.

Looking good.

Not being ashamed of my body.

LOL...I came up with another one today. I haven't given blood since 9/11. I went to a Red Cross blood drive at school today and they only had to stick me with the needle once! YAY the veins in my "elbow-pit" aren't obscured by layers of fat anymore!! YAY I don't have to get stuck 2 - 3 times before the nurse says "Got it!"

YAY! No more extra needle ouchies!!! I am not a pincushion anymore! :dance:

Being able to shave my bikini line without having to lift and shove fat everywhere. It's amazing how much easier it is to shave now. I'm with you on the towel thing also.

Ha ha ha - and the downside! Sitting on the hardwood floors wrapping presents and realizing that without all my butt padding, the floor starts to really hurt after awhile!

I relate to EVERYTHING that has been posted so far. Most recently, though, it is the clothes that have me the most excited. I actually get butterflies in my stomach when I go shopping. I had forgoten how cool it is to try outfits based on whether or not I like the style and think it will look good on me instead of just looking for whatever will fit. Plus, now I can drag DH along and get his opinion of what looks the best. And, I can invite a friend or my sister and we can spending a wonderful girls day out browsing the shops.

Another good thing is that I can enjoy myself while eating in front of a crowd. We went to a birthday party for a friend of my son yesterday. I turned down a piece of cake because I didn't want it but it occured to me that if I had I could have eaten it without anyone judging, "She sure doesn't need that." I love that I can savor food now without shame and feel in control at the same time.

There are just too many great things to list them all. If I had to sum it up, though, I'd say that the BEST thing about losing weight is that I finally feel "normal".

In the 9th month of pregnancy, I've forgotten what it's like. LOL! But some were:

* Discovering they'd widened the seats on airlines ::snicker::
* Not needing beach towels just to dry off out of the tub
* Likewise, having hospital gowns or the wraps the doctor provides you actually completely cover you
* Yeah, and fitting in the bathtub is kewl. Although now my belly pokes back out again.
* Bikinis
* Clearance racks that actually have my size
* Not needing a canopener to get into my car when some fools leaves 2 inches between us
* Not getting out of breath doing simple things
* A more sociable outlook on life
* Finding things enjoyable that once used to leave me tired (like shopping)
* Enjoying having my picture taken rather than shying away from cameras
* Reaching hidden places to shave now that were hairy for years
* Not needing to conform my hairstyle to make my face look thinner
* Strange perhaps. But pulling the table towards me in the restaurant booth seems nicer than pushing it back to get my belly in. These days however, I have to push it back for the belly, then pull it back in so I don't strain my back or put pressure on my rib cage while leaning down to get food to my mouth.

Oh man, you ladies are right-on on so many things! The ones that you all mentioned that really rang true for me:

- fitting in the bathtub
- having a towel wrap around without fat poking out (OMG I was so glad when this started happening!)
- "Wow, I guess the airlines started making wider seats!"
- my veins not being covered by layers of fat! Well, I haven't had blood drawn since losing weight, but I figure if *I* can tell where my vein is, a trained professional ought to be able to!

And I'll add on to those . . .

* Not hitting my hips/butt on the sides of the chairs when walking up an airplane or bus aisle
* My boyfriend can comfortably pick me up again, more easily than he could when we met
* Keeping up with my boyfriend when we go out for a walk or something instead of making him stop every five minutes to rest
* Being able to wear styles of clothes (like pencil skirts) I could never wear before
* Having the confidence to pull off sexy clothes!
* Losing the bat wings on the backs of my arms!! Okay, they're not completely gone, but man, it is nice to be able to tell I have muscles in there instead of just bags of hanging fat!
* Not being the most out-of-shape person in the room
* ENJOYING sports. OMG. Never in my life did I think I would enjoy running, but now I love it and I am even running a 5k tomorrow morning.

One of my favourite restaurants has these chairs that never seemed very solid to me. I was constantly scared I'd break one. Now I'm not anymore, and if I do break one, it won't be because I was the fattest person that ever sat on them. ;)

Chairs in general actually, or bus seats. Space on both sides is a new concept to me.

Oh and the bones... I have hip bones, and collar bones, I never knew. :p

I was amazed to discover I had amazing cheekbones, who knew?

http://gloriana.myphotoalbum.com/vie...umName=album02

Glory, your pictures are great - I love before and afters! Isn't is crazy that we can actually forget what we REALLY look like?

We had some pictures developed that were taken on a disposable camera by my 6 year old. They were all just random snapshots - cars, parking lots, strangers, etc. Anyway, I was thumbing through them really fast while we were waiting to check out and passed on of some woman that looked familiar but that I couldn't place so I made a mental not to go back and look at her again. IT WAS ME! I had cheekbones and only ONE chin. It was interesting have an objective view of my looks - I still tend to nitpick when I look in the mirror. But, seeing myself without recognizing myself made me realize that I LIKE how I look. What a feeling!

I have one for you all...how about being able to use a "regular" stall in the public bathrooms rather than the handicap stall cause that's all you will fit in!! It used to be that I couldn't get into the regular stalls and turn around to use them without climbing half over the toilet! Yuck! So, the handicap stall was all I would use. Now, I found that I CAN use a regular stall AND have room to spare! Yippee!

Kathy B.
Merritt Island, FL

Highest weight: 285
Current weight: 233
Goal weight: 150-160 or so

Biggest goal: GETTING HEALTHY AND FIT!