Half the woman I used to be

A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment, I really appreciate it and am touched by your words!

A few people have asked tips and tricks and I'm not really sure what to say. I lost the weight mainly cutting calories and then slowly adding in some (light) exercise. It started with lunchtime walks that got longer and faster; my most recent "endeavour" was the 30-day-shred even though I will admit that I stopped 5 days or so into Level 2. I can say that this round of weight loss (I've been dieting on and off in 2-year intervals for the last 15 years or so but nothing ever stuck because I fell back into old habits) has been the easiest and most difficult at the same time. I want this to be my last weight loss episode and finally stabilize my weight at a healthy level.
So many things were different this time round compared to prior attempts. I kept/keep a weight loss diary on my computer and do my best to update it regularly. Some days it's just some superficial remarks, some days it's a lot of introspection and reflection that helps me discover why I was overweight and turned to food. While not trying to over-analyse things, I am working on finding the triggers that cause me to give in to temptation - and once I've found another piece of the puzzle, trying to "re-programme" myself and my crooked thinking. I have been using a CBT book (Beck Diet Solution) that I keep on coming back and working through.
I have been taking update photos, as well as my measurements (incl. pulse, BP and most recently blood sugar levels) on a monthly basis. Even if the change from one month to the other seemed minimal, I could often see a change compared to two months ago, etc. I set myself several mini goals and praised myself for even the smallest successes. Right at the beginning I wrote a list of what I was hoping for and wishing for for myself. One of those was never having to ask for an extension belt in the airplane again and so on.

I'm not going to lie, I slipped up during my journey but I am proud for getting back on track, something I never managed before. I'm realising and slowly coming to understand that one lapse in judgement doesn't mean that all my previous achievements are worthless. The main part is getting up, dusting myself off and continuing on the right track. I am coming to terms with the fact that this will quite possibly be a life-long battle I will have to fight with myself - and it's up to me whether I want to go the "easy" way and give in or whether I want to continue fighting, be proud of myself and my achievements, smile when I look into the mirror, smile when I try on small clothes, be healthier, feel confident and can go through life with fewer restrictions than there used to be.

PS. The detail shots may have been removed but that doesn't mean that I won't post any others in the forseeable future. Who knows, I might get myself a bikini soon and re-take the photos