One year and 76 pounds Gone! (pics)

I never thought I'd be here. I've posted here with smaller successes, but they seemed so far away from where I needed to be, I couldn't even think about it. I had no idea that 76 pounds later I'd still want to lose more weight because I knew it was possible and that I really *could* be a smaller, healthier person.

In January, I had started to develop health problems that were directly related to my weight, so I needed to do something. I started logging on MyFitnessPal in July after probably losing 5-6 pounds or so as it was easy to naviagate and had a mobile app that made logging fast when I wasn't near a real computer. Then, after tracking calories for a few weeks, I realized that I had a rather crap relationship with food; I had compartmentalized food into good vs bad, which is a poor way to look at eating. Food is neither good or bad, it's just food. I just needed to get the right mix of food to keep me satisfied, healthy and happy without making me feel deprived.

So, my solution was to eat the foods I like without guilt, just keeping it sensible. I eat ice cream, pizza, beer, wine, burgers, deep fried morsels of yumminess, and cake along side the fruits and veggies I'd eaten all my life. It's all a budget; use your calories wisely! I really don't even monitor my macros beyond making sure I'm relatively balanced; I found that I got too obsessive with it and that's not healthy either.

So, not only am I physically healthier, I'm mentally healthier, too. That's what keeps me going; I fit into smaller clothes and I don't feel guilty eating any longer or that I have to fit into a nutritional box to do everything "right." I don't look at it as a struggle, so I don't feel like it's a THING I HAVE TO DO. It's just how I live now and I can't imagine doing anything different.

Also, heavy lifting FTW. For real. Overhead Pressing and Squats are cool. Like Bowties and Fezzes.

But, PICS!!

Me at 240+ (I'd wager 250+ in the blue sweater)





Now, from the past few days at 163.8:





I'm 5'8" and I from 240 to 163.8. My BMI went from 38 to 24.9 (for those interested), my waist was 45/46 inches and is now 32.5, my arms went from 12 to 10 inches, my hips went from 49 to 38 inches and my bust went from 49 to 38.5. Oh, and I can touch my toes again.

I've still got a bit to go to get rid of the fat in my middle still, but there's substantially less to battle and I see the light at the end of the tunnel.