Half-way (-65lbs) AND Onederland! (w/ pics)

This morning, I woke up and saw this:


Yay!
So I'm simultaneously half-way to my goal weight AND officially in Onederland!

Starting stats: 265lbs, tight 22W jeans or 24W jeans, 2X or 3X shirts, 44DD bra, size 10.5 ring. (and 5'6" tall) I started tracking calories and going to the gym on St. Patrick's day (3-17-13).

Here's me on my 30th birthday (a little over a year ago). Not sure what I weighed.


And here's me last Christmas, near my maximum weight. It's probably the closest I have to a starting picture.



And here's a picture of me today. Today's official weight: 199.9! Comfortable size 14 jeans, L-XL tops, 38 or 40 D bra, size 8 ring. I'm also starting to fit in non-wide-width shoes!



It's been an interesting journey. Some days it's easy. Some days (even several in a stretch, I feel like I just need (or want?) more calories than my daily goal...
There has also been the sudden surprise of gallstones along the way. (It's been a month since the last episode, though... I'm leery of having my gallbladder removed, so we'll see...)

Anyways, I started off by using MFP's suggested calorie goal for 2lbs/wk loss. Then my mother bought me a fitbit, so I started using that suggestion, instead. I seem the happiest, though, if I net around 1600 calories. As I recognized that (and as I lost weight and as my calorie goal kept creeping down), I eventually decided to change my target loss to 1.5lbs/wk. And sometimes I walk more to make my fitbit let me have more calories or sometimes I just eat a little more for no reason. (whoops. but tomorrow's a new day, and I figure I never eat OVER by MORE than my deficit, anyways, so I'm not gaining fat - just slowing the progress of loss, when I eat over.) I usually lose at least .5 lbs more per week than my target calories would suggest (even when I eat exactly the number MFP/Fitbit tells me)... Which is interesting... So even though I've switched to 1.5/wk, it still ends up being 2lbs/week. (Originally I was loosing at 3.5 lbs/wk when it was set to 2. But I think I under-ate, then, too.)

I also go to the gym frequently. (3 personal training sessions per week + roughly 3 mornings per week (usually cardio, but occasionally strength) + 1 or 2 water aerobics classes per week)

I definitely still struggle with boredom eating. I'm not very stressed out, these days, but I imagine I'm a stressed-out-eater, too. (among other emotional eating patterns, I'm sure). So that's something that will continue to be something I'll need to learn to overcome.

I realize that my gym-going is not sustainable in the long-run, but I hope to keep my morning routine going, even after I stop the personal training. (It's SO expensive. But worth it. I LOVE learning proper strength-training technique.)

Going forward, I'll possibly change my calorie goal to something less aggressive. Maybe down to 1 per week. That's because 1.) I'm finally in Onederland, and 2.) I'm in an orchestra that's starting up rehearsals for the fall, and need more energy (and therefore calories) to practice more/better. I might also put the scale away for a couple of weeks so I don't have to see a pesky number that starts with a 2 ever again! (because otherwise I inevitably would, as fluctuations occur from day to day.)

Incidentally, if you know of any really great exercises to target the muscles that are required for violin-playing, let me know. My upper-back often hurts afterwards, so I'm hoping to gain strength in that area somehow.

Ok, this is long enough. hehe. One last thing: I apologize, but I'm only accepting friend requests from people I know in person. Sorry/thanks!

~Sarah