101lbs lost-CICO, all the foods I love, and I'm not done.

Today is my birthday, and I gave myself the gift of 101lbs lost today. And very few will like what I have to say.

I've eaten anything I've wanted, but I've stuck with my MFP calorie goals. I've gone from blaming my health conditions, an alleged "poor metabolism" pushing a size 24 to size 10.

I've used a food scale, fought my own fatlogic, and made the decision that sticking to my diet and exercise goals is like sticking to my budget, to parenting my children, to going to work even if I don't feel like. I only gave up things that I've finally decided aren't worth the caloric hit. There are no magic foods. There are no magic diets, elimination or inclusions. There is you. And there is you eating too much, or just right to lose or maintain. For me, cheat days were permission to overeat, and frankly, I'm done with that insanity.

I started this journey April 3rd. I'm tall, and I'm still seven pounds into the obese BMI. I'm not giving anyone specifics because I want to tell you...my build, my height, my fitness level is not yours. And you need to accept it. You need to do what you need to do and get to where you are meant to be. Stop worrying about loose skin when you haven't lost any weight yet. Stop wondering what size you're going to be. How long you've been overweight or obese and all your stats make a difference. So keep working toward the best YOU you can be. Please a good doctor and please yourself, no one else.

What I will tell you is that I had so called metabolic challenges, I had issues that gave me chronic pain and fatigue, and they are hitting me at least 90% less than they did when I began. Doctors aren't fatshaming you. They are telling you the truth. You feel and get better when you become active and lose weight. Several months ago, I was beyond sedentary. Today, if I do so few as 15K steps, I feel lazy. I am becoming strong, I am now moderately active by TDEE--which is a level many don't understand here and think they are at but are not--and I will never go back. I feel 20-30 years younger than I did a few months ago. Who cares if I have loose skin or am I size what or what? I can run and climb many flights of stairs without being winded.

Be disciplined. Buy that food scale. Consider your health and fitness goals to be part of adulting. Stop making excuses, and do it whether you feel like it or not. ONE HUNDRED AND ONE POUNDS. Eating ice cream. PIzza. Hot wings. Tequila. Wine. But never lying. Weighing and measuring. Doing what I had to do.

YOU CAN DO THIS.