1 Year MFP'versary - Progress (with pics)

I said when I joined last year that I was going to make my 1 year my first blog post (just did it), and I was going to post on Success Stories. In my fantasy, the banner was going to be 100lbs gone! with pics!!! But reality is that I didn't make 100lbs in one year. I got to 45. But that's not close to the whole picture of what I've accomplished this year.

For the first time since 1996, I've lost weight. I had to pause and think about that - I can't even do the math - that's how long ago that was. And I gained it back, plus. Over and over. The longest I had ever stuck to a 'diet' was 9 days since then. Until now. I've changed everything about how I am with my relationship with food. I no longer binge eat. I no longer eat fast food (because I can't, not because I don't think there are options available), I no longer eat a truckload of sugar every day. I no longer drink soda - I'm one of those weird people who thinks artificial sweeteners taste like plastic, and I refused to ever eat them - so I was a fully leaded soda drinker.

I haven't had a soda since April of 2011.

I went organic. I found out in January of this year that I have, depending on who you talk to and which blood test I've taken that day, Celiac disease. Or I'm just grain intolerant. Like I said - conflicting blood test results. The overall result was the same - I can't eat oats, rye, wheat, or corn containing items without having a reaction of some kind. So I went grain free. That was fun.

And here are the pictures:
December 2010, bursting out of a size 24 jean (literally, there's no button on those pants), and a size 22/24 top:





And this morning, in my newly purchased size 14/16 top (not ready for public consumption yet...oy my belly!) and 16 bottoms:





I've dropped my overall inches by 30.5"; 45 lbs, from size 24 to 16, and body fat by 13.8%. I'm about 1/2 way to my goal.