Reached my goal weight and feel fantastic! (Photos inside)

So, I'll do the normal thing and explain a bit of my story first. Bear with me, it'll be over soon. I joined this site last summer, after I'd gained some weight due to the stress of college and two jobs. I'm 5'5 and went from 136 to 145.

It doesn't seem drastic, I know, but here's the thing about college. Not only are you constantly stressed and tempted to grab quick, easy things either on campus or at fast food restaurants, but you're also surrounded by all these pretty people. I'm talking perfectly built, effortlessly fit people who can eat whatever they want whenever they want and still look amazing.

My roommate is one of these people. She's also my best friend in the entire world, but living with her for three years was really tough, especially after I gained the weight my junior year (the junior 15!). She also seemed to get a lot more attention from guys, which may not have been her weight at all, but of course I decided it had to be. I went through a really bad bout of low self-esteem, and by last summer I was sick of it. So I joined here, exercised regularly, got a job taking care of horses, and I dropped 20 pounds. I was down to 125, which was 11 pounds lighter than my usual weight.

Over the course of my senior year, I gained some of it back and hit 136 again, so I started up a new summer shape-up routine. Now, however, I focus MUCH more on eating healthier. I also do more strength training, and take lifting classes twice a week. Today I took a picture of myself and I couldn't believe how happy I was with the result! I'm 15.9% body fat at 128.

Once again, I know that I wasn't drastically overweight or even overweight before, but it's ALL about self-perception. I saw myself and felt fat. I saw my roommate and felt like I was lacking. I saw all those pretty, skinny people and felt bad about myself. Now I'm thrilled with how I look!

The left is from April at 136, and the right was taken today.