What a difference a year can make!

My journey started on February 1, 2011.  Today marks 1 year into my journey.  I started a a whopping 334.6lbs.  When I set out, I had no idea what I could accomplish in one year.  I just wanted to lose SOMETHING.  I wasn't setting any big goals for myself in the beginning, but I set small goals a long the way.  As I progressed, my goals got more and more challenging to attain.  I set a rather lofty goal of losing 100lbs by this date.  I didn't quite make it, but I'm okay with that.  I lost 95.4lbs, which is still an accomplishment and I'm doing my best to accept less than perfection.  I came SO close and know that I will hit that mark in another week or so and that is okay with me.  I would have liked to be able to say that I lost 100lbs in one year, but I'm still happy with my results.

So, aside from just poundage, what has losing almost 100lbs meant to me:
- A year ago, I wore a size 28 pants (26 on a good day) and my 26/28 shirts were getting snug. I was worried about getting so big that I would no longer be able to find clothes at Lane Bryant!  Today, I can wear mostly 16s, with some 18s depending upon the brand.  I can fit in an XL or XXL at Old Navy and Gap and wear the smallest shirt size at Lane Bryant.  To go from the largest size at Lane Bryant to the smallest is HUGE for me!
- A year ago, I got winded just walking up the stairs or from the car into a store.  Everything was such a challenge.  This weekend, I RAN a mile (ok, it was more of a jog, but still!), did interval running for another mile and then walked two more miles.
- I no longer have to worry about fitting into bathroom stalls.  This sounds crazy, but at 300+lbs, I dreaded public restrooms because I was often embarrassed to head for the handicap - or worse, if the handicap was occupied and had to do a weird shimmy into a regular stall and try to maneuver my massive self around that tiny space.

Every day there are little successes, but these are the biggest and most enjoyable for me thus far.

And who doesn't enjoy a good before/after.  Here is my one year progress picture!