My weight today is 160.8 and my BMI is 30.4. So, I am really close to getting below the BMI of 30. My Labor Day goal of 157 lbs. is not going to happen (obviously -- no way in the world can I lose 3.8 lbs in 8 days) but I have a fair shot of getting into the 150s and hitting that major goal of below 30 BMI.

But now -- here is my happy story for the month. I haven't been clothes shopping since the beginning of July and went shopping yesterday at Kohls. I tried on a mix of sizes (mostly 14/Large and some 12/Medium just for kicks, to see how far I am from a size 12). Wow, it was exciting! The size Ls and 14s are now almost all too large. I bought a couple of lightweight jackets (one twill, one denim) for fall and they fit fine and they were size MEDIUM! So excited I must say it again -- MEDIUM, people!!!! I was absolutely giddy in the dressing room when I tried on those jackets and saw that they fit. I am still maybe 7 or 8 lbs. from being able to comfortably fit in a size 12 across the board -- so probably won't comfortably be in a size 12 until sometime in October. I still have big arms and a fatty little apron in my lower belly, so while size 14 is loose, size 12 is either very form fitting or a little tight in the arms and sometimes (depending on the cut of the pants/skirt) in the belly. I wasn't wearing shapewear undies when trying on clothes and am pretty sure that would make a difference, at least not make my lower abdomen look so bulky. It is kind of a problem, though -- I was reluctant to buy anything in size 14 because in a few weeks it will be too big, but a size 12 is a little tight right now. But heck, what a fantastic problem to have!

In reality, I don't think I will ever be less than a size Medium. I am hoping that I will eventually be on the small end of Medium (so that all my size Ms are comfortably loose). The way my weight loss has been going lately, I am thinking that by the end of the year, I will probably end up a size 10 and probably end up somewhere in the 140s (maybe I will hit the 130s but that would be highly unlikely). Since the beginning of July I have only lost 10 lbs., so I am losing about 5 lbs. a month on average now -- pretty gradual weight loss. I can only assume my weight loss the rest of my journey will never be higher than what it has been the past 2 months, and is in fact going to be slower as I get closer to my goal weight, so I am 99.9% certain I will not hit my ultimate goal weight this year. I may be able to hit it next year ... not sure where my body will eventually say, "That's it, girlie, you're done losing weight!" But at my very lowest weight/size ever as an adult (when I was in my mid 20s, ate a strict 1,400 calorie a day diet, and ran 15 miles a week plus did lots of toning exercises) I was in the low-mid 130s and wore a size 8/10 in everything. My ultimate goal is to get to 132 and be back in my size 8/10s but part of me is not sure that will ever happen.

To be perfectly honest, I am definitely eating and behaving more like someone who is in maintenance than someone who is trying to lose weight, and my slower weight loss is definitely a reflection of that. Every day I make choices about how fast I want to lose weight by choosing what I put in my mouth and what I do with my body. I really need to be thinking a lot about that.