98.6 pounds down! That’s right — the average body temperature.

I will absolutely admit that I’d really hoped to be 100 pounds down at the end of this week, but I have to remind myself of a couple of important matters.

First — every pound — heck, every ounce I lose matters. Every loss gets me closer to my goal. Being disappointed to be at 98.6 pounds down instead of 100 pounds down is like being upset someone gave me $98,600 instead of $100,000! That’s crazy. This weight loss is a true gift, and I need to appreciate every step along the way.

Miley Cyrus at 98 pounds. Who can’t stand to lose Miley?

It’s not that I don’t… but I have a competitive nature that comes out around goals. I am confident I will still reach my goal and surpass it; I’m not far from it, after all, and there are still almost two weeks left in the year to lose 1.4 pounds.

The second, and perhaps more important: while giving out a number is a great indicator of success, it’s certainly not the only indicator. I’m at a point in my weight loss where just about everything has changed, and there are indicators everywhere of success without ever looking at the number on the scale.

Last week, I talked about the frustration of having injured my knee; this week, it feels like that never happened, and earlier this week, I had a really great day — one of those days where I was absolutely happy and thankful for having taken the first initial step to lose weight. I had a business meeting and then time with a friend, then some time out with my husband.

It was a long day! And a busy one. What made it so much easier and so much more enjoyable for me was that I felt good and didn’t worry. I tend to worry a lot, especially about mobility; when my knee hurt so badly, I canceled out of going to a movie with my husband, because of fear of pain during the movie, as well as being able to walk to and from the theater (inside the movie complex). This Tuesday, I went out to a movie with a friend and had absolutely no problems or concerns with the same situation. (Bonus: comfy with extra room in the seat!)

One of the funnier things about the day: since I work from home, I don’t often worry about dressing up — but I had a business meeting to attend, and it suddenly hit me the day before that I had no clothes that would be considered appropriate business attire. Everything was too big, and since I’ve been trying to reuse my old clothing as much as I can while moving down in size, I was at a loss. Good thing the office I visited is casual; I ended up finding something that would work, and the fun part of it was wearing a top (and boots) that I haven’t been able to wear for a couple of years — because I outgrew both. The black jeans I wore are bordering on being too big.

It’s been a shock to me to pull out clothing that I imagine is still going to be too small, and it fits! I’ve had to say goodbye to some clothing that’s simply too big to be serviceable, now — and looking back on it, there’s very little I wear, these days, that I wore regularly at 98.6 pounds heavier. (And I think people truly start to notice weight loss when you start wearing different clothing.)

It’s a fun thing to do; shopping in your own closet and drawers, finding things that fit, that you already love, and you don’t have to pay for — because you already own them. 🙂 Wearing those smaller things is also a concrete indicator of progress.

Hips don’t lie — especially when you can fit them in smaller jeans. 😉