Done! Let me say that again… D-O-N-E. DONE!

Those 121 pounds are gone from me never to be seen again! I never ever could have imagined this at the start, and even now I'm not sure I really get it. See, I've been at this weight loss thing for a looooong time, my expectations for success at the beginning were low -- OK, non-existent.

Let me first be clear: I know and fully understand that there's no done. There's no end, just another phase. But that phase is no more weight loss; only maintenance. That's really big for me to make that statement -- "No more weight loss, only maintenance" -- because for so long my life was setting weight-loss goal after weight-loss goal, little tiny steps, baby steps toward this end...

So what's the plan now? Hah – good question! I basically follow the Glycemic Impact Plan, and I work out faithfully five to six days each week. I'm not going to make any changes to what I've been doing and I'm going to see where things shake out and settle. There might be another pound or two to come off yet, who knows. If it does, great! If not, that's OK, too, because I FEEL this is right, and where I'm supposed to be.

I used to wonder if it was possible for someone to know, really know, that they were at the right weight for themselves. I can tell you yes, indeed, I know it. It feels like a dream.

Why is this such a big deal? I've been extremely near to my goal for close to two years. In fact, it has been 21 months and 20 days that I've been bouncing around just 4 to 8 pounds from my ultimate goal weight of 132 pounds. My head was telling me, "Let it go. It's good enough. You're there!" But my heart was telling me, "Please don't give up now, you can't give up, you're almost there!"

There were a lot of tears over these last few pounds, and tons of frustration. Whether you're near your ultimate goal or your next milestone, I know you guys have been there, too.

In my role here as Testimonial Manager here at eDiets, I hear from so many people all the time, "I'm NEVER going to get there!" My response is lightning fast and is always something along the lines of "it doesn't matter how long it takes; you just have to stick with it."

And let me pony up to the truth here: At times I've felt like a big hypocrite saying that, as the number of times I've circled the same thought in MY head concerning my own goals is probably as high as our national debt!

But what I can tell you from my heart is that on Wednesday October 8, 2008 (and the day after that, and today, and for the rest of my life!), when I saw that number on the scale, all of the time that had passed really didn't matter. You know why? Because I did stick with it, I DID do it, and, um, who cares now how long it took?! Yeah it probably should have come a little faster, but I certainly don't regret it, because again...

I DID IT! That still feels magical to say.

It was a combination of things that finally did it for me, a lot of patience and help from our very own Chief Fitness Pro Raphael Calzadilla topping off that list. I hope he never tires of my gratitude for all he's done to help me.

Also right there at the top? All of YOU, my fellow eDiets members! You know I've had so much support myself -- support in the "hang in there" department, in the "don't listen to that voice that says you can't do it" department and in the "we believe in you" club as well. In my heart, I knew I couldn't abandon this goal, but still there was doubt, but... you guys, in one way or another, were all there helping me to never let that voice of doubt win.

I'm still feeling really overwhelmed, but a really comfortable calm feeling is starting to work its way over me. But what my mind keeps going back to is the amazingness of no more weight-loss goals and how that resonates with me after this long, long road.

There's no end, as we all know, just a new healthy living phase, and I'm so SO happy to be here at the start of it all again.

Everyone -- even if you're not a member and reading this -- please feel free to ask me anything about how eDiets helped me do it or share about your own weight-loss successes by commenting here!

Thanks so much for reading,

Cathy