OKAY, SO I'VE REACHED MY DEADLINE, BUT NOT MY GOAL WEIGHT. That is the bad news. But the good news is that I came pretty damn close.
I am very proud of myself for sticking to my plan with a couple of bumps in the road. Even though I had planned on being 20 lbs down by this point, I lost 15-16, so that's a pretty good showing for the first leg of the journey.
I am moving on from here, with the goal of losing the next 20 by Valentines day. I have to make a goal for this holiday season, because if I do not, temptation will surely take over and I might be back where I started by New Year's Day. I have Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holiday occasions to think about, (and they will probably be off the reservation days) but if I am focused on the days in between, I should make it through all right.