[Lost] A formal dress taught me I've made more progress than I realized!

If you recognize me, it's because I posted here almost two months ago, but when I posted most of those pictures were actually not me at my leanest. I've actually lost a little bit more fat and put on some muscle, and now I finally have official progress pictures.

Official Before/Afters from the beginning ---> http://imgur.com/a/TiGdH#0

A week ago, my co-workers and I were informed all of the departments (we work in a casino) are allowed an encouraged to dress in formal wear on New Year's Eve. When I was told, I was excited because it meant I didn't have to spend money on a dress, as I had a bridesmaid dress I had worn exactly a year ago rotting in my closet. Color me surprised, though, when I put the dress on and it literally slips to my feet. I've lost 72 pounds in a year and a half- which I am proud of- but I was already 45 pounds into my journey when this wedding took place. I figured my weight loss since then was pretty minimal, as I was pretty close to a healthy weight then. I've been feeling pretty down about how it's taken me a whole year to basically lose 27 pounds, and that my progress was barely noticeable, but I guess I was wrong! I have made progress. 27 pounds doesn't really seem like a lot, but I'm suddenly recalling that old adage about paper towels: when you take sheets from a full roll, you barely notice it's gone; the closer to the cardboard, though, the more you notice every towel missing.

The dresses and my one year progress --->http://i.imgur.com/JG5So.jpg

I feel great now, and it made me really reassess my progress. I thought I had grown complacent, but in reality, I've made a lot of progress in great time. I went from obese to chubby yet with disordered eating habits in half a year (in the black dress), and in this whole year, I lost a lot of fat, gained a lot of muscle, and learned more about healthy food, nutrition, and body image. So I went out and took actual progress pictures.

To those who don't feel like snooping my post history to find out my information, I am 24, 5'3, and 125 pounds. I don't know my body fat percentage, but feel free to guess that one (I don't know how to gauge women). I started out 197, but was 152 in the left picture. I've been on my journey for about a year and a half, although about 4-5 months ago, I started eating more and lifting weights instead of focusing on the scale number (so I've stalled at 125-127, at least weight-wise). I eat about 60% protein/20% fat/20% carbs, and sit between 1200-1700 calories, depending on varying factors. I lost my weight through calorie counting, primarily, and didn't start keeping track of macro-nutrients until half a year ago. I primarily did cardio for the bulk of my weight loss, but transitioned to weightlifting when I realized a lack of muscle meant I had to lose more weight, and that's way too tedious. :P

I think I'm mostly done with the weight department, or at least in the sense that I quit caring about numbers on the scale. I've stayed almost the same weight for four months now, yet my measurements are shrinking and my clothes fit differently. Losing the remaining vanity fat and gaining more muscle is the only goal I have for this new year. :D

Any questions, I'd love to answer. Fitness and healthy weight loss has become a newfound passion, and I thrive on helping people educate and motivate themselves on changing what they struggle to change; on what I struggled to change for eight years!