When the birds fly the coop, what's a mama to do but get serious about her weight problem

Last summer I stepped on the scale at the doctors office for my yearly physical and had to face the facts.  I was fat.  At 45 years old I had been dealing with low iron, low b-12, thyroid issues, ever present period problems and exhaustion for a few years.  The doctor didn't tell me I needed to lose weight and I'm not sure why.  Maybe she could see how tired I was or maybe she had sympathy for me because my last child was leaving for college and I was slightly depressed.  At 5'6" I weighed cough cough 169.  We had already planned our summer vacation and as I found myself packing clothes for Maine I realized I had only one pair of pants to wear.  I had no choice but to buy the next size up.  I went to Kohl's and got some pretty hideous size 12 jeans.  To be fair, I was still jogging 2-3 miles 3-4 times a week and I had a gym membership.  I was pretty frustrated that the weight had escalated to that amount and I felt hopeless.  When we returned from our vacation I decided to make some changes.  It was July and it was hot but I knew I had to get serious.  I gave myself small goals.  My first goal was below 160.  I stopped drinking drinks with sugar.  I gave up my beloved coca-cola and my ever present sweet tea.  I started jogging as much as I could.  I jogged at least 3 miles and walked a lot.  I also got on the scale daily.  I started losing weight.  I realized I was dropping at least 2 oz. daily.  On weeks that I had my period that would change but after I was off my period I realized the weight was literally falling off.   My second goal was below 150.  I lost down to 135 by November. My next goal was to maintain through the holidays and drop down to 125 after the new year. I did get sick in November with colitis for 6 weeks so I couldn't run and didn't eat a lot but I didn't really lose weight either.  I got frustrated this summer because I've been around 138 since April and couldn't lose an ounce.   In May I asked for a fitbit and I keep track of my daily calories.  This past Saturday I was 134 and today, I'm 133.6.  I am writing this to encourage everyone that is discouraged by their weight.  You don't need to pay someone to get healthy.  It's simply a lifestyle choice.  I thought I had an addiction to coca-cola but it really wasn't that hard once I set my mind to it.  Monitoring my calories in the Myfitnesspal app has really helped me. I'm only accountable to me.