Bravo, keep it up. That is terrific you took that much off your waist.
Here's my take on climbing. The mile counting in this sport can be a little seductive and could potentially be an impediment to really taking on the hills. (I'm not saying this is you, but a person might think to him/herself: "I need to ride 60 miles today to meet my goals so I'll make it a nice flat ride.")
What I'm trying to focus on right now is how many minutes did I work out at what average heart rate. I'm also tracking miles, but my goals are more about the minutes and heart rates, as well as the amount of work I can do at a set heart rate. That gives me some extra incentive to take to the hills. Plus I get to give myself more credit for shoveling snow than I usually do riding my bike.