To keep or to exchange?

I'm glad that you're keeping them. Between  the new eating lifestyle and exercises,  you'll be rocking by Christmas/Hanukkah.

 We look to about the same weight, I am 168 right now and wearing size 10.  Goal is same as yours, and I plan and really hope that I am an 8 by new years!  I would keep the 8, it is your inspiration pants, the smallest thing in your closet.  It is good to have that.

You never know on this. I am at 155 and am not even close to a 10 yet. I'm also 5'7" so by no means short. It really depends on your body shape and bone structure. The numbers on the scale really don't give you a very accurate picture in that respect.

I would keep the pants because it sounds like you're very close to fitting into them! Congrats!

However, to be realistic, I would suggest that you don't try to predict where you'll be in 3 months, as you might be setting yourself up for a possible let down. Take into account that weight loss tends to slow down a bit around the 6 month out mark and there is a possibility that you could encounter a stall... But, maybe not! My point is that it is very unpredictable, that's all.

I'm 10 months out and have been in a stall since the 7th month. While I haven't lost any weight since July, I have dropped a size.