How has losing weight changed your life?

I love wearing my clothes, nothing is tight. I use to come home in my car and have to unbutton my pants. I can wear everything in my closet, a wonderful feeling.

Not much day-to-day. My pants are too big, :-) My partner also decided to lose weight. We have always had a close, mutually supportive relationship--so that did not change.

Losing weight gave me the confidence to take up running and I'm glad I did. I have more energy and am less depressed.

The last blood work I got for an annual physical, after losing 40ish pounds but before I started running, showed that all my biomarkers had improved. My HDL gained 20 points. My LDL lost 20 points. MY BP is down and so is my A1C/FBG. My fasting blood glucose has gone from 103 to 77. This last point is actually what keeps me motivated more than anything else. Many of my close relatives are or were diabetics. I have seen up close what diabetes can do and I want no part of it.

I don't have to buy over priced clothes from the KING SIZE catalog. I have enough energy to fire our lawn maintenance company and start cutting the grass myself. I do yardwork, dishes, grocery shopping, take out trash & a plethora of things I used to either leave undone or let my wife do. So basically I'm a better husband (I think). My blood work is awesome, glucose, A1C, HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, blood pressure and pulse are normal and like that of someone half my age. I dropped 70 lbs. and now my BMI is within a half a point of the "Normal" range. There are so many benefits. The only drawback is that my wife and I struggle with the thermostat, because with a bodyfat % of 15, I'm almost always chilly

Too many to count but the biggest is Health I was 367 pounds sedentary and my Dr. was concerned at 60 I was a candidate for a serious heart attack or stroke since my BP was so high 12 years later my Dr compliments me on my blood work I am about 200 pounds and I run 3 to 5 days a week at 72 and before the Covid shut downs I swam over an hour a day 5 days a week. We are fixing up our house and the other day I was able to be on a ladder off and on for over an hour. Secondary benefits everything in my closet fits I have saved thousand of dollars by not drinking every day, my sleep is wonderful now.
A general sense of well being because I am fit my resting pulse is now in the 40s
I have decided as I am getting older to lose another 20 to 25 pounds for the benefit of my legs as I am running more now that our quarantine is easing in NJ and we are getting out more.

Great thread! I've gotten rid of 70 pounds and have around 35 more to go, maybe a little more.

My life has transformed because of removing all that extra weight. Having to wear smaller clothes has been fun but the biggest impact is my energy level. I can stand for hours if need be, and have energy to run around the house doing things even after a long session of grocery shopping. So my house is starting to be a lot cleaner which in turn makes me feel better. I have more motivation to do things because I know I won't feel exhausted. My heat tolerance has improved massively, which is a good thing since I live in Arizona. Also eating smaller portions of good, wholesome, nutrient dense food and making protein a priority has improved my health. Food tastes better, I don't feel gross and sluggish after dinner, or sleepy either. I think my skin has gotten better too. I like feeling firm instead of flabby. I have a lap for the cats to sit on now instead of an apron!

Basically I feel younger and stronger. I feel better at 41 than I did at 30. Heck, I haven't felt this good since probably my teen years. I NEVER want to go back to my old ways.

More people are depending on me to get things done. I'm their Fetcher. Fetch this N that. Do this N that. Sometimes, I question why I have to be the one to do everything around this joint. They humor me and say, just think, your hiney will be the tiniest when all is said and done. So that catapults me right back into action and I can go from daylight til dark. I have more energy. Life is better without that weight. You can run on all cylinders without your engine breaking down going UP the hills.

My doctor is no longer threatening me that I need to take statins. My blood pressure is now normal to low normal. My formerly high cholesterol and triglycerides are normal. Small cholesterol deposits on my eyelids (xanthelasma) disappeared. My knees (with torn meniscus, arthritis) hurt less often, less severely - very minor, almost nothing, now. Many daily life tasks are easier. My rowing shell moves faster through the water because there's less of me to move along with it, but I'm just as strong as when I was fat.

There are lots of minor benefits as well (more room in my suitcase, with the same number of outfits, for example), all kinds of them. I used to lumber, now I kind of scamper. I'm pretty spry for a li'l ol' lady, or really even for most any average adult woman. It's excellent.

What keeps me motivated to continue? Current me is happier, good odds future me will be healthier, happier, independent longer (I'm already 64). What's the down side? Somewhat less pizza? Pfft.

I'd have to be an idiot to go back to being obese . . . and I was already pretty fit, as an obese person. The weight loss alone has been transforming.

durhammfp wrote: »

tuckerrj wrote: »

I don't have to buy over priced clothes from the KING SIZE catalog. I have enough energy to fire our lawn maintenance company and start cutting the grass myself. I do yardwork, dishes, grocery shopping, take out trash & a plethora of things I used to either leave undone or let my wife do. So basically I'm a better husband (I think). My blood work is awesome, glucose, A1C, HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, blood pressure and pulse are normal and like that of someone half my age. I dropped 70 lbs. and now my BMI is within a half a point of the "Normal" range. There are so many benefits. The only drawback is that my wife and I struggle with the thermostat, because with a bodyfat % of 15, I'm almost always chilly

I was much colder last winter when I lost most of my weight but now that my weight has stabilized I am not so cold anymore. Maybe our bodies get adjusted to the new normal eventually?

I think the coldness can be a sign of adaptive thermogenesis (down-regulation of subtle body processes causing lower basal metabolic rate) that's a demonstrated effect of weight loss, especially if fast weight loss. In maintenance, there can be recovery from this, faster for some people than for others. When I lost weight in my late teens, I was cold all the time after. This round, weight loss at 59, I was never colder than I'd been as an obese person. I don't think the "fat is insulation" explanation is the whole story.

@Onedaywriter Ain't that the truth. Life will throw you curve balls but you're no longer down for the count. You go to the closet and put on your new clothes. They're like an armor, makes you smile.

I am a lot more physical in general, I move and dance a lot more and I'm not talking about exercise so much as just in my daily life. Before, I felt great and had energy (yes even 100+ lb heavier)...but feeling self-conscious and ashamed of my size made me sedentary more than any physical or medical reason. It's nice to just do whatever...it's great to strike a silly pose in photos or dance like mad at concerts.