How has losing weight changed your life?

My confidence has also improved a lot. It wasn't the weight loss itself or bodily changes that did it (although it didn't hurt!) but the act of caring for myself and making my health and well-being a much more important part of my life. I realized how nice it felt to put myself first, and how people actually respond more positively to you when you respond more positively to yourself.

I think if I were to try and detail all the ways I would make a post so long that even some of the more verbose posters like @AnnPT77, @PAV8888, and @lemurcat12 would tell me to shut up.

The changes are dramatic and so epic that I feel like I am 8 years old again and every day is Christmas.

Gaining weight changes your life more than losing weight. When you lose your weight...you feel like yourself. The old young you that you thought was lost. Is found.

Okay, the obvious ones first - way better health (I was borderline high bloodpressure and borderline diabetic and now both is fine and I don't have to take any meds). Feeling all around more stable and happy. When life throws me a curveball, my before-reaction would've been to cry and eat snacks. Now I'm more like "Well, let's face it and do something". I just have way more energy.

But I'm also more relaxed.
I don't have to be so hyper-aware of my surroundings anymore - I can just sit in a chair or even crosslegged on the ground or on the edge of a table, which would be impossible before.

What I enjoy most is super vain though. When I visited people before my weight loss I would always (always!) keep an extra change of clothes with me. It had happend to me in the past that I ruined a shirt or a pair of pants (or wasn't dressed warm enough) and people offered to lend me something, but of course, NOTHING would fit me. It was mortifying and I hated it.
This summer we visited the in-laws and I had dressed too warmly so my mother-in-law offered to lend me a pair of shorts. And I smiled and said yes and I didn't even worry about it - because I knew it would just fit. I basically fit into anything now.
Okay maybe not a size 4 or smaller (but hey, I guess a pair of comfy size 4-sweatpants might look like leggins on me, but I just might fit in), but most of the times I'm reasonably sure that almost any clothes will fit me and are most likely too big and not too small.

Summer in general used to be terrible for me. I hated showing my legs and would always sweat miserably in jeans. I didn't even own short pants and I would basically try to hide inside. Now I just throw on a pair of shorts or a skirt and I'm good to go. Also no chub rub anymore!

Of course I'm still human and I have bad days and life might be stressful or terrible - but everything feels easier to deal with since I've lost weight. In retrospect I think my bodyweight was just ... crushing me. It made it impossible for me to enjoy things (I would always be SO self-aware of every little jiggle and every roll and just how BIG I was and I hated it) and it made dealing with other things on top of it incredibly hard and almost impossible.
Now I feel just... lighter. I lost the weight two years ago and I still enjoy this light feeling every second of the day.

My foot stopped hurting.

That was the first thing that got better. I think it was mostly extra weight causing strain. However, the more I read about inflammation caused by poor diet the more I credit swapping in fruits and veggies for the drastic improvement. Slowly my mental state shifted, my physical activity increased, pounds were shed, and my outlook has shifted.

To anybody that needs to hear this: talk to your doctor about mental health issues and take the first imperfect steps to better all aspects of your health. I see now I was in a vicious cycle of poor mental* and physical health, and now I am in a more virtuous cycle. It seems unfair the detriments of the vicious cycle are expedient and flow effortlessly together to gain inertia and the outcomes of virtuous actions merely make the next good choice modestly more attainable.

*it was depression and stress, medication has helped.

I feel happy again.

The change that has the biggest impact isn't so much from the weight loss (which is at least 50 pounds) but the improved food choices which reduced the inflammation in my body. I'm 64 and for decades I have hated my fat ankles (that I had even when I weighed less than I do currently). With the inflammation under control, I now have ankles again. I have to be careful because I'll be sitting around with my friends, see my ankles, and admire them. LOL

As for the weigh loss changes, I have lost that blob of fat that was on the front of my shins. I've recycled clothes from my closet that I wore in the 90's (yes, I'm a bit of a packrat) that are back in style. I have so much more energy. I used to drive the 1/3 mile to my neighbors' house and now I walk. I had a TKR three years ago and the weight loss means my new knee has less pressure on it and will last longer. I still have a lot of weight to lose but my BMI has dropped from 42 to 34. I had gotten down to 29 (and was so excited to be overweight instead of obese!) but I had a setback. I've been getting back on track. Fortunately, the food choice changes stayed mostly intact so it was portion sizes because I didn't cut back when I couldn't/wasn't getting my exercising in.

I've been reading everyone's success stories to help keep me on course. My goal is to lose another 40-50 pounds. I won't have a BMI under 25 (more like 27) at that point but there is nothing to keep from changing the goal if I want to!

So far (40 lbs) my mental health has done a 180 in improvement. Still have my down days (anxiety/depression) but I work on it with healthier coping skills. I feel like losing weight and just adopting healthier habits in general has helped. I also just feel like myself again, gaining my confidence back more & more since re-starting my journey in July 2020. Better breathing and I slowly fitting back into clothes I haven't worn in months or years.

I walk with my head held high. I don't hide away,. I'm me again - And I'm nowhere near done yet...!

Not very much really. I've lost weight mainly to avoid chronic illnesses that are extremely common in my family. So far so good. But who knows if bad genetics might pop up and smack me in the face some day anyway. Losing weight does seem to make exercise a little easier, and *that* has improved my mental health a lot. So there's that.

I feel less floppy and uncomfortable when I sit. Everyday stuff like carrying shopping is easier. I'm more flexible. I can get up the stairs and hills easier. Slight ab definition showing through while lifting when I engage my core. I'm very excited with my results, small though they may seem to some 😊

Losing almost 100 pounds has helped me in several ways. First thing was my energy. I no longer felt the need to take naps all the time. I was finding myself being more and more productive throughout the day. I also noticed that my knee stopped hurting. I no longer needed to take medication everyday to keep the pain away. Another thing that was noticeable was my mental health. I was happier, I did not feel stressed all the time, my anxiety was a lot lower as well. Starting this journey was the best decision I could have made for myself. I still have a long journey ahead of me and I know that it will take me a couple of years to get to my end results, but I am looking forward to it.

I already posted but I just want to put this here because I think it needs to be talked about more openly:

Sex has become easier and better. People shouldn't be ashamed to talk about this stuff. It's an important part of life for most people.