What's the best thing about "your" weight loss journey?

Hey Friends, What's the best thing to come from "your" weight loss journey?  Before surgery I weighed in at 351, BMI 44+. My co-morbities were GERD, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, severe back pain, joint pain, shortness of breath, and who knows what other undiagnosed problems that come along with morbid obesity. Once the surgery was behind me, it took about 2-3 weeks to start to feel the positive effects. The joint pain wasn't as bad, my back didn't hurt as much, I could breath better, the GERD was gone (still not sure what the hell it is), and my blood pressure returned to normal range. Oh, and buying clothes at the mall is pretty good, too. Lastly, not carrying the extra 112 pounds is pretty awesome. BUT, for me, the best thing is not having the sleep apnea anymore. Before surgery, I would wake up and feel like someone beat the crap out of me all night long. I would sleep 12+ hours a night, and it still wasn't enough. Now, it only takes about 6-7 hours and I wake up feeling refreshed. Some nights I even sleep through the night without ever waking up. It sures make life so much easier. So, what about you? What the best thing to come from your weight loss journey?

Hello My Texas Brother.... The energy is amazing, before I was one step away from usuing the scooter at Walmart... now I go do a full work out at the gym, then cut the grass, do the laundry..fun fun...do the shoping, and then go to dinner....and still have energy for hanky panky...it does seem like there is not enough hours in the day, when as before I was always waiting to go back to bed... Great question Russ

Hey Russ, It's funny how the little things are the best part of the journey. How you feel when you first wake up can make or break the day. When I wake up full of energy the rest of the day just falls into place. I'm not discounting all the other benefits, because they contribute just as much.  Ronnie

Wish I could contribute but, I'm still dealing with paragraph 1...   Still waiting on the Psy-eval date and the Surgery date. Mike

Mike, You should take out a peice of paper and write down all the things that you dislike about your pre-op life. Put that paper away until you're about 6 months post-op. Once you compare the list to your new life, you'll know that the work was well worth it. Jump through those gov't hoops and git 'r' done.  Ronnie

For me it's the return of "Hope". I now get out of bed expecting each day to be better than the last. Before, I awoke wondering what was going to go wrong today. Life is definetly brighter not carrying all the excess baggage that is obesity- and  I'm only down about 50 lbs. overall. I can't imagine what life will be like as a thin man, but I can't wait to find out. DD  

OK DD, you're best thing is more thoughtful than mine. I think we all know exactly what you're talking about. The hardest part of being a thin man, is realizing that you're a thin man. When I look into the mirror, I see my fat self. Adversely, when I look at myself in a picture, I can't believe I'm as small as I am. Go Figure! Ronnie  

If I had to narrow it down to one thing?  The sex life.  Bottom line, no questions asked. I may still weigh almost 400 (395 as of this AM) but, i'm also 6ft. 3in. tall. I carry this much better than I did 566. DON'T GET ME WRONG!! I AINT STOPPIN THE LOSIN!!!!!!!!!!!! Secondly but all equally good: No more sleep apnea No more indigestion No more back pain No more stress-guilt-binge eating No more "walk-for-30-seconds-and-be-out-of-breath" crap No more ever shrinking clothes Not near so many weird looks from people when I shop for food. and did i happen to mention the fun time with the wife is better?

Wow D,  OK, I'm wondering about something. You still weigh more than I did pre-op, and we had similar symptoms. But even though I weighed less than you, I still had all these symptoms. Why do all these co-morbities go away after gastric bypass, seemingly no matter what your weight. All I can say is WLS is a miracle surgery. Ronnie

My body functioned for a long time just fine at 300 - 400. I was always described as a "This guy in a fat suit." Even though I was larger than most people, my BP was normal, I slept fine, had plenty of energy and the wife's and my sex life was just fine. Take this for what it is, I have no reason to lie to y'all. Even at 400, I still have plenty of ability to fool around. It wasn't until I hit 450+ that i started to have urinary / erectile problems. I am really lucky that at 400, even though i'm still a fat ass ( don't get offended boys. I'm my loudest critic ) , I carry it well.  I'm by no means happy with where i'm at but, i'm gettin better. I will be happy when my scale tips under 250.