You definitely do, especially if you start incorporating exercise (doesn't have to be a major sweat-fest or super-structured exercise plan right away, just get moving a bit. Adding strength training will also help with regaining functional strength.).
It too me a long time to really notice a difference in how I felt - some people will tell you that 20 pounds is enough to make a difference, and that may be true medically, but I didn't perceive a difference until about 55 pounds were gone. Then, I noticed I could stand longer, walk further, hop up the stairs without effort. By the time I'd lost about 85 pounds I felt like a switch had flipped. I could cross my legs again! I had tons of stamina. I started getting more chores done around the house because I didn't have to sit down and rest so frequently. I became a person who bounds up the stairs two at a time - that just happened, without conscious efforts. I stepped up the intensity of my exercise too - again, it sort of just happened, because I found to my surprise i had a body that wanted to move.
It won't happen overnight, or with a few weeks' dieting. But if you stil to your plan long enough to lose a significant amount of weight and really transform your body - for me it was 50-80 pounds, or about 1-1.5 years - you can regain a ton of strength and mobility, and really feel like you got a new body.
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