I completely understand your feeling of wonder & elation.

It was like that for me as well. My life was getting smaller & smaller, as I accepted each new limitation, and then suddenly -- though it hasn't happened suddenly, really, since like you, I have worked very hard for a decent amount of time -- it enlarged again & I pushed all those boundaries back through my own efforts.

My fat is in remission, so to speak. (That's how I feel, because the danger is always lurking. I'd like to keep it that way.)

It's a better quality of life.

It almost makes me want to cry for us all, because we didn't realize what was happening while it was happening, and we didn't know we could turn it around & get our lives back again. We just didn't feel we had it in us. Or we didn't know what it would take.

I'm glad we're all making up for missed time.

I'm glad, Uber, you keep having these milestones, comparing last year to this year, and other holiday outings to this one, and other summers you've experienced to the one you're living now. I'm glad you're recognizing & savoring these sweet moments.

Yes, me too. But what I think is really insidious and horrible about morbid obesity, and SAEF mentions this too, is that possibilities close down so gradually that it is very easy be in denial about just how incredibly severe the effects really are. I was used to a lot of stuff I did not need to be used to... but now that those issues are going away, it's even more obvious to me how incredibly awful my quality of life was. Not because I was ashamed of myself, or didn't love myself or something like that. My body just did not function properly at that weight.

This is so wonderful. I loved hearing all these things. Thanks for sharing these terrific things.

I totally get this

The ability to keep up with my 3 children (sometimes they get tired before I do lol) and just be an active person is just amazing!