Do you feel better now that you have lost weight?

[Sparklingbeauty53 202]

I hear this all the time. What do they mean? I am the same person I was before. I feel fine and I always have. I don't feel any diffferent really. My health has improved, my diabetes has normalized, I no longer need insullin or tons of meds but I didn't have any physical ailments that have improved per se. What am I susposed to say-oh yes I feel much better? I don't. I know in my head I am healthier and I love that but it doesn't make me feel better physically. I never know how to answer that. Can anyone else relate?

[betty_s 476]

I know, in my own experience, I actually DO feel better. At 303 lbs, I hated taking the stairs, tying my shoes, or even just getting dressed because I was out of breath afterwards. I was always tired and just really felt depressed.

Now, even just 33 lbs lighter, I feel the complete opposite as above. I'm going to the gym, can run at a 6 pace on the treadmill, and take the stairs everywhere I go.

So, I do feel so much better, personally, but if you already felt good, great for you!

[Chelly 364]

Well lets see. I have a lot of physical ailments that are better in that I can move more and for a longer time. My pain varies from different times of day but I deal with it since I can't take pain meds any more.

I have fibromyalgia, stenosis of the spine, arthritis, RSD and I exercise at the gym four times a week on the stationary bicycle doing nine miles in 40 minutes. I do some walking every day.

So I can answer that I feel better because there is less of me in that I have more mobility. I don't have to walk with my cane any more or use the motorized carts in the stores any more to get around.

I also look better and I like the fact I can go into most stores and buy clothes.

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,280]

Yes! Absolutely.

Everything from my knees to just the way I fit into a chair. I can walk miles and miles and not need a break. I look in the mirror and I feel accomplished and don't want to look away too quickly. I feel more confident meeting new people and not wonder if they think bad things about me. I feel confident enough to give advice to other people about what to eat, how to workout and safe means to weight loss.

I just love the confidence in myself, it's hard to explain. This person has always been in here, but she's been living in a cocoon. Maybe your time hasn't happened yet when you really realize that you do feel better, but I believe it will happen eventually.

Stay stronger!

[Sparklingbeauty53 202]

Thanks ladies! It is amazing not using a cane anymore and taking the stairs, etc. I am so happy for both of you. I do exercise more easily now too. I am grateful for this opportunity and for the weight loss. I don't want to sound in any way ungrateful. My co morbidities were just the no symptom types!

[lisacaron 5,075]

I was like you and though I had some co-morbitids they were not symptom related. However after losing weight even a minimal amount I felt more energetic and I am able to do so much more. I am motivated to get up and get out there and do 100 more things then I do in an average day.

For those who know me they know I cannot and do not sit still and I don't stop. I am always on the go doing something learning something doing 100 things at once and now I am doing 200

I have also learned to shift things in my life and make myself priority #1 where before I always made myself last on the list and that never feels good. So yes taking care of myself and having more energy and being able to do more in a day and give back to the community etc. makes me feel good and I would not feel that way if I had not lost the extra weight that was holding me down just for the sheer physical inability to get things done.

[SwanRose 86]

Sparklingbeauty53,

I can relate to this. I've been blessed with good health and no serious co-morbidities (though I realize without WLS they could be waiting for me around the next corner), but any time I've (temporarily) lost a bit of weight before on a conventional diet I've had people say things like "Oh you must feel so much better now."

I always found remarks like this extremely patronizing. Who were they to assume that I felt bad before?

Even worse are those who will say "Oh you must feel so much better about yourself now." Because, of course, I must have really loathed and despised myself before losing those pounds!

Some people just have to talk down to you, it's in their nature, and even if they mean well it's very, very annoying. I used to join a group of ladies in our community pool for Water aerobics sessions but every single time I got in the Water one woman would come over to me, pat me on the arm and say "You just do whatever you can, dear." I never had any trouble doing the exercises, but she assumed I'd be incapable. Needless to say, I prefer going to the pool by myself now.

We have to put up with so much when we carry excess weight - being insulted by strangers, being misjudged as not very bright, even being misjudged as not very clean - but the thing I hate most is being condescended to.

[roundisashape 712]

That's actually great - you were smart enough to start down this road before you felt bad! I was just thinking this morning how insidious the obesity monster is. Going from being fat but fine, to realizing that it's harder to move and things that used to be possible aren't anymore, and not really able to identify exactly when that happened - I sure wish I'd started the process sooner!

I'd probably respond with a smile and an, "I'm happy with my accomplishment so far"

[terry1118 1,274]

I actually DO feel better. I've been overweight for almost thirty years. My back, knee, and foot pain is gone! I have TONS of energy! I feel amazing and I'm living my life instead of watching it go by. I am extremely happy! :-)

[Sparklingbeauty53 202]

Thanks again for the responses everyone. I am glad I did this and I know my troubles like knee pain, walking trouble etc. was just around the corner for me so I knew this was a must for me. I don't have big bursts of energy but maybe that will come down the road and I like the response "Yes, I feel better about my accomplishment!" because that is totally true!

[MetroDetroitChic 86]

There is no question I feel better. I can't eat myself into a diabetic coma with three pieces of cake or a huge pile of nutrion-less fettuccine alfredo.

My Iron is under control. My Protein levels are under control. I have energy now!

There is 250pounds less on my bad knee (5lbs of pressure for every 1lb lost).

And I make it to the gym more often than not because I actually WANT to now. It's like I've become an endorphin junkie. I don't feel just a little better, I feel a TON better!

[Writerjennifer 107]

Thanks ladies! It is amazing not using a cane anymore and taking the stairs, etc. I am so happy for both of you. I do exercise more easily now too. I am grateful for this opportunity and for the weight loss. I don't want to sound in any way ungrateful. My co morbidities were just the no symptom types!

I wouldn't say its the surgery specifically. There was a time, when I had been working out two to three times a week religiously. I hadn't lost alot of weight, but I was losing, eating better. I physically felt better. I could climb stairs without getting winded. I could do the daily tasks just that much easier.

But honestly... it wasn't until I fell of the wagon (diet wagon) and stopped exercising. My diet didn't change all at once, just gradually returned to my bad normal. But the exercise stopped and within a couple weeks I felt like crap. I didn't know how good I felt working out and eating better, until I didn't. It was a return to feeling bad that made me realize how good just those small changes made me feel.

I am scheduled for surgery Monday (6-16-14). I can't wait to feel like that all the time, and even more so.