Differences so far

I am a little over six weeks post op and there are so many differences in my life now as compared to before my surgery. I have lost thirty eight pounds since my surgery and fifty two pounds since july 19th. Since two years ago I have lost 75 pounds. I cant wrap my head around the seventy five pounds because it came off so slow and it seems like I never really lost it, but when I look at pictures of myself at that time I can definitely see a difference from then till now. The pics on the left are of me two years ago, the ones on the right are of me now since surgery. I have noticed so much difference in my ability to walk and my energy level. I still get really tired throughout the day and I'm sure that is because I'm only averaging 400 calories a day yet. When we were in st johns for my appointment there was a line up to the registration that was insane, this pic is of the lineup outside of the registration office that stretched back as far as I could see and of course I was at the end of it. One of my probelms in the past couple of years is that I cant stand for long periods without getting a horrible pain in my back and then I would start sweating. Under normal conditions I would have died in that lineup. Sweating, cranky to the point of crying, and ready to have a meltdown. This time however I breezed through and when Bill came to see me after parking the car he was shocked that I was fine and hanging out in the line up didn't bother me at all. Thirty five minutes later and I was not sweating or having my usual meltdown. (I also had meltdowns in store lineups... it wasn't pretty) when we left the hospital Bill looked at me with a worried look on his face (not worried about me, worried about his own well being because he is well aware of my track record) he said "there is a long walk to the car you can sit here on the bench and I can pick you up." I thought about it for a moment and said "nah ill walk" I walked to the car and it was a long way but i didn't even break a sweat, Bill on the other hand was huffing and puffing the whole way. Yeah, there is a big difference in me already. My appointment with the surgeon and the team went remarkably well. My blood work and blood pressure are perfect. Things are going wonderfully and I am so thankful to have had this surgery. The old me creeps back in some times and feels sad that I cant have a big meal and pig out anymore... but those moments are fleeting now compared to the pity and regret party I had in the beginning. This surgery was a gift and i'm so thankful for the opportunity. I had to walk up a flight of stairs last night, not a huge flight but not a small flight either and i didn't find it hard at all. Stairs used to be my nemesis! Before I had my surgery and was working the stairs used to make me out of breath for ten minutes after I was back in the office. I had to have a recovery time. I was impressed with myself last night. Things are changing for the better and I'm so happy. I still get times where I realize how far I have to go. It seems like there is no end in sight. The amount of weight I want to lose seems overwhelming, but then I look at old pictures and realize how far I have come. Bill took this before pic of me about two weeks before my surgery and the after pics are of me a couple of sundays ago. I can see a huge difference. I have fears of the dreaded slack skin (which i have already noticed) but being able to shop with my little man at toys r us for an hour looking at every single item in the store, without getting tired and frustrated shows me that things are getting better. Micah has trouble making decisions and LOVES to shop. I definitely need to get more exercise in and soon have to start walking, I have been really bad at that part of it. I have been swimming and going to aqua fit but I know I need to step it up. I will see an even bigger difference then. Tanks for following me in my journey, ill keep you updated.