My 2nd life, thank you very much!

The whole idea of this intervention I am going to be going through is to start my second life.

I was actually quite fascinated by what my professor told me during my interview and questions and answers session with him. He explained thAt at one point in my life I would have deviated from my normal life expectancy in years as I grew bigger and fatter and more obese. For instance, if I had never become obese, suppose my life expectancy in "normal" circumstances would have been 80 years, then now after being obese it might have been diminished quite a bit, to let's say 70 or maybe even less years.
By doing this gastric bypass surgery, and by then losing most of the excess weight in the months and years following, I would actually return to my original life expectancy, as if I had never been obese or overweight in my life. In my example that would mean I can expect to become 80 again.
It means, and he clarified, that there is actually no "penalty" for having been obese or for having eaten improperly in previous years.
Today is Ash-Wednesday in the Catholic religion, as I am writing this article. And I  can't help but think of the forgiveness part in this religion. You know what I mean... if you have behaved bad in the past, although maybe not always completely  through your own fault, you can be forgiven if you decide to confess. I kind of feel a bit the same way now, I have confessed that I am overweight, that I have not been eating correctly, that I have splurged when I probably shouldn't have, but at the same time it was also my body type that played a role as well. And now that I have confessed, I kind of get forgiveness from my own body, and it will sustain me till the day I was originally destined to die. Kind of neat, if you come to think of it!
But what kind of a life will I be going back to? From what I understand, those first days, weeks, if not months after the operation are not exactly times to look forward to. Painful days ahead, learning a new diet, teaching myself new habits, physical pain. But I have been through al of that already once before, although not all together. Stopping smoking has been an episode of new habits, new ways of looking at life after the cancer sticks in the hand to rely on. Having had the gal bladder removed last year also gave me an idea of the physical pain to be endured, and it is honestly all manageable, or should I call it tolerable?
I have found some nice people Twitter and other websites who have been giving me some previews of what to expect, 1 month post operation and 3.5 months post operation. Nothing again really to look forward to, except then what I keep seeing on the other websites, the before and after pics of people who went through the procedure. Wow if you see those results! It is even a bit of a scary thought seeing myself as a new me after this procedure. One year from now I think that some people who may know me very well may not even recognize me if I change like the people I saw on some of those websites.
So what am I looking forward to then? I am looking forward to move around like any other average person my age, do sports and maybe even excel in one or two again. I look forward to going into stores and buy clothing from the rack, knowing my own new size and them actually having it in stock! I am looking forward to buying a suit without major modifications. I look forward to being less tired, with more energy, although I understand that in the weeks and months post operation it may be even a big challenge to find any energy at all.
In other words, I feel like I am now prepping for a second life in some form, I am being offered a chance to change another one of my bad habits, I just hope I take full advantage of it, that my character proves to hold up just like when I quit my nicotine habit 13 years ago.
Wish me luck :-)