Grateful for protein via /r/gratitude

I was having some health issues two years ago and through process of elimination I ended up only being able to eat plant based foods. I lost a bunch of weight, but I was trying to, so I thought it was a good thing. A few months ago I decided to try to reintroduce some foods back into my diet. I gained some weight, but I’m learning to love myself anyway and accept that this is just part of my journey. So for the past week or so Ive been eating fish and have really noticed how different I feel. Ive read and been told that protein is so important but I kind of just shrugged it off. Ive been tracking my food over the past two years and I admit that my protein intake was about half of what the app suggested but I thought I felt “good” so I figured I was ok. I’m eating fish instead of tofu and making sure that in hit my target. Started that last Wednesday so it’s been little over a week. A few days ago I noticed that when I’m working out the burn in my muscles feels different. I’m used to feeling the burn and it would kind of be painful and I’d always want to stop my reps then. I thought that was the burn that everyone talked about so I assumed I was doing good by pushing through it. But now , since I’ve started eating enough protein through fish, when I feel the burn it’s not painful at all, it’s just a burn. Like a pleasant type of warmth I feel. I’m seeing my biceps get bigger now too. I was also always thinking about food, which was a pain in the a$$ but I just thought it was me. Now that’s going away, too. Could it be that simple, though? I went all of that time basically starving and this is how my body was telling me something was wrong but I was too dumb to listen. Thinking that the numbers on the scale going down was proof that I was getting “healthier”?? I feel so silly. But if you think about it and how the human body is designed…. 🤔 if we’re losing weight then the body thinks that something is wrong not right….. right? I mean on a mechanistic level. I don’t know – I’m rambling now – anywho – I’m grateful for understanding now just how important protein is for me. Better late than never, I suppose.