Glad to read that a small modification in your eating habits have resulted in new life in those legs.

Unless one maintains a certain level of focus on what's truly important, taking life for granted is common place when things are "copacetic." The daily passage of time on cruise control and not paying attention to the small things will in the long term bite us in the butt as we age. A proper diet is critical in keeping the engine running at optimum efficiency even when not required so a little tweaking can make a noticeable difference in performance output when time comes to exert greater effort on the pedals to eclipse the once not too challenging climb that has now seemingly become a mountain. Keep on crank'n to the max.