My Weight Loss Journey

     I've always struggled with my weight, but when I do decide to lose weight, I do it!  I lost approximately 35-40 lbs in 2000.  Most of you know that I am very "all or nothing".  Either I don't step on a scale or try on new clothes (cuz in my mind denial is better than actually knowing how much I weight or that I need to go up yet another pant size!), and continue to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, or I follow a fairly strict regimen. I lost weight before the wedding.  I had motivation!  I had a wedding dress I needed to fit into, and gosh darnit, I was going to look good in those wedding pictures which last forever!  I did fit into that dress and I looked and felt amazing! :) 

     The wedding came and went and I lost my motivation.  I no longer had a wedding dress to fit into, the gorgeous pictures had already been taken by my wonderful SIL, I was comfortable being married, my Husband loved me regardless of if I was fat or skinny! So for the first 6 months of our marriage, I gained 20-25 lbs.  Jonathan actually lost 10 lbs!  December 8th I bought the best Pedometer ever, and started walking about 6,000-7,000 steps a day.  In the past year I have had Cellulitis 3 different times.  Cellulitis is a nasty bacterial infection.  I have Venous Insuffiency (a vein disorder in my legs), which makes me more prone to Cellulitis. The last time I had Cellulitis was the end of January of this year.  At that time I weighed 207-209 lbs!  I am only 5'3 inches tall!  I realized my weight had gotten out of control!  That was the most I had ever weighed in my life! 

Here is a pic of me which was taken on January 2nd in Chicago. We were celebrating my 38th Birthday which was the following day:

     I went back to my Dr. in early February.  I wanted to get to the bottom of why I kept getting Cellulitis so frequently!  She said that "Once or twice having Cellulitis in such a short period of time, we can chalk up to fluke things, but 3 times, there is probably something going on".   So about a week later I fasted for 12 hours and had blood drawn and tested.  The results were mailed to me.  On February 8th I got the results.  I wasn't prepared for what I was going to read.  When I read the words "Pre-Diabetes" I instantly panicked and felt anxious!  My impaired fasting glucose was 108.  I had never heard of pre-diabetes before.  I later found out it used to be called "impaired fasting glucose, but those words didn't communicate just how serious the condition is, and people weren't making the changes they needed to make.  Reading "Pre-Diabetes" on that paper, was the motivation I needed!  I was determined NOT to let this turn into Diabetes! I DO NOT want to have to give myself insulin shots!  I had a choice to make!  Either I would continue down the same path, which wasn't looking very good!  Or I would make the necessary lifestyle changes.  Here is the range of fasting glucose numbers and how those numbers are classified:

     Here is the the definition of Prediabetes according to Wikipedia:  "Prediabetes is the state in which some but not all of the diagnostic criteria for diabetes are met. It is often described as the “gray area” between normal blood sugar and diabetic levels.  There is a 50% risk over 10 years of progressing to overt diabetes. A recent study cited the average time for progression as less than three years."

     Thankfully I had started the First Annual "J-La-Sta 10,000 Steps Walking Challenge" on January 8th and was walking 10,000 steps a day!  Had I not been walking for those 2 months prior to my blood test, I probably would have had a higher glucose level!  My husband also realized that we needed to eat better for my health and for his health.  In February or March we started making dietary changes. We weigh most of our food, so we know exactly how much we are eating.  I am SO thankful we are doing this together!  It would be so much harder to do without the support and encouragement of the one you are living with!  We do not keep sugary cereals in the house, etc.  We are both on board with these lifestyle changes!  The walking challenge ended on March 30th, but we continue to walk at least 10,000 steps a day for 6 days out of the week.  I am happy to report that Jonathan has lost a total of 50 lbs since the wedding and I have lost 30 lbs since the end of January! (See pic below which was taken on June 23rd, 2012.

     I go back in 2 months to have my blood checked again.  I am confident that because of my walking, healthier eating, and weight loss, my glucose level will be much lower than it was!  What is my new motivation for losing weight?  I love my God, my Husband, my Friends, my Family, and last but not least, I love ME! :)

I have 42 more lbs to lose to get to my goal of 135 lbs.  I can and will do this with the strength I get from God, and from the support and encouragement I receive from my Husband, Family, and Friends! :)
 

My Uninvited & Unwanted Guest

     I have an uninvited and unwanted guest who has chosen to visit me 3 times in the past 7 months.  The first time it chose to visit a week and a half (end of June) before we flew to FL for our destination wedding.  The next time was 4 months after that (end of October), and then it came back to visit me 3 months later (now - end of January). This guest just really must like me, and more specifically loves my legs!  In June it favored my right leg and the past 2 times it has preferred my left leg. One would think it would get the hint that the feeling is definitely NOT mutual!  :)

     This guest is called Cellulitis. It is an infection, which left untreated, can turn septic in your system and turn very serious very quickly.  My husband's father was hospitalized for a week with it years ago. Thankfully, each time I have had it I've gotten to the Dr. right away and was put on antibiotics and didn't need to be hospitalized.  However, I have used more vacation days for this infection than I would care to. 

     I have had circulation problems in my legs/ankles for as long as I can remember and about 3 years ago I was finally diagnosed with Venous Insufficiency, you can click on the previous link to read a blog I wrote about it in 2009.  Here is an article that explains Venous Insufficiency and below is a diagram that compares normal veins in the lower legs to abnormal veins in the lower legs:

     My ankles and lower legs swell frequently, so that is nothing new.  It can be annoying and inconvenient and makes it hard to fit my feet into my shoes at times. However, I don't lose time from work because of it.   When I first got Cellulitis before the wedding, it was very scary because I didn't know what it was.  The 2nd and 3rd time it came, I knew what it was and knew I needed to get myself to the Dr. right away to get started on the antibiotics.  The Dr.'s have told me I am much more prone to cellulitis because of my venous insufficiency.  Cellulitis can be caused by being extremely obese, but my Dr. said I am not in that category. 

I am thankful my Dr. is taking this seriously.  She said the first two times someone has cellulitis, they chalk it up to being a "fluke thing", but because I have had it 3 times in 7 months, there is something else going on.  First she is going to have me fast for 12 hours and get my blood drawn.  If everything is normal, she is then going to refer me to a Vascular Surgeon. 

It has been very hard for me to sit still, harder as I'm starting to feel a bit better, because I am the "Team Captain" for a Walking Challenge. I was consistently getting a high number of steps a day, and now this is really setting me back. However, it's better than the alternative of ending up in the hospital!

I am very blessed to have an amazing husband who called off work yesterday to take care of me and make sure I was following the Dr.'s orders! :)  Things like being sick were so much harder without someone around to help.  I also have awesome friends and family who have texted, called, stopped over to visit, shown me FB love and offered to help.  God is good and I am so thankful that the antibiotics have worked pretty quickly each time, and saved me a stay or three in the hospital!  The Dr. said I can go back to work on Monday, so at least I will only have to use 2 vacation days this time around. She also said I can resume my walking on Monday!  Yay! :)  I hope I'm feeling up to it.

Thank you very much for your thoughts and prayers as we continue to get to the bottom of this!