I have lost 21 pounds in 4 weeks! :)

My daughter and I went to see our PCP yesterday, because we were both exposed to mononucleosis and were having symptoms.  The worst symptom for both of us was severe fatigue, but also difficult breathing, sore throat, stomach discomfort and a low-grade fever.  I highly doubt that either of us have mono, because surely we have both been exposed in the past.  I have worked from home since my daughter was just a baby, but I also worked at a private church school for a few years.. so I think one outweighs the other.  Of course my daughter has been in public school all these years, so I am positive she has been exposed at some point.  Our doctor did want to run a blood panel for mono, just to be safe.  Apparently when you have mono, the spleen is vulnerable.  So a diagnosis is used to be cautious in our activities to prevent it from rupturing.  We both left with a prescription for a Z-Pack, and doctor’s orders for bed rest, and lots of fluids.  The results should be in today, and I am betting on a double negative and a diagnosis of run-of-the-mill flu.

Usually I complain, groan, or protest when the nurse asks me to step onto the scale.  She must have remembered this, because she told me that I didn’t have to get on the scale if I didn’t want to.  I did want to!  At my last appointment, I found out that I had lost 10 pounds in about 10 days.  So I was anxious to see how the numbers came out this time.  I don’t keep a scale at the house because it makes me feel like our weight is central to everyday life, and this just isn’t healthy with an impressionable teenage girl in the house. That and I just couldn’t stand to see my numbers.  So I happily drop my purse and book, and climb up onto the scale.  I watched as the digital numbers fluttered past, and then finally settled on the verdict:  I have lost 21 pounds in 4 weeks!

I have been trying to lose weight for years.  I have tried so many different diet plans, without success.  As a matter of fact, I was doing a fat-free diet (which helped me to lost weight years earlier) and actually gained 19 pounds in a 3 week period!  Of course I had undiagnosed diabetes at the time.  When I think back on the past 4-5 years, I easily determine that I have had diabetes the whole time.  Not just the weight gain, but the total lack of energy, blurry vision, the DAILY swelling of my feet and ankles, and the stomach discomfort. My PCP had me coming in every 90 days for blood work, to watch my glucose levels.  It was always in the 130’s on a fasting blood draw, and because it stayed in that range – he was reluctant to make the diagnosis.

I remember when I was gaining weight, thinking how great it would feel to be losing weight.  I prayed, pleaded, read everything I could get my hands on, crossed my fingers and toes – any and everything to lose weight.  Now that I am finally dropping the pounds, it feels so good!  I can’t help but smile every time I think of it.  Thank you Lord for answered prayer.  And thank you Victoza for the hand up..