My Joy in Losing Weight

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence” (Psalm 16:11).

A smile, a big smile broke across my face this morning as I stepped on the scale for my morning weigh-in. 216 pounds! Wow!

It’s taken a lot of discipline, miles of walking, and tracking my caloric intake on my LoseIt app. And, it’s taken a lot of time to drop from 247 pounds to 216.

Plus, I’ve had to manage my Type-1 insulin dependent diabetes. Not enough carbs sends me into a shakey insulin reaction and makes me want to eat everything in the refrigerator. I know the rule. Eat 15 carbs. Wait 15 minutes and repeat if necessary.

When my glucose reading is 70 or below, I implement the rule and go lay down away from the kitchen. I self-talk. “I’ll be OK. Just give it time. Don’t panic!”

My Medtronic insulin pump is a Godsend. It gives me a continuous readout. I can watch my glucose reading slowly rise giving me assurance that I’ll feel better shortly. Just wait for it. Don’t overreact.

So yea, it’s tough sometimes, but I’ve done it. And I’ve done it the right way. No magic weight loss pills. No weight loss drinks. Just lots and lots of water flushing out the fat.

And healthy eating. Salads for lunch and dinner with olive oil and vinegar dressing, 3-4 ounces of healthy protein, vegetables like steamed broccoli, and a few carbs like boiled potatoes for dinner. Healthy fat like an ounce of Kerrygold pure butter tops it off. Now I do enjoy a dessert. I found Dove’s mini ice cream bars and occasionally have one of those. I’ve found that if I slowly eat small bites, I’m satisfied. Ha, they are so small that I could pop the whole thing in my mouth!

I have to confess that I do take medication for appetite control. I talked with my endocrinologist about my difficulty in losing weight. My endocrinologist prescribed Ozempic®, a once-weekly injection of .5 mg non-insulin medicine that, along with diet and exercise, may help improve blood sugar in adults. Ozempic helps keep me from lows too and helps suppress my appetite.

It’s a nice feeling to be down from a 46 inch pants size to a 42, and the 42s are a little loose now.

My ever watchful wife, a retired nurse, says, “Your belly is going down.” I can see it.” Ahh, another big smile breaks out.

Not only is there joy in my weight loss, there’s added energy. I actually have energy to do things. Before, I felt lethargic and sleepy a lot. It’s called “brain fog.” But no more. My mind is as clear as this bright December Georgia blue sky. Awesome!

My sleep is sound too. I wear a Fitbit which not only measures my steps but also measures my sleep. That’s another thing I do every morning. It has a corresponding app that I can look at which gives me my sleep score. Last night, it was 84, a “B” and recorded 7 hours and 24 minutes of sleep. And the neat thing about a good night’s sleep is that I lose weight while sleeping. Yep! You burn the MOST fat with a good night’s sleep of 7-8 hours. https://youtu.be/IrgxOaIDt5c

On the other hand, studies have shown that sleep-deprived individuals tend to choose foods that are high in calories and carbohydrates. (Source: Sleep Foundation.)

Years ago, I went in for a sleep study because my sleep was so restless. The doctor said I had sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. You snore loudly and feel tired every morning. I used to fall asleep at work and sometimes would get so sleepy driving that I had to pull over and sleep a little.

The solution was a CPAP, or as I call it, a sleep machine. (Continuous positive airway pressure therapy). It’s a mask you wear that increases air pressure in your throat so that your airway doesn’t collapse when you breathe in causing you to wake up. I never will forget how rested I felt the first night that I wore it. That was years ago. I take it wherever I go. It’s journeyed with me to Alaska, Hawaii, and on every camping trip we take.

All of these factors, tools, medications, time, determination, and persistence have influenced my happy smile this morning. Oh, the joy of losing weight!

Thanks for reading. I hope and pray this blog is helpful and encouraging. You can do it too!