Happy Happy Hormones and Holidays

Well somehow I managed to lost almost 20 lbs over the past two months, even with lots and lots of holiday cheat days. I started November 1st and 211 lbs and as of today December 29th I am at 192. That is 19 lbs for a total weight loss of 91 lbs. Yes, in the past year, I have lost 91 lbs. It sounds crazy just saying it. I never ever thought when I started this journey at 283 lbs, with chronic pain and out of control PCOS, that within a year I would be 9 lbs away from losing 100 lbs !!!!

No surgery. No fancy paid diet services. No magic pills. Just hard work and discipline. I made it a routine. I truly made it a lifestyle. And unless you count gardening and cleaning, I didn't even work out.

I have yet to decide exactly what my goal weight is. I still think I will just feel it when I get there. I know that according to BMI charts to no longer be considered obese I need to weigh 182 or less. To no longer be considered overweight I need to weigh somewhere between 117 (ha!) and 155 lbs. The BMI charts crack me up. For instance I might weigh 192 lbs but I have a 32 inch waist and wear a size 14. I don't think they take into account breasts either. These D cup puppies must weight at least 5 lbs each! I also like to joke that my brain weighs a lot. But seriously. At 125-135 lbs I wear a size 2-4. At 135-145 I wear a size 4-6. At 145-155 I wear a size 6- 8. At 155-170 I wear a size 10-12. At 170 -185 I wear a size 12-14. And obviously at 185-195 I wear a 14-16. I don't think I want to be smaller than a size 10. I am not a teenager anymore. I am a woman. I want to look like a woman. A size 10 and I would be ecstatic!  So I guess my goal is somewhere between 155 and 170. But again if all I did was hit the 100 lb weight loss mark and get down to 183 and a size 12-14 I would be perfectly happy. Perfectly!

I also got great lab results back from blood work I had done on the 15th. This is without metformin or hormone pills.

Blood sugar - 105 Normal
Hemoglobin Alc 5.3 Normal 4.8-5.6 / 5.7-6.4 increased risk for diabetes / 6.5 or great = diabetes
Cholesterol - 191  Normal - 100-199
Triglycerides 82 Normal 0-149
HDL (good cholesterol) 74 Normal greater than 39 / anything over 59 is considered a negative risk factor for heart disease
LH and FSH (ovulation hormones) - normal
Thyroid - normal
Estrogen 43.9 !!! Normal 12.5-498. (Depends on what phase of your cycle you are in the follicular, luteal or ovulation phase)  So yes you might be thinking 43.9 is low but once it was 9. Literally my estrogen level was 9. My doctor said that was equivalent to women who have had hysterectomies or were in their 90's.
Oh and all my organ and blood numbers are normal :)

Everything was normal. Nothing stood out. Just a little low on iron, chloride and vitamin D - but I hadn't taken my normal multi-vitamin in a few weeks due to running out so that should be easily fixed. I should be able to lower my cholesterol levels even more with further weight loss and regular exercise. Also, my estrogen levels should keep improving as I watch my insulin and testosterone levels.

So yay for health, hormones and losing weight over the holidays ! It is almost time for a new year. If you are thinking about making a change there is no better time than now.