I’ve been making some progress in the “Building My Health Team” department since I last posted on the subject. First to cross of my list was getting the ball rolling with a primary physician. For those of you out there making a “hey, I’ve never had a primary doctor, and I need lots-o-help” appointment like I was, it’s actually a lot less terrifying than you might imagine. If you simply call and ask to make a appointment to “establish primary care,” they know exactly what you’re talking about.

I really clicked with my Doctor. She was extremely warm, genuine, and seemed to have the same kind of “Well, let’s fix this!” attitude that I was looking for. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous I would go in and have a doctor say “You’re having trouble losing weight? Don’t eat so much, fatty.” That’s me, assuming the worse. I’m working on it.

This is the laundry list Dr Denise and I chatted about:
* Extremely low energy, never feeling rested
* Body aches, both muscles and bones
* No or very minimal weight loss despite genuine effort
* Depression, anxiety, mood swings (also being addressed in therapy)
* Recovering Binge-eater (I brought up incase she thought my metabolism should be checked)
* Extreme amounts of cancer in my family history (to lay groundwork for possible mammogram)

When all was said and done, we laid a lot of plans out for what could be wrong, what she personally thought was wrong, and what to do about it. We took some blood to test my thyroid (which has a direct relationship to your metabolism) and … a new thing I’d never heard of … to test my Vitamin D levels.

 

The picture above illustrates where we get most of our Vitamin D levels from. The sun being the most powerful source. Symptoms of low levels include (but not limited to): depression, chronic fatigue, sore muscles, fragile bones, compromised immune system, and and increased chance to certain cancers. Sounding familiar yet? It may also compromise your weight loss efforts:

Obesity can also be related to vitamin D deficiency. If you are trying to lose weight, but you are not getting anywhere with your diet – perhaps your vitamin D levels are low. According to several researches, vitamin D deficiency can prevent you from losing weight, no matter how hard you exercise. Patients who have recovered from vitamin D deficiency say that it is much easier to lose weight, now that their vitamin D levels are normal again.

- Source

Not to my surprise, my levels were low. Extremely low. So much that my doctor called me at home to say that I immediately needed to be started on prescriptive supplements. Most healthy adults should have a D level of 30-40 units* My score? 13. 13 !!! This is way way too low, especially for someone who’s exercising (needing the muscle repairing properties of D) and with a history of depression. Who knew? I certainly didn’t!

*I don’t pretend to know that this means. I did find some research that says the units are some kind of blood/bone density comparison. Doctor I am not.

(source)

So this is what I take now. Once a week, this pretty little green pill delivers 50,000iu of Vitamin D to my body. After day one I could tell the difference. No joke. I actually was able to wake up in the morning. I felt less stressed/angered at work. I just felt more … awake. More alert and present. Before, I would half sleep/half grump my way through the day. Sure, this magic little pill didn’t make me love my job (I wish!) but it sure made it more bearable by having the appropriate amount of energy. I can’t say it’s had much effect on my weight loss efforts, but I didn’t really expect it to. If anything, it will help by giving me the rested feeling I deserve after working so hard! My random body aches/fatigue have also practically disappeared. I feel so much better just from one little supplement!

There are so many benefits to Vitamin D, that I really urge you to do some research and get your levels checked next time your visit your doctor. Even the New York Times agrees You can always pick up some over-the-counter pills, but speaking with your doctor first is a must. Getting too much is not a good thing either. Don’t mess around with your health!

_________

Talk to me! Do you take any supplements that you feel really help you? Have you ever had your Vitamin D levels checked?

 

-Emily
Be Strong. Be Fearless.