Day 2....

I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and encouragement I have received already from so many people!  You all have no idea how much it means for you all to know where I am at the inception of this endeavor and instead of judging me, you've come along side of me.  Bless you and THANK you.  I'll be leaning on you, even when you don't realize it.

As some of you have seen on my facebook through various discussions, I do have some other health issues that make this weight loss and transformation more pressing.  First of all, I have Lupus.  Fortunately, it's not very serious and it's in remission.  However, every now and then it makes itself known in its all-too-charming "syndromatic" ways.  My joints get very sore and I get rashes (not the typical butterfly rash) on face and body.  These are annoying, but the more problematic health issue I face is a severe IgA deficiency.  What is an IgA deficiency?  I'm so glad you asked.  :-)

Back in college, I used to get sick...  VERY sick... often.... VERY often.  I thought it was caused by late nights, being involved in too many activities, and being overly social.  While those things didn't help the situation, the sicknesses didn't stop after college.  Bronchitis would come and go at least 4-5 times a year.  This was devastating to a vocal major who depended on her voice for a possible future occupation.  Finally, it became very clear that my health wasn't stable enough for me to pursue that dream and I was going to have to choose another route.  After seeing doctor after doctor, and being on COUNTLESS antibiotics, it was finally discovered that I am missing a protein from my blood (immunoglobulin A) that helps protect the body against viral and bacterial infections. (Click on this link for more information on IgA Deficiency.)  Being sick so often and then having such a long recovery time has greatly inhibited my activity level.  It's not that I can't be active...  it's just that when I come down with an upper respiratory infection, it usually takes a few weeks before my lungs feel normal again and are ready for any kind of real exertion.  There's no other way to describe this other than it's a real pain and is extremely discouraging at times.

My faith in Jesus Christ and the sovereignty of God is what has carried me through the ups and downs of all of this.  I know my health could be a lot worse and I am grateful for the moderately good health that I enjoy most of the time.  In that vein, I feel that it is my responsibility to strengthen myself and fight against forces that are trying to destroy my body.

So again, it brings me here... to Weight Watchers and to this blog to document my journey.

Tomorrow, I am going to talk about how I'm also going to incorporate eating gluten free.