Trying to lose some of the Prednisone weight

Day 1,622.

There hasn't been anything new on the Cardiac Sarcoidosis side of my life in the last few months. The main thing that I am doing now is trying to get back to my old self a little bit - or to be more precise: my old weight.

Where I started and where I want to be

After my son was born I was still in relatively good shape - at least for a new mum. I don't know my exact weight, but think it was in the lower 90 kg area. With my height at 1.72 m, that made my BMI 30.

If I can get back to this weight, so many things would be easier. No. 1 - more clothes shopping options. Normal fashion stores only really cater up to size 16 here in New Zealand. Online shopping is great, but your options are much more limited. No. 2 - getting back into my active lifestyle.

Before my pregnancy I was running decent distances, and hiking a lot. My weight was much, much lower then. But in terms of a target weight for where I can get to - let's be reasonable. :)

My weight journey since my Cardiac Sarcoidosis diagnosis - and the dreaded Prednisone

When I was first admitted to hospital 3 years later, I was weighing 116 kg. This was already quite high, and I was really shocked by that number. I gained a lot of this weight while I was sick with Sarcoidosis without knowing that I was sick. I was walking so slowly due to the constant fatigue and spent most of my time after work and on weekends in bed - trying to recover some energy before the next work week.

After diagnosis, this weight remained relatively stable - even after starting to take Predinisone. I contribute that mainly to the fact that I was not able to drive anywhere due to my heart arrythmias, and having to walk to pick my son up from daycare every day.

Even so, I had massive redistribution of weight to my face. My Prednisone swollen face was at it's peak at the end of 2022. I was on 60 mg of Prednisone daily at the time with what is lovingly referred to as Moonface in the Sarcoidosis community.

I was very pleased when my face swelling went down after tapering down the Prednisone dose. My fatigue was still really high, so I did not really lose much weight during that time.

After my mum died the next year - I gained a lot more weight. I peaked at 127 kg. At this point my cardiologist was very unhappy with me.

I made some changes. I started a banting diet. It was really hard, but with a really strict eating plan I managed to lose 5 kg in about 6 months, before taking a break from it all. The next year I lost another 5 kg also over 6 months.

This was all good and well, but it is so hard to keep that kind of lifestyle going. No carbs like rice, pasta, bread or pastry. Zero sugar - except for fruit. Not even honey. What is good about this diet is that it resets a fast food mentality into more healthy options.

Where I am right now - starting Wegovy

Since I moved earlier this year, I haven't been able to motivate myself to get back into banting. It is not something that is easy to do while having have your kitchen out of action when showing your house to sell it, and then having your kitchen packed into boxes before moving cities.

My new cardiologist suggested I try a GLP-1 to help both my cholestrol and get my weight under control. I had been considering it for a while, and was glad to get her go-ahead for it.

I have now started Wegovy. I am 2 months into it and have lost 3 kg so far. It's not much (yet) as I am still on the loading doses. But it is nice to crack under 115 kg for the first time in 4 years.

I am really hoping to get to a point where I can confidently go for a run without worrying about hurting my back or my knees. Looking forward to it.