Results from my doctor’s appointment is my vitamin D level is ridiculously low. Normal vitamin D level is 30 to 100 and mine is 17. Yup, way too low and I am prescribed a pill/week to get that D back to grade A level. At first I was, “Yes! That’s the magic silver bullet!” But then I remember that this whole mystery was first noticed in June and all summer I was getting plenty burned and tanned in the sun, especially during the time spent in Italy, so no vitamin D deficiency then. At least the doctor’s visit caught the vitamin deficiency; it just doesn’t answer the bigger question why I lost 15 pounds in eight months. Actually maybe the vitamin deficiency is the fallout of the mystery weight loss since vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin which means they are stored in fat.

Checked the Live Strong website and found this:

“One vitamin with a direct link between deficiency and weight gain is vitamin D. The primary purpose of vitamin D is to help the body absorb calcium and maintain strong bones. In a 2011 study published in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism," 237 children with low levels of vitamin D were more likely to be overweight with a high body mass index compared to children with adequate levels of the vitamin. A vitamin D deficiency may disrupt communication from hormones responsible for sending signals to the brain indicating that you feel full. It is thought that low levels of the vitamin could also lead to overeating”

Okay, so my low vitamin D level should have actually caused me to gain weight. The missing link is appetite. I can’t overeat due to low vitamin D levels if there is no appetite. The mystery of the missing appetite continues.