November 1st, 2015
Since my last post about getting back on track, I only half way got back on track. We all do this sometimes, we say we will start tomorrow, then things come up, events happen, excuses come or we just plain get distracted by life and months later, we are still in the same place. It's been a stressful few months. I work full-time, I'm taking 3 college classes and I workout. Sometimes it's difficult trying to juggle everything. I signed up for a personal trainer in Jan 2015 because of that. It forces me to go to the gym and get in a tough workout. My trainer is great, I feel stronger, I'm lifting heavier, he gets my heart rate going. My sessions end the end of December and to save money, I'm going to try working out on my own, or finding a gym partner to hold me accountable. I love working out, but hate cardio. Because of this, when I lift weights, I give myself little rest in between sets to keep my heart rate up. Currently, I lift weights 3 times a week, but I want to step it up to 4 days a week. I do at least 20 to 30 minutes of cardio when I'm at the gym. I recently started doing the air stepper or stair machine. They make me work harder than any of the other cardio machines. Currently I don't last very long, but I'm working on getting better. Even with all my working out, I haven't lost anything, in fact I've probably gained a few pounds. Sometimes this can be very disheartening and discouraging. Even after trying many different diets and still losing nothing, I just couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.
I made my yearly physical appointment in early September, not thinking anything of it, and I got a startling result from the bloodwork. I had hypothyroidism. I wasn't sure what this was, but I had heard about it. My TSH number is a little over 6. My doctor prescribed me 50 mg of Synthroid and told me to return in 6 to 8 weeks. My follow up appointment is this coming Thursday.
So what is hypothyroidism? It's a gland in your throat that isn't working probably. When hypo, it makes you sleepy, gives you brain fog, you can gain weight unexpectedly because it slows your metabolism down. When I read this, I was like wow! I wish I had figured this out sooner. Two years ago, I gained 20 pounds in a month when I wasn't doing anything that different than what I normally did and I've been struggling to lose the weight since. I've done research on this, but I can still do a lot more research. From my readings, I would like my TSH level to be between 1 and 2. I also read that autoimmune conditions like hashimoto's can cause hypothyroidism. Once you have this condition, you will always have it. Now I'm working on figuring out how to lose weight with this condition. I've read that going gluten free has worked for many people. I'm not opposed to trying that.
Tomorrow I put myself on a strict diet. I need guidelines for myself so it will be easier to follow. No grains except for small amounts of brown rice and oatmeal. No soda. No refined sugars. No cake, candy or cookies. No fried foods. Limit dairy products. So what can I have? Meat, vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, brown rice, protein shakes, Spark, black coffee and water. Sounds kinda bland, but I can use spices and Pinterest to make things more exciting.
Wish me luck! I'll let you know how everything does. I'm determined to get in better shape.
