Intro

This picture was taken 4 years ago, when I think I looked my best. 18 months ago I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid gland (a small gland in your neck) doesn't produce enough hormones

Symptoms include:

- Fatigue 

- Depression 

- Sensitivity to cold

- Muscle and joint pain

- Swelling of joints

- Dry skin and hair

- Irregular periods

- Weight gain

Treatment consists of a daily dose of hormones that replace the thyroid hormone, which your thyroid doesn’t make enough of.

Even with treatment, it’s hard to lose the weight I gained. I’ve always been a curvy girl and have always embraced that fact, but that gets harder to do when your curves get bigger and you don’t like the look of the person in the mirror. 

Ten years ago, if I'd gained some weight, all I'd have to do, would be to cut out the sugar, chocolate & crisps for a while and I'd drop those extra kgs in no time at all. Now, with hypothyroidism and being in my 40's, it's a very different story. I gained 8kgs in 3 months prior to my diagnosis, which is how i knew something wasn't right, as even though we were in lockdown, I wasn't eating any differently, to how I usually did. 

I joined a gym in an effort to help shed the extra kgs, started doing weight training and boxing. I read that weight training is best for fat burning as it continues to burn fat long after the session. The boxing is a great all round exercise and helps inject some cardio into my session, which also helps burn fat. This is a huge lifestyle change for someone like me who, despite being on my feet all day at work, I'm pretty lazy in my downtime.

I haven't seen much in they way of progress on the scales but i have seen some in my body measurements. Obviously muscle weighs more than fat, so it makes sense that my weight wouldn't change too much. 

However, for me, the hardest thing is the diet! I've never been very good with food. When I was a child, i ate like a sparrow, picked at my food and rarely finished a meal. Then I went to boarding school where you weren't allowed to leave the table until you had finished your meal, so my eating habits improved. 

As a student at University and working part time in a bar, my eating habits were terrible. If it was microwavable or "ready-to-eat", I ate it. As I got older and learned to cook, my diet became slightly healthier, but only slightly. I quickly learned that cooking for one is no fun and working in hospitality, it's really heard to eat good, healthy, satiating foods. Most of the time by body runs on one meal a day and bucket load of caffeine. Healthy choices and portion control have always been a problem for me. A lesson a still haven't learned in my forties!! 

So for me to get back to the girl in that picture, I am going to have to work really hard on my diet and make much healthier choices, as one will not work without the other. I'm gonna have to learn about nutrition and portion control.