Thursday, January 21, 2010

Another day, another battle

I was talking to my Dad about weight loss on Tuesday, and I told him about a "mantra" I tell myself when I'm struggling - "Weight loss happens one decision at a time." This puts all things into perspective for me. One bad decision can be weighed out by a good one. Instead of thinking, "GOD I'm going to be on a diet FOREVER" I think "THIS meal, TODAY I can make good decisions." It's a lot easier for me to handle, even though the first statement might also be true. So when you're staring at the chocolate cupcake, or the Ben & Jerry's you have in your freezer, remind yourself of this - one decision at a time. If you decide to have it, awesome. Everybody needs a little splurge once in awhile. But try to put it in hand-in-hand with a decision to go to the gym tomorrow, or have a salad for dinner.

Yesterday was a solid diet day. Spent an hour at the gym even though I was busy, had a veggie flatbread pizza for lunch at the restaurant, went to a concert where I had a glass of wine, and then limited myself to 2 beers afterwards while I was out with friends. All within my daily points limits, if you include the calories I burned at the gym. Today I'm splurging a little more. I don't have time to go to the gym, and I had a salad for lunch, but I'm having a happy hour beer now while I kill time before a rehearsal. But since I didn't spend any of my weekly WW points yesterday, I can spend some today. And I don't have to work tomorrow, so I have plenty of time to go to the gym.

On Tuesday I had to go to the doctor to have some blood drawn. I found out a month ago that I have a low functioning thyroid (hypothyroidism), and I went in this week to test my levels now that I've been on a synthetic thyroid medication for a month. The doctor called yesterday and said my levels were perfect! So exciting. You have no idea how much this little pill once a day has made a difference. Before I started the medication, I wanted to nap most days, sleep for 10 hours every night and didn't have a lot of energy even when I did both of those things. Now, I get about 8 hours every day (I still hate waking up, but I'm a lot less tired once I get going), don't need naps usually, and have no trouble running around the restaurant for 4-5 hours a day. Plus, the weight has been coming off a lot easier than before, and I'm able to be alot more positive about the whole process because I have the energy to work out and I'm not tired all the time. My mom said it best - "Once it's fixed you'll feel so much better, even if you didn't know you were feeling bad before!"

It's amazing what that little gland controls. It's a pity I didn't get it tested before now - it runs in my family. The past couple of years, I always thought I was just exhausted because of school and work and staying out late. Not that those things didn't contribute, but when I didn't have the energy to get up for class or I would sleep through my alarm - that's pretty extreme exhaustion. Most people get it through genetic misfortune, although it's a really common problem. If anyone in your family has it, make sure you get yourself checked! The meds are cheap, and once you figure out what dose you need, you don't have to be at the doctor all the time. Here are some common side effects of low thyroid:
-fatigue and weakness -poor memory, memory loss
-cold intolerance (low body temperature) -nervousness and tremors
-dry skin -depression
-hair loss -insomnia
-cold hands and feet
-weight gain

So yeah. It affects a lot!! The thing I was most excited about when I found out was that it explains why I put on weight easier than people my age. I still have to work hard to take weight off, but hopefully with this medication I won't gain weight as easily. It also might explain why I got so much more nervous that other people performing while at school (it didn't used to be as much of a problem) and why my short term memory is SO fleeting. Let's hope anyway. :) THANK YOU again for taking time out of your busy lives to read and for inspiring me to continue working hard! YOU (yes, YOU! If you're reading right now then I'm talking to you!!) are the reason I'm doing so well. I'm quite sure of it! <3

2 comments:

  1. You're WELcome! 0:)

    I like that one-decision-at-a-time thing. Thinking like that would do well in some areas of my life. Good post.

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  2. Almost all of my family has hypothyroidism. =( I'm glad to hear you have it sorted out!

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