Tomorrow is a new day!

11 months ago today I gave birth to the most wonderful little boy any mother could ask for. We gave him the name Asher, which means happy and blessed. He is every bit of what his name stands for. He is happy and full of personality and he keeps me moving!

With the pregnancy I gained and unexplainable 76 pounds. I was extremely swollen, yet I had perfect blood pressure and kidney function. I ate healthy for the most part aside from my occasional pizza craving. I was doing everything I should have been doing. I exercised as long as I could, until I overdid it and pulled a muscle that didn't heal until after giving birth.

Due to all of the swelling, I walked out of the hospital 30 pounds lighter with my perfect bundle of joy. I thought to myself, "what a great start to getting rid of all this baby weight!" Little did I know that the next 25 pounds I lost would take 11 months to lose.

I have been an athlete for well over half of my life. I know what it takes to be fit and in shape. I know how to eat healthy and exercise. So I did what every mother does to get rid of those nasty extra pounds. I cut my calorie intake in half. I walked 2 miles everyday working my way up to running 2+ miles everyday. All the while the scale wouldn't budge. I started having other post-partum issues, including developing an ovarian cyst and a slightly underactive thyroid. After 4 months of visits to my gynecologist to try to get my hormones and my body back to "normal", she suggested I see an endocrinologist about my thyroid. Unfortunately, my insurance company requires referrals to see a specialist. Over the next 5 months I spent hours on the phone trying to get my primary care physician to write me a referral to see an endocrinologist. Nothing worked. I got excuses like "10 years ago your thyroid levels would have been normal" and "some people just have a hard time losing weight." These were unacceptable answers for me. I knew my body and something felt wrong. I had never had trouble with my weight. My weight was maintained whether I worked out or not, whether I watched what I ate or not, so why all of a sudden wouldn't it budge? Finally, "for my mental health" my PCP gave me the referral.

After 9 months of knowing something was wrong with my body, I finally had an appointment with someone who could give me some answers! I was sent for more lab work, only to find out that my thyroid levels were continuing to decline. My doctor took one look at me and new that my thyroid was very inflammed. After an ultrasound showed that my thyroid was swollen to 1 1/2 times its normal size and more indepth lab work, I was diagnosed with Hoshimoto's disease.
http://www.endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/Hashimoto/

Over the past two months I have been taking 50 micrograms of Synthroid (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000684/) daily. I take it first thing in the morning on a completely empty stomach with a full glass of water. I then have to wait 1 hour before I can ingest anything except water. For two months I've been waiting for something to change, to start to feel more like myself. Well, I'm still waiting! I've dieted. I haven't dieted. I've worked out. I've done nothing. The scale hasn't budged and I still feel and (to myself) look like an unhealthy, fat slob. Today, my dose was doubled and I was instructed to return to The 17 Day Diet (http://www.the17daydiet.com/) that I had previously tried.

This blog is my journey to becoming a better, healthier version of myself. Thankfully I know that my beauty is not outward; however, when you feel good you become better. So here's to tomorrow, may is better than today!

"They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you." declared the LORD.   Jeremiah 1:19