When I was pregnant with Henry, some normal panel of blood work that my OB did at 12 weeks revealed that I had thyroid problems. That made me feel a little better about the extra weight I had gained right from the start, so I was cool with it. My sweet OB said that most women with pregnancy related thyroid issues saw them disappear before they left the hospital with a baby in tow. Cool. Fine.
Skip ahead a few years. I knew that I was pregnant with Ash BECAUSE I gained 10 lbs before I could even take a pregnancy test. There was an incident with a prescription that had gluten for a filler (really lovely, every pregnant woman should experience wicked allergic reactions when they are still trying to keep food down) and I landed myself in my GP's office. My equally sweet GP looked at all of my blood work done in the last two years and realized that I probably had Hashimoto's disease, not fibromyalgia. Fine. Autoimmune diseases run amuck in my siblings and I was pregnant with my third child; in other words, I was too tired to really care.
Skip ahead to a month after Asher. I had lost five pounds of baby weight total. I hadn't even lost all of Asher's body weight at birth. Ridiculous. JL told me to be patient. I was patient. I went to my 12 week postpartum check, received my green light to exercise, and went at it. I was logging my food, wearing a pedometer, and going to Zumba/yoga five times a week. Two months later I had only lost another five pounds, making my total weight loss at five months postpartum ten pounds. I spent a night just crying in frustration. My body was in protest and I felt the extra weight in every step. I called my GP and scheduled an appointment.
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(May 2013)
We adjusted the dose on my thyroid meds... A LOT. She also put me on a metabolism booster to help counter the effects of Hashimoto's on my body. I don't know how many people read this, or how many of you might have thyroid issues, so I'm going to let you in on a secret. If you have thyroid problems, thyroid meds don't make you lose weight. They just stop your body from gaining weight. They don't eliminate the exhaustion or the joint pain. Levothyroxin will just get your body to a balanced point. No matter how much you pound the pavement, losing weight will always be a one pound a month at best scenario. And of course, the lighter you are, the easier it is for your thyroid to function normally. I kid not, when my GP wrote the script she told me, "Most people react to this like a person on ritalin who doesn't have ADHD. For you? You'll probably feel like a normal person for the first time in years."
Holy moly. I did. After a few days, it was like a fog had been lifted from my life. I was happier. I didn't need ten hours of sleep to function on a basic level. My water weight dropped right off my body. I lost ten pounds in a week. Ten pounds of water weight! Every morning before I take my meds, I carry an extra 3-5 lbs of water weight. An hour after I take my meds, the swelling is gone and I can go about my business of being a mom.
Oh, and taking care of the other order that my GP gave me before I left her office: lose 100 lbs.
One hundred pounds is a pretty daunting number when you think about it all at once. That is more than the combined weight of all of my boys. I was pretty sure she was slipping into a crazy place for a moment, but she explained that she wanted me to do my best to get my body fat percentage down to 18%. That put me down 100lbs from where I was when I walked into the hospital to deliver Asher. She wanted me to do it in a year. Totally healthy and feasible. I hit the gym and got back to work.
Now to the point of this whole post: I am officially over the halfway mark. This week I hit my 55 lbs marker! I have 45 lbs to lose in the next five and a half months and I know that I can do it!
(September 2013)
JL has been the most supportive husband through all of this. He cheers me on and pushes me out the door to get to the gym. He fixed the jogging stroller so now I'm that lady walking the trail pushing 60lbs of todder and carrying 20lbs of baby on my back most mornings. He's given up a lot of his favorite foods, and even has a goal to lose 25 lbs before his brother's wedding at the end of the year. That's true love people.
