Healthy Me

From Monday morning to this morning (3 days), I have lost 3.8 pounds. Yeah me!!

...and unknown inches. I haven't taken the measuring tape out yet but I want that "thick" look to go away! Here I go!

I was doing the 17 Day Diet last week (briefly) while on steroids for my lungs - not a good idea. The steroids made me bloated and feeling icky and it was discouraging! I still need to get rid of these holiday pounds though.

Thanksgiving and Christmas - so much food!  So much good, fattening food!

Got some good presents as well (for the kids and what my husband and I exchanged)!  We had a good Christmas.  It was nice to be able to provide a Christmas in this economy to our kids.

My daughter also received some expensive jewelry from her boyfriend.  It has me a nervous wreck - I'm worried about her losing the necklace or ring. I'm going to have to look at the best metal detectors if she loses it in that pig sty of a bedroom.  LOL.  My little girl is growing up.  It's fun to watch and sad at the same time.

Starting soon to take care of the holiday weight...

On October 1, I started my "healthy eating" diet and as of yesterday morning, had lost 4.5 pounds.  I also forgot to take my thyroid medication yesterday AND didn't have healthy snacks with me while out shopping and indulged in some "not so healthy" eating so I don't even want to see the scale today.  I know it definitely didn't go down.  I have a week to get to my weight goal before I turn 40.  I do not want to hit 40 overweight and I also do not want to have to get a new driver's license and lie about my weight, ha ha.

Break out the insurance from Wholesaleinsurance.net, this blogging mom is turning 40 in a few weeks!  I think I should just say I am 34 and see how many years I can get away with doing that.

I am about 3-1/2 weeks from my 40th birthday and my goal is to be at my target weight by then.  That means I need to get my backside in gear and get working on it but I've not been too motivated yet.  I need to motivate, motivate, motivate!

It's been awhile since I've posted.  I took some time off and enjoyed the hectic schedule with my kids finishing up last school year, enjoyed the summer off with them, and now that school starts in little more than a week, I am getting excited about school starting and getting back to work myself.

In terms of healthy news - - I have kept off the weight I lost earlier this year.  Yeah for me!  I stopped dieting because I wasn't sure if I wanted to go further or not.  I've decided that I do.  So, on the day my kids start school, mom starts The 17 Day Diet: A Doctor's Plan Designed for Rapid Results again.  It's just too easy to lose weight this way (and after all these months, I've kept it off) so I'm going to get it finished up.

I am 2.9 pounds away from my weight loss goal!  After feeling fat and lumpy for so long, it's awesome!  Rather than repost all about it here because I just posted about how I did it on my Thyroid blog, follow that link to my other blog and read up! 

I have a waistline!  I kept my boobs, thankfully (I was a little worried about that).  My arms are thinner.  My legs are thinner.  I have cheekbones!  No more squeezing painfully into jeans anymore - they're getting too big.  Yeah, shopping!!

I love updating my weight loss ticker (in left margin) when the weight is going down!  I have lost a total of 22.7 pounds overall, leaving me with 15.3 pounds to go, assuming I decide to go all the way to my target weight.  I want to make sure I don't end up with scrawny looking legs (or no breasts).  After all, who knows what the girls are going to do after four kids and all this weight loss? 

Woo hoo!  Despite the holidays, I have managed to lose another 1.2 pounds.  This is awesome.  I'm on my next leg of my weight loss goal!  Can't wait to reach my ultimate goal!

Actually, I think it's more like 23 but I can't remember for sure what my exact weight was at its highest.  I'll round it to 20 and be happy with that.  Now onto the last 16 pounds.  I'm ready to take them on.  It's hard to buy a lot of healthy food because it tends to be more expensive though the price of organic has come down some.  I need to cut costs around the house (like eating out, cheap car insurance, and making lunches) so a little higher grocery bill isn't breaking the bank.

If you have thyroid disease and have tried everything to lose weight (exercise, Lipofuze, diets, etc.), you should really have your T3 hormone levels checked.  If they're not in the high normal range, you should consider raising your T3 levels (with prescription T3).  A small bump in mine has made all the difference. 

Also, most doctors don't check this, but request that your Reverse T3 be checked.  If your Reverse T3 is high, all the T4 you  are taking isn't going to help you because it's not converting into T3 correctly but instead converting into Reverse T3 (which isn't good).  If your doctor won't test your T3 or T4, and only depends on the TSH levels, you need a new doctor. 

I haven't found a "healthy me" yet but I am getting there in part due to my recently diagnosed gallbladder disease (gallstones...wow do those hurt) and my T3 dose increase.  I have 19.2 pounds left to go.  I am finally losing all that weight I regained back so I am back on track!  I didn't even gain any weight over Thanksgiving.

My skin is still messed up a bit - eczema in some areas, the need to visit http://www.acnewash.org/ in other areas, and then weird callus-like roughness and flaking on my right ankle (what the heck is that?).  

I'm just happy to get on the scale and see it going down again!

I first heard about this fruit, acai, a few years ago and became interested in it due to my quest to lose weight and for its antioxidant activity due to years of not eating the best of foods.  I wanted to get healthy, feel good, put up a little bit of a fight with the aging process, and get active again.  If you've not heard of acai, let me tell you a little about it.

• The acai fruit grows in Central and South America.  It is a red/purple color found on the beautiful Acai Palm trees. 
• Acai contains both anthocyanins and flavonoids.  Anthocyanins (meaning "blue" and "plant") and flavonoids are both antioxidants which gets rid of free radicals in the body (free radicals contribute to the aging process).
• Acai has been called a superfood, containing essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and phytosterols (phytosterols are known for their cholesterol-lowering qualities).
• It is also found in cosmetics for its antioxidant qualities.
• This fruit, long used by the Amazons for years, has become popular in Europe and the United States.

Acai Capsules

Coconut Water with Acai & Pomegranate

I am looking for some good weight loss stories. How did you lose weight? How long did it take? Are you happier?  Why were you overweight (eating habits, medical, etc.)? 

I've struggled with my weight since I got thyroid disease nine years ago but it's been even harder for the last five years (after the birth of my last child).  It shouldn't be this hard to lose weight but boy is it ever! 

Feel free to comment!

I've heard that a colon cleanse can help you lose weight. Is that true?

Never having had a colon cleanse and since I am gaining the weight back that I've lost, I am curious about what works for weight loss and what doesn't. 

I don't want to be large anymore.  I want to be me again.  I just have no clue anymore how to get there. 

Animal?  Plant?  Chemical? 

Hoodia is a plant (genus of 13 species specifically).  Did you know that?  I've seen advertisements for hoodia diet pills but didn't know what hoodia was. 

The Internet is amazing in what kinds of information it can provide at the touch of your fingers like looking up Hoodia.  My kids use it (the internet, not hoodia) for school research regularly.  I use it for social networking, work, entertainment, music, family photos/videos, etc. 

...and to think when I was a kid, we played outside, read, and trolled the neighborhood giggling over boys.  Such simpler times:)

My health is declining again in terms of my thyroid (which results in weight problems, memory problems, hair loss, skin problems). My husband asked me this morning why I just didn't go back to treating my own thyroid disease because that was the only time I felt good and lost weight.

I've gained back 9 of the 18 pounds I lost. I have whiteheads and blackheads. I feel like I'm 15 instead of 39 where my skin is concerned! I didn't realize at this age I would still need to check out the best treatment for acne! My eczema is back too. That reoccurs when my thyroid hormone levels are off.

I don't know what to do! I've been seeing this doctor for all of 2010 and he's not "fixed" me yet. He's trying and he found out I had a reverse T3 problem, which nine years of doctors never diagnosed, however, I thought I would've been better by now.  I'm losing patience.

I just realized I forgot to eat breakfast this morning!  I'm not taking phentermine to suppress my appetite and didn't do it on purpose. I just forgot to eat! That's pretty usual for me with trying to get four kids off to school and then my husband getting home from work.  I forget!  I only remember when I start to feel nauseous from not eating - hypoglycemic. 

My husband gets upset with me when I forget. He said I need to eat breakfast to jumpstart my metabolism. I'd love to eat breakfast; not like I'm doing it on purpose.  Geez.

I am tentatively thinking the remnants of the pelvic inflammatory disease I was diagnosed with and hospitalized for in May is gone.  *Fingers crossed* that it is well and truly gone.  That is not an illness I'd wish on my enemy.  It was very painful. 

My hypothyroid symptoms seem to have worsened over the last couple weeks.  Hair loss, skin, and weight are problems right now.  What I wouldn't give for a good fat burner right now.  I think it is the reformulated armour that is the problem.  I am on three grains, which is the highest I've ever been on, and still having symptoms.

It could also be my low iron too though or my reverse T3 problem (though the doc thought the armour would take care of that).  Blood tests next week will tell me!