About Me

I am a mid-twenties momma with Hashimoto's, An autoimmune disease that prevents my thyroid from functioning properly, leaving my with what's more commonly known as Hypothyroidism. After my first daughter was born, I alternated from extreme fatique to bouts of anxiety for at least 9 months and just felt awful, like I was crazy. It turns out I had Post-Partum Thyroiditis which is a lot more common than people know and mostly goes undiagnosed. Breastfeeding did help my shed most of my pregnancy weight, however I was so sick during my pregnancy I didn't end up with that much to loose. Post-Pregnancy I had zero energy for the longest time, almost a full year. I don't think I felt fully recovered until after my daughter's 2nd birthday. Sometime after that, I finally found a good endocrinologist who is the one that diagnosed my Hashimoto's and got me off of crappy generic thyroid medicine and put me on Synthroid. Just switching from generic levothyroxine 50 mcg to Synthroid 50 mcg I felt a big difference...proving my Dr's opinion that Generics don't cut it when it comes to thyroid health. He treated me by my symptoms rather than blood work which was AWESOME! I was able to up my dosage every two weeks based on how I was feeling. After 8 months of trying for a 2nd baby, I was only 2 months on this new medication, feeling great AND finally had some SUCCESS! My thyroid needed more help to get working before I could see that positive pregnancy test.

I had hoped to stay active during my pregnancy, so that getting back in shape afterwards wouldn't be such a battle, but I had some unlucky things working against me. Almost immediately after finding out I was pregnant, I was plagued with terrible sickness and migraines, just like my first pregnancy. I felt too weak and ill to do anything at all for the first few months. Just as that sick phase cleared up, I started feeling some sciatica, which was not too bad. I started going back to the gym and doing some light exercise, until I started to experience Pubic Symphysis Separation! SUPER painful, if you must know, it feels like someone took an axe and hacked it into your pelvic bone. Sometimes I can barely get out of bed because of the pain...so I got a Dr's note and suspended my gym membership till 6 weeks after my due date, April 20, 2010.

Having this complication with my pelvic bone has been a real bummer. I miss going to the gym and getting my endorphins, working off stress and just feeling good! I wasn't losing weight before with my gym visits (something that's very hard to do with hypothyroidism) but I loved the way it made me feel and at least I knew I was keeping muscle tone. And I was in love with the yoga classes!

The closer I get to my due date, the more excited I get at the idea of being able to work out again! I have gotten much bigger this pregnancy and even my maternity clothes feel tight! My goal is to lose all this baby weight, get back muscle tone and definition (since I've lost any I had before from sitting around the past 8.5 months!) and maybe even looking better than I did BEFORE I had babies!

I have a couple things working against me that I'll have to deal with, and I will share it all on here as I progress on my journey, the 3 major ones are:

1. The Thyroid problem makes losing weight and getting results very difficult. I remember dieting and working out in college and nothing would happen or I would even feel as if I gained weight.

2. I have horrible eating habits. I'm a snacker rather than a meal eater, and I don't like healthy food. I have a serious psychological addiction to french fries and chocolate. Growing up, I was that one kid...the one you hear people talking about saying "I know this person who doesn't eat anything besides French Fries and Cheerios!" I have serious food issues and it's extremely hard for me to try new things...but I know if I want to see real results, I'm going to have to give up my junk favorite foods and try getting more variety in my diet.

3. Sleep deprivation and exhaustion from caring for a new infant and a busy 3 year old. We'll see how that goes!!!! Hopefully this little guy is a good sleeper!

The plan is to get started with wearing a belly wrap after delivery. I was skeptical about the idea at first but the more I looked into and asked around with my mom friends, the more convinced I became that it's something worth trying. Plus, the extra abdominal and back support will make it easier for me to get moving around again once this little boy is born. I will let you know what I think about that, giving my full review!

Then, once I get the okay to start exercising again, I'm going to do it TURBO style...and what I'm referring to is Turbo Jam! I've done Turbo Jam in the past and fell in LOVE with Chelene Johnson, the instructor/creator. It is so much fun, it gets me pumped up and I notice results (even without drastic diet changes)...I just didn't stick with it...thyroid=energy problems=lack of motivation! In the past, the most success I've experienced with getting any results with my body is when using Beachbody products. I first bought Slim in 6 with Debbie Seibers in college and did that program (still drinking and eating plenty of french fries) and still had noticeable results in the 6 weeks I stuck with the workouts. It gave me a butt lift, super toned arms and was one of the few times in life I didn't have a muffin top love handles! If I actually stuck to the diet recommendations, I'm sure I would have actually seen my abs showing!

Once I discovered Turbo Jam however, I just fell in LOVE with it. Chelene is so much fun to work out with and I pretty much feel like I want to be her when I grow up! Once I get back in shape, I would love to get my Turbo Kick certification and become an instructor! That is a goal I've had in the back of my head for quite some time!

SO! For now, I'm in the countdown and planning mode, fantasizing about a new baby and a new body! I hope you join me on my journey as I plan to share it all! From the products I use, workouts I do, schedule, meals, motivation, slip ups...and hopefully, in the end, a SUCCESS STORY!