My Hypothyroidism Story

lifestyle

My Hypothyroidism Story

By:

Katie Dunlop

Hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism

I have a whole lot of energy, make you seriously sweat without any equipment and look nice and toned. There is no way I could be suffering from an invisible illness right?

The symptoms started out pretty mild. Occasional headaches, constipation, fatigue, etc. At first the Dr.' s just thought it was hormones. I was 11 years old and going through puberty so all of these symptoms seemed "normal." It wasn't until my hair was falling out and all the other symptoms worsened that they took it seriously. After rounds of blood tests I was finally diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

It wasn't until my hair was falling out and all the other symptoms worsened that they took it seriously.

Essentially, it is an inflammation of the thyroid caused in part by your body's immune system. Symptoms include the ones mentioned above along with a laundry list of others like, weight gain, struggle losing weight, joint & muscle pain, severe dry skin, depression and difficulty getting pregnant just to name a few. Hypothyroidism can be super discouraging.

As a teenage girls and college student, I ignored most of my symptoms, but my struggle with weight was always glaringly obvious,at least to me. I fluctuated up and down 10-20 pounds every few months, which affected a lot of other areas of my life as well. By the time I graduated school I was the heaviest I had ever been and feeling completely blah.

As my weight increased so did my insecurities. I struggled with confidence and continued to use my condition as an excuse for how I was feeling inside and out.

I never once stopped to think about how the food I was putting into my body affected my illness. The Dr's never really addressed this. It was more like "take this medication and feel better, ok?" But it wasn't ok. I honestly never felt like my medication did much of anything, but again I just assumed that was "normal."

Taking Things Into My Own Hands…

I started doing a lot of research, talking to new Dr.'s and learning how much food and exercise impacted my hormones, immune system and overall function. I didn't know if changing my eating habits would really help, but I figured it had to be better than the loads of fast food and sugary drinks I was having on the regular.

Changing what I ate seemed like the best place to start. I loved cooking so it was just about learning to get creative and make my less-then-healthy dishes healthier. Working out was more of a struggle. I was always SO tired. It was REALLY hard to find the energy and motivation to exercise and I had a built-in excuse so it was a lose-lose for a long time

I made small changes and eventually started adding regular exercise back into my routine. Nothing crazy like the insane programs I had tried and failed at in the past. I committed to 10 minutes of SOMETHING every dayand was walking, jogging and making up workouts at home.

Six months later, I had lost 45lbs. The weight-loss was great! I was 23, single and ready for a confidence boost, but it was more than that. For the first time in my life I didn't feel tired every day. I had more energy, wasn't getting sick every few weeks and wasn't experiencing the same severity of symptoms as before.

For the first time in my life I didn't feel tired every day.

Eight years ago I decided to stop making excuses and start making myself a priority. I'm now a personal trainer, author of the Hot Body Guides, the Guiltless Nutrition Recipe Book, creator of LSF The APP, AND thehealthiestI've ever been.

That's not to say I still don't suffer from symptoms though. I do. Most people wouldn't know it, but there are days I sleep 9 hours and still feel indescribably exhausted. I actually still deal with a lot of the symptoms like dry brittle hair, nails, digestive issues etc. Just on a less intense scale. But I also make a v important choice each day. ICHOSEnot to let my hypothyroidism stop me from living my best life and hope to inspire other women to do the same!