Hypothyroidism & the Battle

I thought I would touch on the subject of hypothyroidism, which is basically an underactive thyroid. It's a disorder that many people suffer from & I feel those who don't suffer from it actually understand the extent of havoc it can cause to a person's body.

I developed it at a young age due to it be genetically inherited. The honest truth is I hate those genetics for it! The side of the family it came from is probably due to the fact that the previous generations dabbled in crappy eating habits!

I thought I would share my views & battles with it, as it's something I personally have suffered from since the age of 17.

What is the Hypothyroidism?

The thyroid is a gland located in in neck, which is a butterfly shape. Believe it or not, that small gland controls your whole metabolic system in the body as well as your heart & body temperature.

When not balanced it knocks your hormonal system out of sync as well. When the thyroid becomes underactive it does not produce enough hormones called triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), which basically turns food into energy. You can imagine when your metabolism stops doing that the mess it causes on the weighing scales!

There are many different side affects & different people will suffer from different symptoms. The most common ones are weight gain, feeling cold, tiredness & lack of concentration.

My Story

I was always a healthy child not too fat or too slim. I did have some puppy fat however by the time I was 11 I lost it all. I became a lean size 8-10 & a 25-inch waist. I stayed that way till I was 16 & I was one of those lucky ones who could eat what I wanted & not gain any weight. However somewhere between the ages of 16-17 I started to gain a little weight, my concentration levels were poor & I was constantly tired no matter how much I slept. The concentration & tiredness became more apparent much later it was the weight gain that showed up first.

At first, the weight gain didn’t initially bother me, as it was a small gain then every few months the weight kept piling on & 7lbs at a time! I decided to go to the doctors of which were no help & due to their negligence put it down to teenage years & puberty. If the doctor had sent me for a blood test I’d probably wouldn’t have gained so much & would have regained my size 8/10 quickly.

By the time I was diagnosed, I went from 7st 11lbs to 11st 9. I basically went from being a size 8/10 to becoming a nearly 16! Between the time of the problem arising to being diagnosed I had tried many diets & lots of exercises however, I didn’t lose a single pound purely due to the fact my body was not producing enough Thyroxine.

I was prescribed Thyroxine, which I was weaned on to in stages starting off with a low dose. It takes a while for Thyroxine to kick in, however it worked in getting rid of the constant tiredness & why I always felt half dead in my classes during my A levels.

I was advised that once the Thyroxine kicks in I should start losing weight. That's just a load of rubbish. I didn’t lose anything that fat you gain is the most stubborn fat and nearly 15 years on I’m still fighting the same battle of trying to get rid of it completely.

I have to say I do feel I lost out on my younger a years of not being able to wear the nicer trends as my body never allowed it; mind you I make up for it now. However, this & the fact I was going to uni was a push. It made me decide that I wasn’t going to go to uni looking like this & having to wear baggy clothes constantly.

My cousin suggested I join slimming world with her. Slimming world was enjoyable & my mum really supported me with the cooking side of stuff. I managed to get down to 10st from 11st 9 by the time I left for uni. I went to a comfortable 12. Luckily with my age along with all the walking & partying at uni I kept the weight off. By the time I left uni at the end of my 3 years I came home 9st 11lb.

Post uni I fluctuated with my weight a bit & I eventually managed to get my weight down to 9st 2lb and stayed there for a long time. Maintenance is never a problem for me it’s the losing the weight that’s the biggest struggle. Even though 9st 2lbs is not considered medically overweight it was the body fat percentage I was carrying that was the problem.

Funnily enough, I took the biggest turn in the right direction with my weight post marriage. It was two years ago where I dropped to 8st 3lb & then managed to drop further last year where I got my body fat down to 22%. It was the slimmest I had been in a very long time.

However post my injury the struggle is real, weight loss just doesn’t happen & the fat you gain from it is so stubborn. Even when I had hit my slimmest point I could never really lose that belly & achieve a flat stomach!!

Coco Chick Thoughts

Living with a underactive thyroid is a pain in the backside; the battle with weight has been one thru out my 20’s & still ongoing! Once you become a thyroid sufferer eating habits have to change for life along with exercise. Exercise becomes non-negotiable & you have to exercise if you wish to keep healthy & fit.

I managed to kerb the symptom of fatigue when I went clean with my eating habits & it also helped in reducing my dosage. Eating habits really do help with many aspects, as you have to remember your metabolic rate does not work normally or efficiently as someone who doesn’t suffer from it. You need to remember you can’t compare eating habits to others, as your body is different.

The biggest frustration is when you work your arse off & results are just slow or not what you want. During my journey, there are a few things that simply do annoy me from non-thyroid patients! When people tell you just eat what you feel like is not helping matters! I can’t feed the soul my body does not allow me to constantly. If you’ve gained weight & moan about it I don’t have any sympathy for you, help yourself. There are others like myself who have the odds stacked against them but they still make the effort to do something about it.

Probably my biggest frustration & battle is that it does require a lot of mental & physical will power. There are times I feel like giving up however, I still keep going & aiming for my goal. As to how far I get, I’m not sure but at least I know I died trying! Lol

My advice is that if you start to develop any mild symptoms ask for a blood test even if the doctor doesn't offer one. Sometimes if you’re mildly suffering the blood test may not pick it up. If in doubt go private.

“Excuses don’t get results”

Coco Chick xoxo